Into the fire!

Things are starting to get serious. It's now just 1 month and 29 days until we move. Stress levels are rising, and things are starting to happen at a much faster pace. Memories of 2015, when we had months to plan are now but a distant memory. It just got real folks. 

Apartment hunting. 

Next week we'll find ourselves in Vienna, looking for that perfect apartment. So far we have a few to visit, all found by our tame estate agent (or Makler) Wolfgang Gerzabek. He's been sending a steady stream of apartments though for us to consider. We'll take what we can, so we're not that fussy right now. 

Getting an apartment isn't as easy as it sounds. In theory, we go see an apartment, like it, agree to pay the requested rent, pay our deposit, sign the paperwork and we're done. In reality though, it's a bit more complicated. The first hurdle is convincing the landlord that we're worthy of the apartment. tenants in Vienna are protected by plenty of laws, so the landlord wants to make sure you'll pay the rent and not cause any trouble. If you're self employed, things are a little more difficult. We'll find out how much more difficult next week.

The next issue is that the rent as defined in the advert is a little more 'fluid' than you think. As a plus this allows you to negotiate a discount or a months free rent if you need to do any work. As a minus, other parties interested in the same apartment can offer to pay more than the specified rent, leaving you in a bidding war if you're not careful, and without an apartment if you don't want to play the game. 

Third up is the commission.  Wolfgang is entitled to two months rent plus 20% for his trouble. You can of course find apartments that are 'provisionfrei' with no commission, but you have to be fast to find them. They'll often go within a day of hitting the market. Using a estate agent is costly, but worth it, we hope! Commission isn't the big issue though, it's the deposit. Some apartments ask for two months rent as a deposit whilst others ask for up to six months. There's no hard and fast rule, but the deposit has to be listed in the listing. 

If we're lucky, we'll get a place, sign the paperwork and be back in the UK in time for next weekend. If we're unlucky, well it's going to be a long week ahead. 

The Brexit factor. 

The EU referendum is a very complicating factor right now. It's possible that if the leave side win, we could see an immediate closing of the border on June 24th. It's just one of the possibilities that are doing the rounds here. Most agree that invoking article 50 of the Lisbon treaty would lead to two years negotiation on the UK's withdrawal. In that time, the current rules would remain in place, meaning we could move and hope the politicians sort out what they need to. It's not ideal and it does come with the risk of having to leave Austria after that two years. But there's also the option of leaving immediately. Much like ripping a plaster off, the idea is that the short term disruption will be a small price to pay to begin again. If that happens, we could find ourselves out of pocket, loosing our deposit and needing a plan B as we still have to move come July 30th. Worse, the 2 million Brits who live abroad and let's be honest, haven't really been thought about by the leave campaign at all really, could find themselves forced to return to the UK, horrendously out of pocket. Will the government pay to help with they're relocation? I'm guessing not. 

Now in theory, the aptly named Vienna convention could protect the many Ex pats. It basically says that people can't be affected by changes such as the removal of free movement as the previous treaty agreement will stay in force. That'll protect those living abroad, but not those who have yet to move. 

In 24 days, we'll find out. 

Playing the Man, not the ball.

It's just around 6 weeks until the UK's referendum on leaving the EU. For the love of God, shoot me now and end to end the madness. I hate to voice my own political opinions with anyone, as it's a great way to loose friends and annoy people, but the referendum has me feeling the need to 'blow off steam'. So here goes. 

Wanted: facts. 

The title of this post is taken from and old footballing phrase relating to a foul. Playing the man, not the ball kind of sums up the various referendum campaigns at the moment. It's become a familiar pattern from both sides. It goes like this.

1. Side A brings out a statistic that can't quite be proved, but offers a point of discussion. 

2. In Response, side B the retaliates by claiming the person who made the announcement on side A is delusional. The key is to ignore the talking point entirely. 

3. Now side B releases a list of some guys on their side.

4. Side A immediately attack the side B spokesman, but says nothing about the list. 

5. And repeat ad nauseam.  

It's really annoying, and at the minute, the leave campaign seem to be the worst offenders. What we need are facts. So far the Leave campaign have failed to come up with a good explanation of what life after a no vote whole be like. We've been told we could have a relationship with the EU like Canada, or Norway, or Albania, or Switzerland or.....and so it goes on. To date, no definitive plan on this has been put forward, which makes it hard to vote for something that's undecided. 

Then there's the Single market itself. Apparently we'll have full access to the single market, but not pay in, or have free movement, or indeed be bound by their rules. Which is odd, given that those three things seem to be non negotiable.  Then again, Vote Leave Co-Chairman Michael Gove has said we not even need access to the single market. Hmmmmm. Again, there's no clear 'we will do this, this is our plan' type of thing from Vote Leave. Instead, depending on who is speaking, the idea seems to wander around from WTO rules to others and back again.

Vote Leave aren't the only ones being a bit fanciful. Better Together have been up there with the rhetoric. For the most part, the In campaign should have an easier job. The argument is simple, stay as we are. But it would be great if the in campaign could highlight a positive now and again. Most of the campaign has focuses on the economic risks of a No vote. It's a pretty good argument, as leaving would absolutely cause some form of disruption to the UK economy and the European on at that. But every time you hear the figures, they've gone up. It's something along the lines of this.

Hi, here's a £1. 

Thanks.

It's a good thing gave you that £2.

What?

That £5 will see you good. 

Hang on.

So that £10 is great, right. 

But...

Yeah £20 is fantastic. 

And it continues. After all, who doesn't need £50. 

Perhaps the biggest miscalculation on the stay side has been David Cameron's claims that leaving the EU would bring about WWIII! He was obviously looking to play up the peace that the EU has brought since WWII, But by damn he ran with it and now if we leave, it's going to be the actual 'end of the world' 

Spectre's of WWII.

World War 2 was inevitably going to be dragged into the debate at some point. Last week began with both sides arguing over who could claim Winston Churchill, with Churchill's own grandson claiming that the Wartime prime minister he would be on the 'in' side. But the biggest blunder of the week goes to prominent No Campaigner, Boris Johnson. He invoked Hitler, along with Napoleon, as examples of attempts to forge a united single Europe, albeit with different methods than the EU. It matters not of course whether Boris had a point. Comparing the EU and Hitler is always going to end badly. The Spectre of genocide is ever present with Hitler's name and to say that EU has 'similar aims' will inevitably draw criticism. Alarmingly, several Leave campaigners have rallied behind Boris, insisting his comparison was 'historically accurate' in terms of a Single european state. It matters not what the point was, Hitler should stay dead and far away from the debate at hand. 

Far more to come. 

June 23rd is still a long way away, and the next few weeks are going to see the campaigning ratchet up and up. With the poles currently sitting at 50/50, the only thing certain is that come June 24th there are going to be a lot of unhappy people. I fear the chaos won't end after the result either. 

Uncertain certainty.

Does anyone remember 'Spy vs Spy'? I do. It was a silly game made for the seamaster system way back in the 90's. Based on the comic strip of the same name, spy vs spy was a game where the black spy would set up traps for the White spy to fall victim to. Of course whilst the black spy was busy, the White spy was also setting traps for his counterpart. The two spent hours trapping each other. 

 Spy verses Spy on the old Sega Master system 

I mention spy vs spy because the battle for the upcoming European referendum feels a bit like the White spy and the black spy setting traps for each other. The referendum campaign has barely begun and yet each side is laying out the case for in or out. It's still four months until the vote on the 23rd of June, but already, the campaign is covering every media outlet. 

It's no surprise that the referendum conjures up strong feelings amongst some, but what's really interesting is the tone. Fear. The 'No' campaign have already set out their stall, dubbing the 'in' campaigns strategy as 'Project Fear'. They claim the prime minister, head of the 'in' campaign, is using fear of the uncertainty to scare the British public into voting 'remain'. They have a point, but not the high ground. Just this week, the no campaign unleashed an ex army general has told one newspaper that the UK 'would be safer' outside the EU. This hot on the heels of out campaigner Ian Duncan Smith's claim just 24 hours after the announcement of the referendum date that being in the EU 'makes us more suspetable to a Paris style Attack'. So clearly the No campaign are happy to feed on people's fears, as long as it's the right fears. 

From my point of view, well it's all very sad and depressing, not least because a No vote would scupper our plans to move. We could find ourselves living in Vienna only to be told to apply for a visa due to change in the UK's relationship with Europe. Without that 'right to free movement', two million Brits living and working abroad could find themselves on the wrong side of the wall. More annoyingly, I've just succumbed to the same fear the campaigns are using. 

It's incredibly disappointing that no positives are being used to aid the 'in' campaign. It seems that as far as the British public is concerned, the last forty years of Eu membership have just been a living nightmare. Perhaps it has, though living in Wales it's hard to say if the EU has had any effect on us at all. Perhaps that's the issue. Today it was revealed that 150 local bank branches have been shut in Wales during the last 5 years. That's not the EU's fault. Yet you ask people in the effected valley's what's they're biggest issues, and most will blame Europe and immigration. 

The funny thing is that Wales recieves £1.6 billion from the EU for economic growth. A lot of Lynda's work with the after school clubs has been funded via the EU money, our niece has an apprenticeship that's completely funded by the EU. The people of Ebbw Vale have also benefited from the EU with funding for the reopening of the Ebbw Vale train line. But the perception is that the EU gives us nothing but trouble. 

A great example is the fuss over providing child benefit to families not living in the UK. The basic complaint seem legitimate. Say a Romanian man comes over to work in the UK under the 'Free movement' rules. He's entitled to of course. Now because he has a family back in Romania, he claim child benefit for the three kids there, sending that money home, which is a veritable windfall compared to a standard wage. On the surface it's annoying. The U.K. Is paying for children not in country. So in an effort to solve the problem, the U.K. Government wanted to change the law to stop migrants being able to claim. No no, says the EU, that's illegal. Cue the condemnation of Europe for interference.

Here's the thing though, Germany doesn't allow for child benefit to be paid to non resident children. Nor do a few others. So why is the EU meddling with the U.K? What's actually the issue has to do with the rules on benefits for all EU migrants. An EU citizen cannot be treated differently in any country in Europe's own citizens. So if you live in Germany, the Germans don't restrict their benefits to a Romanian, just because their Romanian. Getting back to the UK, to solve the problem, all we have to do is to change the rule that would stop child benefit being paid to children of British citizens who aren't in country. Do that and the EU has no issue. So why hasn't it been changed? Perhaps it's better to blame the EU rather than fix the issue. Really why are we annoyed if a Romanian does something elite get child benefit paid to a child not in country, but not annoyed if a British citizen does the same thing? Both are stupid ideas and the issue is quick to fix. 

And that brings us back to our spies above. Both spies are fighting each other, yet no one has stopped to see what the fight is about. Instead, the next four months will be all about fear and uncertainty. The phrase scaremongering is going to be a big part of the run up to June, and it appears to be working. 

Reason to move #238. The Rhondda and the rain.

January is a strange time. The Christmas celebrations seem like a distant memory, whilst the return to work feels like a nightmare that you can't wake up from. In Wales, the weather is inevitably nasty and it's difficult to motivate yourself to almost anything. However, in our part of what is affectionately called 'God's own acre', there's a horror that quite frankly, I could do without. The Rhondda on a cold, wet night. 

From the film of 'how green was my valley' to the song 'if I could see the Rhondda one more time.' This valley is perhaps the poster child for valley's life in general. Happy coal miners and salt of the earth folk fill the descriptions of Wales and it's valley's. It's all a lie. Today the valley may be green, but it sure isn't idyllic. Indeed, the gentleman from the song above may wish he'd died before he got to see the Rhondda on a cold, soggy January day.

In fairness the Rhondda is full of lovely people and great scenic views if you drive out of the valley to the mountains. But the towns like Treorchy, Porth and Maerdy are all in decline. Just yesterday, Treorchy and Porth lost their HSBC branches, leaving people from the tops of the valley's to travel down to Pontypridd to do their main banking. It's a trip of around an hour or more for some. There's no heavy industry left here and with an aging population, little money in the local economy to keep the plethora of small businesses afloat. Currently the most common new business started here is that of the Tattoo parlours, often staffed by people like the self proclaimed 'legendary' Lee Tattoo. It's a sad story. 

Treorchy on a January evening. 

In the winter, even getting to the Rhondda from home is a tricky prospect. There are just 4 main ways into the valley itself. Three of which involve mountain roads. Two of those mountain roads are accessible to us, with the closest taking us into the main Rhondda Fawr valley. The mountain road is treacherous in winter. If it snows, the road can be closed, and quickly. But while the snow can make things slippery on the top, in the wind and the rain, the road becomes incredibly tricky to navigate. Having worked in the Rhondda for almost 10 years, I know the road like the back of my hand, which really helps when the cloud comes low over the mountain and you can't see more than a few meters ahead. It's best not to think about the sheer drops climbing out of the rhondda that sit just to the left, nor to consider the massive drop as you crest the peak before heading down to home. 

Somehow, I think that had this road been in Austria, they would have tunnelled through the mountain, creating quick access to the valley and providing a road that's open all year. 

So for that reason alone, I can't wait to move. After 10 years of driving over the mountains, I'm ready to leave it all behind and let the trams take the strain. 

Happy New Year, prepare for action!

It's a new year and with the memory of the Christmas turkey already fading into background, it's time to take action. This is it people. This is not a drill. The move is on.

Over the last 18 months, things have had a habit of going wrong. It seemed everytime we announced a date to move, something would happen to throw that plan to the wind. From an original date of May 2015, the move continued to slip as one thing or another came up to spoil the party. In the end, the whole move was almost called off. 2015 proved to be a very trying year and one I personally will be glad to see the back of. 2016 offers a fresh start and finally a date set in stone. 

Date and time um, time. 

With all that was said above, I've been a little reticent to announce a new date having seen so many fall by the wayside. The time has come though to let you all in on the secret. Why is this date different? Put simply, as readers of previous post will know, things have been booked. The van is ready to go, the eurotunnel crossing is sorted as are the hotels needed along the route. Finally, the flight I need to take to get back to Vienna is bought and paid for, so we're committed, and the fun starts on July 30th! 

Yup Saturday July the 30th we pick up the van, load it up and head off to Folkestone to stay overnight, before setting off for Frankfurt on the 31st before arriving in Vienna on August the 1st 2016. Then I get a day off on the 2nd before jumping in the van and driving it back to the UK and finally catching my flight back on the 5th. It's six days, 2200 miles and a lot of food on the go. I expect it to be exhausting, exhilarating and it'll take a toll, but so worth it. 

Pre move madness. 

With the date and time set, we've now started the process of moving. We have just about 7 months and although it sounds like a lot, it really isn't. In that time we need to sell of the stuff we're not taking, pack up the stuff we're not using right now, but taking with us, and try to work out what just needs to go in the bin. Then we have to visit Vienna about six weeks before we arrive to try and get an apartment, for which we have our own estate agent, a lovely guy called Wolfgang, who will take us to viewings and hopefully we can agree a lease. And all this has to be done whilst still working and saving. The next seven months is going to be tough. For now, it's New Year's Day, and I'm going to enjoy the New Year's Day from Vienna. And as a parting picture, here's what we're working for. 

So happy new year, hopefully it'll be as interesting as ours. :)

Frohe Weihnachten! Christmas in Vienna.

With the festive period fast approaching, last week we found ourselves enjoying a taste of next year in a very cold Vienna. For various reasons, we had to finish off the year with one last holiday, and Vienna seemed a natural choice. (Well it would I suppose!). So on a very foggy Sunday, we arrived, friend in tow, at Vienna for a little Christmas break. 

It's often said that the Americans know how to 'do Christmas' and there's a lot of truth to that. The Austrians however, really go to town for Christmas and it wasn't to long until we found ourselves enjoying a Christmas market. In recent years, German style Christmas markets have been all the rage in the UK. So much so that two years ago, there was a lot of concern in Germany that they didn't have enough stall holders to fill their markets as most were heading to the UK. In Vienna however, there are markets everywhere. Food and drink go hand in hand with traditional gifts, Christmas decorations and plenty of music to boot. 

Christmas punch is the first thing you'll find and every market has a stall that will offer you a hot cup of punch, Glühwein or just a hot chocolate (with optional rum of course). These stalls litter Vienna and you'll find many of them run by the Rotary club or other charitable foundations. You buy your drink of choice, which comes in a lovely Christmas mug that you can keep, or return for your deposit back. 

From drink to food, or more correctly, sugar. Sweet treats are everywhere and delicious. From Giant gingerbread hearts with iced slogans to the deliciously deadly 'Krapfen' or giant doughnut, or even the huge shortbread delights, giant pretzels and slabs of strudel, if you like sugar, come and get it. For something more savoury, try the various Wursts in bread or my favourite, some gulash soup, served in a whole hollowed out loaf of bread. 

If food and drink aren't your thing , then you'lol enjoy the various gifts and things on offer. Here though, it depends on what 'type' of market you visit. The first Christmas market we visited was set around St. Stephan's cathedral in the centre of Vienna. It was filled with tradional style gifts, like wooden toys, hand made leather bound journals (I small fetish of mine), beautiful Christmas decorations from Salzburg, Vienna and the Tirol and so much more. 

In contrast, the huge market at the Rathaus was very commercial, with everything from perfumes to watches, music to skiing holidays in sale. Somehow the first market felt so much better.  

The trip also featured a few visits to some new sights, like the beautiful State hall library and the revolving restaurant near the United Nations, the Danube tower. The trip was only spoiled slightly when on the last day, our lift broke down, meaning we had to carry our luggage from the 6th floor (the 8th for Lynda as she hadn't managed to get in to the lift in the first place. Then the lockers at Wien Mitte were out of order, meaning we had nowhere to put our luggage and explore the city on the last day. Still the trip was worth it and it provided us an opportunity to meet an estate agent, ready for next year. More on that in the new year, for now, merry Christmas, Frohe Weihnachten, and a happy new year to everyone.

Winding down for Christmas.

It's that time of year where thoughts turn to family, food and festiveness. Following the horrific attacks in Paris, maybe this year we'll hold those loved ones a little closer than normal and perhaps be that little more thankful for what we have.

Christmas also marks a winding down for us. Lynda's work comes to a stop by the second week of December whilst I usually work over the Christmas period as magazine deadlines come early in the new year. This year however, that winding down process is a little more pronounced than normal. 

With the moving date now set in stone, a strange malaise has settled over the house. We've started 'considering' purchases. Things we'd have picked up or repaired previously suddenly become a source of much soul searching and discussion. Having that fixed date has changed everything. 

Here's a great example. In our bedroom, we have a nice candlelight style ceiling light. It takes five energy saver bulbs. At the moment, two of those bulbs have stopped working. Now normally we'd pop to IKEA, pick up a pack of two replacement bulbs and change out the broken ones. However, now we question 'whether it's worth it'. The three working bulbs still provide enough light when we need it, so why bother replacing them? The same goes for poor Harley. A rusty wheel arch now stand no chance of getting repaired. 

Even Christmas isn't safe, with both Lynda and Myself asking for some types of gift not to be given, to save packing them up later in the year. It's very strange. Another great example happened just this Sunday. It was our 15th wedding anniversary and I got a cracking little gift from Lynda. A collectors figure from the Watchmen. (The 15th anniversary says its the crystal/watch anniversary.). The figure is great, but with the move coming , I'm leaving the figure in its box and it'll be packed up this week into a bigger box. 

It's not just physical things that are getting short shrift. We're under a year away from moving so no new contracts for phones or Internet or anything else being taking out. It's weird. It's almost like we've 'checked out' already. The body may be in the UK, but our heads are firmly in Vienna. 

Next year promises to be interesting. Certainly it'll be different. Keeping with our winding down theme, there's the planning of next years summer holiday. Christmas is traditionally the time when I book the summer holiday, sort out hotels and all that. Obviously, the big summer holiday isn't happening as cash and resources are diverted to van hire and crazy stuff. So like everything else, the wind down is changing everything. 

With the clock ticking down, the amount of crazy will only increase. Fortunately, we have a little break booked just before Christmas to unwind and prepare for the year ahead. And where are we going? Vienna, where else? 

Jess