Living in GK

12 comments:

Tiffany T. Weber said...

Gillrath: Karl Arnold Strasse 167

Many families shy away from this home because it's on the main road, but I lived here with four children when they were small and it was never, ever a problem. In fact, we loved it.

Being on the main street meant that when there was a celebration like the Schutzenfest or Karnaval parades, you were there for it.

The house itself has 6 bedrooms and three bathrooms over 2.5 levels. The attic is a HUGE unfinished attic great for storage, but throw a tarp over the stuff because it does get dusty.

There is a small unfinished basement as well that is ideal for wine collections.

The living room is split into two parts, so you can have a formal and casual room. All the rooms are huge. There are also two large dining rooms.

The kitchen is small, but I cooked a Thanksgiving for 40+ people and it worked just fine. I used the middle room as a pantry/work room and did a lot of prep there. It worked nicely as a homework space for my kids and a craft area as well. We put our dishwasher in the downstairs bathroom off the kitchen and our washer and drying in the upstairs bathroom which the kids loved because then they had hot towels after baths in the winter.

It's quirky, but it's over 100 years old and has the old tile lined slaughterhouse room between the main house and the garage which now has an automatic garage door opener. There is a courtyard in the middle that is shared with the aunt of the landlord. Tante Tinny is so sweet and wonderful with cats and children. She is now our German grandma and part of our family.

The garden in back is huge and great for play and parties. Our kids played there a lot. It leads to a smaller quieter street in back good for riding bikes. The gate is locked and you can keep it locked so that you can keep it safer for your kids. We always went in and out of the back and only used the front door for guests or if we were heading to Il Genio's which is dangerously just one block away.

The school bus stop is next to the house. The locals are warm and friendly. We LOVED living in Gillrath and miss our house and neighbors.

Call Marita Bemmelmans for information at 02451-2851.

July 16, 2011 3:17 PM

Dave said...

My wife and I arrive at GK on 16 Aug. This is just what we need.

July 16, 2011 3:26 PM

Anonymous said...

House available for rent in Ubach Palenberg. Address is Bahnhofstrasse 39. Following is the information on the house and the email address of the owner.

If anybody is interested to rent it, they can contact:

owner: David and Veronica Hunt (email: dvlhgermany@gmail.com) or
local contact person: John Pope (manager at the shoppette in GK...)

The house is also listed at the US Housing Office, but is open to all nationalities.

It is a free standing house, with a huge garage and a big, amazing backyard, all fenced in.
It is almost across from the train station in Palenberg (perfect for taking trips by train)
Main house: 3 big bedrooms, 1 smaller, 1,5 bathrooms, Lshaped livingroom, kitchen and dining.
Basement: extra bedroom, small bathroom, laundry room, and storage room.

Rent is 1000 euro and 100 euro for Nebenkosten

July 17, 2011 9:22 PM

Tiffany T. Weber said...

Houses in GK can go fast, but there are also a lot on the market right now. I don't know if my house (it's empty right now - I don't live there anymore) or the other is still available. You'd have to call the landlord to ask. Usually, you just have to wait until you arrive and start looking right away.

July 17, 2011 9:24 PM

Anonymous said...

The duplex next to us is open! Birgden is a great little village and is pretty close to everything. Our landlords are great and we've never had any issues! They are very honest people. The duplex has 4 bedrooms and 1.5 baths. Check it out...12 Rabenweg, Birgden, 52538. Only lived in once before. -K Popp

July 21, 2011 10:27 AM

Anonymous said...

We live in Waldfeucht and there are two houses available in our neighborhood right now. 1 on Roermondstrasse and one on Hellstrasse. There is a chance a third house will be available on Hellstrasse in September. This is a quiet village about 20 minutes from the front gate. All three houses are single family and are really large with good sized yards and are pet friendly. This area is slow paced and very family friendly....

July 25, 2011 4:40 PM

Anonymous said...

I am considering a position in Schinnen, can you please tell me approximately how many square feet are the average three to four bedroom homes. Also about how much would be the monthly rent? Thank you.

August 7, 2011 2:28 PM

Brittney said...

Hello,

We are moving out that way in May and were wondering the best locations to look at for homes to rent. We have two dogs, so this will be part of our challenge. any recommendations would be appreciated.

January 6, 2012 2:37 AM

Tiffany T. Weber Stahlbaum said...

You'll need to consider the base/commute and take it from there. Many houses are dog friendly and the housing list will be able to tell you what's available when you arrive and which houses accept pets. The houses on the German side tend to be bigger. The Gillrath/Birgden/Schierwaldenrath areas have good commutes. GK is close too, but the houses are smaller. Unfortunately, this is one of those wait and see situations. You'll just need to get here, get the list, and start driving/looking around.

January 9, 2012 2:06 AM

Clayton Family said...

Greetings!

My family and I are moving to Geilenkirchen in July. We are so excited as this is our first overseas assignment. I have been trying to research houses in the area and haven't had a whole lot of luck, maybe I'm getting ahead of myself. I'm so excited to have found this website and blog. Any, and I mean any advice you can give would be greatly appreciated.

January 24, 2012 4:44 PM

Tiffany T. Weber Stahlbaum said...

Welcome, Clayton Family. My best advice is to scour this blog and post questions both to the wall here on the blog (top left hand column) and LiGK's FB page here: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Living-In-GK/123464947690470. This is a great community and people will help.

January 27, 2012 4:17 PM

Anonymous said...

If anyone knows of a pet friendly 3 bedroom house south of the base available in June '12, please post it here or the FB page.

January 30, 2012 3:53 PM