I have studied in Germany and even though studying in another country as an international student has many benefits, it is very stressful to get used to a new place. I wanted to share simple tips I wished someone told me when I was moving there. 😄 I hope these tips will be useful for immigrants, especially for students and will help you save some energy, time and money while figuring things out. 🙃
- Sim card: Check Alditalk from Aldi. It is very cheap, payment options are flexible and the internet is pretty good even inside the U-Bahn.
- Tax: you can get some of the paid tax back if you are working as a working student. Check https://taxfix.de/
- You will have to pay ARD for radio/tv even if you don’t use it, it is mandatory. https://www.rundfunkbeitrag.de/welcome/englisch/index_ger.html
- N26 is an English friendly, online bank account.
- AOK is a good option for health insurance.
- Zenjob is a platform where you can find mini-jobs or daily jobs.
- Open a PayPal account. When a group of people pay together for something, they usually send each other money through PayPal.
- For 1–2–5 cents, you can use CoinStar machines to convert them to paper cash when you have a lot of them.
- Ebay Kleinanzeigen is a very good platform to buy/sell second hand stuff including electronics, bikes etc.
- Don’t forget to pay school fees every semester.
- For public transport: Check student semester tickets.
- To travel: check local train tickets (Example: Bayern ticket)
- You can work part-time as a non-European student.
- Carry some cash in your wallet, after the pandemic some restaurants still don’t accept credit card payments.
- If there is sun out, everyone goes out, follow them :) Weather is depressive, cloudy and cold generally.
- Main shopping source: Amazon
- Cheap cloth shopping: Primarkt, Tk Maxx
- Shopping for selfcare: DM, Müller, Rossman
- Shopping for cheap electronics: Conrad
- Cheap supermarkets: Aldi, Lidl, Netto
- Join Whatsapp and Facebook groups of your university, local groups from your own country to ask and learn things like these tips.
- Apply to Studentenwerk dorms as soon as possible. A room can be offered very late (3rd, 4th semester), but that is fine, almost everyone extends their studies ^^
- Buying second hand stuff is very common in Germany, don’t hesitate to buy.
- Sublet your room when you are travelling for long term, you will save a lot of money.
- Mensa’s are restaurants for students inside universities. You can use other universities Mensa’s too (In Munich at least.) 😋
- Apps for travelling: DB app, Skyscanner, OMIO, Booking, CouchSurfing, Airbnb…
- Deutshe Bahn can dissapoint you with cancelled or delayed trains. 🥲
- Enjoy Christmas markets in winter. (Especially Glühwein) 🍷
- Extension of residence permit is always problematic and you will have to wait a long time before you get your new residence permit. Plan ahead if you have to travel somewhere else.
- Every bureaucratic procedure is VERY slow in Germany and get prepared to receive a lot of very important documents by post. Digitalization was pretty poor when I was studying there.
- Doctolib is a useful website for making doctor appointments.
- You can use Skype credit to call back home.
- Public transport is pretty good in Germany. Über could be an option when you need to carry heavy stuff.
- Finding accomodation: Facebook groups, Whatsapp groups, Slack groups, friend’s friend is moving out and looking for a new tenant…
- Job search: Indeed, Linkedin groups, Glassdoor, university’s job search portal, alumni groups, slack groups, a friend saying someone is looking for a working students in the company I am working at…
- Food delivery to home: Lieferando, Woltz
- Registering your address, check these terms: Meldebestätigung, Anmeldung
- Learning German: Check Duolingo, read German child books, watch series with subtitles, check university’s language courses. Google translate’s photo feature is a life saving tool :)
- Gym: Mcfit or university’s sports facilities
- Make reservation when you are going out! Most of the time popular restaurants are full.
- Buying stuff for the house or dorm: Ikea, Bauhaus, second hand from Ebay Kleinanzeigen, Ebay Kleinanzeigen: verschecken
- German’s are very trustable when you become real friends but be patient with them. 🙃
