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The Adventure is Over

 Greetings from Regensburg!

One thing has become clear, and that is our health insurance won't be accepted by the government here. When we asked them about international coverage, they told us (at least 3 different times) that we are covered. Fine and good, but they didn't tell us that no matter what the event, we have to pay up front and apply for reimbursement. That doesn't function here. It takes over 2 months for the reimbursement to reach us. I went to the doctor in late October, and I'm still waiting for the check to reach our mailbox. It has to be mailed to the address on record, which is then forwarded to our daughter in Colorado, who then mails it to us. The latest misadventure cost 5000 Euros, which is cheap, cheap, cheap by US standards, but what if there had been surgery or long term care? They won't let us stay when we could run into problems paying our medical bills quickly. 

Also, the US banking system, Social Security, state pension plan, etc. don't interface well with the European system.

So, our time here is coming to an end. We couldn't have anticipated all the financial issues. We love it here, even if we do feel frustrated at times with adjusting to the culture. We've become very attached to our brave little German/English speaking mission parish and the people in it. 

It's been an adventure, though, and even if it turns out that this whole scheme and dream has been one colossal mistake, it's something we've always wanted to do, and we got to do it. The part about retiring here was icing on the cake. At least we got the cake. 

Now we're considering trying to come back at the end of March, so we can still qualify for our state dividend program. Airfares are cheaper then, too. The only problem is digging our way in to the cabin. We will have to live in the cabin for the short term, but it is getting too hard in our older years to manage in a dry, unfinished, remote cabin. Coming to Germany was our solution. We could afford rent if we didn't have the cost of driving cars and car insurance. Groceries are way cheaper here, less than half the cost there. 

If we come back in March, we won't be finishing the language course. That's more money out the window (we're under contract), but at this point we're just going to cut our losses and run for home. Pat can't do the language course in his current physical state, and we're hoping they refund his portion. What can I do with German back in Alaska? 

I feel I'm a different person for having spent time in Germany. I'm sad to leave, but looking forward to rebuilding our lives in Alaska and being back at St. Herman's. 


Comments

  1. AnonymousDecember 22, 2023 at 6:36 PM

    So sorry Tabatha, I was enjoying your stay n Germany through your blog! It’s going to be so hard going back to your cabin. We have so much snow! Be of good cheer, when one door closes another one will open. It will be good to have you back.

    ReplyDelete

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