Laura and Marcel Kreutz have fulfilled a dream. “A house exactly according to our wishes. We definitely couldn’t have managed that in the city. We would never have been able to afford the large plot of land anywhere else.” But that wasn’t the only deciding factor. The region between Aachen and Cologne has always been home to them. “For us it was clear: we want to stay in the Düren district, so living somewhere else was out of the question.”
Both grew up where they live and are firmly rooted there. “We feel like we know almost everyone in the village and the community is really great. You can’t find anything like that anywhere else.” They now live in their own house which they built completely how they wanted to. And they arrived precisely where they wanted to be.
3 questions for Laura and Marcel
How was the house-building project for you?
Well, we’d long dreamed of building our own house, so we were all the more pleased when we were finally able to get started here. Of course the building site meant we were busy every day, so there wasn’t much time for hobbies and friends. But our new neighbourhood has now become a wide circle of friends. So many young people have moved here and because we all face the same challenges, we help each other. When we have an after-work beer on the street we’re already planning our future street parties.
Why did you want to build in the Düren district?
We’re very sociable and like to celebrate, and we like the fact that the community is so important here. Having fun together – it’s something that simply connects people. Everyone comes together for fun fairs or shooting festivals and many even take extra holiday days to celebrate together. Before we built here we’d lived in different places, but we’ve never experienced this great feeling of togetherness anywhere else.
How do you see your future?
The village and our street have not only become the new centre of life for us but definitely our favourite location as well. We plan to grow old in this house. It’s nice that you always know someone, whether you’re at the fitness studio or walking across the fields. We want to help strengthen living traditions and the unique sense of community in the village. In our experience, many young people can fulfil their dream here in the countryside, and the community of locals as well as newcomers achieves a really good mix – we’re looking forward to seeing what the future has in store for us.
