Hello everyone, thanks for clicking!

I'm Scottish, lived here all my life, but I wish to change that in about 6 months. You see, my boyfriend and I got engaged but he's studying in Germany so I've decided to move to be with him, since I graduate soon. We are aiming to settle down in Bochum!

However, I've never moved this far before. I have absolutely no idea what I'm doing. I'll list my problems, and maybe someone can share their wisdom with me? I'd forever appreciate it!

1. My cats, Reno and Nina. I fully intend to take them with me. What is required to let them into Germany? I'm getting them vaccinated against rabies soon, just waiting on my student loan. They're both neutered as well.

2. Moving the cats. What's the least stressful way to move them? I mean least stressful for them - Nina is ill and she's quite fragile.

3. Finding a pet friendly flat - anyone recommend any sites that are in English?

4. Moving my stuff. I don't own a lot of belongings - mostly clothes, books, video games, DVDs and a shameful number of shoes. I was told that hiring a van would be cheaper than doing this by plane - but I can't drive! Is there anyone that I can hire, any companies or anything that can do this?

5. Finding a job. I'm in the process of learning German via Rosette Stone, but I always learn it faster when living in the country. How can I find a simple job to keep income coming? I don't mind cleaning, retail, anything until I get a better grasp of the local language.

This is all I can think up right now. It's a lot to ask, I understand, and I apologise for the wall of text! Thank you for reading all the same, I hope I can learn from some of you!

Hi, and welcome to the Forum! Can't help with the first questions, but for No. 5, one of my trilingual Anglo-French daughters has a part-time job teaching French and English in a private German school and the rest of her income for survival is constituted by French conversation and coaching. All of which requires mastery of the three languages in order to explain the different grammars. The other daughter is still a student and earns pin-money in a Call-Centre (in French), which is poorly paid but better than nothing. Avoid signing a "Mini-Job" contract which will prevent you from doing other part-time work.
You could have added Question 6: what to do about healthcare? Until you're legally bound, if either of you does find a salaried job, the other wouldn't be covered by their Contributions.
And Question 3 should be reworded: How to rent without payslips, private income (or Pension) guaranteeing payment of rent? (We are still Guarantors for our daughters whose income is below the level acceptable to the landlord. Money in the bank doesn't count).
I would have thought your bf could also deal with a lot of questions on the spot... Bear in mind that you won't get the same Benefits that you could expect in the UK. AFAIK from my daughters' experience, there aren't benefits from the State, at least for newcomers.
Hope this gives you food for thought. Others who actually live in Germany will be along with advice, otherwise you could try Toytown Germany.
Think very seriously about ALL aspects of moving to a foreign country, to join your bf who may well decide to take a job outside of Germany when he graduates....
Good luck with your decision!

I moved to Germany 10 months ago for a very well paid position, hate it, can't wait to leave.

Learning German is CRUCIAL to have any quality of life. "Everyone speaks English," just is not the case.

Of course I agree with that in general. Sometimes though (as in my case) you can land a job where "everybody does speak English".

In my case this was in an internationally recognized research institute (part of the MPG).

It took me about two years to become fluent, but I could function from day one.

You seem to be contradicting yourself there!

I am in a similar position to you although after living in the UK all my life, I have recently moved to Slovakia - I spend a fair bit of time in Germany though and that's why I look at this site.

You can take your cats although you should look at the DEFRA website to find out exactly what inoculations they need. They will need pet-passports and you should sort this as soon as possible.

I think how you travel with your cats depends on their nature. You really have two options......take them in the car with you or find an airline that will transport them. You will have to consider the cost and the stress they may be under during the journey and weigh up the pros and cons.

Germans are very animal friendly and you shouldn't have too much trouble with a n apartment that accepts your cats although you may have to pay an extra bond in case they trash anything.

Think seriously though whether your cats are better-off with your family or a trusted friend in the UK. We have a very portable dog that happily travels with us in the car or on the train but cats are not so good at moving around. Be aware that they will make your life more difficult.

Some agencies will charge you a finders-fee (often 1 months rent plus VAT) for finding a flat but not all. You really need to hunt around the internet (Toytown is good), Craigslist/gumtree are ok (but beware of scams) and Facebook. This is a fast-grower regarding rentals. You need to root around a little.

Save up as much money as you can before the move. You will need a hefty deposit for a flat and - depending on how well it is furnished - may need to buy additional stuff.

Non-budget airlines don't charge so much for luggage. For example BA will let you check in 23 kilos, take an additional 10 kilos on board plus a briefcase for your laptop all within your ticket price. Additional bags (up to 23 k I think) also only cost about £30 so don't assume a low-cost airline is cheapest.

Don't expect the move to be easy. I have travelled a lot and sort of half lived in a few places but the big move freaked me out. Take one day at a time and you will get there. If you feel like spending a day or two hiding under the duvet then do it but you have to be brave and force yourself into new situations. Be extrovert, even if you by nature you are not. Talk to people you wouldn't normally chat to. If you can get an invite to a social event go, even if it sounds like a nightmare. You may meet people you click with. Is there an expat group there? Join - again Facebook can be good for this.

Make your friends come to visit and book a short trip back to the UK to help ease yourself in. Sort out SKYPE and get your friends to sign up. If you have a smartphone get VIBER and What's app so you have free calls/messages via WiFi and again get your friends to sign up. These helped me enormously with the transition. Don't expect everyone to be happy with your change of life. Most will be but some may sulk. Be prepared for this but give them time.

To contradict one of the other posters, you MAY qualify for benefits in Germany, depending on your circumstances. If you are claiming UK benefits then some (all?) are transferable and you can sign-on here as you would in the UK. You should research this if it is appropriate. You may get free German language classes if you sign on as it will be easier for you to find a job and the Government - as in the UK - wants people in work, not claiming benefits.

You need to do something about health entitlements too. Directgov.org will point you in the right direction.

Hope some of this helps to give you some pointers and good luck to you. You have a great opportunity to do something different!

Dave

You guys better hurry with your move. If the UK is serious about maybe leaving the EU, then work permit etc. pp. will be much harder to come by for you with regards to all European Union countries.

If I were you I would leave the cats in the UK for now! It will be much easier to find an apartment without the cats. Also you might decide to return to the UK after a few months. I would only get the cats once you have decided that you would like to stay for a while.
Finding jobs can be hard. Most cities will have pubs for Germans who want to practice their English. You might be able to find a job as a bartender there (for starters). Also, Germans are unfortunately very anal with regards to qualification. Work experience will often not count for much if you don't have any formal qualification in that area as well. UK employer are much more open in this respect. Something I always liked about the UK. Gives you more options.

Good luck with your move!!

Hello, i moved to Germany 17 years ago and didn´t speak a word of German, getting a flat contract without a work contract was really difficult, getting a work contract without any German was impossible. I was thankfully saved by a nice English lady who heard me speaking English in the street and told me to go to Berlitz language school or Inlingua. Neither require that you speak a word of German, they will train you to teach English, we´ll ok it´s a very short program, one week and on your own time unpaid, but their method is so easy to pick up and they can offer regular classes and regular work after a short time. They rarely offer proper work contracts, they give freelance ones that means your responsible for your own tax, pension and medical insurance. I´ve been teaching English ever since and really enjoy it. ( no longer at either of the mentioned school). Hope it helps

well I got here in 1981, found it easy as "in them days" in the Ruhr almost every corner was a Brit or squaddie running around. NRW was, well almost a Brit sector, and work could be found in and around all Towns where the services where...

But today its different, you will find there is more help and moneys, training etc if your from the East Block, a refugee or one of the country s who have "Gastarbeiter" status similar to the UK workers in the 50 from the Brit commonwealth.

As a Brit, mind you, "Englander" we are all English over here, forget trying to tell them your Irish, Welsh or what ever ... the system assumes you are a member of the EU.. and if unemployed in the UK and have your E300 -304 then are looking for work, means entitled to all of the system, ie unemployment benefit and a place to live..

If your planning to join someone here and they are in employment, well thats where the real problems start.. if the even consider treating you as a legal partner, then no money if he earns over the social level of 1042€ pm...

North-Rhine-Westphalia was in the British Sector after 1945. When I lioved and wqorked in Germany (Berlin-West) I ALWAYS described myself as Scots and NEVER as "English". Not everyone in Germany has positive memories of the BAOR - especially of the "Poison Dwarves" from some of the Scottish regiments !