When we were in Germany last month, I told Bill that I felt like our trip would lead us back to Europe.  We met an American guy who worked in Belgium and gave Bill job hunting tips.  We saw my friend, Audra, and her French boyfriend, and they said they hoped we could come back.  Meanwhile, we couldn’t find anything suitable employment wise for Bill.  The jobs he was most qualified for were all abroad.

Even though the focus has mostly been on Europe the whole time Bill has been looking, I still didn’t want to let myself believe that we’d actually be able to go back to Germany.  I figured it was a pipe dream.

Well, the stars have aligned and Bill was informally offered a job in Stuttgart this morning.  A letter of intent is coming to him within the next 24 hours and if all is acceptable, which I imagine it will be, we will be moving back to Germany within the next few weeks.

I am feeling a mixture of elation and nerves.  I am elated because I know we’re going to a place we love.  Of all the places we’ve lived together, Germany was far and away our favorite, even though living there can be a pain.  We loved the stimulation of living near so many great places.  We liked the food and beer.  We liked the culture.

At the same time, moving back to Germany is liable to be a challenge on many levels, especially since we aren’t going there on military orders.  On the other hand, not going there on military orders is going to simplify things since I won’t have to get an official passport or a medical checkup like I did last time.  I probably could use either of those things, but they won’t be required.

I have also heard that the housing situation isn’t quite as dire as it was a few years ago, since the military is now making people live on the installations instead of the economy.  Fewer people are being sent to Germany on orders now, so there could be less competition for a home.  Last time we were in Germany, we lived in a cheap hotel for six weeks.

I don’t look forward to the long wait for our furniture to arrive, nor do I look forward to trying to find yet another place to rent.  I also don’t look forward to trying to move our dogs.  On the other hand, I know I love Germany.  We also have some things going for us that we didn’t have last time.  For one thing, we know the area and we already have some transformers so our electronics will work.  We even  know of a good place to board our dogs, though we have different ones now.

Anyway… very soon, things will be crazy again.  Hopefully, the transition will be as smooth as possible.  This blog is about to come to life in a big way… because when we live in Europe, we travel a whole lot.