Hi peeps; I am a Belgian citizen looking to study abroad. I searched for schools in Germany and noticed that public schools are free and private schools are expensive. Of course, I wished I continued studying German after high school to be a student in one of your amazing public unis. I want to study for a bachelor's in software engineering/computer science, and all English courses come from private schools. However, I am now studying in Belgium, and I chose to do the English course because I don't enjoy speaking my language (Dutch), and I am not paying anything more than attending a Dutch class.

I am wondering: are there Germans that choose to study in a private school? If yes, why?

I wonder if those private schools are mainly for foreigners who don't speak German academically. Why would someone German pay 7000-10 000eur per year if private schools are free and really good?

Ps. If you know any private school that has an English-speaking bachelor software engineer program, please DM me :) I found one school, but there are many, and maybe I looked over one.

Hello everyone!

I'm an international student in Germany. 5 months ago i got a job for 3 weeks in an office helping the staff there. After this, i got my current Werkstudent job (which i am happy with). The problem is that after I finished this 3 weeks of job, i was told i will get the money at the end of month, but it never arrived. I contacted them and they told there was some issue with my insurance. After calling my insurance (and getting told there is no such issue, also i was already working as werkstudent with no problems), i contacted them again and they told me following month i will get the money. Of course money didint arrive and this game, where i call/email them and being told next month i will get the payment has been going for 5 months alredy. Yes, i know it is my failaure for waiting this long to do something different.

The thing is this last week, I've been calling them almost every day and they proposed to give me the money in cash next week. I found out (late) that i can go to the Arbeitsgericht and maybe they can help me solved the problem.

Since it has been so long time and many headaches of this problem, i thought about accepting the cash but i got some questions in my head:

- If they pay me now, from a taxes point of view, it will look like a have two jobs (which i don't), meaning my tax class will change and i will loose money, is it possible to avoid this somehow? (i don't mean avoiding paying taxes, i mean using the correct date of payment for taxes calculation for example)

- Should they pay me some compensation for the delay?

I'm assuming this time they will pay me. If not, i guess i should go to the Arbeitsgericht.

I appreciate any suggestions/comments on the issue, danke!

I signed a one year employment contract last year. I want to go to school and not renew the contract. My manager is telling me I need to give them three months notice otherwise I can't end my employment.

What happens if my course starts in one month, after they one year mark, and I want to stop working? How much notice do I have to give them?

Let me know if any additional info is required.

Edit: I'm not home right now. I'm going to upload the section in the contract that pertains to cancellation. Just to be clear though, I'm not trying to end the contract early; I don't want to keep working there past the end of the contract.

Edit 2: Contract start and end dates

https://imgur.com/a/EA4YRCY

Edit: Kündigung section of contract

https://imgur.com/a/Y22lCin

So basically the title. We like to start doing some sports like canoeing and join Verein. However I am not sure how the process works. What qualifications do we need or how the bureaucracy of it is. I’d appreciate if anyone can explain? Thanks!

It's honestly kind of frustrating too.

I seem to have gotten the short end of the stick since moving around a year ago to a new apartment. Before I'd get packages almost always and very rarely did the driver not make it. Now, it seems the new address in where I live seems to be always at the end of the driver's tour and as a result I always get "zustellung heute nicht möglich. " This always happens as the driver is 5 stops or less away from my package. (I see on the live tracking. )

This means, often when I'm expecting a package, I'll get it 2 or 3 days later than the expected date. This is especially frustrating in moments where I pay for 1 day delivery.

Please tell me there's an alternative to avoiding this? If I example have the package delivered to the dhl boxes in front of Lidl, am I guaranteed to almost get my package on delivery date?

Also, how can I set this up?

I will soon be visiting Freiburg. I would like to visit some picturesque Black Forest villages, but it seems that all the most beautiful (or at least the most famous) villages are quite far from the Freiburg area, e.g. Calw.

Any recommendations?

Thanks!

A year ago my 2,5 yo son and I moved into a really nice appartement in the suburbs of Braunschweig. I enjoy the area around my house very much and it's perfectly suitable for a toddler with plenty of playgrounds and almost no traffic. The house I live in has a total of four appartements, two of which share a garden. There are several neigbour houses with gardens, too, all without fences. As I moved in, my neighbour, a 30something lady, told me, that my son is welcome to play in the garden, although my appartement doesn't have a garden share. The other garden share belogs to an 80+ yo lady, who stays at home all day long. So I thought, that my neighbours were a bliss, too. Until today.

I wanted to place an inflatable pool for my son in the garden for the coming summer heat. Yesterday I asked the old lady for permission and she was fine with that. The other neighbour lady was not at home and I eventually found her in the garden, chilling in a small shed and sipping a beer. I also asked her for permission and she was fine with the pool, too. She also told me, that it would be nice if I would get the other garden share instead of the old lady, who doesn't use hers anyway, and that we could talk to the landlord about that. I told her, it was a nice idea and that I would then replace the ramshackle climbing frame left from the old lady's now grown-up children and maybe also get a grill we could both use for summer barbecues. She declined and I was fine with that. The whole small talk was completely hypothetical. At least, for me.

I had a minor surgery a couple of weeks ago and shouldn't lift anything heavy for a couple more weeks, so currently my retired mother lives in my guestroom and helps me with getting groceries and the everyday stuff with my son. She inflated the pool, placed it in the garden and filled it with water today morning.

Today evening the lady I had had the small talk yesterday knocked on my door and told me there was a huge misunderstanding and we needed to talk. Then she grabbed my hand and pulled me all the way into the garden. Apparently she forgot to take her meds, because she started yelling at me, that I had invaded here private space by addressing her while she had been in the shed, that I have no say since I don't have a garden share, that she "had offered me one finger and I would bite her whole hand off", that I have zero sensitivity for personal boundaries that she's not able to have kinds of her own and a whole lot of other stuff, not related to the situation, with white foam coming out of her mouth (no exaggeration here). She also managed to build a provisional fence around her garden share overnight. I was embarassed as the other neighbours were watching from their gardens and tried to withdraw myself from the situation, but she kept yelling at me. Now, this was very rude and inappropriate, but I was still chill about that. But then she said, that I would never get "it" (the German way of thinking?) anyway, as I'm not German.

And it's true, I'm genetically not German, I immigrated from the country which starts with "R" and ends with "ussia". I'm not proud not to say ashamed of my origin, but I'm not responsible for it, either. I got my degree in Germany, have a job, pay my taxes and also got my German citizenship after six years instead of eight because of being well-integrated into the society. So I was quite pissed at the moment. Then my mom, who doesn't speak German, asked me what was the matter. I told her the brief version of the conversation. My mom then told me to play with my son, grabbed a bucket and emptied the pool (it was about 200 l), deflated it and took it to my basement while the neighbour was yelling "All the neighbours here, come and have a look at the filthy Russian carrying water!" and other xenophobic stuff, which really pissed me, to say the least.

Now, I can handle it and also give her a witted response if she ever talks to me again, but my mother can't. So can I threaten her with an Anzeige if she ever addresses my mother again?

This was a long read, thank you for getting to the end.

Edit: I don't really want to sue her, just make sure she stays away from my family. Other ideas are also welcome.

I will be going back to my home country for about two months (end of June to August). My residence permit expires in end of September or early October. I have enough funds and such to renew it, but that will be after I come back from my home country. Will that cause any problems at the airport or visa authorities? Please keep in mind I'm not from Europe, and am an international student here

In Günter Grass's 'The Flounder' ancient Germans ate millet and mangelwurzel. The UN declared 2023 'The Year of the Millets'.
Do Germans eat millet now?

Just as above, any one know how long it normally takes DB trains to reply to emails? I need some information regarding the union strike/cancelations for insurance and no one has replied (or if they do they tell me contact a different email which doesn't reply). Sent first email just after the rail strike so getting pretty frustrating.

No longer in the country either

Thanks

Hey there, fellas! I could really use your advice and insights on a recent decision I've made. So, here's the story: I had a minor bike accident during my daily commute, and it got me thinking about the importance of having a driving license. I live in the beautiful city of Magdeburg and work full-time, which makes having a license even more practical.

Yesterday, I reached out to a local driving school to inquire about their services, and they gave me a quote for a comprehensive package: 3000€. Now, I have a few questions buzzing in my mind, and I would greatly appreciate your input:

1. Do you think this price is fair and reasonable considering the local driving school market in Magdeburg?

2. I'm curious to know how long it usually takes to obtain a driving license. Any rough estimates or personal experiences you can share?

3. I must confess, I have a slight color weakness that affects my ability to distinguish between yellow and green. However, I want to assure you all that recognizing and understanding traffic lights is not a problem for me. Could this condition potentially hinder my chances of getting a license?

4. Another concern I have is my German language skills, which are currently at a B2 level. Do you think this might be a major obstacle during the license acquisition process?

I sincerely appreciate any insights or advice you can offer. Thank you all in advance for your help :)

Hallo! I have a trip planned this October for ten days flying in and out of Munich. I am traveling with my mother who was never been to Germany before. I have been once before and did Berlin, Nuremberg, Bamberg, Munich, Füssen. I didn’t want to be moving our bags too much and we’re only using trains so I picked our three bases as Salzburg, Nuremberg, and Munich.

Day 1-land in Munich, take train to Salzburg Day 2-full day Salzburg Day 3-day trip to Berechtesgaden Day 4-train to Nuremberg, explore Nuremberg Day 5-day trip from Nuremberg Day 6-day trip from Nuremberg Day 7-explore Nuremberg, train to Munich Day 8-Munich Day 9-Munich Day 10-Munich Day 11-fly home

Does my itinerary look too rushed? I was also looking for recommendations for day trips from Nuremberg. I have already been to Bamberg but I am willing to go again for my mom to see it. I am also torn between Rothenburg ob der Tauber or würzburg. Is rothenburg too much as a day trip from Nuremberg? Any other suggestions are appreciated. I want my mom to have a great experience in Germany since she just retired and this is our first time traveling just the two of us.

hello, I need help, one of the surnames in my family is Rissmann and I would like to know the translation or meaning

My 16YO daughter is heading to Germany in a couple of weeks as part of our student exchange program. She'll be staying with a 15YO girl and her parents. My daughter would like to give them a small gift when she arrives, something rather uniquely American that isn't readily available in Germany. A friend of mine has relatives in Germany and suggested a little collection of American junk food -- supermarket peanut butter, Oreos, Pop-Tarts, Kraft mac & cheese, etc.

Suggestions would be appreciated. Thanks/Danke.

I want to start to do my tax return. I spent some time reading in the internet but could not really grasp it. Let’s say I bought a 100 Euro monitor for work, how many percent do I get back from it? Is it the VAT 19%? Or is it my income tax deduction 30%? I read there is something called “lump sump” or “pauschbetrag” of 1230 Euro. Do I get always get this amount whenever I fill my tax return? Is there any calculator that I could look up online to calculate different stuffs that I can claim for my tax return?

I'm currently resident and working in Germany, and my parents from overseas are doing their first euro trip this fall and visiting around Germany for two weeks. I'd like to purchase two €49 tickets for them to use (I have my own) but am unsure as to the best way to do it. I'm in Hamburg, which offers a physical chip card; any hurdles or otherwise issues I should be aware of if ordering / paying for two subscriptions for other people, then cancelling them after a month? (aside from the cancellation period)

Hi!

I'll traveling to Germany on June, and due changes of circumstances, I will not use my train tickets. I issued a cancellation but they only return to me vouchers :(

I need the money back, so if anyones wants to buy them to me, I can make a discount of 20% of the value.

Validity for purchasing tickets it's until 2026

Hey guys , I am an Angolan citizen in Namibia trying to apply for an apprenticeship as a Elektroniker fur Automatisierungstechnik in Germany and Mechatroniker fur Automatisierungstechnik in Austria. I have a C1 german certificate , the DSD2, as well as my high school certificate from Namibia. I was rejected by 5 companies , one of them told me my documents were fine just that they are looking to hire locals only . Two other companies , Sartorius , and Lanxess, invited me for a test , which according to a post I read is good thing . However I struggled a lot in those tests , what do you guys suggest to be done ,in order to pass these tests ? I am looking forward towards all answers . By the way , I am in my first year of university.

I’m from Bosnia we have the word Streber too and I have this online friend with an Austrian boyfriend and as a joke I told him to tell his boyfriend he’s a Streber thinking “oh it means nerd” and then the boyfriend tells him it’s a slur and I just need this answered to know if I actually messed up big time

I am 22M, just turned 22 a weeks ago hehe. So I moved to Germany, Heidelberg to be precise for my Masters. I have to say, as of now, the only thing I am failing at is making friends :) (might add a few of my subjects to the list after the exams). I am an introvert but an extrovert, you feel me? So making friends for me is pretty hard. Since I arrived here a few weeks after my orientation, I don't know my classmates, and well, I do know them now, but they all tend to be in there own spectrum. Especially germans, even asians. I like to talk to people, but I am shy :3. But I do approach them, but they don't really take an initiative (well ofc it's subjective). So I would like to ask the fellow members, where do you actually meet people who are interested in making international friends :3

So,.my girlfriend and me moved into this "maisonetten" flat. Officially, the rent begins from 01.07 but we were allowed by the landlord to enter the flat earlier. To carry out work such as painting, setting up furniture etc.

So today we were building a cupboard. And I opened the window on the top floor (Dachgeschoss). As I opened this huge window outwards since it was hot inside, I broke the handle slightly. I'm not sure if I should involve insurance or let the landlord take care of it. Because that window is pretty old, from 1995. The landlord had contracted a firm called "Grund und Verwaltung" to record the state of the flat (Protokoll) before we moved in. And they noticed it was old too but it was working.

So I am not sure what to do in this situation. Any advice would be great. Thanks.

I am on the Czech train driving through Germany and free Wifi is advertised.

My WiFi just stops working for some reason.

Apparently, it is unlimited in Czech, Austria, Hungary and Slovakia

BUT in Germany there is a limit of 500mb for first class and 200mb (!!) for the second class..

Why Germany? Why??

Is this country rich because of the not invested money in underdeveloped infrastructure?