The worth of water

In the U.S., people pay a monthly utility bill based on their previous month's usage. However, in Germany, people pay a monthly bill based on their *annual* usage.

What about for us? We're new tenants. Well, in our situation, our first four months is based on the previous tenants' usage, with a reconciliation and adjustment to follow.

There's another wrinkle: the price of natural gas just doubled in Germany because Russia is constricting its supply to western Europe, in an effort to undercut support for Ukraine.

So while our natural gas & electricity bill will be $400 for each of the next four months, it will almost certainly go up from there.

It's going to be a cold winter, but we won't have it the worst. In the UK, there was talk about one in four families not using heat at all. [Source]

"When the well's dry, we know the worth of water." -Ben Franklin