Horror of horrors!

With the recruitment fair coming up next weekend, I've been doing a lot of thinking about what it is that we really want in our new life. What kind of jobs would be ideal? What kind of city? What kind of lifestyle? Andras would like to stay in grade 5 in a PYP curriculum. For me the ideal position would be as an elementary ESL specialist in a PYP curriculum. We want to go to a school that is well-organised. We want to go somewhere that has a good preschool program for Clara in a couple more years. We want to go somewhere where there are lots of green spaces and parks and playgrounds. We want to go somewhere where we can ride our bikes (with Clara in the wagon). We want to go somewhere that has good healthcare and programs for babies and toddlers.
As I was sitting by the river the other day making this mental list, I started thinking about the schools that would fit these wants. And I came to the horrifying realisation that Dresden actually does meet most of them! Yah! How did that happen? This is horrifying because we have a real love-hate relationship with Dresden. Some days we go out and we love the city. We love the architecture. We love the little flower and vegetable stands on every corner. We love the river and the park, and we love that our apartment is a 20 minute walk from either of them. We love the greenness and the trees and that there's a playground every couple of blocks. We love 'our' coffee shop and 'our' little bakery. We love that organic food is so readily available and doesn't cost a fortune. We love our apartment. We love Clara's pediatrician! But then other days we go out and we hate the city. We hate how people are so grumpy and nobody ever smiles. We hate how people never say 'excuse me', they just ram their way right through you. We hate how everyone just looks out for themselves. We hate that the shopping is so limited, both in what we can buy and when. We hate all the unnecessary time we waste at school on paperwork because of the general disorganisation and last-minute changes to things.
So, to discover that Dresden actually gets a 'checkmark' for most of the things on our list is, yes, horrifying.