I'm also going back to the states in about 3 months, unless I can find a job here in Germany, then I'll stay for as long as I can. :D

Food, at the grocery store in the states, is a lot cheaper than across the atlantic. I think that's why I started to eat out so much. My reasoning was, why go grocery shopping, when I can just get Indian, Asian, Italian, or anything for just a couple of euros and the serving size is huge, aka a doggy bag to last me a couple of days. :)

cjohnson- Thanks for the heads up =) I appreciate it, but we already researched and got the idea of the price. It is expensive, but we'de actually be moving about 45 minutes outside of DC. There are a few reasons we chose the area, but the main one is a particular college we are looking to attend. It had both the degrees we want which is pretty hard to find. I had a choice of about 8 cities, and this was the only one that had a city within 30 minutes. The others were tooooo far out. There are a few other reasons we chose it. Though the rent is high, we have found a few places that are independently owned in little suburbs around the town in VA that we're looking at which are affordable. I compared the prices to the ones where I'm from (where I would have to live if I moved near my ex-husband for custody purposes) and the prices are roughly the same. But the pay where he lives is about half, which makes a huge difference. I really appreciate your concern though. Makes me feel good =D

Ace- I totally understand what you mean! It's the same here. Food is sooo cheap whe ordering out, and you get SO much for your money that sometimes ordering out is better than buying from the store. Especially with the price of meat here, along with spices and everything to flavor and cook it. It gets expensive, so buying it out almost makes sense at times. I will miss that when we go to the USA, but at he same time I'll have more to work with in the kitchen, so I'm excited.

Crimpet, I hope you enjoy it. It's a beautiful part of the country and I miss it terribly, even though I've been living in the south for over 15 years. I have a ton of family in Western MD and in various suburbs of DC. I hope things go smoothly with school and the move; what a lot you must have on your plate. It sounds like it will be worth all the effort :D. Glad to see you post again!