Hello, I am a woman coming from Albania and I recently got offered a job in Berlin in architecture of about 60k brutto pro year.

I am comfortable home but for at least the last 5-7 years I have felt very unhappy with life here in Albania and really wanted to move abroad in a western country. Here I only have my parents and 2 relaltively close friends which I see pretty unfrequently so life isn’t too social or exciting, just boring and quiet.

What scares me is that I could be making a big mistake giving up a comfortable job/life in my home country for a job where I won’t make much more. Also I am pretty scared about the housing crisis in Berlin.

So basically I am trading an unhappy life for something that I have no guarantee that will make me any less depressed.

Hello!! As you all probably know, the housing situation is pretty difficult in Germany. My husband and I just decided to get the most expensive immoscout membership so that we can make our appartment search more effective and improve our chances to get rent. However, we have several questions about the benefits that the membership has. I would like to ask for general advice, tips and tricks on how to get the most out of the membership! If any of you has been lucky using this method, it would be very useful to know what worked for you. Thank you very much!

I am planning to apply for citizenship in Germany. But I have a problem.

1. I was born in Austria (Linz), so I have a birth certificate from Austria with birth place: Linz. In this birth certificate my name is registered: Asad. (I do not have Austrian citizenship).
2. But I am originally Iraqi. Iraq embassy registered Vienna as my birth place in their my Iraqi birth certificate. In this birth certificate, when translated into English, my name is Assad.
3. Later I immigrated to USA (citizen). In USA I explained the things and all my documents have Linz as birthplace, and the name is Assad. I don't have USA birth certificate!
4. now I want to apply for citizenship in Germany. (After PhD in USA I am working with Blue Card for a long time in Germany) They need a birth certificate. If I give the Austrian birth certificate, birth place would be correct, but name would be not correct (just one S). If I give the translation of the Iraqi birth certificate the name would be correct but birth place would be Vienna!

Assad <> Asad , Vienna <> Linz.

All my working documents in USA and Germany up to now are with Vienna and Assad!

What can I do?

y’all folks talk as if having legal insurance automatically makes you a “vip client” with a direct 24/7 phone number to the best lawyer who is always by your side covering your ass and fighting for you

that’s not the case

not even close

i have this Rolland rechtsschutzversicherung…

first you get into trouble and get super stressed

you have no idea whether your insurance covers your case

you call insurance number, waiting on the line…

they connect you with an “independent lawyer” (wtf is that?) who CAN NOT answer questions about your policy, they just listen to your case and chat what you can or can not do and then when you ask them to help you they only say “you need to find a lawyer” and that they are just consultants.. so basically, they’re live chatGPT you can talk to — all the info they say you can successfully find online

and don’t try to tell me “they know better than what you can research online” — that’s nonsense, at least not today with such an abundance of information everywhere.

during the problems with my landlord i have called three times, landing on different “independent lawyers”, thus explaining the whole story over and over again, and all three of them told me different things about my rights!! one said i may just start paying 10-15% less rent, the other said I can not do this and shall write a letter. when I asked for an actual, tangible help to write one or at least share a template (this was pre-charGPT times) he just told me to find a lawyer. and the way they talk — constantly interrupting, not letting you finish a sentence, trying to finish the conversation within their allotted 15min (I believe this is their target, just like it is for medical insurance’s mandated doctor visits) — I feel like I’m just a nuisance for them which they want to get rid off quickly.

those landlord issues got resolved through other authority — Gesundheitsamt (we had rat infestation in our building due to the accumulated trash problem landlord refused to take care of), but last year the real problems started.

my mom passed away mid last year, due to presumed medical error/malpractice. during that stressful time i had to go through, I believe, 4-5 different Rolland agents who were not able to tell me what I can claim and what I can’t. most of them were rejecting this case as a non-insured event. only when i sent them a formal letter which took them two weeks to reply, they agreed to cover me at schadenkosten angle. the case is still ongoing…

then, a few months later, my employer goes bankrupt, i’m being terminated without respecting my termination notice terms and owed 2 monthly salaries, despite that the company was successfully sold by insolvenzverwalter. the case is still ongoing…

then, a month ago, after 3-4 months of employing a mieterverein lawyer who talked to our landlord and estimates our chances are quite high going against him in court (the dispute is about illegal rental contract expiration), I hire a third-party lawyer Rolland recommended me and they agree on covering my court costs (I’m filing Feststellungsklage). the case just got started…

a week later I receive an e-mail from Rolland:

Guten Tag,
Sie sind bei ROLAND Rechtsschutz versichert und Ihr Vertrag läuft noch bis zum* ***März 13, 2027****.
In den Bedingungen ist geregelt, dass beide Vertragspartner den Vertrag zum Ablauf kündigen können. Von dieser Möglichkeit möchten wir hiermit Gebrauch machen.
Grund dafür ist der Schadenverlauf Ihres Vertrages. Dieser Schritt ist in seltenen Fällen nötig. Denn eine Versicherung ist eine Gemeinschaft, in der viele Versicherte die Kosten für Einzelne gemeinsam tragen. Haben jedoch mehrere Kunden viele Schadenfälle, reichen die Beiträge der Gemeinschaft nicht mehr aus. Wir wollen aber, dass die Beiträge wettbewerbsfähig bleiben.
Mit diesem Schreiben kündigen wir also mit Hinweis auf Ziffer 14.2.2 der Allgemeinen Bedingungen für die Rechtsschutz-Versicherung zum genannten Zeitpunkt.
Wir hoffen auf Ihr Verständnis und wünschen Ihnen alles Gute!

…so I guess starting March 13th I’m on my own, huh ?

do they think I enjoy doing these things ? does it look like I took advantage of them ? after all, how much money have they already spent on me ? am I THAT unprofitable for them or their business model is that fragile, they had to get rid of me ?

I’m just getting so tired of feeling right-less, being constantly dismissed by “the system”, put on hold for hours “waiting for the next available representative” or straight up being lied to about my rights (I haven’t even mentioned my multiple disputes with airlines and car rentals when they refused their responsibilities unless pressured through formal letters citing law paragraphs). and you’d say, “get an insurance, man”, well, I did. see how far I got... yay, i guess…

everything seems like being designed to create you an illusion of having rights. but in the end, when shit hits the fan, it does not matter. the one who has the money/power wins. if you’re just an ordinary fuck with a 30€/mo shit-surance, you can, well, go vent on reddit about your rights and then scroll away your despair on social media consuming more reels…

Hello Gemeinde,

Does anyone know how the tax system works if a student does a werkstudent plus HiWi job. What are the common practices and if it is worth taking on a HiWi job or no.

Hello all! I am traveling to Germany with food allergies, and made a double-sided card to hand to servers.

I wanted to make sure the German side makes sense/has the best terms. Any feedback is helpful!

Thank you!

Edit: Hello everyone and thank for your responses! I definitely would talk to the waiter normally and just ask the card be passed on, sorry if that didn’t come across!

I like the suggestion of making the card more plain as to not come across rude, and listing the allergens/tweaking a few phrases per suggestions.

Thank you everyone and I hope I can find a few places willing to serve me 😅

Hi all. as the title states, I am moving into a new apartment in Dusseldorf and as we know the previous tenant won't introduce you to the landlord if you don't sign the purchase agreement for the takeover of the kitchen. The tenant would only offer a viewing after signing the kitchen takeover agreement contract. Now I asked him for the receipts, as I have received the apartment from the landlord and have noticed a few things.
1. He told my sister and I after we later viewed the apartment that the kitchen cost him about 6.000. After reviewing the receipts he himself sent to me, it cost him about half of that.

1. He also said that he had used the kitchen for two years (this was written in the ad) but the receipt shows its been nearly four years.

2. The kitchen is really a standard Ikea kitchen and if it was worth 3K then, it definitely isnt worth 3,5K now.

What are my options after already signing the contract?

Hello, everyone! A bit of an odd situation I find myself in that I would like to find a solution that is not as expensive as it ended up being last year.

• I am an EU citizen, living in Germany for more then a decade now.
• I have a permanent work contract for seasonal work, I work 7 months (thus my insurance is covered) and I am in Winterpause for the other 5 months.
• I want to take advantage of that gap in employment and thus I travel for 2 months and leave Germany entirely.
• Because of that, I cannot find short time employment, and Arbeitsamt does not pay/cover your insurance if you are away for more then 6 weeks.
• Arbeitsamt understandably only covers the rest somewhat because of my limited working period that precedes the gap (less than 3 months).

So I end up needing to pay 250 euros a month for insurance while unemployed, while not living in Germany and paying additional traveler insurance on top of that... because I am unemployed it is a *lot* of money to just loose for no benefit I am able to get (i.e. my german insurance will not be paying for any health related expenses while I am abroad).

Is there anything I can do to not find myself paying that much again? I have seen advice about de-registering myself at the Rathaus and thus not having a residency in Germany means I will not have to pay the Krankenkasse, and can register myself again when I come back, but how viable is that? Should I be scared that the Krankenkasse won't take me back or is that just a rumour? Any advice is deeply appreciated.

Extra question: Would doing abmeldung have an effect on my work contract? Or is it enough that I am back and registered by the time I am supposed to be working again?

The worst one that I know, would be John Oliver, who literally just shouts something and then makes a comment about the language sounding harsh and ugly.

link

second link

Ok so I have a German friend who was supposed to come with me to study together but he didn't get accepted so he decided to go to private school in Germany based on recommendations and his grades were very solid. It's apparently a co-ed boarding/day school but he lives in Germany so he doesn't board.

I'm a french dude who only went to Germany a few times to visit him and as a tourist, I never studied there or even saw a school but now I'm genuinely curious what it's like.

Is it hard? Is IB harder? Are there any specific rules or cultural differences, are German private schools really that hard?

And is settling complicated, as an international student I mean, and I heard that German people are kind of harsh and more direct, but honestly I'm not really a stereotypical person or anything like that so whenever someone makes an assumption it kind of disappoints me.

EDIT: I'm talking about a private boarding/day high school and the International baccalaureate program

I was 21 years old when I first went in a sauna in Germany. It was a gym sauna, and I didn’t know anything about the sauna culture except that you have to go in just with a towel. I went in and I was the only person there. I sat for a while and then a woman came inside and removed her towel and sat bare body in front of me. My heartbeat went through the roof as it was totally unexpected. We talked a bit and then I went out to take a shower. To my surprise, she came in the next minute and started showing right next to me. Honestly that was a memorable night.

What was your your experience?

Hello everyone,

I arrive at T3 at 19:00 hrs on 31st Dec.

As a Non-EU how long does it take from the arrival to reach the Frankfurt Airport train station?

I am planning to take ICE to another city. Is 3 hrs buffer more than enough?

Looking for the experiences from anyone who arrived in the evening hours.

Thanks in advance.

Hello everyone!

I'm writing this post in hopes of finding one or two people who are Gen Z and who would be willing to talk to me (if possible, over a call, but if you're not comfortable with that, then through written exchange only) about their view of/opinions on the expulsion of Germans from Czechoslovakia.

I'm writing my Master's thesis about how opinions on this historical event change through different generations of Germans, since I would like to bring more of the German perspective here to the Czech Republic (where the sheer lack of it causes people to have a very skewed idea of the whole event), and since it's rather impossible to find anyone my age in the different associations and groups of the descendants of the expelled Germans, I decided that Reddit may just be the way to get in touch with someone whose ancestors (most likely great-grandparents) got deported after the war.

You do not need to be knowledgeable in history (though I'd naturally be thrilled to get even the view of someone who perhaps studies history or orients themselves well in it). I won't really be asking you about historical dates and facts. Mostly, the conversation is going to be about your opinion on how that event is viewed by you and in today's German society + how the memories of it were or were not passed on in your family.

Thank you so much for reading to this point and possibly leaving a comment. It means a ton to me!

Edit: I'm posting this here because I'm hoping to find someone who would be comfortable leading the exchange in English. My conversational German is rather rusty, and I do not believe it's at a level to carry out a discussion about this complex topic.

Did anyone successfully manage to get a job seeker visa without a 6k balance in Munich?

I have submitted all of my documents and am currently an intern making over around 2.4k gross per month. What I don't have is 6k in my bank account, and am currently in the process of getting a declaration of commitment which I don't think will be done in time...

My appointment is in two weeks and I'm scared. I just want to hear everyone else's experience. Thanks!

Me (25M) and my girlfriend (23F) are brazilians and planning to move to germany in like 2-3 years from now. We are still looking for which city to go, but probably gonna be somewhere any of us find a job first.

By now, we are taking a deutschkurs at A1 level (also trying to learn by ourselves at home). Our plan is to move with at least B2/C1 level and a guaranteed job at entry level on our careers, even if it means getting into a lower level than we are working at our country, i am a civil engineer and she is getting into human resources.

We are planning to spend €2.000-2.500/month (depending on which city we are moving to) and saving enough money for staying at least 3 months as backup.

Our biggest motivation to move to germany is getting a better life in various senses (life work balance, better cost of living, a place easier to travel to other countries, security and a culture that fit our values better than brazil)

Does this plan looks solid? Is it realistic? How is the vision of brazilians on germany? I would like to hear if our expectations are somewhat aligned with the current state of germany. Any advice or recommendation is aprecciated.

Hey everyone!

I really like dark chocolate… and I’m looking for recommendations for some of the best ones available in Germany :)

I usually go for around 70–85% cocoa, preferably something with a rich cocoa flavour, smooth texture, and not too much bitterness… but I’m open to trying something new ¯_(ツ)_/¯

I’ve tried Lindt, but I’m personally not a fan of their chocolates, so I’d love to discover some alternatives.
I’m open to both affordable supermarket options (Rewe, Edeka, Aldi, Lidl, etc.) and premium brands, as long as they’re worth the price..

What’s your personal favourite? Any underrated brands or specific chocolate bars I should try?

Thanks in advance! ^^

Hey all,

I’ve been living in Berlin for the past 5 years (lived for 3 years in Munich before that) and I’ve been considering moving to southern Germany and look for a job in Switzerland and commute. Been thinking about potentially moving to Freiburg (and commute to Basel). Has anyone here done that or a similar move and would like to share their experience?!

At this point, I just want to have a bit more net at the end of the month, hence why Switzerland (would need to stay in Germany due to my partner’s health situation and Germany’s health insurance system). I still love Berlin, but I’m just getting tired of seeing the city getting dirty and more dangerous every day. The fact that the city will probably get a government that wants to defund the police doesn’t help with the idea of staying here either. I don’t wanna end up living in a Berlin that will resemble Paris and other French cities with civil-war type of environment. I’m not necessarily a party guy, but I do enjoy bars a lot, so the ‘nightlife Berlin’ doesn’t impact me a lot.

I’m just afraid that moving from a city with >3.9m people to a city with <250k is a massive change and I’ll end up regretting that decision.

Thanks in advance for your input.

I have filed a divorce case after several years of seperation in India. Wife has filed multiple false cases against me both in India and in Germany. She is claiming money from both the countries. Such a fraud and trickster and trying to use the both countries system to her best.

Problem is, I lost my job and couldn't afford a German lawyer. I am looking for help. I am also in India.

Did anyone face same situation? I want guidance.. please help

Hello Tenant,

Starting on November 9, 2026, the balcony will be renovated. Scaffolding will be erected outside to carry out the work. The construction work will take 2 to 3 weeks. The construction workers will not need to go through your apartment. If that becomes necessary, I will let you know.

Best regards,

Apartment Owner

Can this actually happen? 2 bis 3 Weeks? Tenant don't want it and balcony seems fine. Owner just sent the message without further explanations.

Edit 1: You all must be apartment owners. There is nothing apparently wrong with the balcony.

For anyone in Germany interested in Indian cinema, Ramayana: Rise of a Legend will be screened on November 5 at Traumpalast Leonberg, home to the world’s largest IMAX screen.
The movie will be shown in German (German-dubbed version).
Thought this might be worth sharing, especially for those interested in Indian mythology and animated films.

Is anyone planning to watch it on the big screen?
More details: https://leonberg.traumpalast.de/

My friend, who immigrated from her home country to Germany in June of this year is on FRV since that time. She got married almost a year ago. Due to some major issues, she plans to divorce her husband. What will the procedure of divorce and the Visa after divorce?

PS. Advice from a lawyer would be appreciated.

Hi everyone! 😊

My fiancé is German, and we’re planning to get married in South Korea.

One of the documents we need to submit in Seoul is proof that he’s legally free to marry (an Ehefähigkeitszeugnis / certificate of no impediment), with an apostille.

We live in Düsseldorf, standesamt said it will take about two weeks to get this document but he didnt tell us the apostile duration… I’d really appreciate hearing about experiences whom got Ehefähigkeitszeugnis with an ‘apostille’ in Germany

Hi everyone!
I’m from South Africa and planning to apply for a nursing Ausbildung (Pflegefachfrau/Pflegefachmann) in Germany. I’m trying to understand the document process before I start spending money.
I have a few questions:
How do you get your documents translated into German? Do you need a certified/sworn translator, and how do you find one?
Where do you apply for Anerkennung of your school-leaving certificate (Matric) as a South African applicant?
Do you need to complete the Anerkennung process before applying for Ausbildung positions, or can you do it after receiving a contract?
Are there any official websites or resources you would recommend?
I’d really appreciate advice from anyone who has gone through this process

I’m South African and my German fiancée lives in Bavaria. We’re planning to get married in Germany in March 2027. Since South Africa doesn’t issue an Ehefähigkeitszeugnis, we need the OLG exemption, and then I’ll apply for the marriage visa at the consulate in Cape Town.

Has anyone been through the same process? I’d love to hear about your experience, especially how long Home Affairs, DIRCO, the OLG and the visa took.

Hi everyone,
I applied for a German police certificate (Führungszeugnis) from Algeria, and I’m wondering if anyone is in the same situation.
Here is my timeline:
August 25, 2026: My application was delivered to the Bundesamt für Justiz in Bonn.
Payment: €13 paid, and I have proof of payment.
Current status: Still waiting for the certificate.
Follow-up: I’ve called several times over the past 10 days and sent more than six emails, but I haven’t received any response.
I need the certificate for my Canadian permanent residence application, and IRCC has given me until December 15, 2026, to submit it.
My questions:
Has anyone whose application was received by the Bundesamt für Justiz in August 2026 received their Führungszeugnis yet?
How long did it take from delivery of the application to receiving the certificate?
Has anyone managed to contact the Bundesamt für Justiz recently or received a response to their emails?
If you applied from outside Germany, how long did you wait?
I’d really appreciate hearing about your recent experiences, especially from people who applied in August.
Thank you!