3💥 Things I Wish I Knew About Before Moving to Germany
If you’re reading, you’re probably considering moving to Germany or you’re already here and trying to get settled. Whatever the case may be, welcome to the My Expat Life community where we are leveraging our collective knowledge to help make your experience the best one possible.
There are many great things about Germany. It has one of the highest quality of life in the EU, the economy is competitive, has one of the most educated workforce with the highest paying jobs and working conditions, and enjoys one of the lowest unemployment rates in the world; just to name a few.
It’s no wonder then that so many people have Germany in their sights as a destination to live and work. However, Germany can be a difficult place to get settled in.
Fortunately for you, that’s one of the reasons we started My Expat Life, to shave off that learning curve for you and make your transition into living in Germany as seamless as possible. As founders and expats ourselves, we asked each other what were some of the most valuable things we wish we knew before moving to Germany. This is what we agreed on:
Do I need to Know German to Come to Germany?
This depends. Germany has only existed in its present form for just over 30 years. Before then, it was divided into two separate countries, namely East and West Germany. This was done to the country after the Second World War by the Allied countries who introduced two separate systems and cultures. West Germany developed under a capitalist model and western values. Since English is the common language of business, Western Germany developed into being very English-friendly and most Germans will speak some form of basic English.
However, East Germany was heavily influenced (almost exclusively) by the Soviet Union, had nearly no English exposure, and tended to speak Russian as a second language. This means that in parts of the country which formerly belonged to East Germany, English will not take you very far. This is changing, albeit it’s a slow change.
Berlin is perhaps the only exception. Berlin is a common first stop for Expats for several reasons, not least of which is that almost everyone will also speak English. BUT, even if you miraculously manage to find a reasonably priced apartment in Berlin, have your dream job, and have mostly international friends, lack of German knowledge will make your integration process very difficult.
German is the language for all legally binding documents. And while this is also slowly changing, all of your legal documents and processes from your work and rent contracts to dealing with immigration are conducted almost exclusively in German. And while we can help you with things like referring you to certified translators and such, we strongly encourage learning the language at least to a basic conversational level. There is a large dimension of the cultural experience within the country you can miss if you don’t learn a bit of the language.
How much is Health Insurance in Germany ?
Health insurance in Germany is mandatory. Period. Full stop.
Everyone without exception is legally required to have health insurance, whether it be via the state subsidized carriers or private companies. Fortunately, because Germany has socialized healthcare, rates are commensurate to whatever you’re earning. If you are not earning anything yet and it’s your first time in Germany, you may need to get a letter from a private provider before you get here stating that they agree to cover you for a specified period of time until you sort out another provider of your choice.
Fortunately there are also some great insurance providers with very friendly customer service. Some providers are even speaking and writing contracts in English now! By subscribing to My Expat Life, you will get free access to our roster of expat-friendly health insurance providers.
Finance in Germany
Depending on where you are from, you may be used to different levels of financial digitalization or how often cash is used versus debit and credit.
While it is far more digitized now (post COVID-19) Germany’s adoption of digital finance has been slow. This has to do in part because Germans place a premium on financial anonymity and traditionally hate to be sold to. There are laws in place protecting personal data and these are culturally pervasive to the point of finance as well. They see digital transactions as just another way for companies to keep track of what you're buying in order to market to you later. Something they’re really not fans of. For this reason, you may find Germany, specifically the former East to still be very cash-driven.
Thankfully this is changing and one of the first things we recommend you do is to open a bank account and receive a debit card (here called an EC card). And while COVID-19 forced many German businesses to digitize and accept cards, there are still places like restaurants or corner shops that will only take cash. We encourage you to look around for signs indicating that they only take cash or ask before sitting down only to later find out you can’t pay. That’s embarrassing. Trust us.
Summary
So there you have it! While this is not an exhaustive list of things to know before moving to Germany, they are the top three things our team agrees would have been the best to know before arriving. We all agree even just knowing this stuff would have saved us a lot of headaches and embarrassing situations.
By subscribing to My Expat Life, you will get updates about all the new topics we touch upon that can make your landing smoother in Germany.
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