Life in Germany

Searching for a house Looking for a house in Germany can be a bit tricky, so you might want to start early. You can get a single apartment / WG ("Wohngemeinschaft") / shared flat depending on your preference. Consequently, other factors such as room rent etc. will also depend on the type of house you want. Germany Renting system: Important details  Key words: Apartment, Wohnung, Wohngemeinschaft The advertisements normally lists the size of the apartment (Wohnfläche) in square meters is and might also provide details like the number of rooms, furnished or unfurnished, the number of bedrooms (Schlafzimmer), living room (Wohnzimmer), floor (Diele), bathroom (Badezimmer), Balcony (Balkon) and utilities included (heating, water, electricity, trash removal and cleaning if any) etc.  Types of rental facilities: Apartment blocks (Wohnblock) :- You might be looking at a multi storey buildings with several apartments every floor built for residential purpo...

This is prepared to help Indians give an idea on what to carry while going to Germany / Europe for the first time. Clothes: 5 to 6 jeans  8 to 9 T-Shirts  About 2 - 3 sweat shirts (for winter)  2 to 3 Bermudas/boxers for night dress  1 to 2 thermal clothing (you may want to buy from here – it’s the same) 2-3 towels (no need to get hand kerchiefs, u wont sweat here) 8 to 10 pairs of socks  2-3 pairs of formal wear  One pair of formal shoes, one pair of sport shoes, Chappals/slippers  2 Bed sheets  Leather/Informal belt  Don’t get jackets from india because you will have to buy one thick winter coat here. Those from India do not help in the winter, if u want u can get jeans jacket for the transition period. Waterproof jacket might be handy depending on the season you are coming. A pair of gloves and maybe a winter cap, don’t get monkey cap Utensils:  Get only non-stick and flat bottomed utensils (here we have electri...

 Job search This blog is written to provide general and basic information about job search in Germany. Things are different in Germany when compared to other countries, these job consultancies are referred sometimes as Arbeitsvermittlers, Personalvermittler and Personaldienstleister. Most of the effort has to be from the applicant, the best way I found to reach them is to attend the Job fairs or through professional networking sites (LinkedIn,  Xing etc.). This blog is divided in to two parts where first part is about  Arbeits Agentur (and/or Job center) and  Job searching portals  Part 1: -  Arbeits Agentur (Job center) First important thing to do is to register with Arbeitsagentur which will help you to find jobs and share your CV /Resume (Lebenslauf) with different consultancies they work with and publish your profile. Here is the link: https://www.arbeitsagentur.de/ . They will forward you job offers and some helpful information to sea...

Airport to your destination: I assume that the entry point is Frankfurt. Frankfurt is one of the busy airports and it could be that you are entering European Union at Frankfurt. If you are a first time traveller, this might be helpful Leave the plane Walk towards Baggage Claim. Once you get your baggage, there should be EXIT called "Ausgang" in German Immigration Check- Declare Gold /Diamond Jewellery if you are bringing any. Take them. Just ahead, you should see two police officers sitting there (Immigration Check), they will look at your passport, stamp it and let you go.  Follow the signs towards train or bus station depending on your itenary. Train station : Head towards the train station. You should find it easily. It is in the same building as the airport, in the lowest floor. There are different types of trains in Germany, the most prominent ones are Intercity-Express (ICE), EuroCity ( EC), Regional Express (RE) & RegioBahn (RB), S Bahn ...

Getting a German Driving License (Deutscher Führerschein) Germans take driving very seriously and is difficult, very costly for the same reason. Let’s say that we apply for a Car driving license, it is Class B/B1. The different license types can be seen from the following link: http://www.tuev-sued.de/fuehrersche.... There are two possibilities  Fresh driving license and   Converting the Indian driving license Fresh driving license : It needs a bit of work and money, one needs mandatory theoretical lessons from a driving school, 12 special practical lessons (4 motorway, 3 night time, 5 country roads), and then the regular driving lessons (number of lessons depending on your learning capability). Driving school people will guide you guys through the procedure and fee and it varies a little based on the prices of the driving school guys.Here are the approximate costs: Driving school Registration & Theory classes : €200- 250 Theory Lessions : One s...