nerovelho

hi all,

I am a British citizen who is currently in the process of leaving the UK (Newcastle) for a job at Aachen. I am looking for people from or near Aachen to ask a couple of questions about the place.

my general questions are:

1. what is the best option for getting sky (I will not have a UK address after my move)

2. Are the deductions from one's paycheck really around 50%!!!!

3. What is the best option for public health insurance?

I was kinda hoping i would be able to save some money but it seems that although in terms of overall salary I am better off than the UK, I will propably be worse off after all the deductions.

any comments are welcome
regards all
N.

Mitzyboy

Only help on one point I'm afraid ... afaik SKY isn't licenced to broadcast in Germany and therefore the only way you will safely get it is by coninuing with your current contract and somehow using a relatives address

notathome

As far as the SKY TV is concerned, we did the following. We bought a digibox via eBay from the UK. To get the card we used relatives address in the UK. Down here in Bavaria we need a really large Sat.Dish, dont know what the reception is like in but you'll need one thats at least 80cm. Best to go to your local Satellite dealer in Aachen they will know exactly. Here in Munich they know what we Brits need.
No, you wont be paying 50% in tax.
If you are earning under a certain amount then you will automatically be placed with the state health insurance. Ask your firm about this.
Aachen is a nice spot to live, so good luck.

ketty

Yepp, the deductions are nearly 50%.
I got tears in my eyes every single month.
And then you will learn, how the german tax system works.
It is brilliant. Only a few people know, how to get back tax from your local tax office.

notathome

How much tax you pay depends on whether you are married or not, have children etc etc. What you think is tax deduction is infact a a mixture of payments including insurances (social security, health insurance, care insurance). You can save a bit of tax by saying you dont belong to any church (be an atheist) otherwise they take 10% just for that. They also deduct a solidarity sum, to help rebuild former East Germany. We as a married couple never paid 50% of our salary though.

JAJ

Not quite the same thing ... for example, if you're a Methodist you are not part of the established churches and can claim exemption from the tax.

FrankB

Come on guys, the German tax system is not that bad ... and by the way, TAX deductions are not at 50%.

There will be a bunch of deductions from your gross salary, i.e. tax, pension, unemployment insurance and health insurance and some other minor bits and pieces which are avoidable on request. You will need to put in a tax declaration at the end of the financial year and best thing is either to use a tax consultant (they are bound on very strong legislation) or you look around for a non-profit organisation who can halp you with the forms.

Aachen is nice and adjacent areas are nice as well. It is very close the Dutch borderline so god chance to get cheap dope

good luck!

Expat Mat

Ahem, you can get Sky TV through a website that sets you up with a dodgy UK address but you will extra pay for that. One of them is called something like Skycards. I just cancelled mine as I was paying far too much for something I didn't watch that often. I still have the box and dish but only have the free channels, BBC, ITV and some docu and film. Not too bad.

PeteDB

Hi
All my mates get SKY somehow, however, not sure if this is cosher. You can get some good TVby using an 80cm dish and 2 or 3 LNB.

The tax is complicated and you need to get a tax advisor (Steuerberater) to sort it out, at least for the first year, after that, as long as your situation does not change, you can do it yourself.

Health insurance depends on your income level, if you are above a certain amount then you can go private cheaper and more mangeable, if not then your employer will advise which public one is best, some are trade specific and this would be best as they cover the specific needs of that trade.

Anywy, Aachen is a nice place and has one of the best Christmas markets.

Enjoy Gruß
Pete