12 June 2009

Ch-ch-ch-changes!!!

I am moving!! Not my blog, but actually me. My transfer was awarded to our Frankfurt base, after 7 years of waiting. Of course this is awarded after I moved back from Germany and broke up with the German guy, but my timing has never been great.

I was panicking as I accepted the transfer in the computer. BIG deal after living in England for the bulk of my flying career, I feel like I am changing schools. At least I do not have to worry about what to wear on the first day! 

Never did I think I would leave London but I really need a change and also, FICA. The social tax of the US which I have not been contributing to for a few years (this is British law). I need to be fiscally responsible for once and not let fun interfere with my old age, after all, who really wants to have to eat cat food like they joke about? 

The minuses- I LOVE the crews based in London. Well not all of them (you know who you are..) but at least knowing who they are allows me to selectively choose to work in the cabin they will not be in.  I also love London. I will never stop seeing things I have not seen before, finding new restaurants , museums, statues, etc.  The bulk of my friends are here.

The pluses- Frankfurt is far cheaper than London. Flying in and out of London as a passenger is going to soon be an extravagance thanks to the departure taxes. Lufthansa offers us dirt cheap standby tickets, so it will be affordable to pop over to a neighboring country to visit for a few days. The ability to pay US taxes again , as well as FICA (never did I think I would list that as a plus in any context!)

So my flying career out of Heathrow will conclude July 31st. I am incredible excited, scared , sad and happy at the same time. Change is good, right? 


9 comments:

Blondie said...

You are going to have a blast in FRA! I've flown with some of them and they are a-MAY-zing!

Hoep to fly with you--soon!

Anonymous said...

Germany has a far better climate than London, which is nice. Germans are generally happier than Brits, which is also nice. And most can speak English (even if they pretend that they can't).

Plus, German guys can be pretty hot. :)

Therefore: I'm sure you'll love it!

it's a dry heat said...

Congrats!! Change is great and Eastern Europe is amazing!! My grandmother lives in Gdansk, Poland and it's extremely inexpensive and so fun to travel around.

I'm jealous!

Traytable said...

COngratulations! It's always good to have a new challegne/focus. I'm not sure if you know of Westy (from Journalspace) but I'm pretty sure she lives near FRA, and has an extensive list of Blogger friends. She works in the aviation industry so would be a good person to know if you don't know many over there!

Krista said...

Congratulations! Sounds like you're excited about the move.

So your comments about FICA and US taxes...if you live in Germany, how will you pay into FICA? Are you going to be a U.S. employee? Or are the German laws somehow different? (My mother is always bugging me about social security.)

DUNCAN said...

Congrats and have fun!

The Flying Pinto said...

Wow! Good for you...what a great opportunity you have at your airline! My choices are Houston, Newark, or Cleveland....ughhhh!!

Congrats: )

Anonymous said...

Welcome to Germany

Diana Fairechild said...

Please see http://flyana.com/H1N1.html for my thoughts on Flying During the Flu Pandemic. I'd like to know your thoughts.

Best wishes,

Diana Fairechild