Anyone in Karlsruhe?

[spotified]

(Namechanged for this)

DH is considering a job offer in Karlsruhe, things are progressing and he's starting to seriously consider it. I'm a little freaked out. We went through a big international relocation a few years ago and we thought this was it, but now this has come up and we are not sure what to do.

Not completely opposed to it, but given the ages of our dcs (Pre-teens) and ours (mid 40s), this would have to be somewhere we stay put for at least 6/7 years.

But I know nothing about the place, and can't find much online nor on here. It doesn't seem to be a classic expat destination, and I am irrationally suspicious of Germany for no good reason :)

Yet part of me wants to be convinced this would be a good move (we're both a little stuck in our ways, like where we live but dont love it, and in need of a change. Plus if i'm honest i'd love to stop working for a couple of years).

Would love to hear from anyone who lives or has lived there.

thanks!

Hi, we are a couple hours north of Karlsruhe it's not a place I know well at all. We are in a big city that's quite liberal and has many expats.
However being an expat in Germany is quite tough in my opinion.
My kids go to International school which they are happy in but there is a definite divide between expat kids (corporate) and local wealthy kids.
The lifestyle here is very outdoorsy, everyone is dressed for hiking, skiing, cycling the moment the weather is right for it.
Things are pretty straightforward, lots of form filling but generally you know where you stand and what to expect. Healthcare can be quite expensive.
I've never felt unsafe. I can walk on my own at night easily without feeling concerned.
Public transport is very good.
The close connection to other European cities is excellent.
It's difficult to get into good friendships here with other Germans I've found, we have maybe two or three genuine good friendships (been here two and a half years)
One commented to me that Germans are like eggs, you must get past the tough shell to the warm heart.
We have neighbours who are quite the racists and have put nasty letters in our post box complaining our cooking smelt and such stupid stuff. That could happen anywhere though, other stuff too just annoying. We are now at an ignore each other point and that's best.
We are looking to return home in the next year due to daughters GCSE's.
I would definitely make this move again, but be a bit less naive about it. I was so excited to get here and started language classes before we moved. Germans are not super jolly types and can be rather brusque.
You must learn German as soon as you can.
Things to my mind are more expensive than the UK but you have a high standard of living. It doesn't feel a rip off, if you see what I mean.
I've never made the connection to Germany that some other expat friends have, I've lived in three other places this is pretty much for me bottom of the list, but for husband top of it, each to their own.
This website was helpful to me when we arrived. www.toytowngermany.com
Feel free to PM me if you have any questions.

Wow. I could write word for word what olivia has! I wonder if it’s the same school.
I struggle with the fact that a lot of the German parents have long standing relationships outside of the school and aren’t really in the market for new temporary friends. I’ve met lots of nice people but for the most part they’ve been other foreigners. I’d worry about struggling socially somewhere less diverse.
Do you speak German? I did ALevel but have found it difficult to improve my standard now that I am an adult. This is also our third international move but our first to a non-English speaking country and I’ve found it much harder than I thought.

I do love the travel options, the many public holidays and currently the weather though.

That's funny, perhaps we are, I'm in Cologne, probably really outed myself now.
Though I can't imagine any German friends are on here.

Yep, also Cologne! My kids are only in nursery and year one though so I expect we haven’t crossed paths!

Ohhh poor you that car park is something else!
Luckily mine are old enough to go in and out on their own.

Wow, I'm jealous, I'd give my right arm to move back there. We lived south of Karlsruhe for a year and absolutely loved it. Go for it, there's so much to do for kids and if you're the outdoorsy type, for adults too. Great park/zoo in Karlsruhe and wonderful trips into the Black Forest, hot summers, skiing in the winter...perfect.

I grew up half an hour away from Karlsruhe and have just been there on Saturday.
It is a nice city with Museums, a really good theatre, a Zoo, lovely parks and good public transport. Shopping is pretty decent, too and an IKEA will open in Karlsruhe in 2019.
However, at the moment the city centre is on big construction site as some parts of the tram tracks will be put underground.
You've got the Black Forest on the door step and could be in France in under 30 minutes. There are also a lot of quarry lakes near Karlsruhe which are great to swim in in the summer.

I don't have any kids but know that there is a European School in Karlsruhe, www.es-karlsruhe.eu/

Thanks everyone and sorry I’ve been MIA. TamanTun, May I ask how old your kids were when you lived there? Do you/yours speak German? How hard would it be to find a job either in Karlsruhe or Stuttgart as a foreigner with no German?

Olivia and Arf, you seem more cautious in your “endorsement”

Dh wants the job but is really not keen on moving there (even though he’s a native German speaker...) so we’re exploring whether it could be commutable from where we are. But I’m already thinking longer term as I don’t think id want us to be apart for much longer than 12/18 months.

We shall see...

spotified ours were 5 and 4 when we moved there and my daughter was speaking very confidently in German by the time we left. Both were in kindergarten which was quite change for my daughter as she'd had half a year in a UK school but gave them the chance to learn German. My German is a bit rusty but I got by. I didn't actively look for a job while we were there so I'm not sure on the job front, although I do think not having some level of German is quite a disadvantage when job hunting as I was casually looking towards the end of our stay. I know the local schooling system would have been a problem for us if we went back now as I think the type of school they get sent to (grammar (Gymnasium), intermediate (Realschule) or vocational route(Hauptschule)) is dependent on achievement and I remember something about language problems not being an excuse for not doing well. That could have been a local thing, best to look into the educational system and what it will mean for your children if you were thinking of going down that route. That was one of the main reasons we didn't go back.

I'd do it all over again I really would.
I think it's an excellent opportunity, just good to be forewarned.
Since your kids are older International School Is probably a better option, but again depends how long you would stay.
Language is really key, I'm in a big tourist city and there's a definite difference between the "tourist spots" and local / official places for patience with basic German.
I have a dentist who loves practising her English with me, my kids have a very strict Orthodontist who speaks to them not me as they are better at German.
The Orthodontist speaks perfect English but I'm in Germany I must speak German, this is troublesome for technical conversation about the intricacies of my kids braces. Tourist places congratulate me on my German thinking I'm just visiting.
It's definitely an experience and one I would wholeheartedly recommend.
You may find work with local language schools, there's a demand for conversational and business English.