Hi-ho, stone's throw: it's off to work we go.
We were living responsibly before. Now we’ve out-German’d the Germans. Let me explain.
Life in Germany is on a much more micro scale than life in the United States. There are no back yards – just the neighbor’s shared wall. There is no free parking – just on the Monopoly board. And there are no cars for those of us on a budget.
That means that one must put a lot more thought into getting around: going to the store is a commitment, going out for the evening requires developing an exit strategy, and getting to work… well, you live as close to work as possible.
That’s why we’ve moved just across the street from Unterwegs. Forget near campus, this is campus-on! Our previous apartment was 15 minutes to Unterwegs by foot – the new one is 5. Perhaps it is an exaggeration to say that our new place is a stone’s throw away from the campus house – but with a strong arm and a running start from our kitchenette on the fourth floor, you could definitely get within a couple meters.
Are there other benefits? Sure. We save a couple hundred bucks a month on rent. That’s just fiscally sound. We’re right around the corner from the grocery store. That saves us time as well as money.
But our new place keeps us on the scene, easy to reach and ready to react. Campus ministers available 24/7: that’s worth supporting.