So I finally got an apartment for the immediately future while in Germany. Yay!!!! This is not the place where Thorsten and I will be living together. Unfortunately he is also in the process of moving to a closer job because he is currently over two hours away from Ravensburg. In the meantime, he will stay home and I have a place close to work.

It was a rather stressful time because, believe it or not, most apartments were not on board with housing a dog. Weird, right? I was sort of under the impression that Germany was supposed to be all dog-friendly. Well, just like in the US, there are some places that can be and others no. Ravensburg falls under the latter.

Real estate there is very difficult under normal circumstances. A lot of the Germans who went back home after their two year stint in the States found it very difficult to find a place to live. So I wasn’t all that surprised that I was having difficulty.

I actually didn’t even do the looking. One of the HR ladies, her name is Astrid, has been my guardian angel. When I was in Ravensburg last October/November, she was the one who organized my stay, car, anything I could possibly need. She even organized a city tour for all of the Americans…..unfortunately few of us went because the rest of us were partying a little too hard the night before….

Anyway! She is helping me with my work visa and I asked her for some help in finding me a place. She went above and beyond. She put in an ad in the paper and she had her assistant Simon look around.

They had asked me (at one point) if it was ok to tell people that my dog was quiet….this seemed to be the main concern for the less dog-friendly apartments. This may seem like an odd question…it was to me. If I were a landlord, I would be more concerned with if the dog was house trained/didn’t chew on furniture/shoes/etc. But then again, Abner was a terrible puppy so I know how bad it can be.

Finally they came a crossed a little flat share (as in there would be a roommate) in Weingarten:

Simon was also a rock start and went to the apartment and took tons of photographs just for me so that I could see the inside. I would have my own fully furnished room, it’s close to work, and the rent is cheap AND they are ok with Abner! YAY!!!!!!

I have just signed the contract. I have to pay a security deposit (two months’ rent) plus my first month’s rent…..which is the equivalent of my current rent in Chicago. Awesome.

Anyway, I just wanted to share more news with you all. That was a big item to check off my list and with my belongings quickly dwindling due to being sold or donated or going home or being sent to Germany….everything is going according to plan.