living in Germany

yraunaj

can anyone tell me about living in Germany, my OH has just been offered a 3yrs secondment to work in Munich there is just the 2 off us he will be working for a british company we dont speak German at all, i will not be working. we are in our early 50's. any advice comments would be great.

hartcjhart

you will find that the Germans are very friendly helpfull people,I lived in various parts for 3 years,although I had basic school german I managed to pick it up easily,get some good phrase books/CDs/etc and while hubby is at work practice the language,
another tip is to watch German telly as although you might not understand what is being said you will get a 'sound' of how things are said.

Also go round the shops and get to learn what things are called,

you will find that most Germans speak excellent English and willing to help you learn

SugarSpun

That's exactly what I'm doing in April, and my German's pretty limited.

Apparently everyone is extremely friendly and will speak English to you, it's quite easy to pick up spoken German and it's a bunch of trouble getting your admin sorted out when you arrive.

That's all I know so far

odowdchr

yraunaj wrote: »

can anyone tell me about living in Germany, my OH has just been offered a 3yrs secondment to work in Munich there is just the 2 off us he will be working for a british company we dont speak German at all, i will not be working. we are in our early 50's. any advice comments would be great.

My brother went to work in Stuttgart about 3 years ago as a total newbie..no German knowledge at all. He hasn't come home yet. Most people speak English very well and there's a high level of immigrant workers in the South so you don't feel like an outsider.
He loves it....cheaper (though Munich's a bit pricier for property etc..), more efficient, more common sense, just an altogether better experience than living in the UK these days.

Incapuppy

Ooooh, I'm rather jealous. I lived in Germany for four years and it is a fantastic place to be. You will also be going to one of the most beautiful areas, there are so many wonderful places to see within an hour or two of Munich.

Are you working? The reason I ask is that although it was a long time ago (1986) because I was leaving my employment to accompany my husband with his employment abroad I was able to claim the equivalent of unemployment benefit for a set amount of time. It might be worth checking if this arrangement still exists. It wasn't too bad arranging the paperwork at this end but it was quite overwhelming and a bit of a hassle over there - worth it though to supplement your income for a bit if you drop from two wages coming in to just the one.

I have just found a link to an expat site with info and forums (which has a section for Munich).

http://www.toytowngermany.com/

I'm sure you will have a fantastic time.

[Deleted User]

here is a really good website (in English!) that'll help you find your way through administration in Munich: http://www.muenchen.de/Rathaus/1336/index.html

yraunaj

Incapuppy wrote: »

Ooooh, I'm rather jealous. I lived in Germany for four years and it is a fantastic place to be. You will also be going to one of the most beautiful areas, there are so many wonderful places to see within an hour or two of Munich.

Are you working? The reason I ask is that although it was a long time ago (1986) because I was leaving my employment to accompany my husband with his employment abroad I was able to claim the equivalent of unemployment benefit for a set amount of time. It might be worth checking if this arrangement still exists. It wasn't too bad arranging the paperwork at this end but it was quite overwhelming and a bit of a hassle over there - worth it though to supplement your income for a bit if you drop from two wages coming in to just the one.

I have just found a link to an expat site with info and forums (which has a section for Munich).

http://www.toytowngermany.com/

I'm sure you will have a fantastic time.

thanks for that just as a matter of interest did you have a job at anytime? just wondered how easy it was did you speak german?

jay_cee_2

Hi
I lived in Germany for 6 months last year, my OH is German.
We lived in her town, of approx 13,000 inhabitants, few of them spoke English, but to be fair, they really wanted/tried! And the best thing was, I learnt German, I had to. I simply picked it up through listening to conversations, and the fact that the mother in law can only speak German, I had to learn it to communicate.
I really miss it there, you find a much more of a community spirit over there. i.e. you buy your bread from a baker, meat from a butcher.
I wish we still lived there, but a opportunity came up in Spain. However, we are giving this Spanish opportunity until September, then we decide on the future. In a way, I hope to move back to Germany, despite all the hassles of moving furniture!
Good luck, and make the plunge! I loved it in Germany, the people are FANTASTIC.

Incapuppy

yraunaj wrote: »

thanks for that just as a matter of interest did you have a job at anytime? just wondered how easy it was did you speak german?

I did but it was with the British Military so I didn't need to speak German for that.

If you wanted to work over there you could maybe ask about work for Brits on that forum I mentioned ans start to learn German in the meantime?

I would so love to be able to go back and live there.

jonnyjackov

Admittedly I have only been to Berlin, but I have fallen in love with Germany. The people are very friendly and I think it is a very safe country to live in. I went to Berlin for a three day break 2 years ago and have been back 14 times now. I want to live there Sorry not much help, but I wish I was you. Good luck.

Nordictat2

Well from my experience and having friends from Germany...their english is quite poor so if I were you I would atleast good a book and or dvd for German basics and don't forget all their TV is dubbed in German heh.

You can always start with this... https://www.deutsch-lernen.com

Good Luck!