9 things I wish I knew before moving to Germany

Thinking of moving to Germany either to have a better quality of life or unlimited access to pretzels and beer? Well here are some things I wish I knew before that would make my life a bit less confusing.

This is based on my experience living for now almost a year here, which is crazy to think about.

00:00 moving to germany
00:10 apartments
00:48 employment
01:51 on parties on sunday
02:50 water!
03:14 recycling explained
04:38 cash money
05:12 cost of living
05:40 public transportation
07:00 healthcare

Let me know of you have any tips and trick in the comments below as well :))

Just some links and sources:
Great resource about recycling:

Hours of work in germany:

Bicycle:

instagram for aesthetics: @helloerikapeanut
tik tok for randomness: @helloerikapeanut

Disclaimer: Sorry if you see misspellings, it happens more often then i notice.

Thank you for watching and I hope you enjoyed the video. Anyways remember, you matter ✨ and see you soon! ✨

[tonkasfinest]

Before you come to Germany please be aware of the fact that Germans keep eye contact longer than most other people, which is often interpreted as staring. Plus we are quite direct in our communication, which many see as brush and insulting. And please please please at least try and learn the language.

[agnes]

Hi, a little correction: health care is not financed by taxes, that's the NHS in GB. In germany both employer and employee pay half of the fees for health-, unemployment-, care- and pension insurance. Accident insurance is paid solely by the employer and mandatory. Maybe have a look at The Black Forest Family, they explain the system very well in their videos.

[cereal_experiments]

Small correction: The colours of the trash bins aren't really standardized. For instance where I live the bin for paper and cardboard is green instead of blue. In my area they also come to collect glas bottles and jars just like they do with the other trash so you don't have to drop them off in these big collection containers.

[days]

As someone from America I am stoked about how organized Germany is.

[justme]

Love your video and hope many will watch it before deciding moving to our beautiful country.

[ChrisB_Crisps]

Nice overview I think it can be helpful for people moving to germany. Depending on the region some of the things described in the video are different, I think it is good to be aware of that.

[marcblum]

The Healthcare system is NOT funded through taxation. This statement is plain wrong. The healthcare system is funded through mandatory (the majority of people) or voluntary (much lesser) membership in any of the many healthcare insurances. If you're an employee, your employer will (and has to) channel your fees directly to the insurance. No governmental involvement at all.

[TheParkanyi]

One addition to the paying-with-card thing: Make sure to get a German card as soon as possible. Foreign cards (even from the EU) are not always accepted. In 2021 I wanted to buy a coat at a Takko store, but my card was declined even though I had money on it. I had to ask the cashier to wait a bit and do the walk of shame to the nearest ATM (which cost me an extra 10€ because of the not so funny terms of my lovely Hungarian OTP Bank 😅).

[kvfwhvb]

That was such awesome info! Thank you so much! 🩷🩷

[dimi-ro]

„The laws are strictly enforced“ - well, maybe in Munich, but surely not everywhere in Germany 😂

[jcorreaUdeA]

Thanks for these useful tips Erika. Keep up with the great content!

[BiG-JuPOO]

It's nice to know Germany at least respects workers and not overwork their employees. Here in United States is run by corporations, so many people I know in college are part timers and often forced to work over 40 hours a week and overtime is not paid or covered either.

[Rick]

You can get appartments with a full installed design kitchen, and all but than you have to change the search results order to highest prices first. With the lowest pricses first, you get the one without kitchen and toilet seat. If you want midleclass quality, jump to the midle of the search result section.

[ronaldjspolar]

Informative video. You do a nice job in the way you present the material. Also appreciate the work you did with editing the video. Appreciated knowing how complicated things can be transitioning from U.S. to Germany. I am a senior so I'm not clear regarding the challenges I would face. Will have to look elsewhere but thanks for the information.

[Sydney_Taing]

Come across your channel a couple weeks ago and have been binging everything. Love the tips and editing style!

[ynbellam]

I love the fact that I just wanted to watch a video because I'm wondering about going back to Germany until I instantly recognised Trier at the beginning 😂 I went there for an Erasmus and I truly love this city ♥ Now, I really want to go back to Germany (for Lidl and Radler krkrkrkr)

[Verbalaesthet]

I see many foreigners complain about it but it is not always without a kitchen when you rent a new apartment. There are ones with and without kitchen. You just have to look at the details. All of my apartments throughout my life had a kitchen in Germany.

[wulla]

Good video, though I would add a word about etiquette when visiting - always bring a small gift! Potted plants are very popular.

[de-graftasafo-adjei]

I liked the video even before watching

[Cedricrt-jb]

Very calm energy :) As a german I still learned a thing or 2 :)