Hi, I am PCSing to Hiedelberg, Germany and looking for some information.?

Question

This will be my families first move overseas. I would love if someone can give me some advice on moving overseas and about Hiedelberg, Germany, the housing, schools etc.

Should I live on or off post? How much of my household goods should I take? We have a truck and a van, she we leave one behind? How is Hiedelberg? Any advice will be appreciated.

Answer 1

Hi there.

I was stationed at the hospital at Nachrichten kaserne (the Army hospital) from Feb 1992 till june 1998. I know quite abit about Heidelberg.

My daughters both graduated from HHS, the DODDS school.

There's so much to tell you. The housing is walk up apartments, 3 stories but they aren't bad.Housing areas are Patrick Henry Village, and 1 I canj't remember the name, close to Cambell barracks.

Why not email me? Might be easier. But you'll love Heidelberg.

Answer 2

I currently live in Heidelberg. I am leaving soon but I will miss it.  It is a very beautiful town and centrally  located.  Here is the official website if you need more info.

Answer 3

I'm not in in the US military and know nothing about living on-post, but simply from what I know about Heidelberg I would live off-post. Heidelberg is one of the most beautiful cities in Europe, it is one of the top tourist destinations. (Made famous by American G.I.'s who took their wifes and families for vacation there.)

The only potential problem might be that in Baden-Württemberg (the state Heidelberg is in) there is a significant lack of 2-bedroom / 3-room (kitchen, living room, bedroom, kid's room) places. Places for singles (often just a room in a shared flat) and houses for families with 2-3 children are relatively easy to find, but for 1-2 adults and 1 child things are a tad more difficult. So if you got kids look into living on-base, but also off-base and compare the costs.

House-hold goods: If you are moving from the USA, note that all electrical appliances will need a converter to work with the 220 V voltage. It might be easier to by new stuff in Germany than to get a converter for each and every thing that you don't normally unplug. If you forget to use to converter there will be a shortcut and the thing you dragged over the Atlantic will only be fit for the trash. Check whether the housing provided by the US military on-base doesn't have 110 V. And if you take bedding (comforter's, pillows, linen, mattresses) take everything. European pillowcases do not fit US pillows and US matresses do not fit into EU-standard beds.  

Gas is very expensive in Europe (8 USD per galleon in the economy), so if you take a car across the Atlantic take the one that uses less gas. The smaller the better too. Nobody drives a pick-up truck or similar in Europe, except maybe companies in the construction business. If you got a pick-up truck this would be the car to get rid off.

You might also want to look at these questions:

http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index;...

http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index;...

Answer 4

Heidelberg is a very beautiful medium-sized city (approx. 175.000 inhabitants) nestled between hills and located on banks of the Neckar river. It has the oldest German unversity (established in 1386) and the world famous Heidelberg castle. About 1 million tourists visit the city every year because of the castle and the scenic promenade ("Philosophenweg") on the left side of the Neckar river. A lot of young people (mostly students) from all over the world live in Heidelberg.

The climate often is milder than in other parts of Germany e.g. the (almond) trees do blush earlier than in many other parts of Germany. Little snow in winter and a warmer and longer summertime.