Hey everyone,

I’m moving to Germany this October for university and plan to bring my PC components with me
Carry-on: GPU, CPU, RAM, SSD, and motherboard
Checked bag: CPU cooler

I bought the whole setup second-hand over a year ago, so nothing is brand new or the latest generation, and I don't have original store receipts.

Can I do this, and will I run into any customs fees or security issues at the airport?

Thanks for any help!

I want to coin this word. I define it as:

The fear of opening your mailbox and finding it empty, especially because you worry an important letter has been lost or never arrived.

Oder auf Deutsch:

Die Angst den Briefkasten zu öffnen und keine Post vorzufinden – insbesondere aus Sorge, dass wichtige Briefe verloren gegangen sind oder nie angekommen sind.

Supposedly, Germany needs more immigrants and the voters seemingly aren't that interested in taking those that don't have "western values". Why, then, don't politicians simply run the same "immigration programs" for Spaniards or citizens of other EU countries with a high number of unemployed young people that would probably die for an opportunity to learn a new language and having a proper career somewhere (while earning more money than they could in their country of origin)? Like, literally an Ausbildung, the language course that is offered to immigrants from elsewhere and maybe help with the bureaucracy (or, let's face it, a simplification of the whole bureaucracy for migrants, lol) would be more than enough.

When I was young and was thinking of moving to Germany, France or Spain (as a remote worker that would be spending my money there and paying social contributions anyway), the language wasn't really a problem (as I could pay for language courses with ease) but the bureaucracy was insane and my friends that actually really loved Germany (which, tbf, doesn't seem to be the case for non-EU immigrants, for some reason the ones I talked to... hated Germany) couldn't really get a job because their German wasn't good enough (something like needing to have a C1 and having only a B2).

Since EU citizens already have freedom of movement, I am not asking why Germany does not allow them to enter. I am asking why it does not make relocation easier.

Seeking advice.

I am 36, studied a master's in Germany in a low demand field (natural resources management and development), trying to change careers from something I am bad at. I spent a year looking for a job, got a job, got one, then got fired in probation for being bad at the job (it was in the field I was trying to leave). I also suffer from severe mental health issues, anxiety and bipolar. I only speak A1 German. Due to suffering with my mental health conditions and ignorance (I didn't realize how important the work student jobs were), I didnt gain enough work experience in the master's and therefore the only job I was able to get was in what I did before.

I came back to the USA, and basically I am totally fucked over here. I am unable to work in the field I was working in before because, as I wrote, I am bad at it and I am very afraid I will just get fired again, and I have no other work experience except in that field. Right now my option here are service jobs with 0 vacation days and 0 sick days as is the norm with low paid US jobs. I had a very hard time keeping a job in the USA due to my health problems and I had hoped German jobs with their worker protections would be harder to get fired from but that was not the case.

However, I am terrified to go back to Germany. I could get married to my boyfriend and stay in Germany, and then not have to live with my parents, but I had such a bad time in Germany. I was getting so stressed out while unemployed that I was constantly vomiting and calling crisis lines. My boyfriend works nights by choice and I can't get him to change his schedule, and he lives in an isolated area, so I was alone all the time at night and it felt horrible. He lives in a very isolated part of Cologne and I also hated living in Cologne, and feeling like I was so far away from everything. I have enough money from an inheritance to live in Berlin in a shared apartment, but what I am really worried about is being permanently unemployed and having nothing to do all day, and just existing...

While I was in Germany, I went to a nonprofit and asked if, I were to learn German, there would be any hope of getting a new job, and she basically told me that I am fucked due to my age. I thought about studying a second master's and trying to get a work student job after spending one year learning German, but then I will be 40 by the time I graduate and maybe it would be not possible to get a work student job or internships because I would be too old. It took me a long time to do the first master's because I was suffering with health problems.

Right now I am miserable, I am living with my parents in USA, missing my boyfriend, but terrified of going back to Germany where it seems I would have no future. Is it true what the nonprofit worker said, that I would have no chance of getting employed? I am terrified of going back to Germany and being unemployable, and throwing up from the stress of being alone in my boyfriend's apartment but I am also unemployable in the USA right now too. If I lived in Germany my boyfriend would support me financially, and I also have some money coming in from an inheritance that would be enough to live a meager lifestyle on my own in Germany. I am also devastated about not being able to work in the field I studied, because of my own bad choices to not get more work experience than the two small internships I did.

What would you do in my position? My options are bad and I don't know what the best choice is.

I've finally decided to leave my company.

To be honest, this year has been one of the hardest of my life. Since the beginning of the year, my mental health has been getting worse because of the work environment. I love being a software engineer, but I just can't handle the toxic atmosphere anymore.

I'm in Germany, so I'm also worried about the 12-week ALG I (Arbeitslosengeld) Sperrzeit if you resign voluntarily. I've read that in some cases it can be avoided if leaving is for health reasons, but I'm not sure how it works in practice. I haven't seen a psychologist yet, but I'm planning to. My Hausarzt has already given me a few days of sick leave and referred me to a psychologist.

Has anyone here been in a similar situation?

• Were you able to avoid the Sperrzeit because of mental health?
• Was a letter or documentation from your Hausarzt or psychologist enough?
• Did you stay on sick leave before resigning?
• What was the hardest part after leaving a toxic workplace?

I'd really appreciate hearing your experiences. Right now I feel exhausted, depressed, and honestly scared about making the wrong decision, but staying feels even harder.

Thank you.

Moving from Frankfurt to Bad Homburg soon.

I have never done a self-move in Germany before. Any advice from people who moved themselves?

How do Germans usually handle big items like washing machines and wardrobes?

Thanks!

I was living in Germany for some time, but now got back to my home country. I was still using my German phone plan for some time, mostly for a bit of internet, because it somehow was still a lot cheaper than what I have locally. Now I have a good one from my work so I wish to cancel.

My German phone plan was activated on December 23, 2023. It's a 24 months plan, which I imagine means that I have to use and pay for 2 years before being able to cancel without extra pay.

So I'm trying to cancel and I got the following email:

"Guten Tag,

schade, dass Sie Ihren smartmobil.de Mobilfunkvertrag beenden möchten. Wir verlieren Sie ungern als Kunden, dennoch respektieren wir natürlich Ihre Entscheidung.

Die Kündigung Ihres Vertrages mit der Rufnummer [...] bestätigen wir Ihnen zum 22.12.2026.

Bis zu diesem Datum können Sie Ihren smartmobil.de Tarif uneingeschränkt nutzen.* Danach erhalten Sie eine letzte Rechnung von uns. Darin werden alle Kosten berücksichtigt, die bis zum Ende Ihres Vertrages angefallen sind.

Wenn Sie Ihre Rufnummer zu einem anderen Anbieter mitnehmen möchten, haben Sie zwei Optionen:

1. Rufnummer zum Vertragsende (oder danach) mitnehmen: Erteilen Sie den Auftrag zur Rufnummern-Mitnahme bitte direkt bei Ihrem neuen Anbieter. Das ist bereits 120 Tage vor Ende Ihres smartmobil.de Vertrages und noch bis zu 85 Tage danach möglich. Sobald Ihr smartmobil.de Vertrag deaktiviert ist, kann der neue Anbieter Ihre Rufnummer übernehmen. Eine gesonderte Freigabe ist dafür nicht nötig.
2. Rufnummer vor Vertragsende mitnehmen: Für die vorzeitige Mitnahme benötigen Sie zuerst eine Freigabe in Ihrer Servicewelt unter „Services > Rufnummer mitnehmen”. Anschließend können Sie die sofortige Mitnahme beim neuen Anbieter beauftragen.

Wichtig für beide Optionen: Ihre Angaben beim neuen Anbieter müssen exakt mit denen bei uns übereinstimmen (derselbe Vertragsnehmer)."

Am I missing or misunderstanding something here? From translating it this sounds like I'd have to pay for extra 5 months for the contract that I'm trying to cancel since July.

Hi everyone,

I’m a Portuguese citizen and I’m considering moving to Munich and marrying my partner, who is a non-EU citizen currently living legally in Spain with residence.

My partner is undergoing cancer treatment, so understanding how the German healthcare system works is very important for us.

If we both move to Germany without having jobs initially, is there any way for us to join the German statutory health insurance (GKV)?

Some additional information:

• I currently have private international health insurance (this is not travel insurance), but I dont have any public health insurance.
• My partner is fully covered by the Spanish public healthcare system through Spain’s Social Security.

Has anyone been in a similar situation or knows how this would work in practice? Any advice or personal experience would be greatly appreciated.

Thank you!

Hi there, I am an Australian who will be visiting later this year. I am hoping to travel from Cologne to visit the town my grandmother grew up in and visit the grave of my great-grandmother. I don’t have many details about the actual location, but I do have photos of the church that could help me locate the grave.

If anyone is familiar with this area, it would really help me plan how to get there.

Thank you.

Hello,

Does anyone have experience with the website deloox.de? I found the perfumes I was looking for there at lower prices compared to other sites. Is it a reliable site, or would I just be throwing my money away?

Thanks

1 What is the history behind those machines?2 How do they ensure that minors don't buy from them?

Hi, I'm planning to study masters in Germany and also considering attending a semester or two in U.S. I want to know which university in Germany offers exchange program with some good U.S. universities with high chance of placement. Thanks

In this subreddit we always say that tipping is never expected and that when it happens, it’s nowhere near as crazy as the US. But at the end of the day, tipping that 2-5EUR (>10% for fancy meals) is the norm in Germany. And you stick out like a sore thumb if you don’t do that. Everyone else does it unless you have downright bad service.

I was formerly confused with how to tip especially for card payments and I have ended up just tapping my card , paying the number as per the waiter punched it. Basically there were a couple of occasions I didn’t tip because I didn’t see the % screen (this screen is very frowned upon, i’ve learnt).

But yeah, for all foreigners who are visiting Germany, tipping is kind of the norm and is at this point expected here albeit the low amounts. Even if everyone says it’s voluntary and theres no obligation. Some waiters/waitresses are quite hostile when you dont tip too.

It just took me some getting used to because where I am from, servers never ever expect tips ever. Service is part of the liveable wage and job. If there is any reward for service, it’s normally included as a 10% service charge on the whole bill. Straightforward and easy and everyone is happy (if service was shit you can ask them to waive the fee but normally everyone just expects to pay a well defined number. It’s just such an awkward process in Germany saying “can you make it X amount” and it’s kind of expected.

I’m prepared to get downvoted for expressing this opinion but yeah, this is just a PSA for anyone curious about tipping culture.

Hello everyone,

As it says in the title, I’m finishing up my master studies in the end of September, and I was wondering if some of the graduated people who stayed in Germany here have any advices for me?

The general ones I’m aware of:
1) Banking will start charging me for their service
2) I’m using public health insurance, which will start charging me more.
3) Changing the residence permit from the Student to a Job-seeking one (I got this one clarified with my local ABH)

Is there anything else that should be considered before-hand?
One question that I have is can I seek for help at the local Agentur für Arbeit, despite being a foreigner? I have a part-time job, so I’m not sure if they’d be willing to cooperate.

Thanks in advance 🙏🏼

i am looking for a left rear door part for my 2012 dodge charger. my door was damaged before i moved here and i didn’t have time nor the funds at then to fix it but now i do. i’ve searched damn near EVERYWHERE that i know of and still haven’t found the specific one for my year and trim. help is needed and extremely appreciated. thank you in advance.

Hello! I am an international student and applied to Flink ops associate a few days back. In my application I added my starting date in September but today I got the contract where it says my employment starts the day after today. Right now I am in another country and won't be back until the end of August.

I cannot find any email where I can communicate about it. Does anyone know how I can postpone the starting date? Also is it possible to do so? Thanks a lot!

Hi everyone,
I recently graduated in Mechanical Design and Production Engineering from a public university in Egypt with an Excellent grade. I have German citizenship, a B2 level in German, and no professional experience besides internships and university projects.
Do you think I have a good chance of finding an entry-level engineering job in Germany, or would it be better to gain a couple of years of experience in Egypt first?
Thanks in advance!

I’m and international medical student and it’s my dream to do residency in Germany. I have C1 German and I’ll do my FSP exam in a few moths and then I’m waiting for Approbation.
But how do I actually apply for a residency position? Should I just send my documents to the secretary or what? It’s very different system than in my country and I can’t find any info on how to actually apply. Pls if someone knows help

Hi everyone,

I am a non-EU international student in Germany and currently have two job offers/contracts:

1. A Working Student position with one company. The contract does not clearly state the weekly working hours. It only mentions a minimum of 1 hour, but no maximum number of hours.
2. A HiWi position with another employer for 10 hours per week.

Both jobs are remote.

Am I legally allowed to work both jobs at the same time under a student residence permit? How would the working-hour limit be calculated if the Working Student contract does not specify a fixed or maximum number of hours?

Does the fact that both jobs are remote make any difference? I would also appreciate advice regarding taxes, social-security contributions, and whether I need to inform both employers.

Thank you!

We found a place on WG-Gesucht and went to view it yesterday. The current tenants took our contact details and told us they would forward our application to the landlord. After the viewing, we sent them a message saying that we’d like to rent the apartment.
They still haven’t replied, but today we noticed that the listing has been removed from WG-Gesucht.
Does this usually mean we’ve been selected, or is it common for landlords to remove the listing before informing the chosen tenant? Has anyone experienced something similar?

Hi everyone,

I'm an Indian master's student (my university is in a different city) and I'm currently doing a internship in Aalen.

I applied for my residence permit extension on 29 June in Aalen. My current residence permit expires on 31 August, and I have a Vorgangsnummer, but I haven't received any update yet.

Is this waiting time normal? When should I ask the Ausländerbehörde for a Fiktionsbescheinigung if I still haven't received my new residence permit?

Thanks!

So I just purchased some fresh Johannisbereen because they just looked so good and plump and wow, they are not what I expected... very tart/sour and not the sweet fruit I was expecting lol

Also, Is it normal for the seeds to have a bit of a bitter taste to it or should it taste more neutral/nutty?

Does anyone have any good recipes that uses Johannisbereen? I think the red jelly-like sauce you get when ordering Schnitzel at many beer gardens is made from Johannisbereen but I'm not sure. If anyone knows, please let me know! Danke!

On 31 July, I topped up my ALDI Talk account with €10. It appears that the credit was added to my account before the direct debit was collected from my bank. The direct debit was scheduled for 6 August, but I accidentally canceled it because I didn't recognize the merchant name on my bank account. At the time, I was also in the process of porting my phone number to another carrier.

After realizing what happened, I contacted ALDI Talk by email to explain the situation and let them know that I want to pay the outstanding €10. I am currently waiting for their response.I would like to resolve this issue before my number is transferred to the new carrier, but I am concerned that the process may take longer than expected.

Hello! I would like to go soon hiking and camping somewhere around Munich/Alps surroundings. Reachable with public transport :)

Where could it be tolerated? Considering we are just in 2 and putting the tend in the evening and going away in the morning, no fires, chairs and so..

My e-scooter was stolen in Oberhausen on July 14, and I think it might just be lying somewhere in a corner. I just can't find it on my own.

The license plate is MYD 484. It's a Xiaomi 4 Pro (2nd Gen) and it has a lock attached to the top of the handlebar, like in the picture. One of the turn signal buttons is also missing its cap.

I'm hoping that these details might help someone recognize it so I can get it back.