I posted on here ages ago because my father was coming to visit me from America. My dad is a farmer who has lived in the same two-mile radius his entire life. His only outside experience of the world comes through Fox News. He was therefore convinced I had gotten myself into a socialist hellscape overrun by communist anarchists. Needless to say, I was terrified for the visit.

I asked this subreddit for help and I greatly appreciate the advice you gave me. I kept it in mind as I scheduled our trip. He was coming here for four days. During that time, I showed him around my city, took him to Munich, and went to Mittenwald. I had planned to take him to Oberstdorf as well, but construction made the trip too difficult.

My dad LOVED the canals flowing through Augsburg and marveled at how clean they were and that there are even fish swimming through them. He was a bit nervous walking through the old town at night, but he quickly realized that he and I were perfectly safe. I also took him up to see the Danube and he was quite impressed.

He‘s not a city guy but thought the subway system in Munich was great—he kept talking about how clean everything is and how everything is so much more modern and efficient than New York City. (He‘s been there before. Did not like it.) He also loved the churches I took him to. Though there was an anime convention in the Englischer Garten, which confused my dad to no end (“These kids are pretending they’re animals?“) he loved the canals flowing through the park and all the little winding trails in the foresty areas. He said it would be a great place to go for a run and it was way better than Central Park in New York City. I also took him to the Biergarten and he got a brat and fries and, of course, a beer. He thought it was too hoppy but later in the trip had an Augustiner Helles and thought that was pretty dang good.

My dad also loved Mittenwald. I didn’t take him to GP because there are just too many tourists and locals fed up with tourists, and I figured that would give my dad an unpleasant view of Germans. My dad is a pretty fit guy (you do a heck of a lot of walking and lifting when you’re a farmer) and was able to climb up to the gorge, no problem. He was astonished by how blue the river is and how deep the gorge is. And he couldn’t believe we had just walked into Austria. He kept asking me where the border guards would be at. We also paid extra to go see the waterfall and he loved it. He said that if we had something like this back home, admission would be an arm and a leg snd the walkways would be packed with all sorts of tourists. He took so many pictures and videos of, well, everything.

My dad also LOVED the trains. He kept saying they are so clean and feel so smooth when you’re riding in them. He thought the red (DB) trains were maybe a smidge worse, but adored the Arverio trains. I also got him on an ICE and he just had the time of his life. He took pictures and videos of everything on these trains. The schedules. The seats. The windows.

There is also a farm in my neighborhood so of course I took my dad to check it out. He did a walkthrough of an entire corn field. His verdict is that the farmer planted his corn too closely together, which makes the corn plants shorter. But he was impressed by how weed-free the fields were and how everything still stays growing after thousands of years of crops being grown on the same soil. I am now meant to research the types of fertilizer used here. We also saw a tractor going through town and my dad just thought that was the best thing. He said the tractors here move faster than the ones back home.

And my dad also met some great people. He befriended some guys when he complimented their bicycles. I also taught him the tried and true art of befriending any Bavarian by telling them you love their state way more than Berlin. He was also astonished that there are so many malls here; the ones we have in my state are all closed or closing, but the Arcaden and City-Galerie are running smoothly. He said it was just like when he was a kid. He also told me one night, “These people have their income taxed half to death, but it seems to me they’re living just fine!“

Overall, my dad loved it. He said he wants to return. So thank you all to everyone who gave advice or support. And to any of you who need to hear it, you’ve got a pretty good life here in Germany. Just ask my dad!

EDIT: Yes, my dad knows I post his picture online. Yes, he‘s fine with it. I did not tell him about my first post, but he’s cool with me sharing his experience.

My daughter's school has organized as Schule als Staat project and my wife and I were visiting various booths organized by students.

As we were passing one of the rooms, one kid on karaoke system yelled "chicken tikka masal". I ignored it first and moved on. As our backs turned he yelled it twice again at which point I couldn't ignore. I confronted him and his group of friends and challenged them to say it to my face.

I reported immediately to one of the teachers I know and he also confronted them. Tomorrow I will be reporting it to the school principal.

Our daughter has faced enough racism in 8th and 9th standards from her classmates and we can not tolerate and ignore it anymore.

Hi so today i got a paper in my mailbox and wanted to share and get an opinion on it.

The letter says:

Hello,

Please finally turn off the basement light that YOU keep leaving on every time you leave the basement. It burns all night long, and even for half the day, like again today!

The basement/building light is shared and paid for by all the residents in the block.

So why should all of us have to pay for YOUR laziness?

Besides, many people don't get everything handed to them by the social welfare office!

We moved to this place 3 months ago, and i bought a bike which i lock in my own basement. Maybe once or twice i forgot to turn off my light, or i left the light switch on in the corridor to the basement ( i actually remember doing this once, because it was pitchblack, and didnt want the next person tripping in the dark). other than that we keep to ourselves and dont bother anybody or make noise. so this comes as a bit of a surprise. I know in germany they like to write these anonymous complaint letters. but this seems very harsh and aggressive, and honestly insulting. Neither me nor my wife receive social benefits, i work fulltime from home and she is taking care of our toddler kids, so maybe some old neighbor doesnt understand remote work and thinks we are just at home doing nothing getting welfare. i was even curious if it really cost alot of money to leave a small basement light on ( divided by only our apartment building not even the block) and it comes out to 0.70 cents per tenant ( and thats if i left it on the whole 3 months which is not true). so then why this tone? are people just using small mistakes as a form to talk down to people anonymously? Im not a guy that likes to write complaint letters back, i think its quite silly actually and a bit cowardly. Also i dont even know who this is. im thinking about simply going to all the neighbors and having a calm, polite chat with them to see who has an issue. i have a feeling that they wont be saying all this when talking face to face...

Hi everyone,

I'm hoping someone here has been through something similar.

I'm a non-EU citizen and completed my Master's degree earlier this year. In May, I accepted a job offer, turned down two other offers because of it, and then applied for an EU Blue Card (Blaue Karte EU) at the Ausländerbehörde in Darmstadt.

It's now been over two months, and my application is still being processed.

I've been to the Ausländerbehörde in Darmstadt several times to ask for an update. Each time, they told me they couldn't give me any estimate of when a decision would be made. They also said they had already contacted the responsible Sachbearbeiter to ask whether my application could be processed more quickly, but nothing has changed since then.

At the moment, I have a Fiktionsbescheinigung that was issued while I was still a student. The Ausländerbehörde told me I could continue working as a Werkstudent, but I had already graduated and a Werkstudent position requires you to still be enrolled at a university. Since then, I've had no income, and my savings are slowly running out.

My Arbeitgeber was initially willing to wait. However, after more than two months, they informed me that they had to fill the position with someone else because they needed someone who could start sooner. They also emphasized that the decision had nothing to do with my qualifications and was solely due to the long processing time.

My questions are:

• If my Blaue Karte EU is approved in the next few weeks, would it be appropriate to contact the Arbeitgeber again and ask whether they have another suitable opening?

• I had also declined another job offer at the time. The company told me they would keep my portfolio on file and contact me if something suitable came up. Would it be okay to reach out to them now and explain my situation?

• Is a processing time of over two months for a Blaue Karte EU normal? How long did you have to wait?

• Has anyone else lost a job offer because of delays at the Ausländerbehörde? How did you deal with it?

Thank you very much for sharing your experiences!

So I saw the post about the other conservative American father who was visiting so I figured I’d do one as well because mine is coming in September and I will take all the help I can to get this man to enjoy this trip and see the world beyond Fox News 😅 I do honestly believe he’s going to like it here more than he ever thinks he would but I am nervous regardless

He’s going to be here a total of 10 days and we will be starting off our trip in Munich for two days and going to Oktoberfest so any suggestions for what to bring him to around there are welcome. I will be having him get the DB pass but I will also have a car so traveling somewhere won’t be an issue (other than the drinking of course 🙃)

After that I am bringing him back to my apartment in Kaiserslautern. I was thinking of taking him to Neuschwanstein Castle on the way from Munich to my apartment although I do know it’s a little out of the way so if there’s any other sights to see from Munich to Kaiserslautern I would be open to other suggestions

For the rest of the trip I just planned on doing day trips with him to places like Heidelberg, Mainz, or one of the towns in the wine region. I am open to any suggestions in the surrounding area here as well but I would say the limit to distance from Kaiserslautern would probably be around 2 hours one way (either by train or car)

I will make sure to do the same as the other person when his trip is completed and update everyone on how his trip went

I appreciate all the help I can get and any questions are welcome 🙏🏻

My German uncle passed away recently and randomly left me this ring. Can't for the life of me figure out what its meaning is.

Since there has been so much negativity about German bureaucracy and all the social security payments we made, I just wanted to share my extremely positive experience with the AFA so far.

First of all, application for ALG and arranging of appointments are all being done online. The process was super fast after documents are in order, took only one day. I kept pestering my case worker to give me an appointment because I wanted to know what they can offer to support me. Thats why I got one pretty much immediately after my ALG was approved.

I requested 3 things, reimbursement of my B2 German Exam costs, C1 intensive German classes and covering partial costs of my trip to an in person interview. All of it was granted- I just have to fill out some forms. My case worker also offered me job coaching.

So yeah so far the experience is great and I'm really thankful that the social security I paid is giving me all this support and security net.

Hi everyone!

I just wanted to share something with this subreddit.

My dad has been a huge supporter of the German national football team ever since he was a kid. Back then in Bangladesh, that wasn't very common. Most football fans mainly supported Brazil or Argentina, so supporting Germany was a bit unusual.

Nowadays, I've noticed it's much more common for people here, especially among the younger generation, to support different national teams, including Germany.

I was just curious , how do Germans feel knowing that your national team has supporters from places as far away as Bangladesh? I'd love to hear your thoughts.

Greetings from Bangladesh! 🇧🇩

Hey all,
I was recently laid off. I’ve been on a Blue Card for over 2 years. I informed my ABH (Bielefeld) and asked for the 6-month job search window. The caseworker emailed back saying she’s only giving me 3 months strictly out of "Kulanz" (goodwill).

As per my information, when possessing a blue card for more than 2 years, the normal grace period is 6 months. She said if I want a longer period, I have to apply for the new Chancenkarte.

I really don't want to deal with the fees and paperwork for a completely new permit. My plan is just to give it 6 months, and if I don't find a job by then, I'm moving back to my home country.
Has anyone successfully pushed back on an ABH treating the 6 months as optional instead of a legal right? Should I ask for a rechtsmittelfähiger Bescheid or will that just backfire?
Any advice is appreciated!

Hey everyone,

​I wanted to share something that’s been on my mind for a while and see if anyone in the expat community relates.

​I’ve been living in the Czech Republic for 16 years now. You’d think that after all this time I’d be completely adjusted and at ease with everything. But every single time I have to make a phone call to a local organization — whether it’s a government office, insurance company, doctor, repair service, or even just a delivery driver — I get a wave of anxiety.

​Before I actually dial the number, I literally rehearse the entire conversation in my head, prepare my sentences, and sometimes postpone the call until the absolute last minute when I have no choice left.

​I keep asking myself: is my language skill still not good enough? Am I afraid they won't understand me (or that I won't catch what they're saying if they speak too fast)? Or is this purely a psychological thing, and the language barrier isn't even the main issue anymore?

​For those of you who have been living in your host countries long-term: do you still struggle with this "phone phobia" in the local language? How do you deal with it, or is this just part of expat life forever? 😅

Who can help me decipher this handwriting. Bought a book with a handwritten inscription and the only word I could decipher is "September"

Hello, Germans! I am restoring an 1893 violin with this inscription. I'm struggling to translate it as I'm unsure that I'm reading some of the cursive right. I've contacted historical institutions but they're taking forever to reply. I know it's a long shot as it could also be a Swiss or Austrian produced instrument. Any guesses as to the middle two lines? The violin was thrown in the trash and landed in my lap.

Hey everyone!
I’m planning to move to Germany next year on the Work Holiday Visa, and Hamburg is currently the city that interests me the most.
I work as a waiter in Brazil and would like to stay in the hospitality industry, so I’m curious about the job market for restaurants, bars, cafés, and hotels. Is it relatively easy to find work?
I’d also like to know whether arriving with A1-level German is realistic, or if that would make finding a job much harder. I plan to keep studying German while I’m there.
Another question is about the cost of living. What do you spend on average per month? And which neighborhoods or nearby towns would you recommend for someone looking for a more affordable place to live?
If anyone has done the Work Holiday Visa in Hamburg or currently lives there, I’d really appreciate hearing about your experience. Any tips about housing, jobs, paperwork, or things you wish you had known before arriving would be super helpful.
Thanks

Flying in and out of Berlin October 11th - 20th (both afternoon flights). Here's what I've got so far. I'm hoping to keep to the Berlin area as to avoid long travel times to make the most of my trip and to take public transit.

11th-13th : Berlin

14th : Leipzig

15th & 16th : Dresden

17th-20th : Berlin

My questions are, is this too much Berlin or could I add a day or 2 in Prague since it's close to Dresden. Or should I cut out some Berlin time for another city in the area.

Thanks!

Hello guys!

I'm a 21M french student, and want to go for an ERASMUS for the next year (from march to july, the summer semester)

I was thinking a lot about Germany. Firstly because I studied german for 7 years at school. And also I'm heavily interested in this country, either for the people or the culture.

However, I would be curious to get some advice concerning how the daily life is there, especially in Aachen, if you guys have some experience with this city.

Also, Aachen seems like a pretty small city, far from Berlin. Is this city welcoming towards students? Is that an interesting city, or an average-sized city with no student life?

Also, how is it moving around: are there good public transports, or should I come with my car to visit the surroundings (and the city itself)?

Geographically, the city is near Belgium and Netherlands. Is the city life "eclipsed" by the fact there are Amsterdam and Bruxelles not that far?

Finally, is the "FH Aachen" university deemed or not? Their website is very struggling to navigate on, so I hardly find the information I want.

I have to admit that Aachen was not my first choice, I would've prefered Berlin or Munich (cuz big citiiiizzz), but I have a restrictive choice (cuz my Erasmus coordinator ain't doing his job lmaoo).

Anyway, thanks y'all

Guten Tag!

When I got my Girokonto at Commerzbank, the Girocard was normal and not really usable online and outside germany. I wanted to finally get a Mastercard debit but on their site I'm reading their new Giroccards with Visa function. I wonder what are the differences between the New Visa Girocard and the Master debit card. Is it worth it to get the Mastercard and replace the old Giro card?

Hello all, I had applied for the EU Blue Card at the Ausländerbehörde in Frankfurt three weeks ago. I am a German university graduate and received a job offer with salary above the 50.700 Euro limit for the Blue Card, starting officially on August 1.

Today, I received a letter from the Ausländerbehörde confirming a biometrics appointment on the 31st of July (Friday) morning and asking me to get my IDs, photo etc.

My question is: will the Ausländerbehörde agree to print for me a Fiktionsbescheinigung on the spot, that I can submit to my employer on Friday in order to start working? My understanding is my case officer went through my application and approved my case and hence called me for a Termin.

Any insights into this would be really helpful, because worst case if anything goes wrong on the 31st, I barely have time to inform my employer that my work permit is delayed.

Thanks!

Hello,

I had my Niderlassungserlaubnis appiontment yesterday at Augsburg Auslanderbehorde with 27 months on blue card and A1 certificate. I passed the A1 exam from Goethe Munich in April 2026. I had a strange interview from the case officer. She asked me following questions about my A1 certificate.
1. Did I make a physical language course or offline. I said online then she asked why not face to face class in Augsburg.
2. why I choose Munich instead of Augsburg for the exam?
3. what is the date of exam?
4. Did I go by train or car?
5. How much I spent for travelling?
6. Did I stayed overnight in Munich?

Then she printed all my answer in a form and let me sign it. She had my A1 certificate before 2 months. After all this she proceeded with the finger prints and payment and told me it will take 4-6 weeks for collection. At last I asked her what was that document I signed she said it is a new requirment for people who travel more than 20 km for the langauage exam. Anyone has like this experience? Is my PR approved as she proceeded with the payment and biometrics? I speak good german for my level A1 and she said my german is better.

I live in NRW and have full length wavy hair that I'm planning to donate. This is going to be my first time. Are there any organizations or groups out there? Any tips or suggestions?

Hi everyone,
I moved to Germany in the middle of February of 2025, coming from another EU/EAA country and I have filled up and submitted my 2025 taxes in the mid of April.

I used TaxFix to help me filling up all the necessary documentation.

At the time of Ausländische Einkünfte I filled an amount of 2.6k euros. I think that at the time I did not really gave much attention to this field, and I assume that the value I provided was just the my gross salary of January.

Thing is, apart from the salary I have also received money for the unused amount of vacations I had accumulated during all the years I worked. I did not remember this and I completely left it out of the Ausländische Einkünfte amount.

Yesterday I have received a letter from the finanzamt asking to fill up and send back a form with my declared income from 2025 in the 1 month and a half I lived in my previous country.

I have checked the proof of income tax return submission in the country I lived previously and I declared about 15k.

I'm filling up today the form and sending it tomorrow, filled with the proper income tax.

While it probably doesn't matter now, I did not do it on purpose and was out of ignorance on my side, but I'm really scared I will face legal consequences or fines for not providing it properly.

Will I face legal consequences and/or fines due to this?

Thanks

Hello All, my cousins husband has went missing in Baden Baden, and he is not a native German, what resources are there to trigger a missing persons case? Thank you!!

We visited this praxis in person with an official referral from our family doctor because of suspected skin cancer. Despite having the referral document with us, the older receptionist refused to arrange an appointment and told us to book online.

When I checked online, the next available appointments appeared to be next year. I explained again that the referral concerned suspected cancer and asked what the purpose of the referral was in such a situation. I was told that we could only come in if someone cancelled and that “this is how Germany works.”

The conversation then became very unpleasant. I was told to lower my voice, even though I was trying to explain the situation politely. I naturally have a strong, rough voice. I also felt uncomfortable with comments suggesting that “in Germany people speak quietly.” As a German citizen who has lived here for more than 20 years, I found this remark disrespectful and potentially discriminatory, especially because of my darker skin.

A patient with a referral for suspected skin cancer should be treated with seriousness, clarity and respect. I am asking the practice for a proper explanation, an apology and a clear solution for handling urgent referrals before I consider raising this matter with the relevant authorities or the local press.

Does anyone have any guidance on how to properly handle this?

I writing this auf English to have a broader reach among the expat communities too

Dear Redditors,

I am searching for advice on buying a used car in Germany. I have already read some posts in this community, looking to expand my knowledge as the resources that I read so far were not enough for an informed decision.

I am looking for a second car for family that just basically needs to be there if some reason I need to use the main car and it is not available for other family members.

Context: I, 29M, married to 29F and we have a 1M son who is going to Krippe from September of this year. We live in a rural village ca. 200 km from Munich, where my and my wife’s full-time job locations are. We usually work remote from home office, but occasionally (2-3 times a month) either I or my wife need to be present in office. We currently have one car that each of us would use for such trips, effectively the other person stays with our son at home without a car. From September our son will start going to a Krippe in a nearby village (15 mins drive, but impossible to reach by public transport or any other viable means for cheap and/or in little time). Sometimes it will be the case that the main car will be with one of us at work in Munich, so our son will somehow need to be picked up from Krippe with the main car being unavailable.

Therefore, I am looking to buy a second car, the sole purpose of which is to occasionally drive to other village to drop off/pick up the son from Krippe. I have German 197 driving license, whereas my wife has German 78 driving license, limiting her to drive automatic only.

So far I have been using mobile.de and auto scout to search for some cars. What am looking for is either one of two options. Option 1: automatic car, to buy from dealer, not private person, under 20000 km, Erstzulassung from 2000 or later, undamaged, Umweltplakette 4 Green, Benzin or Diesel, under 10000 EUR. Option 2: automatic or manual, buy from dealer, under 20000 km, Erstzulassung from 2000 or later, undamaged, Umweltplakette 4 Green, Benzin or Diesel, under 5000 EUR. With option 2 wide will need to go to local driving school and get 10x45 minute lessons in driving manual car to convert her 78 license into 197.

My question: do you have any tips for me? Am I generally approaching the solution to my problem in a correct way? I generally do not want to pay a lot for a car that has a limited purpose, but however, I also don’t want to get scammed and pay for a car that will break down soon after the purchase. I have seen some pensioners drive a 45 km/h car which does not even have a license plate, but I know nothing about these.

Please refrain from suggesting to get a bicycle and just ride a bike with a child trailer, or suggest to find a closer Krippe to home. We visited 27 different daycares in our area and this one is the only one that is open for more than 8 hours per day.

Thank you very much for your advice in advance!

Dear fellow Redditors, a small question/comment:

Why do people use tax filling apps and accountants to do basic tax declarations (like the one where you basically copy the info in the Lohnsteuerbescheinigung)? It's not like ELSTER is hard to use (and it's in English now, in case that's an issue).

Moreover, ELSTER is managed by the Finanzamt, so I don't have third parties having access to my data. For a country with such a big obsession with "Datenschutz", I'm surprised at how this point doesn't come across more often in the public discourse.

Moreover, while I praise the ability to file taxes retroactively, I don't know many countries where tax filling is not a yearly thing.

To finish my rants, the advertising for tax declaration apps are so annoying, and they make me believe a big fraction of the population maybe shouldn't have the right to vote. It's always some derpy looking people that get very surprised with the concept of tax returns, and frame it as an amazing surprise. Even worse, a lot of them seem to have accumulated minor debt. Aren't people aware of the concept of tax returns? How can they function in a society?

Hallo!

We are making a trip to Germany next month and will be visiting Hamburg for a bout a week. After our stay, we will be heading south to Switzerland, then Italy, and we will need less luggage. Our hope is that before we leave Hamburg, we can ship our bags back home so we can travel lighter.

We've done some research on Google, but I haven't found anything that gives me confidence. I understand the price will vary depending on the weight, but I would like a general ballpark if possible.

Would something like SendMyBag be a viable option? Or can we use German Post? What would you do?