FAQs about Living in Germany

Basically, how are each of these topics different from in the UK, if at all?

Is there anything which might trip us up? Eg, it's weird to smile in public?

Living in a House

  • Renting a house
    • how difficult is the paperwork?
    • are tenancy contracts a standard document that doesn't vary much,
    • or is it common for random clauses to be thrown in which mess with the tenant?
    • what sort of qualifications/proof do I need to rent?
    • what requirements do landlords have of tenants?
    • I know about the fact you bring your own kitchen to a rented property,
    • and that renting is usually more long-term than in the UK
    • anything else?
    • Do we get a garden?
      • are we allowed to turn that whole garden into a growing bed, if we want?
  • Buying a house?
    • Do people do it?
    • Or is it prohibitively expensive?
    • socially unacceptable/frowned upon?
  • electricity bills
  • council tax?
  • bins collection & recycling
  • Buying Food - Supermarkets?
  • Drinking Water
    • Is it ALWAYS safe to drink? As in, not even questoned?
    • or have there ever (recently - last ~5 years) been reported health-scares/issues?

Transport

  • trains
  • trams
  • buses
  • taxis
  • Cycling

Health

  • Picking up prescriptions
    • Am I charged money when I pick them up? Or is there a monthly (or similar) contribution?
    • Is the amount payable proportional to the amount of medication I need????!!!
  • routine check-ups, eg for Diabetes
    • cost per appointment? or monthly contribution?
  • semi-minor injuries, eg aimee's ankle infection
    • cost at point of treatment?
  • Going to A&E
    • cost at point of treatment?

Transporting Stuff

  • Post offices?
    • Do they exist?
    • do people our age use them (anymore)?
  • sending a letter
    • cost of stamps?
  • sending a package
    • is it weirdly expensive?
  • receiving a package,
    • from family
    • from Amazon/internet. What if We're not in?
  • Can couriers be trusted?
    • Or will they steal your parcel, given the slightest excuse (as is becoming the case in the UK)

Public Life & Social

  • Bank holidays?
    • are you required to take them off?
    • do they come out of your annual leave?
  • Gardening/Allotment culture
  • Pubs & Bars, social drinking
  • public "holidays", eg equivalent to Harvest/St Patrick's Day/Dydd Dewi Sant/St Andrew's Day
    • everyone takes the day off, or not really a thing? Somewhere in between?
      • Social-political debate about it (like Schwarz Pieter)?
  • What is it polite to talk about, when making small talk?

Insurance

Owning Land

Working Life

  • How easy is it to find a job, with fairly bad German and native English?
  • Do you get/how much do you get:
    • annual leave?
    • Sick pay?
    • (M/P)aternity leave?
    • Cycle to work schemes?
  • Job security?
    • how much notice before being fired is usual?
    • do you have to be in the job for a certain amount of time first?
      • if so, how long?