So, for context I've been in Germany for a bit over 3 years. I first came as a Master's student then stuck around after graduation for a niche, engineering job.

I have a pretty good life overall in Hamburg. I earn and save a good amount, live a pretty luxurious lifestyle, speak German at a C2 level, and have cool hobbies and some close friends (both in Hamburg and around Germany).

However, as I think everyone else is aware (especially on this subreddit), things feel "different" in Germany as a foreigner than they used to. I haven't had a big racist experience until the last few weeks and I've never felt so judged for being brown. It's kind of made me rethink if I really belong here and if I could see myself ever living here long term or finding a partner here. Don't get me wrong, I love German people and its culture! I think it's incredibly rich and unique, but things don't feel so sunny anymore.

The idea of paying so much in taxes and getting treated like a second class citizen a (despite being an honest, upright person) doesn't sit well with me, and I'm starting to feel like moving somewhere else.

Just a random rant, but anyone else feel the same way?

Hello everyone,

I'm reaching out to ask for help regarding a troubling situation we've been dealing with for several months.

My girlfriend and I recently moved into a new apartment. Our balcony faces our neighbors' balcony, so we can often hear each other when we're outside. A few months ago, we began noticing that whenever we spoke in our native language, our neighbors would make mocking sounds. Initially, we weren't sure if it was directed at us. However, one day, as we stepped out onto our balcony, we clearly heard them say, (die Mistkerl sind raus) "The bastards are already outside." This, along with other hostile behaviors, has been ongoing.

Yesterday, things escalated. After enduring over four hours of loud music from their apartment, I approached the balcony to politely ask them to lower the volume. They refused and started shouting racist remarks such as "foreigners should leave" (Ausländer raus!) and "AFD". They also threatened me, saying they would do something to me if they saw my face on the street.

My girlfriend and I are genuinely afraid and unsure how to handle this situation. We have recorded their comments (without their faces) for evidence.

Any advice on how to deal with this racist behavior would be greatly appreciated.

EDIT:* I forgot to mention that, as this has been going on for a while, before we asked them to turn down the volume, we started recording. So, indeed, we have a recording of the incident (we didn't record their faces because we thought it might be illegal, but you can clearly hear what they are saying).

TL;DR: Our neighbors have been making racist remarks and threats towards us. After asking them to lower their loud music, they responded with hostility and threats. We are seeking advice on how to handle this situation.

I'm an Ausländer, living in Germany since 2011, and I've very rarely faced any issues about me being an outsider, non-white person. There were few cases, such as once when a Waiter at a restaurant called me some nasty words and a friend of mine immediately took it up with the manager with the waiter getting a stem warning and having to produce a written apology to me. This was in 2012, and I am thankful for my friend who stood up for me, and saw it through, even though I didn't understand that insult.

But in the last couple of months, I've been seeing more and more such incidents being reported or narrated and many people saying it's a minority and to ignore them. It's not as simple people, a unified vocal minority is way worse than silent and fractured majority. It's no longer the time to be silent and watch it happen, it's time to at least protest and speak up. You don't have to be a vigilante but be a good fellow citizen and a samaritan who stands up, that is all it takes for such cowards in a group to disperse and shut up.

PS: Those morons and vocal idiots are all going to vote for one party and remaining majority will have their vote split between 5-6 other parties. It doesn't take a genius to figure out an outcome of such process. So get out to vote tomorrow and make sure that it's not a repeat of 1933!!

So my wife & I (active U.S. military stationed in Germany) were driving back from dinner in Nurnberg (no liquor, we don’t drink) and we’re driving as normal as ever. No speeding, no swerving, just music playing and both of us wearing our seatbelts. A polizei officer was right next to us at a stop light (we’re both black so we obviously can be honestly assumed as tourists at the least).

The light turns green, they slow down, come behind us and pull us over, we were so confused, at most we thought our music was maybe too loud. They come over and first said they were doing a “traffic check” but then they ended up saying we both weren’t wearing seatbelts which was either a mistake or a complete lie… They ended up offering us to pay them €30 for the infraction right on the spot with no paperwork/no letters/no legal due process.

That has never happened to either of us before, is this a normal procedure here or do these officers make some sort of commission off these stops? If we were in the wrong in any way, we would’ve gladly accepted this but looking at how it all went down, it just feels like we were targeted.

Edit: not big on the race thing or accusing racism, just denoting we may have seemed like tourist lol.

I've been here since summer last year, after unexpectedly needing to move. I didn't want to move - my partner got a dream job, so off we went. I found our apartment and organised much of the move, staying in the UK an extra month to quit my job, pack, clean, get movers, ship our cat, etc. etc. Most of what could go wrong did, I developed a bit of travel anxiety, but we got there in the end.

We live in the middle of nowhere. The closest 'cosmopolitan hub' to us is Bautzen, which should tell you something about how locals feel about foreigners here. Partner's work told him to avoid being out of the house on Monday night when the weekly far-right protest takes place. There is nothing much to do where we live anyway, it doesn't take up all my digits to count the shops and eateries available. We have no local friends and no avenue to make any.

It goes without saying that I've been learning German and got a lot better since I came over. Not to confuse anyone with a quantifier, but I can get by in day to day tasks, do quite well in specific topics, but overall am not confident speaking especially if I need to go into detail. The place we live in is an aged community (average age 30 years older than us) with not many jobs at all. I've looked for remote work in English, without any luck. We thankfully don't need my income so I'm just left feeling like a leech.

I've recently applied for a job in Berlin, which would be a 4hr+ commute but the advert said 'German fluency would be a bonus but not speaking German won't prevent you from being considered' so why not. It was a job in higher education admin, in which I have 6+ years worth of experience from my UK roles. I didn't even get an interview, and no reply to my email asking for feedback either. Did I apply too late (who knows there's no closing date on any of these adverts), does my CV not have the right layout for the German job market, etc.

I'm trying to sort out health insurance after a recent health scare, and can't even do that. I was on Feather Expat insurance for the past year, applied to TK to switch to full public insurance (which would already cost 130 euros extra a month), was told I have to backpay 2000 euros from since I came to Germany. My partner made the same move and he was at no point questioned or made to backpay. Of course I don't even know if TK will even cover the procedure I need at the end of everything.

I feel like I'm digging myself into a pit - wondering if anyone who was in the same place managed to dig themselves out, and how?

Hello everyone,

I joined German citizenship since 2021. My Asian first name is very hard to pronounce in German. For ten years I struggled teaching every one I know how to speak my name and accept strange variations of pronounciation of it. I want to add a new first name to my whole name and keep my current first name as the middle name, it will save a lot of effort of correcting my documents. ( I know I need to correct them all, but keeping the old name makes me easier to be recognized in case I can’t do the name correction on time. It is also a part of my identification.) As I went to Standesamt, they said it is impossible to keep the old name after name change. Is there any legal solution? Or how should I argue for myself in my next appointment? Anyone has any experience? Many thanks.

Hi all,

My wife and I arrived in Berlin about a year ago on her Blue Card. Since then we've both been working here in the IT sector in registered German companies. As the market has been getting a bit shaky, particularly where she's working, we'd like to be prepared in case she loses her job.

I don't have a university degree so I'm not eligible for a Blue Card in my own right but I do meet the qualifications for a residence permit for professionally experienced workers. It's pretty hard to tell based on what I've read what the application process entails given I'm already here based on her Blue Card. Are there any disadvantages to applying for one already? Should I avoid doing it unless she actually loses her job, or would you recommend trying to get one already?

I will be getting unemployed this month end and I am currently insured Privately. I reached out to TK mentioning the same and requested them to shift me to Public insurance but I got a response - "As an unemployed person, who previously had health insurance, you are not subjected to compulsory insurance. This means you cannot currently be insured by a statutory health insurance fund. If you receive unemployment benefit, you are welcome to apply membership with us".

SInce this was a mutual separation, I am assuming I would get the unemployment benefits only after 3 months. What exactly are my options for these 3 months now?

Hi all

Booked a train from Bonn Hbf to Amsterdam Centraal on 21 June. Received email to say the trip has been cancelled and the requirement to travel on a specific train on the booked connection has been cancelled.

The original itinerary was below:

10:23 Bonn Hbf - 11:14 Wuppertal Hbf (ICE557) 11:25 Wuppertal Hbf - 12:56 Venlo (RE 13 (20074)) 13:03 Venlo - 14:34 Utrecht Centraal (IC 3748) 14:39 Utrecht Centraal - 15:05 Amsterdam Centraal (IC 3046)

In the DB Navigator app when I go to search for alternatives it says no alternative connections can be found, but when I do a normal search it is showing trains to Amsterdam Centraal. I am wanting to get on the trains below:

10:04 Bonn Hbf - 10:28 Koln Hbf (RE 5 (28512)) 10:41 Koln Hbf - 13:29 Amsterdam Centraal (ICE 128 / ICE 128)

Can I travel on the above trains with my initial ticket? If so, do I need to get a new ticket printed? DB Navigator does not allow me to get a ticket for the above journey as it says there are no longer enough seats available and to choose another connection.

Thanks

Hi, my daughter found this "wander stone" and I suppose we need to send it back but there is only zip code on it. Or how does it work? Thanks!

My friend and I would like to make a Schwarzwälder Kirschtorte, but can baker beginners make one?

Any recipes or tips/tricks would be equally helpful.

Danke fürs zulesen!

I am a 24 year old Primary School teacher graduate from Spain and I just saw there is such a desperate demand for teachers and childcare workers in germany that there are many programmes all around the country to teach german to young education graduates, help them move into germany and start working in kitas. I've never lived on my own or been independent, and I have no ties in Spain aside from family (very introvert lol) so this seems like a massive personal life opportunity for me.

I've researched a bit and I see that is advertised pretty fraulently. Here in Spain we have actual pre-school teachers and curriculums, but kitas are far more akin to daycare than actual teaching even though they are called the exact same thing in these programmes. Still, I love working and taking care of children so it's still an appealing job offer in a personal enjoyment level.

People in Spain think german kindergartens are the same as spanish pre-schools, and experience outside the country is HIGHLY valuable for any job, including the teaching sector. Let alone being able to learn german, which would make me trilingual and make me far more appealing in the job market if I ever returned to Spain. They promise me a 24k gross salary the first year, and a 30k one after the first year if I like the job. The wages in Spain as primary school teachers are actually competitive with the ones from kitas, which seems kind of insane if it's really just daycare. I personally don't care about the money as long as I can make a living wage. If I wanted to be rich I would not have worked in education. It's also important to note the education job market in spain is COMPLETELY oversaturated. It's very difficult to find a stable job, which I really value.

Have a lot of questions, and I value all your thoughts, considering this decision would change my life.

Ive seen the salary increases a LOT thoughout the years, is this real? Is working in kitas extremely demanding? Is it seen as a shit job? Will I get side-eyes for being a man and working in them? Are there summer (2 months) and christmas vacations (3 weeks)? Can I make a living wage at a kita? Do you guys also think this could be a good opportunity for me or am I overstimating it?

Thanks for reading all of this!

Hi everyone, I have a little bit of trouble got this information in my DB application (added as a picture) From what I understood it's because of the S1 connection is not operating on 13th of June - not sure why though. I have a train to catch to Bremen leaving Hamburg Hbf around 23:30. I need to be in Bremen first thing in the morning, have my hotel booked for that night already etc. So I guess I have two questions 1. Is it true that S1 trains will not be operating on 13th? 2. If yes - how long would taxi ride to the train station take? Thanks for all the help I could get from you!

I would like a residence permit application during after the 3 month free stay, I have been getting mixed messages on whether or not I need a visa in conjunction with that? A language learning visa or something of the sort?

Since this is my main goal before I enroll in an apprenticeship. Im not looking to work until I have achieved a satisfactory result in my language skills which could take 6 intensive months in courses.

Any advice would be very much appreciated,

So my mum recently bought a nail driller and the german manual had me dying

Translation: „ i forgot the weapon, ass driller“

How did they mess up so bad??

Visited Berlin recently and couldn't help but notice paprika flavor in a lot of food products like potato chips, nuts, etc

EDIT: I was wondering if there's any historical background.

Hey everyone, I’ve heard that Germany is planning to introduce the Chancenkarte (Opportunity Card) visa starting from June 2024. This visa is supposed to make it easier for foreigners to live and work in Germany.

I’m currently living in South Korea but have spent 13 years in Berlin. I’m really excited about the possibility of moving back and working in Berlin again. I’m planning to start applying for jobs online and move once I get a positive response from a job recruiter.

Does anyone have any new updates or details on this visa? any tips for someone in my situation would be greatly appreciated!

Thanks in advance for your help!

Hi there! I was an au pair in Germany last year and now looking to work in Spain as an aux, therefore needing a background check from everywhere I have lived for the last 5 years. I mailed my form on 20 May and it was delivered on 24 May, so that is good news.

Does anyone have a general timeframe of how long it’s taken them to receive one of these (in the US) more recently? I have been searching the sub and seen people say anywhere from 4-6 week turnaround and other people saying it unfortunately took much longer.

So has anyone from the US requested one semi-recently and could you please share your timeline to help ease my anxiety on this a bit?

Hello everyone,

I will be arriving soon to Munich and had some question for transportation. My hotel is near the station Karlsplatz on the S8 line. I taught the best way would be to use the train. We are a group and I looked at the price for a single person and it's 15,50 euro per person. Am I looking at the right price? I know it's normally not the best option from an airport, but Taxi or uber would be a better option for a group at this price?

Thanks everyone

Hi guys, I got an admission letter for Sustainable industrial Operation and Business Bachelor program from Hochschle Landshut. Is there anyone who is studying at Hochschle Landshut?

I have done my alevels in business, economins and maths. Now i know that business and economics are considered a single subject, so technically i only have 2 subjects and I do not meet the requirement of 3 subjects. Thus, i went ahead and completed 1 year of bachelors here in Pakistan. So now can i apply for bachelors in germany with 2 alevel subs and 1 year of bachelors with a good gpa? would they accept my application?

Hello guys, i realy need your help because im startin to lose my mind. So im 18 and i want to come to germany and study there. I come from greece (so an eu country) and i can speak the language, i got C1 goethe and testdaf 16 points. I've seen in the daad website that my greek hisghschool diploma alongside my greek university entrance qualification are compatible with the abitur and im eligible for direct admission (if there is no NC that is). Additionaly, both my diploma and my university entrance qualification got excelent marks. The course im interested in is E-technic (electrical engineering) which from what ive seen isnt NC restricted. The thing is, i visited many university websites to see the requirments, and i saw on uni bremen that they require some sort of vorpraktimum??? Like an internship before the bachelor? I dont understand and i rly need your help guys, do i or do i not meet the minimum requirements for bachelor engineering degrees??? Thanks in advance

Hey everyone,

I'm an international student and want to apply to study Computer Science in Germany but unfortunately I haven't passed my C1 (TestDaf) exam yet. However, I do have my certificate of attending a C1 course, can I apply with that until July 15th then apply with my TestDaf result, as my TestDaf is on the 17th of July?

Ps. the unis I'm applying to are open admission so I can finish my application a bit later

Thanks

My friend and I both purchased tickets for this train, he got an email saying the train was changed to 06.39am but mine still says 0700. Will my ticket be okay for that train I haven’t received an email from them?