No Ordinary Homestead

http://www.noordinaryhomestead.com

Living the sustainable life as an American expat in Germany with our two-year-old daughter, a "small" Newfoundland, two cats and an old farmhouse that we've been renovating ourselves.

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How We Became an Expat Family

What I Enjoy Most and Least About Where I Live

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What's the best thing you've done to make your family feel at home in your new community?

Tiffany Muehlbauer

Getting involved in the new community is really key. When you have kids that are school age, it's usually fairly easy for them to adapt because they get to make new friends and everything is new and exciting (which can also be a bit scary). But one of the best tricks we've found to quickly getting to know people around us is having a dog. Our Newfie is nearly 6 years old now, and we have met so many people in our neighborhood while out walking her. It's a lot of work to have a dog, but they certainly can make a huge impact when it comes to getting out there and bumping into people. Moving to a foreign country for months or years is a real test for a family; but one that hopefully only brings the family closer together. You really learn to communicate with one another and lean on each other in these difficult times, especially when you move somewhere that is non-English speaking. When we came to Germany, it was just my husband and myself. But getting over that hurdle of going to the grocery store myself or dropping off dry cleaning was tough. Those first few years of trying to learn a language are crucial. You've got to try to just dive into your new surrounding and culture head first, and soak up all of it that you can. Spend time as a family doing things together as often as you can, travel a bit and just make the most of it. Because chances are, you're not going to be living there forever. And you may just fall in love with the scary place! :)
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