My two roomates and i just decided we want to move to Germany, we are in Az,what is our 1st step?

Question

They work in a large company that will transfer the to luxemborg. So we are thinking about moving to Trier. I Know we all need to make a trip out there for atleast a week to look for houseing.Does any one know or have been to Germany that had any recomnedations?I know they speak english out there but should I learn german? I have lived in Ca and AZ my whole life so this is going to be a real culture shock.Any advice would be appreciated

Answer 1

Anyone who says that there is no culture shock in Germany is lying.  All the shops close at 8. Nothing is open on Sundays.  You can only get medicine from an Apotheke which closes at 12-2:30 for lunch mon, tue, thu, fri closes at noon on wed. and sat. and is closed all day sunday, so if you get sick at 1 pm on saturday you are s.o.l until 8 am monday. maybe 1 in 10 people can speak good enough english to actually talk to you. and get used to walking because gas costs €1,45/liter which is €5,50/gallon if you do get a job (unemployment is around 12%) you have to learn to budget because you get paid once a month and the tax rate is nearly 50%..   Good luck

Answer 2

Yes, you should at least LEARN a few key phrases and try to pick up more as you live there. It's like how many Americans perceive the Mexican's who can't speak English here...they, too, may be offended.

Germany is a beautiful country rich in the arts, culture, history, etc. I wouldn't mind moving there myself someday.

Answer 3

US-citizens do not need any visa beforehand if they wish to move to Germany. It is ok if you just pack up and go. You can apply for a residency permit when you are there.

What is tough however is getting a work permit. Your roommates will have their income from their jobs in Luxembourg, but you won't be so lucky. Getting a work permit for Germany is practically "forget it", unless you hold a PhD, are computer genius or want to be a freelance teacher for English. You'll need a TOEFL certificate for the last option. Since you cannot get a work permit, all of your income has to come from savings (or your significant other paying for you).

Another possible option for you could be to to become a student.

http://www.daad.de/deutschland/index.en....

http://www.uni-trier.de/index.php?id=48&...

Students are granted limited work permits for 10-20 hours per week. You won't earn enough to support yourself though, so your main income will still have to be savings or something. The advantage is that people graduating from German university are given one year to find a job suiting their degree and if they find one they'll get a work permit.

If you apply for a residency permit, are not a student and don't know any German, the German government will require you to take lessons (so-called Integrationskurs). This course will run over 6 months. The German government pays for most of the costs, you'll be charged 600 EUR cover fee (1 EUR per hour). It is definitely the cheapest way to have intensive lessons in German, as most institutes charge 6 EUR per hour.

Cost of living is approx. 700 EUR per month if you rent a small room. If you move with your room mates and do a flat share with them I think you could get by on 600 EUR per month. You need to have enough money to live for a year in Germany (approx. 10,000 USD at the current exchange rate), or you will not get a residency permit.

If you need more help, ask here:

http://www.toytowngermany.com

Answer 4

You don't get any culture shock in Germany. We are having so many Americana's living here. And everything is take it easy here don't worry.

I'm not sure you need Visa for Germany. Contact your local German Embassy and ask them. Buy some book about Germany and look over it, and you need some dictionary also.

Visit the web: www.trier.de. for the city you want to go there. Good Luck ..... By the way Luxembourg is very nice place.

Answer 5

Your first port of call should be researching the required visas to work in Germany and the procedures to obtain one.

If you are eliegble then book yourselves a couple of tickets and visit as tourists, research house, apartment etc prices and also take a look at how much daily, weekly, monthly living expenses would be - rent, food, transportation etc and see if this move is financially viable and also see if you actually LIKE it there i.e could you live there.

Once you have made a decision come home, apply for the appropriate visas and go through the motions.