expat - Porch & Peony

Top Tips For Finding An Apartment As An Expat In Germany

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As I mentioned in our 2022 year end review, this year Charlie and I are thrilled for the opportunity to live abroad as expats in Germany! While this process has been a bit of a roller coaster throughout the last two years (you can read about that journey HERE!), we finally are making plans for life in a new country and are taking steps towards that reality. In preparing for life abroad, one of our most exciting, yet slightly daunting tasks to accomplish, has been to figure out our housing. Thankfully, we are being moved with his company, so we do have help regarding shipping air freight, finding an apartment, getting a visa etc., which takes a huge amount of pressure off of the process. That being said, it is still a very involved process, so regardless if you are looking to move abroad with a company or entirely solo, these next tips are some of our favorites that we have found most helpful…

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Summertime Smoothies: 3 Great Smoothies To Enjoy All Season Long

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This post may include affiliate links in which we earn a commission, as we are supported by our users. All opinions expressed are always our own and any commissions earned are of no cost to you. Thanks for your support! Cold and refreshing. Sweet and filling. This summer, I have been absolutely loving fresh, homemade…

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Everyday Differences: 22 Things That May Surprise Americans In Germany

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This post may include affiliate links in which we earn a commission, as we are supported by our users. All opinions expressed are always our own and any commissions earned are of no cost to you. Thanks for your support! It is hard to believe that in just under a month, I will have been…

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25 Old World House Plans To Mix The Old With The New

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This post may include affiliate links in which we earn a commission, as we are supported by our users. All opinions expressed are always our own and any commissions earned are of no cost to you. Thanks for your support! Castles. Chateaus. Tudor. Classical. Neoclassical. French Provincial. Carved doors. Stained glass. Painted shutters … One…

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6 Months In Germany: Highlights, Transitions & Adventures Of Life Abroad

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This post may include affiliate links in which we earn a commission, as we are supported by our users. All opinions expressed are always our own and any commissions earned are of no cost to you. Thanks for your support! Happy Thanksgiving! Much like this black and white photo, life at the moment feels like…

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8 Great Ways To Use An Espresso Machine For More Than Just Espresso

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This post may include affiliate links in which we earn a commission, as we are supported by our users. All opinions expressed are always our own and any commissions earned are of no cost to you. Thanks for your support! I am not a coffee connoisseur. Don’t get me wrong, I love coffee, finding new…

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How To Make A Renter Friendly Gallery Wall With This Ikea Hack

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Since moving to Germany, I have experienced a million new things. New ways to buy groceries or pay bills. New travels and methods of transportation. But in the midst of all of this, I also have been learning how to live in an apartment. In the past, I have lived in rental homes and college dorms, but never had fully experienced apartment living with all of its glorious pros and cons. Not having a yard to mow or gutters to clean is both freeing and slightly saddening all at the same time, but on the whole, apartment life has been enjoyable. One of the most challenging aspects though (beyond the required stairs to our fourth floor apartment or the unique courtesy rules surrounding laundry and dishes), has been learning how to make a space that is cozy and personal without being permanent. How do you invest in a space to feel like yours knowing that it will only be for a couple of years and you want to cause as little damage as possible? Compared to the general standard of German living in which it is common to stay in the same apartment for decades, our stay looks incredibly temporary and we want to be sure we leave our apartment as nicely as we found it. Seeing this….

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Thrifting Finds Meet Ikea: Super Simple DIY Light Hack

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While there are many exciting things about life moving abroad, there are arguably just as many experiences (I prefer to call them adventures!) that would make most people say “this is not for me”. Through any move (whether abroad or in town), before you can reach the sightseeing, embracing culture and settling in stage, you first must go through the get lost, sleep on an air mattress and figure it out stage. Thankfully, with each step you take, you can see the vision on the other side of a settled home, family and friend visits and sweet daily moments. Currently, Charlie and I are taking baby steps moving from craziness to settled in, with some of the first steps being to find light fixtures. As I mentioned in my post a couple of weeks ago, Top Tips For Finding An Apartment As An Expat In Germany, most apartments (unless furnished) do not come with many light fixtures installed. This flexibility allows each tenant to install the lighting that he or she prefers, but coming from the US is still quite humorous to me. Thankfully, our apartment only needed 3 main light fixtures (some cans were already installed), as a few apartments that we toured needed over 15 (talk about an investment!)! Needing lights early on, we didn’t have time (or want the hassle) of scouring online or running all throughout the city. Seeing this, we paired thrifting finds with Ikea parts for a super simple DIY light hack for our dining room light fixture. Regardless of whether you are moving abroad, buying a house or simply wanting to mix up what you currently have, I hope that this DIY will inspire you to transform …

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