“It is an extremely picturesque area to live in. Beautiful countryside & city life smacked together. Old town has a lot of fests, lovely shopping, a lot of history & amazing architecture. Summers can get muggy & winters have snow, rainfall is moderate to heavy. Farmland is dotted all throughout the city too, so don’t be surprised to see tractor holding up traffic in front of the mall. Most of the area is extremely hilly. The Orange Gardens in town is a wonderful place to relax in downtown Ansbach including several acres of park space. The palace has tours & is a sight not to miss. Nearby are Nuremberg, Wurtzburg & Munich. Get a easy phrase book to help you learn a few basics in German.

Roads are extremely narrow compared to American counterparts. Buy & bring a set of specifically winter weather tires with you, they cost in Germany & are required by law to drive during the winter months. Tint is not allowed on the front side windows of your vehicle & you will have to remove it before the post will pass you for inspection & registration. You would be advised to get an International Drivers Permit or License from AAA before departure to hold you over until you can get to the scheduled classes on post for licensing. Parking on the economy is hard to find & can be cost prohibitive. Bring a bicycle if you have one. Cycle & walking are the main ways to get around in town. The rail system works well for travel further abroad. Buy a map if you plan to drive, N-S-E-W & exit numbers don’t really exist here. Directions are given by town names even for the Autobhans, so it can get confusing. ( IE: “take A7 towards Nuremberg & get off at Luetershausen” would be like “take I-495 E & get off at exit 122”)

Lots of shopping on the economy, most shop owners in Ansbach are used to dealing with Americans & can even muddle a bit in English to help you get what you want. Go to Kaufman for groceries, great prices & fantastic selection. Buy your perishable dairy products on post if you are not used to using it all ‘that same’ day or if you have never used boxed milk. The Brukken Ctr is a medium sized mall in downtown that has most everything you could need/want & can’t get on post. Shopping on the economy is done mostly in cash, even in the bigger stores, so don’t count on using a debit or credit card. If you can & you do, be aware you will not only be charged for the item, you will be charged for the use of the card by the seller & any fees your bank decides to assess for international usage. This doesn’t apply to on post purchases, just on the economy. Praktiker or Obi are your Home Depot/Lowes. Dry cleaning & alterations are always separate establishments & are only available on the economy. McDonalds is the only place in town that accepts US dollars.

Nearby attractions for every age include the Playmobil fun park that is based on the toys, The Nuremberg Zoo, Nova Mare, Aquella & Palm Beach water park/pools & the Geiselwind Amusement park. Some great local restaurants include The Kern, Maharaja, & SpielOase Jola. Eidelwiess is a few hours away in Garmish & is an utterly amazing experience in on post resort vacationing. It has very nice rooms, a huge hot tub, pool, restaurants & room service, nearby skiing & daily tours of the area. There is also do-it-yourself touring for all the surrounding areas & countries. The local chapel provides marriage/family/single retreats here as well & they fill up fast.

Plan on ON post housing, off post housing is very rough to get through with out a native to help often. Leases have some strange clauses & expectations that are not suitable to the military lifestyle & dealing with the government (which is how they do it) for remedies is impossible for an American. Utilities are a major nightmare off post as well. The bills come in German, calling is a waste of time because you have to navigate a phone tree in German & if you get through it, the customer reps don’t speak English. Bills are paid by bank to bank transfers with no other options (IE: check, in person, in store) The good news is the on post housing has been mostly all updated over the past 1-3 years, very roomy & have great natural light. Curtains need to be modified to fit a European rail system. Don’t bother bringing an A/C unit the windows open L to R, are very tall & A/C’s either won’t fit or can’t be installed. Bring a standing in-room unit or none at all. Fans are in almost every room. Heat is central. American appliances are supported.

The post itself is a pain in the —– ! Its broken up into 4 or more little areas sprawled across the city & surrounding area. Example: to get from the commissary to the PX literally across the street, you leave post, cross the street & have to re-enter post with all the associated issues (ID, searches etc). On post facilities include: bank (converts dollars to Euros for you), thrift store, vet, various shopettes, dental, medical & mental health clinics, gym, bowling alley, Burger King, a theater, craft shop, library, gas station & auto shop. There is no officers/nco club, but there is an on post bar. There is also a German eatery near the PX that is run by & has authentic German food at amazing prices. MWR offer a good selection of activities including tours to some of the counties best sightseeing locals.

PCSing out – watch the movers like hawks with a few helpers – inventory lists are not accurately descriptive because English is a second language & most are Turkish sub-contractors. Valuables are rarely identified as such & not listed as high value items, security seals are not used on boxes just on the large crates. Packing is not done well & a lot of mixing of rooms & damage occurs. Don’t expect help from the local reps to intercede on your behalf either. They are locals hired by the military & seem to side with other locals more often than not.”