Hello sub,

Here is the map of Germany made from 3'500+ drawings of the Länder people have traced from memory.

All the drawings are saved as geographical coordinates and positioned precisely in relation to one another on a blank canvas. When several lines converge at the same point, they become darker.

I don't know if I am allowed to link my page in the post for you to see the live map and your drawings...

I see a lot of posts here from people feeling alienated, burnt out, or wanting to pack up and leave. I get it. I’ve been living in Germany for almost six years now, and I won’t sugarcoat reality: yes, racism exists here, and yes, I’ve had my share of absolute garbage experiences that made my blood boil.

Leaving, however, is not the answer.

Despite the rough edges, I love this country, and I love the people here, Germans very much included. Online, Germans get painted as cold, rigid, and unwelcoming. In reality, some of the absolute best human beings I have ever met in my life took me in when I had nothing. My old flatmates, my university professors, and my 80-year-old swim coach a man who I’m pretty sure has never set foot outside of Bavaria in his entire life looked past my background, welcomed me with genuine warmth, and helped me build the life I have today.

Today, I’m an African migrant earning a six-figure salary in tech. My wife is a doctor who wears a hijab, and our daughter was born in Bavaria and will soon have German citizenship. To the small minority of bitter racists out there: we are here, we are thriving, and there is nothing you can do about it.

I also think we need to be radically honest about the other side of the coin. A lot of expats and newcomers never attempt to integrate, refuse to respect the law, act entitled, and then blame every single negative interaction on racism. Respect is a two-way street. If you treat people with basic decency and follow the rules, the overwhelming majority of Germans will meet you halfway. And most importantly: learn the damn language. It completely changes your reality here.

Germany is not a paradise, but it is my home now. If you let the small percentage of loud losers dictate how you see an entire nation of good people, you rob yourself of a future. Treat people with respect, hold your ground against the nonsense, and focus on the bigger picture.

Edit 1:

I didn’t expect this post to blow up the way it did. I wrote it out of pure exhaustion with the endless doomposting, the victim mentality, and the constant painting of every single German with the same brush.

First, thank you to everyone who sent kind, supportive comments and DMs it means more than you know. And a huge thank you to the mods, who have been working overtime clearing out the vile, hateful trash targeted at my family and me. I honestly considered deleting the entire post after seeing what landed in my inbox.

Someone pointed out this line: “We are here, we are thriving, and there is nothing you can do about it.”

Sitting with it now, I have mixed feelings. Part of me realizes it came off as arrogant, posturing, and unnecessarily poking a hornet's nest. But more than that, if I’m being radically honest: it wasn’t entirely true.

It was bravado talking. The reality is, every single day my wife leaves the house in her hijab, my stomach knots up, hoping she comes home safe. The reality is, I dread what my daughter will face growing up. Strangers have already thrown the slur “kleine Äffin” at a baby who hasn't even learned to speak yet. There is something racists can do: they can hurt the people I love most.

I’m caught between wanting to de-escalate so I don't put a target on anyone’s back, and refusing to shrink myself or live in fear. I still believe living on your knees is no way to survive, but real courage isn’t pretending the danger doesn’t exist.

Thank you again to the decent people here who remind me every day why this country is worth building a life in.

Can’t put words to this place. Genuinely out of a fairytale

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?

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.

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.

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.

So to preface I'm originally from a non-EU country but have previously lived and worked in Germany for close to a decade. Before moving back to my home country (due to family circumstances) I had gotten naturalized and gotten a German passport.

I'm slowly considering moving back to Germany and going job-hunting. I'll likely fly back and find temporary accommodation (couch-surf with friends or do a WG-Zwischenmiete while I find my footings) but it's still in the air whether I stay long-term or fly back. In either case, is it safe to do an Anmeldung, since I know it's required for a long-term residence? Or is it a bad look if you do Anmeldung for like a month or two then fly back abroad?

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!

hi!

im a hobbyist artist doing a one off review for a drawing tablet i received. no affiliate links or anything like that are involved, its a video where i am talking about my opinions basically.

i post for an english audience, do i still need to make the #werbung or #anzeige disclosure? do i have to make it a hashtag? i was thinking of putting it in the beginning of the desc as "werbung". but i wasnt sure as my audience is english speaking, is that okay? do i need to keep anything else in mind? thanks edit: nothing about my account has anything to do with germany and my audience isnt german either + i made the disclaimer in the video i received the tablet for reviewing purposes

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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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 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.

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!

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 all! I’ll be traveling to Garmisch Partenkirchen this year and will be there for New Year’s Eve. Are there any places there where I can watch NYE fireworks? :)

I took my exam on September 16, and as of today (October 25), I still haven't received my results.

Is anyone else experiencing the same delay? How long have you been waiting?

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!

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?

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?

Hi everyone,

I have an interview with Netlight in Germany for a junior software consultant role. It is about 2 hours: getting to know each other, a coding part (I expect LeetCode style or a whiteboard warm-up) and a system design or technical business case.

If you have done it or know someone who has, I would be grateful for a few pointers:

1. What kinds of business cases did you get (for example food delivery, grocery, newspaper, ticket booking)? A rough idea is enough, no confidential details.

2. How was the case run? Did you ask the client questions first, draw on your own for a while, and then discuss with the interviewers?

3. How hard was the coding part (easy or medium level) ?

4. What did the interviewers seem to care about most: the diagram, the questions you asked, or how you explained trade-offs?

5. Anything you would do differently?

Thanks a lot, and good luck to anyone else preparing!

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! 🙏

Thanks for your help.

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?

Hi everyone,

I did my test in July this year but I haven’t received my results/certificate yet. Every time I ask on the phone, email and at the office they say that it takes 2-4 months until they send it per post. Does anyone know if this is normal in Oberhausen? And what can I do if it doesn’t arrive at all after the 4 months?