Tips for moving to Germany?

[BlasterBates]

Tell that to the folk round here. It depends on the city and region.

I thought you were in Frankfurt. I live there too, and my supermarket round the corner is open until 10:00 pm on Saturday.

[The Lone Gunman]

I thought you were in Frankfurt. I live there too, and my supermarket round the corner is open until 10:00 pm on Saturday.

I am on Lake Constance. Mostly villages around here. A lot still do 12:30 Saturday closing. Some of the super markets are open all day though.

[rsingh]

I started work in Germany about 5 weeks ago and know very little German at the moment. If at all possible, try and get your PC built with an English version of the operating system. It makes error messages easier to understand. The same goes for Office and Visual Studio.

My version of Office is in German and it makes using Access and Excel a bit more challenging especially as I hadn't used them for a while.

Failing that, take an English laptop with the apps that you need and copy work files between the two as required.

[swamp]

I wouldn't bother. The market is dead as a dodo, the rates are crap, the lifestyle is really tulip, everything is really expensive, the Germans won't like you and its one less gig for me!

Do the Germans not like us? Did we upset them? Is there anyone on the continent who likes us?

[PRC1964]

Do the Germans not like us? Did we upset them? Is there anyone on the continent who likes us?

Gibraltareans?

[Moscow Mule]

Read this

http://forums.contractoruk.com/accou...an-cometh.html

Understand the tax implications etc before you go...

[swamp]

Gibraltareans?

They don't count because they are British; they are us!

I've heard the Maltese have been fond of us ever since the 2nd Siege of Malta. And they show their gratitude each year by voting for us in the Eurovision, regardless of how tulipe we are, which is usually very tulipe indeed. The Maltese are also not very good in the Eurovision, but they are a small rock in the Mediterranean and not a big country which has produced great rock.

[darmstadt]

If you pay a deposit on an apartment, don't expect it back.

Maybe thats just you but I've always got my deposit back. By law the deposit money goes into a bank account which is opened just for that. No-one can touch it until you decide to vacate the apartment. When that time comes, the landlord then determines what he might have to pay to make good the apartment for the next tenant. If you've left it in the same nick as when you moved in then you should get all of it back plus the interest. I've always got the whole lot back and more. Maybe by decorating the walls with beer and wurst mixture then artexing the ceiling with pot noodle extract is not your landlords idea of an apartment in good condition...

[whattodo]

Thanks guys [some of] the advice has been really useful

I've heard of some contracts in the south west of Germany, bit light on details as i'm only really thinking about it at the mo. Probably set up as self employed in that situation (having read the german tax thread).

It'd just be me and the missus going over there. The work i'm not so nervy about, it's getting ourselves set up somewhere new, and doing day to day things. I don't speak any German so it'd have to be a steep learning curve / classes for language. Or just do the english thing and talk louder

Renting a furnished flat sounds like the way to go, but it can be hard to get a decent place that isn't a rip off when you're busy and trying to fit flat hunting in around other things. Maybe the advice about staying in a hotel for a month wouldn't be a bad idea - Thanks for that and the links @ LGM

Getting a deposit back can be hard in the UK too, no matter what you do to the property. Sometimes i've wished I decorated the place in pot noodle... actually no... baby poo, with peanuts in it

Is it easy to set up the boring stuff like electricity, water, internet, a bank account? Do they have council tax? Other weird stuff I wouldn't have considered?

[darmstadt]

Before you can rent anywhere you need to register at the einwohnermeldeamt as the landlord will want to see a load of paperwork. This will probably include a letter from your employer showing that your in work, proof of a bank account, etc. I would suggest searching the interweb as there are many sources of informaiton about moving to Germany, temporary or permanent. A lot of people find it a pain moving and living here and you'll a lot of moany old Brits but personally I found it hassle free and have had (practically) no problems in the 20 odd years I've been here. For more (sometimes very good) information and to read lots of whiney moany English speakers then try here