It's Better to Travel than Arrive?

"To travel hopefully is a better thing than to arrive"

Robert Louis Stevenson, Virginibus Puerisque, 1881.


"Robert Louis Stevenson speaks utter tosh and has

obviously never flown long haul economy class"

Kristy, first ever blog post, 2011.


Sunday, April 8, 2012

New Home + Dog = Friends!



Being an expat means you move around a bit.  We move around the world.  With our dog.  We bought Archie when we were living in the US and he now lives with us here in Germany.

Basically all of the friends I've made here are people I've met whilst out walking Archie (or at the barn).  Dogs tend to talk to other dogs and I end up talking to their owners.  There are certainly people here who don't speak any English, and that's great for me to practice my German, but many people do speak English and it's great to find some people to chat with in your own language - and I've made some lovely friends this way.

Without Archie forcing me to get up off the sofa and get out of the house to walk him (long walks, twice a day, no matter what the weather), I know that my life here would be very different and probably quite lonely.

One of the many challenges when moving around the world is that you're constantly living in rental accommodation, and that can have serious pros and cons.  One of the pros is that, after experiencing 8 different rental kitchens, I'm going to be able to design the most amazing kitchen ever when we get our own house!  One of the cons is that, depending on which country you're in, you're going to wind up in an apartment without a garden.

An apartment without a garden isn't really a problem if you don't have a pet, but with a dog, you're going to have to make some changes to the way you live.  We're lucky enough to have a garden so Arch can go out to go to the toilet, or lay in the sun, or chase the birds, whenever he wants to.

I found a great blog post here on how to manage with pets when you're living in an apartment that might help on your next move around the globe, or even just across town.

Check it out here:-



4 comments:

  1. Great blog Kristi, I couldn't agree more! Especially since I'm one of those friends that you met while walking Archie!
    Happy Easter to you and Archie!
    You'll find this blog hilarious if you have a moment, it's called Notes from a Dog Walker.
    http://notesfromadogwalker.com/

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Cool, I'm going to go and check it out now. Your blog on natural foods for dogs was great too, Archie had sweetcorn last night and baked beans this morning (with his normal dry kibble). Am waiting for the toxic dog farts to start in 3.2.1...

      Delete
  2. Great post...very helpful and informative. Love that Archie has introduced you to a lovely group of German friends!
    xo
    Sada

    Dressology HQ

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks babes! Honestly, without Archie my life here would be very lonely and very different indeed.

      Delete

Thanks so much for taking the time to read and comment!