Is there still a German Thread?

[BeatrixBurgund]

We've moved back to Germany after 8 years in Switzerland and Scotland, and with the kids in school, I just know I'm going to have lots of questions about the Bavarian education system.

And I'd love to catch up with all the folk I used to chat with (even if I can't remember their usernames!). I'm on a namechange - it's MmeLindor here!

[Goosegettingfat]

Hallo!
So it looks like we are moving to Bavaria in the next month or 2. I speak some German. Or at least used to. Very rusty now though! Please hit me for hints and tips about finding a nice kindergarten and Grundschule for dds (5 and 6)! I have absolutely no idea how to start. Plus slightly nervous there seems to be no expat community in Bavaria!

[Wanderlust85]

Hello. I'm new to mumsnet and have never posted on a forum before so apologies if I'm too wordy!

For a number of personal reasons my partner and I have been thinking about our life and how we want to spend our time with our son (currently 2), and we have decided to put our full time careers on hold so we can time together as a family, making memories etc. We both love Berlin and have many happy memories here, as well as hoping to build on the rather basic German we know- so we are trying to simply use our savings and move to Berlin for some time. By renting out our home, using savings etc we are hoping to be able not to work for approx a year- which would give us time to settle, attend further German classes, secure employment and just enjoy this time with our son.

However- it is proving extremely difficult to secure an apartment in Berlin. Due to the whole schufe issue, we have decided to go down the route of looking for fully furnished places on sites like SpotaHome/ homelike etc and even contacted an extortionately priced relocation service. However- it seems we cannot secure an apartment til a few weeks before we go (I'd prefer to plan ahead as much as possible), even though we have evidence of savings, landlords are asking for wage slips (not sure why if they'll be from a different country), and one company said that we had to have proof that we would have a monthly income that was three times the amount of the rent!! We have worked incredibly hard and saved so so much, we're not wanting anything fancy as long as the area is ok- but it seems so hard to get anywhere. It feels impossible to get the paperwork that landlords want.

We don't know what to do to move forwards- any advice would help?
Sorry for the essay :(

[BellaLand]

my sister brought up her son there and lived there, the education state system is not wonderful at all and would be quite a shock and change after where you have been.... it would be in my view be too much for any child to cope with... or young teen.... there is a high rate of kids not finishing school in germany and that is why there are so many apprenticeships etc and which are government funded very well.... I would strongly suggest the international school in Munich and suggest you find the funds for that.... there is just one kind of school in germany. other than Steiner... it is not Like in the Uk at all.... why on earth would you want to move to germany???

[BellaLand]

by the way, if looking for nannies, I strongly suggest you do not use system straub , they are very unethical.

[BellaLand]

re Berlin,
it is all propoganda and hype... why anyone would want to move to berlin I hve no idea , it is a horrible , dirty, unsafe place.
I would advise moving out of Berlin, towards Zellendorf and outskirts, Brandenburg... if you must move to germany.
it is no place to bring up children and I have seen so many people move over there , because berlin seems to have this mysterious allure, which is quite different once you have to live there and the sparkle goes very quickly.... people move there and leave mostly after one year. a friend of mine was cheated of money by a german woman, Heike Bruns, and a woman called Anne Siml.... using one of those agencies in Berlin, it was a mafia... they were kicking people out , after a short time and changing the locks. and so you lose your money, the police will do nothing, not if you are a foreigner.no matter if the other person has done something illegal. so nice racketeering... you pay money to the agency and rent to the landlord. you get kicked out after say one day or a week for no reason, they keep doing this, you can see how much money they are making. the courts , forget it! there is one law for germans and one law for everyone else who are treated like third class citizens. most are renting out their places illegally and that is why they dont offer contracts, it is not like in UK where anyone doing that would lose their council property or other, they maybe get a telling off or a small fine... if that. so there are a lot of people who are renting out who have no permission to do it.... have heard of so many foreigners being scammed and thrown out because of that.

[BellaLand]

I worked there and lived in a hotel.

the fact is that , contrary to what you think , the germans do not want to be invaded by the English and I have experienced and have others the weirdest nastiest experiences, like banks refusing accounts and closing them for no reason.... it happens to a lot of people... because they know that is the first footing that is needed to stay there and the fact is that they dont really want us over there at all... the germans absolutely hate the English esp the British. if you think that has disappeared, you are very wrong. It has become even worse since Brexit..... it is like they have finally found an excuse to outwardly hate us even more.... the rest of germany hate Berlin and now I know why. It is not a free city... at all... it appears like that and yes you have sex clubs and you can party all the time etc, but that world is a very dangerous world for young people to grow up around and no it is not like london at all.... it is far worse. having seen junkies live on the underground and shooting up and the police nearby and who said, welcome to berlin when I went to them, the stench of the junkies and homeless on the underground, it is the last place on earth I would want to live in. a friend of mine was arrested for eating chips on the tram at 3 am in the morning . only because the driver saw her on her own and knew she was a "foreigner". it is still apolice state and that is why they have the "anmeldung" which was outlawed by the polish after the war and adopted by the germans and the swiss.

[BellaLand]

with "kitas" I would always recommend the waldorf in Mitte....
despite it looking very " alternative, the mindset of berlin is in fact extremely conservative.

[TeaAddict235]

Are you German @BellaLand ?

[BellaLand]

why do you wish to know if I am German ? not following you sorry, or do you mean that only germans are allowed to post on this german thread?

[TeaAddict235]

@BellaLand the more the merrier! Welcome! I was just wondering if you were German or not as you had quite strong views on living in Berlin and foreigners in Germany. I wasn't sure which stand point you were coming from. I'm not German but British, and I can see the allure of Berlin, however I agree, it's a bit "still in progress" and mucky. But again it's very multicultural and the people are easy going. Any children joining a school or kindergarten there from abroad will not be the only non Deutsch als Muttersprachler. There are lots of multinational companies who do not require fluent German in Berlin, so you can see part of the attraction.

Where are you based in Germany currently? This thread has a fantastic diaspora. I'm in Hessen.

[blueskiesandforests]

Oh I was thinking about re-starting a German thread as this had dropped off! I see it hadn't been posted on since January of this year and Bella-Land revived it- I wonder why s/he went looking for it though...

I'm in Bavaria and have posted on this thread before under other names, as its 11 months old.

Just wanted to mention that I've lived here almost 12 years and nothing Bella says rings true to me - which doesn't mean it isn't his or her experience, but it certainly isn't universal! Bavaria is of course very different to Berlin, which I've only visited.

In almost 12 years here I have only encountered 2 people who gave signs of specifically hating the English, and one of them was American... Obviously, as in every country, there are people who dislike foreigners, though sadly as in every country being a fortunate foreigner from a fairly wealthy country with a good education and no need to claim benefits etc and even more sadly looking like the locals dilutes racism and xenophobia and brings out the "I don't mean you obviously" excuse...

In that way Germany is like the UK.

Although some of the ingrained "we don't mean any harm" racism is a bit like the UK in the 70s I think...

Brexit conversations seem prompted by curiosity and searching for insight into what drove an entire population to do something which from the outside looks like a case of mass self destructive insanity... Unfortunately I can't explain what happened, so Germans tend to draw parallels to the rise of AfD voters in Germany and we shake our heads at the way the world's going...

[blueskiesandforests]

There also isn't only one kind of school in Germany, in fact the fact the opposite is true is one of the problems...

[GinMama1]

Hello, is this still threat still active? If so, I'd like to join. We'll be moving to Berlin towards the end of the year. I'm already worrying about getting my LG who will be 2.5 into Kita! And about finding a job and friends...

[Welshcake77]

Hi GinMama1 welcome to the thread I’m still around! Hopefully some of the Berlin MNers will see this too. I’m based near Frankfurt so no local knowledge for you unfortunately.
What’s the reason behind your move? What kind of job will you be looking for?

[GinMama1]

Hi Welshcake! Nice to see you here, hopefully some Berlin folk will come around too, but I do have lots of time.
We are moving for my husband's job, so if we don't get a kita place it will be me that has to deal with the lack of childcare. On the plus side, they will sort out housing for us, and some German lessons (although more for him than for me). I work in Comms now, and would ideally stick with it, although I suspect a lot will depend on my language skills.

[Schlobbob]

Hi all, hope you are all well - we are enjoying some wonderful weather in Munich!

I wanted to come on here and thank the wonderful person who when I asked what should I stock up on before we move - answered Ovex.

Lo and behold I discover a delightful threadworm in my nethers and go down to the cupboard where I stored said medicine and gulped it down. Treated the kids this morning and have a second bottle for two weeks time. No bother trying for gp or apotheke, I'm all sorted - thank you!!!!

Now wish me luck as I wash every bed and towel in sight!

[littlemonkeyface]

Just wanted to pop in to say 'please do not be put off coming to Germany because of BellaLand's earlier posts'. There is obviously xenophobia everywhere, but Germans tend to be anglophiles!

I obviously cannot comment on BellaLand's personal experiences, but like others have already said, some of the stated 'facts' are simply not true.

there is a high rate of kids not finishing school in germany and that is why there are so many apprenticeships etc

This statement alone is utter nonsense.

Most apprenticeships are very sought after as they lead to skilled, well-paid jobs. And whilst many are found in manufacturing, a large number are office based and can include the opportunity to do a degree (a bit like a sandwich Uni course in the UK).