Cost of living and quality of life will be much better in Germany, unless you count talking to your kids from the rear view mirror during a traffic jam as bondi

Cost of living and quality of life will be much better in Germany, unless you count talking to your kids from the rear view mirror during a traffic jam as bonding time. As an American living in Germany, I have also heard from Americans that even good German schools are too rigid and inflexible. You should consider what the schools look like and how they could be better in some ways and worse in others. Flying to New York from Germany isn’t much different from CA, so I wouldn’t worry about that. I think the family support in Germany is worth having, too. Any chance you can work for a US company remotely?