. . . we still don't know. Our local HR guy came back with preliminary answers to some of my tax and salary questions while we were away for the weekend; the biggest issue is that yes, should we stay in Hamburg for longer than six months, we'd have to pay back taxes on the six months we've already been here. So that might put the kibosh on the whole deal right there, since we don't have reserve funds for that kind of thing (our time here isn't the typical cushy expat deal: except for airfare and some shipping and storage expenses, we're paying for everything). However, it might yet be possible to juggle things around enough that we can stay for longer; I've got a one-on-one meeting with Mr. HR on Friday where we'll look at my situation in more detail.
I really like Germany -- a fact that tends to get lost in the day-to-day of work, but something I'm able to appreciate again after a little vacation. I'd like to stay longer if we could; it seems pretty clear that this might be our last best chance to do so. On the other hand, on a day like yesterday, when that other number I watch (besides the Dollar-Euro exchange rate) puts in a decent performance, the thought of going back to California and buying a house -- our own house! -- beckons pretty strongly, too.
It may be hard to choose between our choices, but I have to say that I think we're pretty fortunate to have the options that we do.
Posted by Kevin at June 3, 2004 09:24 AM