My husband and I are PCSing to Spangdahlem AFB.?

Question

I understand that the housing office will have everything we need to find a house but I want to look now. I would like to know, what are some of the best villages to live in and how do I find accomidations online? Also, how is the internet fast/slow, cheap/expensive? Any other advise or suggestions would be much appreciated, we are moving in May.

Thanks :)

Answer 1

I only know the area from driving through - it is a very rural area, no real cities close enough to live there, so you'll have to pick a small town or village.

Try to establish contact with people currently at the airbase to ask which areas to avoid.

http://www.immobilienscout24.de is the standard real estate website in Germany - but it's only in German.

The other common source people use is the classifieds of the local newspapers. http://volksfreund.immowelt.de seems to be one of them - also in German only.

I checked about internet availbility - because it can be a problem in rural areas.

As far as I can see, you can be optimistic about fast internet connection (broadband); but it can differ from village to village - and sometimes even from street to street - so you'll always have to check in advance.

The most common (though not necessarily always the cheapest way) is to have your phone connection with Deutsche Telekom; they'll charge you a monthly fee just for the privilege to be their customer (around 20 Euros?), plus extra for all the phone calls you make [you can, however, use special pre-dial calling numbers to be connected via other companies and save money, for example when calling to the US; just ask your colleagues, they'll know]; after the phone is installed, you have to do an extra internet broadband contract (DSL), which you can have with Deutsche Telekom, or any other company (there are a few); DSL is charged as a flat rate, so you pay once a month, and not for each time you use the internet. The basic DSL speed is 1000 kbit/sec., but 2000 are regarded as the minimum nowadays and many companies offer different contracts with speeds between 2000 and 16000 kbit. In rural areas, however, your choice in speed may be very limited. Basic flat rate DSL contracts for 2000 kbit/sec. will cost you between 20 and 30 Euros per month, depending on what company you choose, and which special offers there might be.

On top of that are installation costs and costs for special hardware you might need - most companies try to lure you into more expensive contracts for speeds far higher than you really need, and will offer in exchange to give you installation for free....

Alternatively, some cable TV providers offer telephone & internet in connection with a cable TV contract; but I doubt that German TV would be all that interesting for you....