I thought we’d talk a little about pocketbooks today.  You don’t have to be rich to get an apartment in two different countries.  In fact, you and your partner could be a start-up business owner and student.  (Not that you know of any two people with this combo!)  ;)

It really all comes down to the numbers, patience, and certainly some luck.

First off, here’s our number one secret:

For us, part of loving where we live is picking communities that cost less to live in.

I’ll be back with some thoughts on making the numbers line up in the US.  For now, here’s a little flashback to our apartment hunt in Germany.

(anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall)

Here’s some of the research we did when hunting for a home in Europe.  I hope you can take a few ideas from these tips:

1.  Choose an affordable city.

We actually considered Munich and Prague in addition to Berlin.  (Martin has family and friends in both cities.)  Every guide book I’ve ever seen talks about how Prague is the cheapest European city.  That information is outdated.  Martin and I used to afford meals on our college budget in the Old Square of Prague; now we pack a lunch.

I’m not even going to go into the cost of rent in Munich and Prague; we couldn’t ever afford it – even in the distant outskirts.  (We did not look into the communist-era concrete slab buildings like the third picture in this Prague Home Tour post; we considered apartments like our final choice in Berlin.)

(in Munich – wondering if this would be home)

Oh of course small towns are often cheaper than cities.  We already knew our other home would be rural America, and we knew that for me to best thrive in Europe, we needed a city where:

• I could connect with other native English speakers (the original reason I started Making This Home!),
• there were plenty of events and activities to get me out of the house (and out of my comfort zone),
• I could find language courses that were flexible, plentiful, and affordable,
• Martin could find a community of people interested in engineering

(small town Czech Republic – should this be home?)

2.  Research the community.

The most expensive neighborhoods aren’t the only safe places, the places with fun stuff, or places for an expat to thrive and take language classes.

3.  Factor in other living expenses like food.

Food is half as cheap in Germany as in the United States.  We pretty much eat only organic food in Germany because it tastes sooo good and is so cheap.  An organic kiwi is only 14 cents.  Here in the US, our grocery store sells them for 60-80 cents.

My father-in-law says it costs more to grocery shop in the US than to go to an awesome restaurant in Berlin.  He’s so right!

(buying rye bread and 65-cent treats in Berlin)

4.  Factor in other living expenses like transportation.

Those of you who have been with me for a while know, we’ve got a “two car garage” in Germany.  But it holds two bikes and not a single car.  Biking is a huge form of transportation in Berlin, and it’s very safe.  I personally love being car free.

Cars can be expensive; in Germany, they are really expensive.  So it’s just an idea… see how little you can get by with.

5.  Pick a home that’s the size you need.

That’s been a huge deal for us.  Utilities are lower in our 480 square foot home.  We buy less furniture.  We bring home less stuff.

(And the guilt of having a home that you’re not in becomes so much less, whether someone else is living there – as in our case – or not.)

6.  Only take on financial obligations as you can.

I don’t think you should ever deprive yourself of something you love.  It just might not make sense to have those things right away if they’re beyond your budget.  It’s all about rolling up your sleeves as much as you can comfortably do, right?

Moving to Europe made sense to us at the time.  We didn’t have pets; we didn’t have kids.  Sure we’d love to one day.  But since we sort of chose the…. oh what would you call this?… completely untraditional route as youngsters!  We have to take it slow.

It’s like that with any desires from kids to a new car.

7.  Have a plan for accommodating guests.

Guests are a regular thing.  Yet they’re not an everyday thing.

It didn’t make sense for us to get an extra bedroom that would only be used every so often, so we did the next best thing.  We splurged on a sofa bed.  Okay, maybe just our definition of splurge.

(a page from my {Love Where We Live} journal)

So that’s a piece of how we laid out a plan that could actually work.  Any thoughts or questions?  I’ll do my best to answer them all in the comments.

Where would your dream place be?

psssst… speaking of Berlin, I have a little secret to share with you on Wednesday!