Welcome to the Eifel Community!

Life in the Eifel area is fun, challenging, and mysterious to those who have never been here before. There are many questions about living in the Eifel area that we plan to answer here. Who are we? We are the community members who live in this area who wish to leave behind some valuable information to newcomers and others who live or will live here as well.

The first thing that many of us wonder when we discover that we are moving to the Eifel area is what the homes here are like. Information about living in Germany is not equally offered for smaller towns like it is in the larger cities, so everything found on this blog will pertain mainly to the eifel area unless specified. So, here are several common questions about the Eifel area:

Are the homes small?
Many homes in the eifel area are far larger than they are in the larger cities. This area of Germany is mostly country living, with wide open spaces between each town, and several rooms in each home. Do not worry about fitting your furniture into a house if you are moving here, it should be easy to accommodate your needs!

Are there closets in the rooms?
Unfortunately, there are no closets in most homes in the eifel. Some of the newer homes have them, though. If a house does not have a closet, large wardrobes are provided for your use, so clothing can still be hung up, and things can still be stored inside.

Most homes will have wardrobes instead of closets.

Do houses have air conditioners?
Unfortunately, keeping cool in the summer time involves purchasing several fans and eating plenty of popsicles.




Your summer savior


Is there central heating?
German homes are usually heated with special oil. They have what look like radiators in each room, but they are not the same. Giant vats of oil are stored in a special room in each house, and the heated oil is pumped into the "radiators" that have dials for adjusting the temperature as needed. All rooms have doors on them so that the heat can be sealed into each individual room, or it can keep a room that is not often used shut off so that it is not necessary to heat it as well.

Can we use our electronics?
All of the outlets in Europe are not the same as they are in the US. The EU uses 220v electricity, while the US uses 110v. Unless an item is dual voltage (check the item, it will have both 220v and 110v on it or 240v/120v), a transformer will be necessary to convert the electricity. However, if the items are dual voltage, a simple plug adapter can be used and it can be plugged into any outlet. Adapter plugs and transformers can both be purchased overseas, and two will be provided per household.

Are the kitchens the same size as they are here?
Unfortunately, living overseas will be an adjustment when it comes to cooking. Typically, German homes have small ovens, and the stovetops are harder to control the level of heat (they get very hot and take a long time to cool off) than the ones in the US. Most ovens here will not be large enough to bake things on large cookie sheets or pans. Fridges here also tend to be on the miniature side, so a full sized version is provided per household along with a microwave, both with 220 voltage.

Are the washers/dryers in Germany the same as they are here?
Although most washers and dryers in Germany are smaller, larger ones are also available for washing things like large comforters and blankets. When using German machines, the sizes of the washing loads need to be cut down in half in order to be properly cleaned. Detergents also need to be cut down with the wash cycles. Also, Germans typically do not dry clothes in machine dryers, they usually will air dry on special racks, or outside on laundry lines.

Photo by Laura Evans

What else is unique about German houses?
Windows overseas are set up differently than we are used to in the US. They have handles that twist to the side and the window will open like a door, and when the same handle is twisted upwards, the window will tilt inwards from the top. The outside of the windows has a special metal shade that can be lowered, blocking out the light quite efficiently. There is a pull inside the house that lowers and raises them.
Toilets are different as well. Most of Germany is environmentally conscious, so they have little water inside the toilets.

Recycling is the law here. All plastics, papers, lawn debris, and regular trash needs to be seperated. Each kind of trash has a different date in which it is to be put out for pickup. Also, several towns have trash pickup only twice monthly, and there are many with only one pickup per month. That means that plastics will be picked up once or twice a month, paper will be picked up once or twice a month on a different day, etc.

Cell phones, telephones, and internet are more expensive in Germany, but are available. T-Mobile has a monopoly out here, so there are limitations to services that do not exist in the States. Most people use prepaid plans to pay for their cell phones. A few cell phones can be used overseas that were used in the US, but be prepared to pay for a new phone when arriving here. To prevent high cost phone calls to the States, many people use Skype to talk with family back home, or Vonage.

If you have a question that you would like answered, please leave it in the comment section below.