German needed?? (San Antonio, Austin, New Braunfels: for sale, houses, job market)

[Sylvia Kilian]

I am an American citizen who has been living in Hamburg Germany for over 25 years (!) Along with my family we are looking at moving back to Texas during the next year. I am fluent in German and am looking at possiblities for jobs in the San Antonio / Austin, Texas area. I have a 10-yr old son so part-time jobs are also a possibility. My husband is a Physical Therapist/Massage Therapist and Personal Trainer. Any leads for him would be appreciated as well.

[majormadmax]

25 years in Germany? You are living my dream!

I don't think being fluent in Germany will be a big advantage in the job market down here...Spanish yes, but not really a lot of German speakers. That said, what kind of job are you looking for? You state your husband's occupation, but not yours.

With the vast number of gyms and the huge Medical Center, he should have some opportunities here. Just remember that the cost of living is low compared to most places, so salaries will be lower as well.

By the way, if you can fry up a killer schnitzel, then there are a few German restaurants around that need to hire you immediately!

Tschüss! M2

[Sylvia Kilian]

Thanks for the info. I work as an assistant to the coffee traders in a coffee trading house (buying and selling raw coffee beans) in Hamburg. Have done lots of secretarial jobs as well as some production work in advertising; even worked as a booker in a modelling agency. So anything along those lines would be a possibility. I understand that the cost of living is lower in SA but am wondering if he will be able to make a decent living from his line of work. I, of course, would need a job but am not the youngest......

You say I am living your dream, interesting!!! Would love to hear more from you, are you of German descent? Tschüss!

[CamaroGuy]

Originally Posted by Sylvia Kilian

Thanks for the info. I work as an assistant to the coffee traders in a coffee trading house (buying and selling raw coffee beans) in Hamburg. Have done lots of secretarial jobs as well as some production work in advertising; even worked as a booker in a modelling agency. So anything along those lines would be a possibility. I understand that the cost of living is lower in SA but am wondering if he will be able to make a decent living from his line of work. I, of course, would need a job but am not the youngest......

You say I am living your dream, interesting!!! Would love to hear more from you, are you of German descent? Tschüss!

Say Sylvia, do you know any single German women in their mid 30s? I'd love to meet one.lol:-)

[majormadmax]

Sylvia

I was born in Frankfurt, and my mother is from Würzburg. My father met her when he was stationed there with the US Army. We lived there for a few years after I was born, came back to the States, the moved back to the Mannheim area for a while when I was a youngster. I later joined the USAF and was lucky enough to be stationed there 95-99, at Ramstein Air Base near Kaiserslautern. I also have an uncle and a few cousins on my mother's side who still live there. I get back as much as I can, usually for work. Last year I got to go to Stuttgart and Garmisch; but given the choice I would move back. Maybe when my kids are out of the house (we also have a 10-yr-old son, and a 7-yr-old boy as well)and my wife wants to live overseas again (we also were stationed in Belgium for three years after Germany. Additionally, she lived overseas a lot before we met, and I was stationed in the UK prior to getting married as well, so we've both spent a considerable amount of our lives outside of the US).

I love Germany, the food, the culture, and of course, the beer! I love to go on Volksmarches, just hiking and mountain biking on the wanderwegs, exploring castles, and of course climbing the mountains when I can. I feel more at home there than I do in the States.

However, that said, there is a lot of German culture in this part of Texas, especially in places like New Braunfels and Fredericksburg. Plus, this is Texas, practically a country by itself!

I am not sure how the salaries are for you husband's line of work, I just would expect there to be a lot of jobs with the huge medical center and the large number of gyms here. You should be able to find work as well, administrative skills can be used almost everywhere. Age shouldn't be a factor, actually by law in the US it cannot be; but we all know that sometimes companies can get around that by coming up with another reason not to hire someone. Still, there are a lot of opportunities in San Antonio and with the lower cost of living and abundance of houses for sale at the moment, it may end up being a good time to move here.

Tschüss! M2

[Sylvia Kilian]

Thanks for the update and sorry for replying so late but it took me a while before I figured out how this site works i.e., didn't see your answer sooner!

Well, everyone has their own ideal life. I chose Germany because I fell in love with a German. I was born and raised in SA and am of Hispanic descent so SA is a good start because I still have friends and family there. It may not be exactly where we will want to stay though. I love Austin, California and Colorado.

I appreciate your input and will try to stay positive about the job market. I just wish I could be able to use my German to beef up my salary as a bi-lingual secretary/assistant. Believe it or not, my Spanish is pretty poor. I understand a lot but my parents focused on us speaking English so that we would not have a hard time in school (as they did) so my Spanish will need a lot of work to get it up to the level of my German.

Will stay in touch and when in SA will contact you if you are interested.

[42JetSet]

I just saw some jobs on Craig's List (San Antonio) for German Linguists. Might be interesting!

[imaterry78259]

Hey , give my lady a call , born and raised in Bremen

[gun peeters]

hi sylvia,read yr msg but deleted it by mistake (was in my junk folder) when i wanted to keep it.gun (malaga)don´t even know if yr gonna get this...

[zhugeliang1]

Maybe you can teach German in high school or college.