Help please - we want to move to Germany

[southpacificgoat]

A bit of background: I am German but have lived abroad since the mid 90's. DP is English and we have a DC (3) and another one on the way (due this summer). Both DP and I would like to bring up our children in Germany, but not quite sure where to start. DP trained as a secondary teacher a few years ago, but has been a SAHD for the last 2 years. He's not a career type and I would have to be the main earner (as I am now). My background is in Learning & Development / Organisational Development. My German rusty though rrcoverable, but I don't have the business German/ sector terminology I might need. I am about to go on maternity leave from my current post in the UK and would really like to use the year to try out living in Germany checking out our options of moving there permanently. We own our own flat in the UK and could potentially rent it out. That way we would be able to rent another flat in Germany and my maternity pay would cover living costs. We would love to live in Berlin/think that we'd most likely be able to find work there - but could be wrong! From what I have seen, our first big problem would be finding a flat without a job... Everything just seems so complicated and I have oh so many questions. Do people think our idea of a German trial run is terrible/feasible? How do I go about finding out what mine and my DPs job chances are? How likely is it we'd find an acceptable flat without a German job etc.?
Thank you for your input!!!

I live in Bavaria not Berlin, but I was a teacher in the UK - unfortunately your dh's teaching qualifications won't be recognised, plus you need native speaker fluency to teach in the state sector (and where we are there are virtually no private schools except the international school). International schools here want international baccalaureate experience, but that might not be true everywhere. It's easy to pick up work teaching English as a foreign language but it wouldn't pay the rent - almost all language schools only take on self employed teachers without guaranteed hours. Teaching via VHS is a good tax and paperwork free way to supplement your earnings as main earner though.

I don't really understand what your sector is, I'm sorry, so I have no advice there.

I wouldn't go back to the UK and think my kids have a better childhood in Germany, so I'd recommend it, but it depends whether your skills and qualifications are transferable. Germany loves a formal qualification for every job, and only degrees seem to be guaranteed to be recognised internationally, and even then not necessarily if vocational.

I think you should go for it! Kindergarten places can be hard to find so if you have kids that would need to go then do some research in advance. Maybe call the local jugendamt about availability of places once you have narrowed down to a few locations.

For jobs, we’ve found that moving jobs in Germany is hard. Find out what qualifications are expected for your role and see if any professional memberships/ charteredship status would help. It’ll be easier to sort these while you’re still in the uk. Start with the uk professional body and then get them to convert your status to an international version.

Be prepared for a rollercoaster year with lots of seasonal festivals like carnival, Mai baume, Erntedankfest, Oktoberfest, Sankt Martin, proper Christmas markets and so on.

There are a number of Facebook groups like British in Germany. They may help you.

forgive me for being cynical but if you are german, then your language wont be really rusty will it? it's your maternal language, deine Muttersprache. Berlin ist "Multikulti", also dein Eheman kann Nachhilfe (tutoring) anbieten oder an Eine Internationale Schule arbeiten.

Plus don't you have the advantage of being able to ask your family for help to underwrite an apartment for you? I think that you have far more going for you than a total non german family. Btw , of course life is complicated …..it's germany, they don't make life fun easy for anyone.

You can do it, just channel your inner self.

To update your specialist language, can’t you read some relevant trade journals and/or find an online community? I can imagine since the 1990s some specialist vocabulary will have changed a lot but as a native speaker it should come back quickly.

We've just moved to Germany..well, at Easter. DH and I are both teachers, although I'm fluent in German while he really isn't. I really didn't find it difficult finding a teaching job since schools seem to be desperate for teachers. My teaching qualification is currently being processed but I should be qualified after the summer holidays. Until then, my independent school had applied for provisional acceptance with the authorities and that had been granted without issues. Independent schools can pick their teachers. DP tried the same school but we have too many kids who are poor at English (we're officially bilingual). He's now working at an english-speaking nursery.

Our toddler is at a bilingual nursery attached to my school. It was part of the deal because when I looked into trying to get a nursery place, it seemed really difficult and there wasn't anything available in our area.

Everything involves loads of paperwork. Certain places also close at noon for the day, which drives me barmy. I've been finding it tough because I'm the one who has to do all of the paperwork by myself. I think I spent at least the first month constantly trying to figure out whether I've accidently moved 25 years into the past.

DH has now started to take German lessons and he's getting much better. He's still not terribly happy here because he's just getting frustrated with things. Hopefully this will improve after a while.

If it doesn't, we do still have our house in England and could return. For the moment, We've said we'd stay until next summer and then decide. My parents live close by and are desperate for us to stay.

Good luck.

My DH is a teacher and has gone through so many hoops to try to become recognised as a state school teacher here. you need a second subject, so back to uni to get an English qualification in his case. You need to reach native speaker level - C2. Despite a 6 month full time course, countless private lessons and almost all German friends, he couldn't pass the written part.
You can only temp in state schools for 18 months then they have to offer you a permanent contract. But they aren't allowed to offer a permanent contract if you're not qualified. You can see where this is going...
So as teacher you're restricted to private schools. Hopefully in Berlin demand is high.
Otherwise we've found it easy to settle here. DC getting on well at school and local people very welcoming. Of course the bureaucracy is often a pita but it's not insurmountable.

Hi OP, I live in Berlin. The demand for flats is insane and you will never get a proper long-term rental without a job. Even people with good jobs are needing months to find a place, that is just the reality at the moment.

But, there is a large AirBNB and sublet sector, so I think it would be feasible to move here for say two or three months (while you sublet your place in the UK) and see how you like the city, try to do some networking re jobs. If you can get a job offer while you're here, then you could look into making things more permanent.

I also don't really understand what your job is but there is a big start-up sector here and many companies where English is the work language, if you don't think your German is good enough.

Berlin is an amazing place to raise a family and I would absolutely encourage you to move here! I just think you need a longer term plan because unfortunately the rental market is really difficult at the moment. If you can get over this hurdle though, everything else is very manageable and the quality of life here for families is fantastic.