This week has been so hard.
I don't mean to complain but really....I could have this week swiped from my memory and be perfectly content.
Honestly I can't even remember everything so at least there's that.
Okay so Friday evening Jason received an email with an offer for a house on-base. We do not want to live on base but a family with only 2 children has no wait for housing. Because we declined housing we were told we would have to be out of TLF (Temporary living facility) and into a rental by the 24th or we would have to either pay TLF out of pocket or move into a house on base temporarily.
Moving in temporarily to an on-base would mean getting our loaner furniture delivered there and wasting one drop off and one pick up thus leaving the final drop off and pick up as a cost to us.
I don't mean to complain but really....I could have this week swiped from my memory and be perfectly content.
Honestly I can't even remember everything so at least there's that.
Okay so Friday evening Jason received an email with an offer for a house on-base. We do not want to live on base but a family with only 2 children has no wait for housing. Because we declined housing we were told we would have to be out of TLF (Temporary living facility) and into a rental by the 24th or we would have to either pay TLF out of pocket or move into a house on base temporarily.
Moving in temporarily to an on-base would mean getting our loaner furniture delivered there and wasting one drop off and one pick up thus leaving the final drop off and pick up as a cost to us.
So Saturday we went out and found a house (and it is fabulous).
Saturday we did some exploring and had a good time. We wanted to get our housing contract all figured out on Monday but it was a holiday. So come Tuesday we went to housing to get our contract signed. Due to the staircases not having railings on one side, housing would not allow us to sign. Also it was by then, the end of the day so the people that could help us sign a waiver were out and we would have to reach them on Wednesday day.
Also we made appointments to meet the administrators of the German schools for Bryton and Gavin. For Wednesday.
Wednesday I wake up and call the inspectors so we can sign a waiver, and of course she is gone for the day....I then get a call from a German property management office. It turns out that our landlady decided to use them because she speaks no English and it is much easier for her. They wanted us to come in and sign a new contract. This can be bad news as a lot of "property management" companies in Germany will take advantage of Americans.
So now we might not be able to get the house because 1) the railing and 2) a possible sketchy property management is involved.
And if we don't get the house our kids don't go to school in that town. So we had to cancel our appointments =c
Saturday we did some exploring and had a good time. We wanted to get our housing contract all figured out on Monday but it was a holiday. So come Tuesday we went to housing to get our contract signed. Due to the staircases not having railings on one side, housing would not allow us to sign. Also it was by then, the end of the day so the people that could help us sign a waiver were out and we would have to reach them on Wednesday day.
Also we made appointments to meet the administrators of the German schools for Bryton and Gavin. For Wednesday.
Wednesday I wake up and call the inspectors so we can sign a waiver, and of course she is gone for the day....I then get a call from a German property management office. It turns out that our landlady decided to use them because she speaks no English and it is much easier for her. They wanted us to come in and sign a new contract. This can be bad news as a lot of "property management" companies in Germany will take advantage of Americans.
So now we might not be able to get the house because 1) the railing and 2) a possible sketchy property management is involved.
And if we don't get the house our kids don't go to school in that town. So we had to cancel our appointments =c
So I called the housing office and they verified the legitimacy of the management company and that was fine. We then had to reschedule a housing appointment and then schedule an appointment to meet with the property manager.
Also we finally stopped by the bank here to get an account open for all of our bills, utilities, and rent. As it turns out it takes 10 business days to get any money from our US account to our German account. So as of now we have an ATM with a max €300 withdrawal limit a day and credit cards....lame.
Also we finally stopped by the bank here to get an account open for all of our bills, utilities, and rent. As it turns out it takes 10 business days to get any money from our US account to our German account. So as of now we have an ATM with a max €300 withdrawal limit a day and credit cards....lame.
Thursday I get a phone call in the morning about a car we had inquired about and I made another appointment to meet them at the end of the day.
So we met with our property manager Petra and had everything squared away....kind of....we have all of our money in states for 9 more days. So to move in on Monday we have to keep withdrawing our funds from an ATM everyday in order to get enough Euro to pay for February's rent and the deposit. This is so much fun .....no not really, we are super stressed.
So we met with our property manager Petra and had everything squared away....kind of....we have all of our money in states for 9 more days. So to move in on Monday we have to keep withdrawing our funds from an ATM everyday in order to get enough Euro to pay for February's rent and the deposit. This is so much fun .....no not really, we are super stressed.
Next we went to our housing appointment and this took forever and again we were almost NOT allowed to sign our contract because of the railing! But after waiting for 45 minutes or so we were finally able to sign!!!!
Next appointment was for FMO (I don't know what it stands for, but its where we get our borrowed furniture until our own arrives in Germany)
The soonest they could make it to deliver furniture to us is the 26th. So there will be two whole days of living in a house with no furniture. No beds, no chairs, no tables, no fridge, no microwave. Nada, nothing, zip, keinen...
Ehhhh,
Next the meeting for the car. We met at the local Burger King and did a test drive. Now we had originally thought that we would just tell them no because we wanted a cheaper car but OH BOY we love this car.
So we said yes.
Do we have the car now? No. Why? Because all of our money is stuck in the US!
Next appointment was for FMO (I don't know what it stands for, but its where we get our borrowed furniture until our own arrives in Germany)
The soonest they could make it to deliver furniture to us is the 26th. So there will be two whole days of living in a house with no furniture. No beds, no chairs, no tables, no fridge, no microwave. Nada, nothing, zip, keinen...
Ehhhh,
Next the meeting for the car. We met at the local Burger King and did a test drive. Now we had originally thought that we would just tell them no because we wanted a cheaper car but OH BOY we love this car.
So we said yes.
Do we have the car now? No. Why? Because all of our money is stuck in the US!
Friday. We go straight to the bank with the hope of some how getting money for the car. Luckily we had the nicest teller. She totally waived the 10 day waiting period period and allowed to withdraw more than the maximum.
So hooray! That's a good thing :)
Then we headed to our cute little town to meet the school teachers.
This was great, we met the teachers, the kids met friends and played.
So it really broke our hearts when they told us that it would be close to impossible for Bryton to get into middle school because registration ended last week and they wouldn't have room for her.
Also, she would be out of school at 12:40 everyday, and would go to school during American holidays and have no school on German holidays. So this schedule would be impossible if I wanted to work. Which I do.
So hooray! That's a good thing :)
Then we headed to our cute little town to meet the school teachers.
This was great, we met the teachers, the kids met friends and played.
So it really broke our hearts when they told us that it would be close to impossible for Bryton to get into middle school because registration ended last week and they wouldn't have room for her.
Also, she would be out of school at 12:40 everyday, and would go to school during American holidays and have no school on German holidays. So this schedule would be impossible if I wanted to work. Which I do.
So we were all very sad to come to this decision, but it simply won't work for us
:(
Ugh
We then had the joys of trying to buy car insurance, over the phone, long distance....
I tried the regular number, the German number, the deployed number and even Skype.
I finally reached them through the German number. Got insurance, unfortunately there is no way we can register the vehicle until Monday. Well the sellers of the car were already waiting at the registration for us. So I had to call them and reschedule for Monday....
I tried the regular number, the German number, the deployed number and even Skype.
I finally reached them through the German number. Got insurance, unfortunately there is no way we can register the vehicle until Monday. Well the sellers of the car were already waiting at the registration for us. So I had to call them and reschedule for Monday....
Seriously!!!!! This has been a rough week.
Now to move in, cancel with the German schools :(, do a walk through with the property manager, receive a very small shipment of goods, and then register the car. Also somehow register Bryton for American school. Monday, don't even start with me.
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