repat2blighty

Hi, I think you have overlooked the fact that your "grundsteuer" is only a small part of your "Nebenkosten" and should also mention that you also pay as part of this total Cost to the local Authority "Rainwater Drainage, Recycleable Rubbish, Paper, Household Rubbish, Street Servicing, and Dirty Water Drainage. So to this Basic Tax you failed to add that you also need to pay these as part of the Same Bill so you certainly are not paying £125 a year but more like 1700 euros a year so wheres the savings. Also you live in one of the Neuen Bundeslaender thats why you can obtain assistance for nearly all old houses. The Germans are trying to pump the value of the old east!!!. Also you also did not add that house value in Germany certainly do not increase by the same rates as in England. I built my own house in 1994 for the equivalent of 150000 euros and sold it in 2006 for 155000 euros 12 years later so 5000 euros profit is not exactly what I call an investment. Incidently I lived in NRW.
Apart from that I have aso been watching the German News here in England on SAT1. RTL, PRO7, ARD anf they were also talking about the SNOW Paralysing parts of Germany.

notathome

We bought our house for 420,000 DMs 22 years ago and it is worth 500,000 Euros now, so I would say that was a pretty good profit! The rates are extra here but nothing like the figure you mentioned. We pay land rates of 150 Euros a year and 250 Euros for rubbish collection, water and drains etc come to about 300 Euros. This is Bavaria, one of the most expensive parts of Germany. We have just had a lot of work on our old house done, and got 3000 Euros back from the state, because we now use less energy.

Of course there are exceptions re snow chaos, but we have deep snow right now and no problems on the road. Even in our tiny village the snow plow goes up our road before we even get out of bed. We have winter tyres so a bit of snow doesnt stop us.
I suspect you are one of those Britain is best guys,, o.k. good luck to you, but don't put people off from moving abroad. I guess you at least agree that German women are better than british ones!! Only a joke.

Ray51

One of the most obvious points , in any such exchanges as afore :
died-in-the-wool Brits will rather die in neglect and filth and ignorance , as often displayed by the ( "free" ) NHS than to accept that many other places have superior medical care on offer , YES ! even if one has to contribute somewhat to such superior care ;
- besides Germany : the Netherlands , Austria , Switzerland , France , Denmark , Sweden , Finland and Belgium all come instantly to mind ...but our usual Union-Jack supporter would rather not be seen in a crisis by some hugely overpaid specialist ( "consultant" , in a banker-style pin-striped suit ) for many a blue-moon on end in the U.K , rather than : urgently , by a proper expert in aforeign country , yes ? ...
...and then , eventually , many moons later , next : ever-so-proudly he'd rather die from MRSA , after the ( too-late & failed ) NHS op ;
anything's better , than to admit to anyone else's country maybe having a more appropriate solution/s to health ; even for a few fistfulls of dollars extra , mate ?
I rest my case .

Perry Groves

Electrical stuff used to be cheaper over there when I was last there in 1997. I think perhaps things have changed in the past 10 years.

jebadad

I am German and lived in Germany for 48 years. I think there is no way to answer that question unless you know what part of Germany you are talking about. A rural area in the Southwest (where people don't even know how to spell crime) is very different from a big City in the formerly communist (and still much poorer) East (where the rate of unemployment is five times as high and where you better don't leave your door unlocked).

Usually the infrastructure is okay and things simply work in Germany - you won't have to wait for months until you can see a doctor or get a bed in hospital (even without private health insurance). Public transport usually is reliable and punctual. I. e. if a train will be more than 2 min late this will be advertised at the station and for bigger delays you will get financial compensation and / or will be paid a taxi or a hotel. By law there are at least 2 years of guarantee on anything you buy (except for fair wear and tear, of course) - which enforces reasonably high manufacturing standards. Building standards are definitely higher than in any other country I have seen (but property prices are quite high as well - even in rural areas). These are just a few arbitrarily chosen examples.

Bureaucracy is not as bad as rumor has it. Usually you will be treated friendly and efficiently. And often there is some leeway to get around obstacles. E. g. when I applied for a second passport I should have given my first one back. After explaining that I wanted to travel while my passport was at a foreign embassy for a visa application I could keep it.
When I applied for an international driver license I was told to have a short walk in the park and come back after 20 min to collect it.
Of course, there may be some corruption as well - but I never experienced it or came to know someone who did.

Once I was caught speeding and didn't have my driver license or ID with me. Police followed me to my home where they checked my papers and warned me not to speed anymore. That was it.

Of course, the cost of living and taxes may be higher, depending on your circumstances. If you are used to having a domestic worker you will be shocked by what you have to pay for that service (I live in South Africa and for what I paid my domestic cleaner in Germany for an hour I can get a maid for the whole day). Also labor rates in a car workshop or for artisans are shocking (a callout fee might be up to EUR 100.-). On the other hand you usually don't need to send your children to private schools and even University is almost free. Also, if you live in a big city you might not need a car or could do carsharing.

Recreational opportunities are very good - at least in the West. There are lots of sports clubs and other associations (ranging from rabbit breeding to charity) where you can join and make friends, public sport opportunities, dedicated bicycling trails where there are no cars, playgrounds, public pools, theatres, beergardens, well maintained public parks etc. Not sure about the East though. Also adult education institutions ("Volkshochschule") offer informal opportunities to meet people without having to join a club (e. g. daytrips to breweries where they show you how beer is produced - and where you can taste it - or just a two hour excursion into the forest led by a forester who will teach you about forests etc.). They will also offer German language classes for foreigners.

What is also nice is that if you are still working you will usually have 5-6 weeks of holidays a year (depending on your age). That is probably why Germans are the worlds travel champions - because they have time to travel.

As far as I am concerned Germany (West) is a nice place to be (especially in summer) - and I am returning there every year. Even the East has some nice features (e. g. there is a habit of turning lakesides into nudist camps )

But I would imagine it will be very difficult to find a job unless you have at least some command of German. If you have children you will probably have to send them to a private English speaking school - which might not be easy to find - even if there are some. And they might not be cheap.

Assanah

Public transport usually is reliable and punctual
---
Well, ich sag nur "Berliner S-Bahn"

Assanah

It depends where in Germany you will settle and what you want. Berlin is nice for culture and parties but bad for work - a very poor city. The East is very beautiful, great nature and nice cities. I visited Stralsund and it is a nice city indeed BUT for me personally the East has a air of decay to it. I don't think that I would want to live there. NRW is densely populated. The cities there are no beauties - if you like a more industrial area that's where you should go (Ruhrpott). Hamburg is a very nice city, close to the ocean. But I think you still find the highest standard in the south - gerat landscape and low unemployment there.

mercwilson

Hi !! My name is Mercia. My husband was born in N.Ireland but lived in South Africa for 36 years. I was born in South Africa and naturally we met and married in SA (needless to say I am now a British citizen).We have been living in Essex in the UK for nearly 8 years now. We love N.Germany and purchased a property near Bremen about 4 years ago . My hubby and I have decided to retire in a few months' time to our home in Germany. I an 63 and my husband is 69. Please give us your advice on matters such as Medical care, necessary residence permits etc etc. Will welcome any bits of advice!!! Thanks a lot.

mercwilson

Hallo Katherine! My name is Merciaand my husband and I have been living in the UK after many decades of a wonderful life in South Africa. We are planning to retire later this year to N.Germany, near Bremen where we have already purchased a home. We are very anxious to find out about the medical care . We've been told to join a Med. Aid society (AOK??) as one pays according to one's means.We have also heard that any medical costs incurred are paid by the British Gov. as we will be pensioners. Our daughter is married to a German national who had contracts with Daimler Chysler in SA. She also now lives in Germany with her hubby and children. Please tell me about your experiences with the initial settling in, problems and difficulties as well! as the good stuff!!!Looking forward to hearing from you.

notathome

Are you keeping an address in the UK? If so you could probably get away with using the NHS here. Otherwise contact the AOK in Germany about a health insurance here.As a member of the EU you won't be required to get a permit to live here, but you do have to register at your local town hall and get an Anmeldeformular to register in your town. They will also tell you what else you need.

We live in Bavaria and love it, you obviously like Bremen, which I don't know at all. You are learning the language, which is very important and will help you make friends with the locals.
Good luck with your move.

jebadad

You should be aware of that Germany has two different health insurance systems. There is the public system (Gesetzliche Krankenversicherung), to which the AOK and many other medical aids belong. These medical aids are not allowed to charge you according to your risk and therefore you won't need to answer any questions about your health. They will normally charge you according to your income (14.5% of it). If you become an official resident you would have to enroll with one of those medical aids unless you have quite a high income (in the region of EUR 6000 per month). Their benefits are restricted in several ways, but usually sufficient (e. g. you wouldn't be entitled to a private room in a hospital, they will only pay for prescription medication, your doctor must have a contract with them - which 99% of doctors with a practice of their own do - and so on). 90% of the population are insured with them. If you wish for more upmarket benefits like that all medication will be paid (as long as prescribed by a doctor, even if it is an over-the counter drug), a room (and bathroom) of your own when in hospital, free choice among doctors (like e. g. the head of a hospital departement who will usually not run his own practice), no restrictions as to how many massages etc. you can get prescribed etc., then you might want to enter a contract with a private health insurance company. They will however usually be more expensive and will charge you according to your health status. They have the right to decline you (at least for their upmarket packages which will give you the above mentioned benefits). Though in many areas their benefits will be better than those of the public system, there is some downside to them as well. E. g. you will usually (not always) have to pay upfront for treatments and medication and will have to claim back from your insurance company. Sometimes they might give you trouble when they feel the cost was not adequate (with the "gesetzliche Krankenversicherung" you will usually not be billed yourself, but your service provider will deal with them directly). Furthermore, they they will usually only pay for the cost of treatment and prevention, not for cost associated with a disease like for caregiving or a housekeeper if you are at home and can't clean your place yourself, do shopping etc. due to illness. On the other hand they offer the advantage of worldwide cover. Should you decide to move to another country, you will still be covered, which is not the case with the "gesetzliche Krankenversicherung" which would only cover you within the EU and only according to the standards of the respective country.

Maybe it would be an option to keep an adress in the UK and take out a long-term travel insurance? I did that when I left Germany. In Germany such insurance is available very cheap (about 50 EUR per month) for travel of up to 3 years. After that you would have to go back for a day to take it out again. That might be cheaper, but it only works up to a certain age limit.

notathome

If you have received your fuel allowance in the UK you will also be entitled to claim it here.

mercwilson

Thank you so much for the advice given!! How long have you lived in Germany and did you go there to retire, or did you work there first, then retire?? We have been on holiday to the North of Germany at least 2 or 3 times over the last 7 years and love the orderliness, cleanliness , the beautiful foerests and farmlands!! Fortunately we have our married daughter and her family in the next village. They have a home in Bramstedt, but are away on contracts to the USA and South Africa every 2 years or so.I will definitely enrol at night school for German lessons and can speak a bit already--- can read and understand a lit of the conversation as there are a lot of similarities to my mother tongue (Afrikaans) which is derived fron the Dutch, German and French settlers in SA nearly 400 years ago. I also hope to teach English (adult education) once we are settled -no hurry yet!! I shall keep in contact with you. Enjoy the weekend!! Mercia.

mercwilson

Correction: We have been on holiday to N.Germany at least 2 or 3 times PER YEAR over the last 7 years!!!!

jebadad

Hi, I am not sure whether you were referring to me? I am German and left Germany for South Africa after 48 years.

One more thing, which I forgot in my previous posting: if you consider going the route of taking out long-term travel health insurance you might as well take out an "Anwartschaftsversicherung" with a private insurance company. This would cost only a fraction of the regular contribution (about 15 - 25%) and would not entitle you to any benefits now, but would give you the option of being insured (for the full premium, of course) without health questions asked once you want to take out full private insurance cover (e. g. because you reach the age limit for travel insurance). This means they could not reject you should you wish to join them.