Well, I am glad to be able to help each and everyone of you. As you may know, I am no longer in Germany and have actually just moved again! We left Germany just two years ago, and we now just moved over Christmas to Scott AFB, in Illinois. So, I need your help with keeping this site up to date. Please help me by sending me new information and photos, or correcting outdated information. Below are a few things that I am looking for, but will be grateful for anything you can send me that you think others may find helpful.
- new photos of the outside of random houses off base
- photos of General housing on Ramstein
- some outside photos of the new townhomes
- photo of the new KMCC
- photos of some of the new play areas on Ramstein in housing
- more photos of the new pool on Ramstein
- new information - what are they doing with the old bx on Ramstein?
- more info on the new KMCC, your thoughts, likes, dislikes
PLEASE refrain from emailing me with questions about moving to Germany. For the first couple of years, I would get several emails a week and would personally answer them all. I just don't have time for that and that is why I have the message board and Facebook page. Please join those groups at the left of the site and you can ask all of your questions there. You will get great information from people who are living there; often from more than one person. I like this because you will get more than one person's point of view on things.
Happy New Year and here's hoping the next 10 years is great!
Tschuß,
Christy Parish
Christy...awesome blog I didn't even know about! I have to add you to my blogroll...thanks for all the great Germany info, especially the photos!
ReplyDeleteSome things listed seem a bit out of date to me. We moved last summer (Aug.) so I've had a bit of time to adjust.
ReplyDeleteSome things I'd wished I'd know:
1.Bring all your lamps- they will work with a simple plug add on and new bulb
2. If you can afford it bring a spare set of tires. It takes a while to get them from the US and the selection on base is limited. Same goes for brake parts.
3. Get a pay as you go Cell phone and Internet card to use until your Internet gets hooked up when you arrive. They are about $25 at o2 store (In Globus K-Town). It's 25 euro a month to use it and it works all over Germany(handy for trips).
4. Phone/Internet is not that expensive(off base). I have DSL no limit on time used(SLOW compared to US) and home service with unlimited calls to US for about $40-$60 per month. Note that service is VERY different depending on the village. Ask people that live nearby what their(Internet) service is like.
5. When looking for a house during peek PSC time- it's CRAZY! You are not 'picking' a house, the German landlords are picking your family. We had 2 small girls and 2 dogs and were told often that we had too many kids. Having a photo of your pet and a reference is handy. Sometimes we'd look at the same house as 20+ families. Wear your Sunday best (:
6. German houses I've seen have come with kitchens that all have dishwashers. Most are smaller than ours. The ovens are smaller too. Leave your appliances at home..Don't bring your full fridge, washer/dryer, and 110 appliances. You can pick 220 stuff here used(Ramstein Yardsales.com,)free or cheap at many local stores. I brought my stand mixer but left all the other stuff in storage.
7. Buy kids shoes in the US before you leave. The selection here on base stinks! Same goes for winter gear- boots/gloves/hats- as soon as it got cold there were none to be found. The base did not restock on winter boots. Bring waterproof boots for everyone and raincoats. They will get lots of use!
8. Pets- we brought 2 older dogs. They did great on the military hop out of BWI- we kept the dogs with us until 1/2 hour before the flight left. There was a nice place outside to walk the dogs. Dogs were out of the plane waiting when we landed at RAB. Pick up plastic zip ties to make their kennel stronger.
9. GPS is a must! You can pick them up on base with maps of Europe and the US loaded. Saturn in K-Town also has a great selection. The almost all speak English and take a VAT form.
Thanks Doug! This is some very good information. I do talk about the American lamps and the easy fix of using them in Germany. This information can be found on the "customs and helpful hints" of this site. Also the information about appliances is listed in my information as well. It does help, however, to have it in more than one place. Sometimes there is so much good information that it can be easily overlooked. I will also do some updating. Thanks again for your great information as I am sure others will learn from what you have written. Cheers! Christy
ReplyDeleteWould you be able to help me in knowing where someone stationed at Spangdahlem would be able to buy winter tires for their Chevrolet vehicle? Thank you very much, Kathy
ReplyDeleteHi Kathy, if you have questions, it is best to find us on Facebook and ask your questions there....you will get the help you need. Here is the link http://www.facebook.com/#!/groups/268721469277/
ReplyDeleteWhat if I don't use Facebook (security minded)?
ReplyDeleteWell Kathy, sorry but FB is our only means of asking questions and getting answers unless you want to ask your sponsor. We keep OPSEC in mind with our FB page and I don't think that the subject of tires is going to cause any breeches in security ;)Good luck!
ReplyDelete