ᐅ Building Back from Urban Migration to the Countryside: Home, City, or Rural Property
Created on: 30 Mar 2018 12:18
N
Nordmanntanne
Dear Forum,
I have registered here and hope this is the right place for my question. I searched for a suitable platform for a long time, and this forum seemed the most fitting. I would like to share my situation and would appreciate as much feedback as possible:
My wife and I have been living in Frankfurt am Main for four years. We were both born nearby, about 60 to 70 kilometers (37 to 43 miles) outside of Frankfurt in a rural area. We both grew up there, and until finishing high school, it was never in question that we would one day build a house with a garden in our hometown (we both come from the same place). After high school (we were not yet a couple at that time), we both went out into the wider world. My wife studied in Cologne and Bonn, with semesters abroad in Rome, and I studied in Freiburg and Munich. After completing my doctorate in Berlin, I lived in Australia for a year. Now, we both live and work in Frankfurt am Main. We are both civil servants. My wife is paid according to grade A16, and I am at B3. Our financial situation is therefore quite comfortable. Our workplaces are conveniently located. My wife can walk to work, and I can get there quickly by public transportation. Our living situation is good as well. We have been living for four years in a large apartment (120m2 / 1,292 sq ft), which, however, also comes with a correspondingly high rent (basic rent about 2,200 euros). The apartment is spacious, but its layout means that while we can live here for two or three more years with our one-year-old child, eventually our child will need a "proper" separate room. I won’t go into more detail, but the fact is that we will need to move in two or three years.
Two years ago, we became owners of a plot of land in our hometown. It belonged to my wife’s grandparents, who bequeathed it to us. The plot is a dream: 900m2 (about 9,688 sq ft), located on the edge of a forest, with an unobstructed view of the valley, situated in a quiet dead-end street. It really doesn’t get better than that. Our hometown has about 11,000 inhabitants.
We have been constantly wondering if we should build there. Money is not a problem. We are torn. Our commute would be longer. The town has its own train station with connections to Frankfurt am Main. The train runs hourly. The travel time from the station to my workplace would be 55 minutes, for my wife 62 minutes. We both have free public transit passes. The station can be reached by bike from our plot in five minutes. Commuting would be quite an adjustment for both of us, but I think this is something we could get used to.
One concern is that since finishing high school – which was quite some time ago – we have not lived in our hometown. We visit our parents regularly, and many acquaintances have moved back after studying elsewhere. Life there is completely different from that in a big city. We are both worried about “shrinking” into the small-town life. You also don’t have the anonymity of a big city. On the other hand, for 2,200 euros, you could build a nice house there.
So we are torn between the old dream of having our own “nest” at home and the worry that, without meaning any offense, we have outgrown the hometown and might no longer fit in there. Also, the commute would be an adjustment. We are therefore wondering what to do with the land? Should we move within Frankfurt or build there? Selling is not an option for now, as we do not need the money. Money in the bank doesn’t do much anyway.
I would be grateful for any input!
Thank you
I have registered here and hope this is the right place for my question. I searched for a suitable platform for a long time, and this forum seemed the most fitting. I would like to share my situation and would appreciate as much feedback as possible:
My wife and I have been living in Frankfurt am Main for four years. We were both born nearby, about 60 to 70 kilometers (37 to 43 miles) outside of Frankfurt in a rural area. We both grew up there, and until finishing high school, it was never in question that we would one day build a house with a garden in our hometown (we both come from the same place). After high school (we were not yet a couple at that time), we both went out into the wider world. My wife studied in Cologne and Bonn, with semesters abroad in Rome, and I studied in Freiburg and Munich. After completing my doctorate in Berlin, I lived in Australia for a year. Now, we both live and work in Frankfurt am Main. We are both civil servants. My wife is paid according to grade A16, and I am at B3. Our financial situation is therefore quite comfortable. Our workplaces are conveniently located. My wife can walk to work, and I can get there quickly by public transportation. Our living situation is good as well. We have been living for four years in a large apartment (120m2 / 1,292 sq ft), which, however, also comes with a correspondingly high rent (basic rent about 2,200 euros). The apartment is spacious, but its layout means that while we can live here for two or three more years with our one-year-old child, eventually our child will need a "proper" separate room. I won’t go into more detail, but the fact is that we will need to move in two or three years.
Two years ago, we became owners of a plot of land in our hometown. It belonged to my wife’s grandparents, who bequeathed it to us. The plot is a dream: 900m2 (about 9,688 sq ft), located on the edge of a forest, with an unobstructed view of the valley, situated in a quiet dead-end street. It really doesn’t get better than that. Our hometown has about 11,000 inhabitants.
We have been constantly wondering if we should build there. Money is not a problem. We are torn. Our commute would be longer. The town has its own train station with connections to Frankfurt am Main. The train runs hourly. The travel time from the station to my workplace would be 55 minutes, for my wife 62 minutes. We both have free public transit passes. The station can be reached by bike from our plot in five minutes. Commuting would be quite an adjustment for both of us, but I think this is something we could get used to.
One concern is that since finishing high school – which was quite some time ago – we have not lived in our hometown. We visit our parents regularly, and many acquaintances have moved back after studying elsewhere. Life there is completely different from that in a big city. We are both worried about “shrinking” into the small-town life. You also don’t have the anonymity of a big city. On the other hand, for 2,200 euros, you could build a nice house there.
So we are torn between the old dream of having our own “nest” at home and the worry that, without meaning any offense, we have outgrown the hometown and might no longer fit in there. Also, the commute would be an adjustment. We are therefore wondering what to do with the land? Should we move within Frankfurt or build there? Selling is not an option for now, as we do not need the money. Money in the bank doesn’t do much anyway.
I would be grateful for any input!
Thank you
Consider this:
How often do you walk to Aldi?
Seriously though, every big city has its own neighborhoods and districts. It’s similar to rural areas, where being addressed by name is not a given.
Everyone is different: personally, I appreciate when a waiter recognizes me and knows that I drink a Pinot. I also make an effort so that the people from the Easter bonfire, with whom I share a beer informally, will still recognize me during everyday shopping tomorrow.
In this regard: my advice is above—try living there temporarily to find out whether the unfamiliar is intimidating simply because it is unfamiliar, or because it doesn’t suit you.
How often do you walk to Aldi?
Seriously though, every big city has its own neighborhoods and districts. It’s similar to rural areas, where being addressed by name is not a given.
Everyone is different: personally, I appreciate when a waiter recognizes me and knows that I drink a Pinot. I also make an effort so that the people from the Easter bonfire, with whom I share a beer informally, will still recognize me during everyday shopping tomorrow.
In this regard: my advice is above—try living there temporarily to find out whether the unfamiliar is intimidating simply because it is unfamiliar, or because it doesn’t suit you.
H
HilfeHilfe1 Apr 2018 06:08haydee schrieb:
Being close to family also has benefits, especially when it comes to children.
Civil servants don’t get 10 days of sick leave per parent for a sick child.
Can you get grandparents involved or take vacation?
That might offset the disadvantages of commuting. This works as long as the grandparents are still active. Our daycare is now open just 4 days a week. So we are managing as best we can.
H
HilfeHilfe1 Apr 2018 06:10aero2016 schrieb:
And a family can’t live on A16, or what? Ridiculous. Especially in this case, every possible combination can be imagined (he at home, she at home, both part-time, one part-time and one full-time, …). The financial argument doesn’t really apply here. Yes, I know things are different where you are. That’s fine, but it’s not an ideal situation either. Women also have the right instincts when it comes to taking care of children. Men often lack this and quickly become overwhelmed, especially when toddlers get sick. Women can handle it better! But I know you see it differently, and that’s okay too.
ypg schrieb:
No, seriously: every big city has its own neighborhoods and districts, just like rural areas where being addressed by name is not a given. Not long ago, I had a conversation with a taxi driver in Cologne. He said exactly the same thing. I’ve heard similar stories from acquaintances and friends living in big cities.
Many of them don’t really get to venture outside their own neighborhood. And then they want to tell you how great city life is (though they only know the street two blocks away), how amazing the cultural scene is (last theater visit was five years ago), how easy it is to get from A to B (by car it can easily take 30 minutes to cover 5 meters (3 miles)) and so on…
It really frustrates me when I have to do larger shopping trips. Despite having a supermarket right across the street, I end up carrying every single beer bottle for the next birthday party home on foot (because once I move my car from in front of the house, I won’t find a free parking space again for the next two weeks) and then carry the bottles up to the fourth floor. To me, that doesn’t feel like freedom!
If I were in your situation, I’d probably be the Excel spreadsheet type. Write down what you would like in a house and what you like currently. Create a decision matrix!
However… if your heart is set on a house in the countryside, you would already be seeing the advantages now.
Our son lives with his partner right in the center of Vienna, just a stone’s throw from the Ring, near the Hundertwasser House. Pros: No car needed. He doesn’t have one. Grocery stores around the corner. Other shops nearby as well. Thirty thousand pubs, wine taverns, and similar places close by.
Cons: Apartments are expensive. If you want to get out into nature, you always have to drive first. Ownership is unaffordable there. It’s not anonymous. Neighbors know each other.
Special note: This is a really clean, safe, and very polite big city. No comparison to Hamburg or even Berlin. Young people even offer me a seat on the tram. I felt really embarrassed. Karsten
Cons: Apartments are expensive. If you want to get out into nature, you always have to drive first. Ownership is unaffordable there. It’s not anonymous. Neighbors know each other.
Special note: This is a really clean, safe, and very polite big city. No comparison to Hamburg or even Berlin. Young people even offer me a seat on the tram. I felt really embarrassed. Karsten