sickofuk

Hi hope you don't mind!
I could really do with some advice. Myself, husband and our 3 sons, 5mths, 5 years and 8 years old are considering relocating (well TBH the kids don't yet know lol!) We have been thinking about this for years and have seriously considered france, spain and even australia but have decided that we like the look of life in Germany and what it could offer us as a family. We are so fed up of life in the UK especially the area we live in its been on a downward spiral for years (my entire lifetime) and the recession hasn't helped!
My hubby has always worked in warehouses as a FLT driver, I have always worked with children as a nursery nurse for part of my career and for the past 8 years have worked as a special needs teaching assitant in a local primary school. I am not fluent in German although I do have a German GCSE
I would really like to know what life is like in Germany the best areas to live for young families, we would like to be able to integrate not isolate ourselves just with a british expat community, living costs compared with UK, education, housing and affordbility, jobs etc.
Any advice would be greatly appreciated - we are so sick of UK we are tearing our hair out here so please help before I go bald
Thanks in advance
Carly & co.

JAJ

Have you visited Germany? It is a good country (if you're willing to learn the language) but it's quite diverse. Munich will be different to Hamburg and small/medium town Germany will be even more different.

If you're looking at German speaking areas, have you considered Switzerland or Austria?

MartinH

There are plenty of good sites on the internet which will give you some background (PM me and I can share with you). Having lived here for 10 years I can share some experiences with you.

Germany is a very conservative country compared to the UK and that means there are a number of things which come as a shock to outsiders e.g. very little shopping on Sundays, lots of rules and regulations and a lack of customer service. On the other hand there is a very quiet and distinct order to society that (in the main) means that things work quite well. It definitely is not to everyones taste but it is ours.

People are not openly friendly or welcoming - it takes a little time to build there confidence and trust but there are lots of opportunities for you to do that - even the smallest villages generally have sports clubs which you can join and quickly meet people.

Given the rate of exchange at the moment you will probably find that Germany is a bit expensive but, if you are paid in € then that really should not be a problem. I think that general groceries are a lot cheaper than in the UK but there is less choice and very little in the way of pre-packaged ready meals etc.

In the first instance you would probably want to be based in or near a big city. Lots of people like Munich. We live in Frankfurt (which most people don't!) but we like it. You will find it much easier to integrate in a city albeit the costs will be correspondingly higher.

Schools will only be an issue if you want your children to be educated in English. If your children are young then throw them straight into a German school. They will survive.

Finding a decent place to live for a decent price is tricky - there is very little supply in the market so expect to spend some time hunting for something suitable. You will probably not want to buy initially as buying is very expensive - the buyer pays the fees which once you include stamp duty can amount to 10% or more of the purchase price (no I am not joking).

That should do you for starters - happy to help with specific queries.

spankysparkle

germany is great, but some people find it too rigid and full of red tape. it's true that shops close on a sunday, and you're not supposed to do any work on a sunday either like mowing the lawn or hanging out washing or house work etc. you get the point. we like that tho. most germans use sunday to get out and do outdoorsy stuff.

we live in a villlage 45 mins by train (door-to-door) from hubby's job in frankkfurt. we're out in the country surrounded by farm fields and forest. bliss! and when we go into frankfurt we make a day of it and that's great.

germany is very family friendly. you get great tax breaks if you have kids. we don't, so it works out better for us financially that i don't work . how insane is that!?

you may find that it's not that easy to make friends with germans - even the germans complain about how hard it is to make friends. they tend to stick with people they grew up with and so on. you will find it easy to make friends with fellow expats though - people from all over the world. well in frankfurt anyway. here is a great group to join if you want to ask q's and they have social and sports gatherings all the time:
groups.yahoo.com/group/frankfurt-n-motion
or subscribe here to receive their newsletter:
[email protected]

hope that helps a bit

spankysparkle

i forgot to mention if you want your kids to go to an english school, there is and international school outside frankfurt. i'm not sure rom what age kids can go there, but it's something you could look into.

oh i think most expat communities/groups are made up of not only people from all over the world but also germans that have lived overseas and returned to germany, so a really nice mix.

and the best thing about germany must be all the festivals they have in summer. every weekend in summer and autumn you will find a festival to go to. never a dull moment, and the xmas markets are fantastic!

good luck deciding

Ray51

...and the advanced medical services are just Grrreat ; having used the Mannheim University Hospital , for my wife's serious condition , earlier this year , I can not express enough praise for their efficiency , high-quality levels all-round , latest in equipment and practices , hospitality and super-capable , friendly staff : from the Professor concerned , right down to all nurses and even receptionists !
1.000 light years ahead of NHS !

powderman75

basically agree with all the posts above.

frankfurt is a great city to live in (IMO) compared to most UK cities, and you can get by with limited german. getting a job (outside of a large international organisation) without german would be challenging. the job market in germany is considerably different to the UK. due to the labour laws (which are great for those with jobs) the job market is far less dynamic than the UK.

depending on what you like munich could be a good place to live. being further south the weather is more pleasant than other parts of germany and you are close to the alps (if you like skiing / snowboarding), austria, switzerland, italy france etc etc.

munich is also generally cheaper than frankfurt ... however living just outside of FFT is relatively cheap compared to UK. You can be 50km outside of the city but have only a 30 minute (or less) commute into downtown. 50km outside FFT = countryside. Public transport (and many other services) in Germany is far more reliable/affordable/clean/safe etc etc than in the UK.

notathome

Having lived in Bavaria for over 40 years, I would choose the Munich area. It is ideal for exploring the rest of Europe. We used to get harsh winters, lots of snow, but that seems to have eased up these past few years.

I would recommend that you have a holiday to Germany before you decide, and once you have chosen an area, please make sure your husband has a job before leaving the UK. You should be able to work with children, but unless you only look after English-speaking children it will be essential to learn German.

I would put the children into German schools. Munich does have an international school but the children should be able to cope with the German system at their young ages.