New members of the Germany forum, introduce yourselves here - 2018

Hello. My name is Anthony Douglas and I have been considering moving to Germany for a short while now.

Hi all,

I'm Som and I am new to this forum. I have been staying in Germany since past three months and I'm currently working as IT consultant in Frankfurt. I will be glad to meet with people from all over the world who are staying in Germany. I speak English and a bit German.

Thank you.

My name is Ulrike.  I have lived in New Orleans and now Oakland , CA.  I am a nurse here in Oakland and I am hoping to retire early and move back to Germany.  I unfortunately took US citizenship, but looking back on it is was a big mistake.  I am looking to move back to Kreis Mainz Bingen at least part time in the summer months or full time.  The problem are double taxation and having to pay for medical insurance. 
I much prefer German culture .........

Hi everyone,

My name is Shriharsha. You can call me Harsha. I am new to this forum. I'm from India and I'm currently working as Software Developer in Bangalore, India. I've been to Germany several times on short visits (2-3 months) and I like the German work culture very much. I'm looking out for suitable jobs in Germany and prefer to stay and work there as long as possible

I would also like to make new friends around the world who are living in Germany and get in touch with them to know more about job opportunities and the German culture. I speak English, Hindi, Kannada and a bit German (conversant level).

Anyway, I am Garry from the Philippines.

I would like to ask for your advice and help, as well as your support, since I am planning to move there soon.

I would like to know more friends and people who can help me adapt to culture and life there. I had to chance to have business trip and vacation last 2016 for an international conference (I was in Munich, too). I fell in love with Wien (Austria) and Munich.

Hope to know you guys more! Please pm me if you wanna meet

Danke.

Me, too! I hope we can discuss about what to do and how to become adaptive to culture!

Hi all,

I'm Kusum and I am new to this forum. I am planning to move to Frankfurt in October . I will be glad to meet Indians who are staying in Germany. I speak English and Hindi. I am Fashion designer and have my own label in India. My husband is a CA and we will be shifting because if his job change. I am interested in finding out any fashion designing courses in Frankfurt. Appreciate if anyone can help me with any information.

Thanks and regards

Hi all,
   I am Kirit. I am from India and am moving to Berlin with my spouse soon to work for a couple of years. I look forward to being a part of the Berlin community.

I am looking for rental flats in Berlin on online websites like immowelt.de. Please let me know if there are any tips for finding housing and also which areas of Berlin might be preferred (or not preferred).

Thank you,
Kirit.

Hello.I have for rent one big room if you want

Hi I am Sarah.  I have been living in Germany off and on since 2000.  My late husband was German.  I decided to live in Germany permanently after my husband passed away.  Being a widow and learning to manage things on my own has been an experience.  Looking to meet new people for conversation etc..

Hi I'm Sara and I am moving to Berlin in nine days to find an apartment and start a new job. I am a bit concerned about finding a flat for myself and my family since the housing market is a bit tight these days I hear. I am an academic (Islamic/Ottoman history) and leaving Istanbul after 17 years. It is a difficult decision to uproot myself and family from the city I love--Istanbul--but there are lots of benefits, including a better school system in Germany for our daughter. My husband is in the restaurant/food and drink sector. He sold his business here in Istanbul and will be considering opening up an establishment once he gets acclimated--any ideas for a good neighbourhood in Berlin for a Turkish restaurant or cafe?

Hi Sara, welcome to the forum.
Berlin has over 200000 Turkish residents and thus, some say, one of the bigger cities of your country. Furthermore the stereotypically Turkish snack "Döner Kebap" was invented and conquered the world from there.
Thus you will not feel homesick - but on the other hand there are also no neighbourhoods left without Turkish restaurant or cafe (competition is stiff and profit margins low).
The rental market is difficult and it makes no sense to search before you are there. I hope you have a temporary place for the first few months?

thanks Beppi, I will be staying at the Max Planck Institut guest house for two weeks (that's as long as I can stay there). Are you implying that it may take months and not weeks to find a flat? I will be full-time searching for two weeks or so before I start working. I am looking for an unfurnished flat so from what I can see on the internet there are more options. I have friends I can crash with if necessary...My husband is an experienced Taksim restauranteer so competition is not so much a problem, he just needs to learn German ways which may take a few years. Most people starting out in the restaurant business have no idea what they are doing, hence the high failure rate basically everywhere.

There is a minimum three months notice period to terminate rental contracts in Germany - and the better places are advertised and quickly taken right after a termination notice is given.
Thus even if you find a place to rent within two weeks (which might be possible), you will probably not move in during that period!
Places ready for immediate move-in are uncommon!

Your husband, even if he knows how to manage a restaurant, will need help to navigate German officialdom to register a business, get health, sanitation and alcohol certificates (no restaurant in Germany can survive without serving beer/wine), get a tax number, keep proper accounts for the German tax authority, employ helpers under German labour law (with its myriad of regulations), etc.
I saw some of your countrymen fail with this in my neighbourhood (Stuttgart, not Berlin - we have "only" 35000 Turks in the city), despite speaking German and having lived here many years: After renovating the whole place (incl. kitchen), they weren't allowed to prepare food (for sanitary reasons), changed plans to a cafe with brought-in cakes and breads, but none of the Turks in the area bought from them (because they were slightly more expensive than the big Turkish supermarkets a short drive away) and the few German cutomers (incl. me - I loved the coffee!) were not enough to pay the bills.

Dear Beppi,

Thanks for all the very valuable information. As long as I can find a place in two or three weeks, I'll be happy, even if I won't be able to move in right away. I will be happy to share with the forum my experiences with the Berlin apartment market, if that will be helpful for others.

best,
Sara

Hi there. Anyone from Braunschweig area?

I am curious. What do you regret about taking U.S. Citizenship?  What do you think of the U.S. system compared to Germany? Why do you want to move back to Germany?

Double taxation Puhmuckel? Not really. If you live and work in America you have to file tax returns and pay taxes there - not to Germany. If you move back to Germany, you will have the headache of needing to file both American and German tax returns annually. But the first 100,000 dollars earned abroad will be exempt from US federal income taxes with the Foreign Earner Income Exclusion. I have posted extensively on this subject elsewhere on this site.

Im Nina and ive been here for 6months

Greetings I recently got my residence permit for Germany after spending an increasing amount of time here in recent years. I met a German in Boston and she was inclined to move back to Germany anyway -- although I was considering California, where I grew up -- and after the November 2017 election my mind was made up to come to Germany. I haven't regretted my decision. I am currently enrolled in the integration course in my local community of Limburg-an-der-Lahn and I am filled with awe at the complexity of Germany's challenge absorbing new migrants. In my small integration class some 12 or more nationalities are represented & the teaching challenge is quite dramatic.

I spent my entire professional life doing crisis and post-crisis political work, refugee & migration affairs in Geneva, Switzerland and all over the world in the field. I speak some other languages but not German.

I am a US Federal retiree and I'd be very interested to hear if anybody has any experience with this in Germany. It appears to me that the U.S.-Germany taxation agreement excludes U.S. Federal pensions from taxation, but I've had conflicting advice and opinions on this.

How do you follow the integration classes without understanding German?

I am starting out with language classes.. 300 hours to begin.. it's slow going and I don't fully understand the process.. I've looked online and it appears that I will have to do like 600 hours of language courses then the German cultural integration courses.. Unfortunately I don't speak enough German now to understand where this path is taking me. I basically received the language classes when I got my German residence permit. If you've not yet done this I highly recommend it, although the level of the people in the class varies wildly. Some people are obviously very motivated and educated. Others are virtually illiterate and apparently either overwhelmed or unmotivated or both.

AndrewFromCalifornia wrote:

If you've not yet done this I highly recommend it,

In case you spoke to me: I doubt they would accept me as participant, because I'm already German.
But for all others who want to live here for more than just a few months, it is certainly a good idea - if you can get a place (I heard they are oversubscribed in many places).

Hi!
I'm Jan. I have been reading the forum for a few months already. As questions arised I decided to register here! Nice to be a part of the community.

hi,

Lokesh From bangalore India. Planning to apply for a Job Seeker visa in Germany. Please let me know your experiences .

regards

Lokeshsams85, just make sure you have enough money saved up to survive for 1 year while you search for a job. It can take a long time in Germany to break into the job market. Also, make sure you speak German because if you do not speak German, nobody will pay attention to you.

That is my advice.

The JSV is only valid for 6 months, so there is no need to survive on savings for a year.
But you should have a plan B if the 6 months are not sufficient, which is a real possibility, especially without good German skills. Only very few (usually big, international) companies work in English here - and the jobs that don't require any communication are badly paid (e.g. harvest helper or cleaner).

Thanks Mate. I will learn German language. But will Job seeker Visa be a good option to apply the Visa ? Some say that its better to have a job in Hand before applying for the VISA ??

The JSV is for staying in Germany while looking for a job. You don't need a JSV if you already have a job in hand.

make sure you have double what you think you need in Germany, because of the bureaucracy, things could take twice or three times as long. Also, if you have to extend that visa, it could be longer.

cheers

Hello, I am new to the site and this forum. I am interested in moving to Germany when I finsih school, but it is starting to seem like an overwhelming goal.

Kathryn, Welcome to the forum. A couple of questions. What are you studying? What degree will you have when you graduate? In what country do you live? Why do you want to move to Germany?

About it being overwhelming: Yes, it is overwhelming and the bureaucracy in Germany is worse than most places because Germany has more rules about everything than almost any other country, IMO. So make sure that is what you want to do before you do it. Do a lot of research about moving to Germany because you do not want to back out half way through after putting in so much effort, only to realize it is too stressful to make the transition.

The other concern is: Will Germany recognize your degree? That is the most important question.


Cheers,

Hi Kathryn, I wish you good luck. Deciduous is right, Germany is a very bureaucratic country. That doesn't mean that you have a bad bureaucracy but there are many rules and German people are very "correct". But don't feel intimidated by that. And by the way German people will mostly be helpful and this may be helpful for you to get along with bureaucracy. I am by the way a native German living in Germany and not an expat.

my name is Patrizia
I might be moving to Berlin in May-June still waiting for final confirmation
i am italian but speak , german + english -how is life in Berlin for whomever lives there?
hello to all the newbies

Hi Everyone,

Anyone from Munich area?

Dear Expats,

My name is Ina and I am new to this forum. I am from Albania but i would like to move to Germany (no preference regarding the city) I have a bachelor degree in Scientific Law and currently work in my country as a Grievance Coordinator at a big french company.

I am searching for jobs as a cleaner or helper or something else in DE because i know it is pretty much difficult to find a job as a Lawyer so i will start from the bottom to reach the top (i hope).

As part of Schengen Area, from Albania i can visit and stay in Germany for 6 month in year but i don't have the right to work. So to obtain a working permit from the local Embassy i should show to them a job offer. I would really appreciate if you guys can help me with any contact that would like to hire from outside DE.

I can speak fluent English, A1 level German and my mother tongue is Albanisch,

Looking forward hearing from you.
Regards from sunny Albania.
Ina

Hello, I am Rohit from Düsseldorf city and have been working in Germany for the more than 2 years. Would be great to know the other expats here, and if anyone is planning to come Düsseldorf and would like to connect don’t hesitate to contact just shoot me a mail.

Hello ,
I am new to this forum.
I am planning for masters degree,though I am already living in Germany. My question is that Is procedure same for candidates who apply from outside? or can directly submit documents?
Also, Is lectures in German Language be tough to understand(if completes B1 just before college/classes start ) ?

As far as I know, most universities that teach in German require B2 language level. But please ask for the details at the school you want to enroll at.
Regarding the student visa, please ask at your local Ausländeramt whether there is a way to convert your current visa without leaving Germany.