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Back from apartment-hunting in Germany!
In the end DH and I went to Frankfurt for the weekend instead of just Monday. It was a really great, informative trip and I feel so much better about the move and all the logistics.
We arrived Saturday night and spent all day Sunday familiarizing ourselves with the town and the train that goes into Frankfurt. On Monday we had 6 apartments to see so we figured out how to get from apartment to apartment and the best thing is that they could all be done walking (we didn't rent a car). Out of 6 apartments that we saw Monday we liked 3 and have decided on one bigger than the one we own now that is close to the center of town and walking distance to H's work.
I am so excited that things are seeming more achievable and I really loved the town. It's still going to be a hard move since I don't speak any German (yet!) but I'm ready for it.
Thanks everyone for the advice on traveling with a baby too. It really was not bad and I definitely could've done it all in one day if needed. DD was fine flying.
There's still a lot to do to get this move figured out, but I am feeling much more calm/relaxed about the process than before.
Oh, and one thing that sucks is none of the places we saw (or any we saw online) come with kitchens. I've heard this is normal in Germany for renting, but it just seems so odd. Looks like we'll be buying a kitchen!
Sorry for blabbering on and on. 
Just wanted to update you ladies.
Re: Back from apartment-hunting in Germany!
Glad it went well! When do you move and how long do you think you'll stay in Germany?
The kitchen thing is odd, but I kinda like it. People have really nice kitchens b/c they bought them themselves. Oddly enough, though, 3 of the 4 places I looked at had some kind of kitchen. One was horrible. The sink looked like it was made out of tuperware, it was this weird plastic. The other just had cabinets and the one we moved into was a full kitchen. It's what's making our decision to find a new place difficult b/c we don't know how much longer we'll stay in this area and don't want to have to buy a kitchen if we aren't going to be in Germany for at least 2 years.
Anyway, again, glad it went well!
DH is moving at the end of April, but I will be going about 3 weeks later to save money on airfare since we have to be here for a wedding on May 19. Also, I have a 6 month appointment for DD and I didn't want to have to have the stress of getting an appointment with a pediatrician right away.
We figure we'll be there for a few years at least. We were informed that some people sell their kitchens when they move so maybe that's something you could do if you were to rent and buy a new kitchen. I like that the kitchen will be how we want it, but I don't like the money involved!
One place we saw had a sink and a couple cabinets, but no hookups for a dishwasher...it probably is better that we'll be mapping out our own kitchen. The kind of cool thing is that renting in Germany seems to be kind of like owning in that you are allowed to hang things, paint, etc. It was a bit tricky to find places that accept pets though and that was key for us.
BFP Apr 2012, EDD Dec 19 2012 * twin h/b at 6wk, 9wk scan * Baby A lost at 12wks, Baby B was my rainbow born at 36wks
If we move to another area of Germany that's likely what we'll do. Or if we know we'll stay here for at least another 2 years. But, right now we're only committing to another year (when LO#2 will be 6 months) and our apartment has too many pros (elevator! location! kitchen! great landlord! great neighbors! amazing restaurants! quiet!) that the small space isn't enough for us to go elsewhere.
Yay! Glad to hear the visit went smoothly! It is normal to not have a kitchen, unfortunately. Ours had a kitchen, but we had to give a couple hundred extra for it- I think it was 400.
You also probably won't have any light fittings. We only had wire hanging from the ceiling. Hopefully, you can do this on your own. My husband was afraid to deal with electricity and we had to pay.
Do you have to pay a Makler (agent) fee? You are lucky if you got it provisionfrei.
I just want to say make sure when you give your security deposit (Kaution) that you know the account it is in. It can't be in the landlord's personal account. It's best to get a Bankburgschaft (account with both your names on it). It makes for an easy time when you are moving out. I've read some horror stories about not getting the Kaution back. Also the day of your signing go through every thing- check windows, floors especially and make sure every scratch is accounted for. Don't let the Makler rush you. Ours did and we didn't even get to do all these things. We are now working on sorting all that stuff out now- it's a mess. We've recently been having problems with our landlord and decided we need to do this now. A bit late, but it's our only option.
Frankfurt is really easy to get around! You can easily walk all over or ride a bike. I prefer to do this b/c I don't want to pay for tickets 1.60 or 2.60 for long or short trips one way. It just seems like a waste to me when everything is so close together. You can also get a Monthly train card for about 60 or 90 per month. The price difference is depending on what time in the morning you start (after 9 is cheaper).
Also when you go to the Buergeramt (on the Zeil a block up from Konstablerwache) you get a welcome book with some coupons. These are nice and you have a year to use them. You'll need to to to the Amt in order to open a bank account. I'm not sure if your DH's company is doing this for you.
You are moving in at a good time. The summer festivals start soon. Frankfurt is nice in summer.
What area are you moving to in Frankfurt? Let me know if you need anything!
@klingklang77 -- We are going to be living outside Frankfurt in a town called Kelkheim. It's about 35-45 minutes by train from the Frankfurt Haptbanhof (is that right?). So most of the paperwork we have to do we will do in the Rat Haus of the town instead of having to run all over Frankfurt to different places. One perk of being in a small place I guess.
We do have to pay a commission unfortunately, but it is worth it for the place I think. We saw two places that were provisionfrei because they were owned by a company, but the third place we saw is more centrally located and a better layout for our family.
Thanks for the tip on the Kaution. We read that on toytowngermany actually so we have already been careful about asking the specifics of how the downpayment with work.
As for the signing, we may not be able to do a walkthrough! We won't be back in Germany until May 1 when we need to move in. Not sure how that will work, but I am worried about that bit.
I will be joining DH in late May so maybe we can meet then! And if have more questions I will definitely PM you. Thanks!
Just want to say best of luck on the pre-moving activities! You got the biggest one checked off!
You'll pick up the German soon enough!
2012 Reading Challenge
Now Nesting from Chicago, IL My nail blog:
I'm confused by this statement...if the apartment doesn't come with a kitchen, how do you buy one? Or is there an empty room that just needs to be fitted with kitchen stuff?
Anyway, glad you're feeling better about the move! Good luck! :-)
Dave & Jennifer 10.18.08
My Doha Adventures
It's so interesting! In the UK, flats (typically) come with everything - pots, pans, random dishes you would never use, theoretically all furniture and I really hate it. I spent the first day in this flat boxing up all the ugly stuff and storing it somewhere and there's always some bits of furniture you would never want. Particularly now that we've been renting here so long, it would be nice to be able to sort out a flat the way I want!
Jenny - yes, as far as I understand it, you get an empty room with the hoockups and you have to buy everything.
BFP Apr 2012, EDD Dec 19 2012 * twin h/b at 6wk, 9wk scan * Baby A lost at 12wks, Baby B was my rainbow born at 36wks
Glad it went well! We're not far from Mainz. I think when everyone is settled in to their new homes we should try to plan a GTG.
There are lots of options for kitchens. If you are interested in IKEA, they have a great kitchen planner you can download so you can play around and "build" your own kitchen. When we first moved here we were going to buy a house and I had way too much fun designing our potential kitchen. We've had IKEA kitchens in both our homes here and they've been great.
I've never been to Kelkheim, but I've been up near Bad Homburg and it's nice and quiet there! I'm in Westend North.
I would make sure you do some sort of walkthrough, just for your own protection. Talk to your real estate about it- you don't want to get screwed in the end.
Looking forward to doing a GTG.
Is there a way you could arrange to do it with the landlord when you arrive?