sorry, should have explained better in the beginning:
1. I assume flying is more fun in the US (cheaper plane rentals, better weather, more beautiful scenery, ...), so later on I'd probably be travelling to the US to build hours there. If I had the JAR-FCL licence I would have to take some lessons in the US to get the JAA license, which is a lot easier then vice-versa.
2. Time-wise, I'd use this autumn to get as far as I can and finish in spring next year (if I don't make it now). October would be for getting the TSA and all other legal requiremnts sorted and start would be - hopefully - early Nov.
To give you an idea of prices in Germany compared to US: Germany is round about 15.000 € = 19.000 $ for the PPL license ..... so that's giving me some decent trouble.
Thanks for your suggestions.
IH