Did it end well?

I posted here last week about a Lieferando refund dispute where a local restaurant owner called my private number to threaten me and showed up banging on my door.

https://www.reddit.com/r/germany/s/QA8SGzqtce

Things had gone completely quiet for nearly a week, so I genuinely assumed the issue was over and that he had moved on. Today around 5:50 PM, someone managed to get through the main building entrance again, came straight up to my apartment door, and started aggressively pounding on it. 

I stayed inside with the deadbolt locked and recorded the hallway from my phone. On the video, you can clearly hear a man shouting aggressive verbal abuse, swearing at me repeatedly, and aggressively demanding that I open the door while violently hammering on the wood. The voice, language, and context match the restaurant staff and the owner who originally threatened me over the phone. I called 110 immediately while he was outside making noise. 

Two officers arrived about 5 minutes later, but the guy had already left the place. When I spoke with them, they told me that because the person had already left and I couldn't provide more details about the person, they couldn't go over to the restaurant or do anything. They told me it is not considered a crime, and told me not to open the door but in next time I should look out the window to take a picture of him or number plate of vehicle. They said they hoped nobody comes back and left.

They are nice but I felt embarrassed because they now think I am afraid.

Should I confront that guy if he comes again? I don’t know what to do.

I feel completely stuck. I live most of the time alone, it is dark outside by 6 PM, and leaning out of an exterior window to photograph an aggressive, shouting man feels totally unrealistic and dangerous. I have clear video documenting the loud banging the 110 dispatch was logged under my name and address.

I really need practical advice.

Potentially going to Germany as an exchange student from the USA, how would I make friends in Germany before I go? Is there an app where I could talk to new people?

Hi group members,

​I’m navigating an upcoming employment transition in Germany and could use some guidance regarding residence permits and unemployment benefits (ALG I).

​My current job-bound residence permit will expire when my employment ends. If I need to transition to a job-search permit (like § 20 AufenthG) or an Opportunity Card (Chancenkarte / § 20a), I have a few critical questions:

​ALG I Eligibility & Restrictions: If I switch to a job-search permit or a Chancenkarte while looking for a new qualified role, does the Agentur für Arbeit legally allow me to continue collecting Arbeitslosengeld I (ALG I) (assuming I’ve met the 12-month contribution requirement)?

​Which Visa Allows ALG I? If job-search permits or the Chancenkarte restrict or block insurance-based unemployment benefits, which specific residence title should someone switch to in order to legally remain in Germany and receive ALG I until they find a new job or reach their PR timeline?

​Authority Friction: Does the Agentur für Arbeit or the Ausländerbehörde create any legal or administrative issues with maintaining an insurance-based benefit (ALG I) while holding these job-seeking titles?

​Has anyone gone through a similar visa switch while on ALG I? Any personal experiences, legal insights, or official guidelines would be hugely appreciated.

Thanks in advance!

I just started my first German job last month, I needed public health insurance. Before I started I took the time to go to a comparison site, compared all the fees and the fringe benefits. I thought I made the perfect decision, and then right away they announced a huge price hike (from 2.98% 3.65%) with less than a week's notice. (Is this normal btw?) Now I'm tempted to revisit and shop around again, but part of me is wondering what the point is, if prices really change that frequently and I don't know if the fringe benefits make a difference anyway.

Of course I haven't had a chance to use any fringe benefits yet, but the ones I was interested in were like, fully paid dental check-ups, a few fitness classes a year, etc. I can't guarantee I will get more out of it than I would save by switching to the cheapest provider, so I'm not sure if it's worth it or not tbh.

How do others go about it? Do you use a comparison site? Do you look at the whole package on offer or do you just go with the cheapest or most popular company? Also I know everyone says they are all 95% alike because of the law, but I'm also wondering if anyone has had like a horrible customer service experience with a cheap provider, or a fantastic experience using lots of extra fringe benefits from one of the more pricey ones? Or have you tried both types and they really are all the same?

Of course it's a personal decision, but I'm just wondering how other people go about it, especially if you are native or have lived here for a long time.

For what it's worth I'm doing an Ausbildung so my salary is very low. On the one hand every penny counts, but on the other hand, 1% of my salary isn't as dramatic of an amount as it would be if I was earning well.

The two words are “Guten Tag”. My g comes out closer to “Chuten Tach”, and before I can say anything else someone goes “Ah, Holländer?” with a big grin.

My German is still basic, so I’m used to people switching to English to be polite. The Dutch accent gets a warmer reaction than that. My barber told me I sound like Rudi Carrell, who I had to Google. Even the woman at my bakery, who I hadn’t seen smile once in a year, called it “niedlich”.

None of my apps warned me about the "g" Duolingo and Babbel pass my “Guten Tag” without complaint, and the pronunciation feedback in Praktika hasn’t flagged it either.

Is there something about a Dutch accent in German that makes people smile, or does every accent get its own reaction here?

This evening, when I was waiting for my bus at the stop 1 guy with a family(a woman and 1 or 2 year daughter) pulled up in their VW car and asked for "where is the gas station" I showed them the direction and name on my mobile. After that they were handing them A ring in golden colour (maybe gold plated or real gold) and I refused that offer and they were really persistent about giving me the Ring.

And now they were offering me a sealed iphone box in exchange I provided them with some money as they were travelling to Amsterdam with family. And now I only have 20€ in cash as I usually use NFC payments, so I handed them the cash and left the spot immediately.

I just want to know, was I getting scammed or it was just a misconceptions?

Hey y'all! My brother in law invited us to Germany for the Christmas holiday and it will be my first time one out of the states, and two in Germany! Just wondering if there was anything else to do besides eat good food and seeing the beautiful landscapes, open to almost anything!!! If you live there DM me!

I am experiencing a strange problem with DB Navigator. I re-installed DB app today, since I've been seeing error message on the app. I just realised it was my VPN that made it seem like it was the app's fault, after which I re-login again and my DTV monthly ticket just won't show up automatically. So I put my subscription number and my last name but it didn't work. I tried countless time, tried to log in again, same result. On Abo website I kept getting rejected by the server, what's going on? I called the DB but the only thing that answered my call is AI, and sent them email which they hasn't replied. Normally putting in your subscription number and last name always make the ticket appear.

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I need to register my car here in germany (München) and the cheapest insurance is 1640 euro per year. That is for Teilkasko with aditional driver (she is 24 ), 15k km per year and i am klasse 4 (SF4). what is cheapest insurance in München, what do you recommend. PLEASE HELP AND THANKS ALL.

I presume (always a dangerous thing) that German kids have to learn some basic overview of Germany’s history in school. But how on earth do you make a basic overview of such a complicated subject? How can you make sense of all those Huns and Goths and Suevi and Franks and Bavariii and Batavians and margravates and archbishoprics and Hanseatic Leagues and Free Imperial Cities and Rhines and Danubes and Palatinates and Saxonies and papal conflicts and succession crises and uprisings and invasions and Golden Bulls and Teutonic Knights and Wettins and Wittelsbachs and Habsburgs and Hohenzollerns and interregna and wars of succession and kingdoms and confederations and partitions and republics….

See what I mean?

EDIT: Yes, I am from the U.S. Here, we're required to take one class in U.S. history for one year, and when I was in school it started in 1492. (These days there's more attention paid, but not terribly much, to pre-Columbian indigenous cultures.) So I'm asking from that very paltry context.

My girlfriend and I are considering buying a Kia Rio 2013 at about 6k for our first car. Wanted to ask about opinions about Kias in general in Germany. Are they expensive to own?

Hi everyone,

I previously posted about a similar issue and am looking for some advice. I am a recent non-EU graduate trying to transition from a student visa to a job seeker visa (Section 20 of the Residence Act / AufenthG).

I applied at the local Ausländerbehörde (ABH) where my university is located, but they told me they only accept either a Verpflichtungserklärung (declaration of commitment) or a valid job contract. Currently, I do not have a job contract, which leaves me with the Verpflichtungserklärung option. Over the past two weeks, I have reached out to several people asking if they would be willing to sponsor me, but so far, no one is able or willing to do so.

I proposed opening a 6-month Sperrkonto (blocked account), but the ABH outright rejected it, stating that a blocked account is strictly excluded ("ausgeschlossen"). As a result, I am currently stuck with no path forward to convert my visa in this city.

On top of this, I have to give up my student dorm room soon. Because of this, I am considering moving to a city where the rules might be a bit more flexible or where a blocked account is still accepted for the job seeker visa. Based on affordable rent options, I have shortlisted the following cities:

• Leipzig (Saxony)
• Essen / Duisburg (Ruhr Area, NRW)
• Halle (Saale) (Saxony-Anhalt)
• Magdeburg (Saxony-Anhalt)

If anyone living in these cities has gone through a similar visa conversion process, could you please share how the local ABH treats blocked accounts?

Also, if you know of any other cities that reliably accept a Sperrkonto / blocked account for the job seeker visa, please let me know.

Your advice would be a huge help to me right now. Thank you! 🙏

I recently just got an appointment for my PR application, however, I will not be able to go for the date that they provided due to being out of Germany on those dates. I sent an email to them via the contact form but I am a bit worried that they will not reply soon and it'll take another few months to get an appointment. Any experiences similar to mine? How did it work for you?

Thanks and would really appreciate your answers!

Thanks for your help.

Hey everyone I’m planning to move to Karlsruhe for my studies. Do you have any advice for me regarding the city, finding accommodation, or anything else I should know before moving? My German is already very good, so language won’t be an issue. I’d really appreciate any tips

Hi everyone,

I worked in Germany over the summer, staying in hotels without having a permanent address there.

Now that I’ve returned to Portugal, the Portuguese social security office and employment centre are asking me for U1 and U2 forms.

And that’s where the problems begin. I’m stuck in a loop.

I managed to register with the Agentur für Arbeit, but when I try to request the documents, the website asks me to enter my house number, which is somehow missing from my address in their records.

To update my address, I have to authenticate through BundID. I can do that successfully, but then it tells me I have to log out to change my details. So I keep going around in circles: authenticate → try to update my details → told to log out → authenticate again → repeat.

I also managed to email them the completed application form. They replied in English saying they couldn’t help and that I should call a phone number.

I called, using a translator on my computer to help me communicate. After struggling to get through to an actual person, I was bluntly told that they don’t speak English, that I have to speak German, and then they hung up.

Has anyone dealt with something similar or got any advice? Could the German embassy or a consulate in Portugal help? Is there an official support service or ombudsman I could contact?

For context, I was doing maritime work for a Belgian company, on a two-weeks-on/two-weeks-off rotation. The project involved laying a submarine power cable and required a German employment contract. I never lived in Germany permanently and didn’t have an opportunity to learn the language.

Thanks!

So i live in Germany in a small apartment 16m², and the apartment is always warm, like even now when it's 10 degrees outside it's 25 degrees inside. I found this on the wall, when i opened the cover i felt some cool air from outside comes in. So what do you think its job. Should i let it open ? When i close the cover the air gets totally blocked.

Since the new digital Führungszeugnis launched (Oct 1, 2026), I can’t apply online anymore. Same Personalausweis worked fine in September.

What happens: BundID login with the Online-Ausweis succeeds → redirect back to fuehrungszeugnis.bund.de → “Authentifizierung fehlgeschlagen – Die Authentifizierung mithilfe des BundID-Konto ist fehlgeschlagen.”

Key detail: I’m a German citizen with no address in Germany (“keine Hauptwohnung in Deutschland” on the ID). My husband (residence permit) applies successfully on the same phone and browser. So my guess is the new BfJ integration chokes on the missing German address.

Any other german expats hitting this?

Anyone found a workaround, or got an actual answer from BfJ/BundID?

Fastest paper route from abroad that worked for you recently?

BundID support says it’s not their problem. I’ve filed a bug report with BfJ, but it can take forever. Will update if I hear back.

I’ve been looking at Web Developer and Software Engineer jobs in Germany on LinkedIn, and something doesn’t add up.

I regularly see job postings that are 5–7 days old with only 10–12 applicants. Compared with other countries, these numbers seem surprisingly low.

However, I keep seeing people on Reddit and other platforms saying they’ve been applying for months without getting interviews or landing a job.

I’m trying to understand what’s actually happening behind these numbers.

I was trying to buy some products from the HSN website and while I was checking out the price was stable, until the very second I tried to pay where they went from 70-something Euros to 100-something. They claim it's due to dynamic pricing but I would like to make people aware that there is a difference between dynamic pricing and changing the price during the very last step of checkout... where every checkout step has the same price AND there was no active countdown timer for the offer to end, as I waited the timer to go away and see if the offer is still there, which it was... with no timer in place.

I find this highly unethical and misleading. The official HSN responder tried to give me a very legal sounding answer in their email, which is concerning about their practices and how they act as a company to the customer.

TL;DR: Dynamic pricing may be legal, but changing the price at the final payment stage (while previous steps show lower price) shows unethical practices from the HSN store.

Hello guys,

One question. Is it possible to leave the car registered in Germany (it is registered in my name) with German plates and insurance—with everything being paid as usual on a monthly basis—for one month in Germany with my wife, while I move back to Croatia to work?

She will probably move too, but not for another 1-2 months. We were just wondering, can we simply leave the car as it is so she can drive it when she needs to and perhaps even sell it before moving (I will give her a written authorization)? She is already registered as the second driver on the insurance policy.

Would it be considered a violation since I moved abroad and deregistered my German address, but she didn't?

hello 19F Im a Palestinian refugee with a Syrian travel document for Palestinian refugees(I don’t live in neither those countries) and want to study abroad but I don’t know if other countries recognise this document to issue a student visa for me. are there any others with the same document who were able to move to Germany/ Europe with a student visa with this document?

Hello, when i looked for car insurance at check24 i needed to select what insurance i had before. I have transferred my car to Germany and did not have any insurance yet. Is there any way to book insurance without previous insurance. PLEASE IF YOU CAN ANSWER I NEED IT SOONER AS POSSIBLE. Thank you everyone

I am looking into hiring in Germany and keep seeing discussion about proposed changes to fixed-term contracts and termination rules. Are these changes likely to affect company hiring in Germany or is it too early to prepare for them?

Also if a foreign company hires through an EOR, how are employment-laws changes like these usually handled?

Anyone familiar with German HR, payroll, or employment law?