Our Move to Germany: FAQ
It’s no secret that we’re living an unconventional lifestyle right now. We took a side-step from the “American Dream” when we chose to wait on buying a house, a car, and a dog. We chose to chase a different dream first. So yes, our situation is a little different and people have been asking a lot of questions. Let me clear them up for you!
Q: Where are you going to live in Germany? A: Taylor’s office will be in Furth, a small town just outside of Nuremberg. We’d like to find an apartment in Nuremberg, but we’ll live in Furth for the first month. Regardless, both are in the south western part of Germany in Bavaria.
Q: How many times have you been over there to look at apartments and such? A: Never. This is my first time to Germany. (In fact, my first time to Europe!) However, Taylor has been to Germany about 5 or 6 times, having visited the Furth office once.
Q: Do you speak any German? A: Not yet, but we’re working on it! Duolingo has been an awesome resource.
Q: What are you doing with all your stuff? Are you taking it with you? A: We had a lot of stuff. After all, we had a two bedroom apartment completely filled, furnished, and decorated. So we started by going through each room and putting every item on one of five lists:
Store - Thank God for my parents who allowed us to turn my childhood bedroom into a storage unit. This mostly consists of sentimental items and a few things that we’ll need when we get back to the US, like a few pots and pans and a couple towels.
Keep - This is a list of things that we’re taking to Germany with us. When we started, we didn’t know how much we’d get to take so this list is quite minimal. Mostly clothes and a few small, lightweight things that will make our apartment in Germany feel a little bit like home.
Sell - Anything that had dollar value without sentimental value. This included most of our furniture, some home décor, and some appliances.
Gift - A list of items that were of good value, but might not be worth the hassle of selling. If we knew a friend might get some good use out of something, we set it aside with their name on it. In some cases, this included unopened soap bottles of soap, lotion, or even rolls of paper towels. (Yeah, we were Costco shoppers and had way too much back stock.) Otherwise, we took a lot to Goodwill.
Trash - Some things just aren’t worth it for us or anyone else. It’s amazing the amount of crap we keep if we have the space to do so!
Q: Are you going to have a car? A: We’ll have a car for the first month. After that, we’ll see. We don’t think we’ll need one, but it would definitely be convenient.
Q: Where will you work? A: I’ll have a home office- most likely a desk in the guest room.
Do you have any other questions? Please ask!
In 2016, our founder, Bailey Smith, finagled her way into moving abroad with her husband. In their off time, they were able to travel all around Europe. Many of Bailey's travel experiences during those two years have shaped Indie Travel Design into what it is today. Follow along with their story of negotiating jobs, applying for visas, and living in Germany.