Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
Thanks so far for the great input and ideas.
BC and AB look like options I can investigate. I will also try and look more into the Mennonite community and see if there is a community organization that could provide input for me. I have looked previously into the Mormons and while I like their concepts, I had a problem with reconciling the circumstances of the angel appearing to Joseph Smith and showing him the tablets but not giving him the tablets, so there was no proof of the meeting. The answers I received didn't hold water for me at the time and it was a deal breaker for me. Perhaps I could look again now that I have more experience. I already don't drink alcohol but the warm beverage abstinance (coffee) would be a hard one for me also, hence the mennonite community would probably have fewer obstacles for me and my family.
Regarding Community-minded and individuality-minded....my mind is probably warped by my current environment where people do not look at you and avoid eye contact when you walk down the street....if you try and talk to most people on the street (for example to ask directions) they will frequently pretend they do not hear you and keep on walking. If you try to organize an event at school or join an organized event at school, few parents will join the event (except for the foreign born parents). Specifically, in the school where my daughter attends 3rd grade in Germany, there was a sign up sheet to volunteer for building science projects and 2 parents from each of the 10 classrooms was requested to signup (20 parents). There were 5 parents which signed up and many classrooms had no volunteers. I could provide other similar examples.
Regardless of whether this falls under Community minded or individuality minded, I would like to avoid communities in the future that exhibit this lack of acknowledgment and lack of participation in community events.
Regarding the special services for my son with Down Syndrome, I guess when he was small this was a bigger factor. Now the main special service he receives are braces for his teeth and orthopedic inserts for his shoes. The most beneficial thing for his personal happiness at this point appears to be time outside in fields with animals like dogs or horses where he can ride his bike and shoot pretend star wars phasers at anybody or anything who poses an imaginary threat. The point is, he probably would do better in a rural environment where there is space to play outside rather than in a big city where there are lots of doctors but no place to play.
I will try and contact the mennonite community here in Germany and ask if they can point me in the direction of BC or Alberta communities so that I can look at the jobs in those areas. The other option is to look for something in the Washington state/Oregon/Beaverton area and then investigate the BC or Alberta communities more. The challenge is probably going to be finding a job for me, a special school for the son and a good school for the 9 year old daughter within reasonable distance of each other.
Okay, I hope you find what you are looking for. It sounds like religion is fairly important to you so you might be more comfortable in a Mennonite area than a Mormon area, since Mennonites practise traditional Christianity but encompass a wide variety of Christian practises and it sounds like you might be looking for a church community. Look into Abbotsford, BC. And I also know of many people from here who moved to Kelowna, BC. Kelowna always strikes me as a place where everyone is from somewhere else though. I don't know how much community spirit there is.
I know more about Manitoba but I suspect that the climate isn't something that would appeal to you. We have a large number of Russian and German-Russian immigrants here, and many of them remark favourably on the difference between living in Germany versus here for the same reasons you've described.
Last edited by netwit; 08-15-2014 at 12:23 PM..
Reason: Typo
I don't know if Bielefeld in Nordrhein-Westfalen is near where you are but there is a strong community of Soviet Mennonites there. I can't say if they are friendly or not on the basis of what you have experienced but you might find some kind of faith community there that is of some sort of comfort to you while you are in Germany. I have relatives there myself. http://gameo.org/index.php?title=Bie...falen,_Germany)
They are, and to their credit, they won't try to convert you. (They leave that to missionaries from Utah.) They are good friends and neighbours; very community-minded, and pleasant people to know. Note that I live in southern Alberta, where we have a high concentration of Mormons.
However, at times, they do seem to hold a larger-than-justified power over local affairs. The local MP (a Mormon) seems to have been nominated and elected by fellow Mormons, based on his church affiliation; and he did not make many friends by ignoring non-Mormon voters during the campaign for the last federal election. Certain areas hereabouts are "dry," as Mormons prohibit alcohol and don't want it in their communities, even for non-Mormons. And some local companies run by Mormons won't hire you unless you are Mormon (they keep quiet about that, but we all know it happens).
Overall, Mormon communities are welcoming and will leave you alone as regards your religion, but they would prefer it if you played by their rules. JMHO, anyway.
Totally agree. I grew up Roman Catholic was in our teen group at church. We arranged a meeting with Mormon teens to talk about religion etc, both sides did not try to convert each other LOL.
In fact some of us ended up going to the Mormon teen dances on several occasions.
Totally agree. I grew up Roman Catholic was in our teen group at church. We arranged a meeting with Mormon teens to talk about religion etc, both sides did not try to convert each other LOL.
In fact some of us ended up going to the Mormon teen dances on several occasions.
Funnily enough, the only Mormons I have ever met to my knowledge were two Mormon missionaries in eastern Germany. I believe there is a very small Mormon community in Winnipeg.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
