| 4500+ Great Links | Guide to Living and Working in Germany |
| Copyright © 2009 by Zack Smith. All rights reserved.
IntroductionThis page is where I'm collecting insights from my stay in Germany, where I lived for about a year.FoodFood items in supermarkets are mostly the same as in North America, but of course there are many German items as well, such as Spätzle. A few items are missing, such as canned pumpkin.Health FoodGermany has natural food stores where "Bio" (biologisch) foods are sold. This term is roughly similar to "organic" in the USA, but is sometimes a weaker standard. A stronger standard than Bio is Demeter.You may be shocked to see things sold in German health food stores that seem quite unhealthy, like:
HousingDie Wohnung = abodeZu mieten = to rent Der Vermieter = the landlord Der Mieter = the renter Die Anzeigen = advertisements In many parts of Germany, good housing is difficult to get. You can find housing ads by looking online or in a publication such as Sperr Müll. If you are in a hurry to find something, however, you may need to use a middleman. There is a housing shortage in some parts of Germany that had led to a practice in which independent middlemen charge up to 1000 € to arrange a long-term rental. This high fee serves to keep out riff-raff and discourages people moving out too soon, so the landlord is happy, If you rent an entire apartment, rather than a room, be forewarned that appliances are the renters' property, not the landlord's. So typically the renter who is leaving will sell them to you and when you move out, you sell them to the next renter. Besides middlemen, there are also cheaper services that may be associated with the city, or not, that line up relatively inexpensive rentals. InternetThere are many Internet cafe in Germany. In terms of privacy, and in terms of safety, I do not suggest that you go to them. You can be sure that many Internet cafe computers have viruses on them, that they are running keyloggers to record any passwords that you type in, and so on.The smarter thing to do is to bring your own laptop computer, Wifi-capable phone or iPod Touch, and use that in a regular cafe that has free wireless Internet. That way, at least your passwords are protected. If you will be renting any kind of housing you should have the opportunity to sign up for either a phone and modem-based Internet connection or DSL or ISDN. I had to set up a modem connection. It was neither difficult nor very expensive to use. There are ISPs that still offer that and once you give them the OK, they will begin charging your phone bill for Internet usage. MoviesThe big German cities often have at least one all-English movie theater each. This appeals to foreigners as well as to Germans who want to improve their English.There is also a Netflicks-like service for getting DVDs by mail every month, Videobuster that I never used. PhonesDie Tarife = feesDie Mobilfunknetze = phone networks Der Vertrag = contract Cell phones in Germany are, in my limited experience, expensive. They charge the caller a lot and the recipient of a cell phone call nothing. In a way this arrangement is good because you can keep a phone on hand at all times for emergency calls and not worry too much about a contract. Fees for calls work a bit differently in Germany. For instance, using prepaid T-Mobile in the USA it's 10 cents per minute to any number. In Germany it's 5 cents per minute to T-Mobile, 19 to other networks. ShoppingZu kaufen = to buyZu verkaufen = to sell Günstig (adj) = advantageous, a good deal. Der Vorteil = the advantage Der Nachteil = the disadvantage Der Nepp = the rip-off VarietyGerman stores tend to offer less variety than stores in the USA. This is partly because Europeans are not big shoppers like Americans are. But then Europeans don't have such easy access to credit, either. And as recent events have shown, that is a good thing.Big box storesDepending on where you are in Germany, you may see more or less of the kind of corporatization of retail as you see in the USA. Of course, in the USA the big box stores have saturated retail probably to the maximum that's achieveable. But it's happening in Germany, too. In Germany too, small stores are going out of business. Stores are moving out of towns to outlying areas or suburbs, where only people with cars can reach them.Thus Germany has big-box electronics stores just like the USA. They have a home-repair store whose logo looks identical to Home Depot's. Germany used to have Walmarts. Credit cardsCredit cards are a relatively new concept in Germany. They were introduced in the early 2000s and their use goes against German cultural norms of good planning and frugality. Personally I think the cards should be banned.TaxesDie Steuer = taxDer Steuerberater = tax consultant/preparer Das Steuerformblatt = tax form Taxes for Americans are a pain in the ass. Although the German tax forms are not terribly complex, if you don't have someone that you can trust to help you with them then you will need to pay a tax consultant about 200 € to do your forms for you. Tax preparers always cost the same because the German government fixes the price. If you want to pay someone to do your American tax forms as well, and you are in Germany, the American consulate has a list of tax preparers in Germany -- expats & actual Germans -- who know how to do the US forms properly. TransportationCarsAs I indicated in the shopping section, having access to a car is very helpful in Germany. You do not need one every day or even every week, but once a month it can be very helpful.So, before you leave for Europe, get yourself an internation driver's license. If I recall, they cost something like $60 and it takes a few weeks for it to arrive by mail. You will probably rent or borrow a car at some point and you cannot convert your American license into a German one once you are in Germany, as far as I know. Many Europeans don't drive, for good reason:
TrainsGerman trains are generally reliable and pleasant, and more or less on time. They only become unpleasant if you are in the commuter trains and/or near the smoking cars.I must warn you however: The cost of riding the trains is high. Inquire with Deutsche Bahn customer service about buying a yearly discount card. This requires proof of residence in Germany. TrolleyThe S-Bahn is the term for the surface-level trolley system in Germany. The U-Bahn is the underground.Some U-Bahnen travel quite far and take a long time to do so, with many stops, but are slightly cheaper than trains. Holidays and paid leaveGermany has a range of official holidays with concomitant festivals. These are amusing, for instance during Christmas you they sell mulled wine called Gluehwein in the public squares. There is no glue in Gluehwein.What most people really care about however their personal paid leave. Like most Europeans, Germans are guaranteed a certain number of paid days off that is more than what Americans get. The number is always changing but could be 20 days. Check with your employer. UniversityThere are two types of university in Germany:
When I was in Germany, the rule was that a foreigner who has passed a German language exam is eligible to enter the universities and pay very little tuition. I don't know if this is still the case, or what age limits may exist. Contact your local German consulate for more information. Some European countries have undergone cost-cutting and have eliminated such low-tuition programs. VocabularyI've crammed a lot of my German language notes onto one page: My German language quick reference page.See AlsoHere's a good comparison of Germany and the US: Axels writeup.)Links
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