A couple of my fellow bloggers (blogesses?) in Cairo and Chengdu have written this week about whether or not they are happy at their posts. I think this is an excellent question that everyone in the FS should consider now and then. After all, you have know what makes you happy (or unhappy) about a place in order to know what to look for (or avoid like the plague) next time.

Now, both of the aforementioned ladies are at their first overseas posts, and so they are probably also wondering what the hell have I gotten myself into? Me, I’m on my sixth overseas post, and I have a pretty good idea what I already got myself into—several times, as a matter of fact. So, you will not hear me complaining about Vienna. Except for maybe just a few little things that get on my nerves now and then, like lack of air conditioning or Sunday closing hours. Cut me some slack here, I am a foreigner in this country. I’m not supposed to like everything about it!

I realize that my post yesterday may have been kind of a downer. But, the fact is, having to move mid-tour, my son’s school issues, and my crazy cat aren’t the fault of the Viennese. (Well the having to move might be, a little bit. See air conditioning, above.) In general, we are quite happy here.

Here’s one thing I really like about this post: the Viennese are relatively wealthy and believe in recycling. In short: they give away great stuff. Love those thrift stores!  I dropped a carload of junk off at Caritas today, from a pre-move purge, and was reminded of that once again. I left with eight Euros worth of happy. Which was just what I needed today.

Here are those items and a few more from previous shopping trips. OK, so I now have to move it all to a new apartment. Worth it? Oh yeah.