Relocating abroad (Germany) - anyone done it?

scorza

scorza

scorza

Caporegime
Joined
22 Jun 2004
Posts
26,684
Location
Deep England
A potential opportunity has arisen to relocate my job abroad to Frankfurt and I'm considering pursuing this opportunity. English will be the working language so my complete lack of German won't be an issue though naturally learning German would be high up on my to-do list. Nothing really to keep me here apart from my house. From what I gather the pro's and cons break down as follows:

Pros:
+ Better quality of life (less pollution, fewer traffic jams, public transport that works)
+ Cheaper living costs so more disposable income
+ Help (financial and otherwise) with relocation is available

Cons:
- What to do with my house here in England? With the market as it is I don't think I could sell it without making a loss, and renting it out carries risks I'm uncomfortable with
- Vulnerable to exchange rate fluctuations.

Anyone done anything similar and have any advice on what else to consider? I don't know what I'd be earning but I gather it's not a straight Pound-Euro conversion.
 
Have you been to Frankfurt before? I went with work once. The office was so quiet it was like being in a library. Very little soul in my experience.

Where do you currently work, London?
 
Depends on whether you think you'll enjoy the Germanic culture and whether its suits your personality. Friend of mine moved to Hamburg for work and lived there for 5 years. He loved it but he's one of the those organised, structured types so the fact that everything runs like clockwork in Germany suits him down to the ground. He moves back to UK and all I hear is him complaining about the trains never run on time, yob culture, people getting drunk etc. Personally, I prefer the more colourful Spanish temperament and lifestyle but different strokes, different folks and all that and whatever makes you happy.

House/income etc, are just logical financial considerations. Just come to a logical decision about that. If you can afford, just rent it out and use a reputable managing agent.
 
thepharcyde said:
Have you been to Frankfurt before? I went with work once. The office was so quiet it was like being in a library. Very little soul in my experience.

Where do you currently work, London?
Click to expand...

Nah, some dreary little place on the outskirts of London - Frankfurt can't be any worse :p Plus it wouldn't technically be in Frankfurt, a few miles outside.

I've been to a few German cities (but not Frankfurt) and yeah, most of them seem to have been heavily bombed by the RAF in WW2 and are quite grey and dreary places today - OTOH they all seem to have been well planned when they were rebuilt.
 
scorza said:
most of them seem to have been heavily bombed by the RAF in WW2 and are quite grey and dreary places today - OTOH they all seem to have been well planned when they were rebuilt.
Click to expand...

Yes do comment on the wide open spaces and large amount of car parks. Germans like it when we notice that.
 
Do it. If you don't like it then you could always come back.
Something like this really shouldn't be passed up.

Frankfurt isn't the most exciting city in the world, but it depends what you want from life. Where are you based at the moment?
Have you ever been to Germany before?

Regarding your house, not letting it would seem a shame. I agree it has all sorts of problems connected with it (something I've discovered first-hand), but keeping it empty is arguably worse.
 
scorza said:
Nah, some dreary little place on the outskirts of London - Frankfurt can't be any worse :p Plus it wouldn't technically be in Frankfurt, a few miles outside.

I've been to a few German cities (but not Frankfurt) and yeah, most of them seem to have been heavily bombed by the RAF in WW2 and are quite grey and dreary places today - OTOH they all seem to have been well planned when they were rebuilt.
Click to expand...

Dreary? I have been to Hamburg a few times which was bombed in WWII and it is a beautiful city.

Walking around one of the bombed churches at 3am and talking to a random German guy having a picnic there was surreal!
 
Germany kicks the UK's ass for everything really.

Fitter women.
Better roads.
Better beer
Better food
Nicer weather
Cheaper to live
Less crime
Less immigration
Less jobless scum
less council estates
Cleaner cities
Less stupid laws
Better education
Better trains, buses, trams etc
Better at sports, and better sporting facilities
Internationally respected
Better, faster, cheaper Internets

Jeesus, the UK is becoming quite the toilet. (!)

Hang on... why am I not there??? Ahh, I forgot, they dont have a decent sense of humour like us Brits!!
 
Last edited:
TangoSixteen said:
Germany kicks the UK's ass for everything really.

Fitter women.
Better roads.
Better beer
Better food
Nicer weather
Cheaper to live
Less crime
Less immigration
Less jobless scum
less council estates
Cleaner cities
Less stupid laws
Better education
Better trains, buses, trams etc
Better at sports, and better sporting facilities
Internationally respected
Better, faster, cheaper Internets

Jeesus, the UK is becoming quite the toilet. (!)

Hang on... why am I not there??? Ahh, I forgot, they dont have a decent sense of humour like us Brits!!
Click to expand...

The crime is nastier - especially Hamburg. Immigration they have more of but who cares about that the beer is better!
 
Do it!
If you have a job there with your current company you have nothing to lose. I've only been to Dresden and considering that it was flattened during the war by us it didn't look that bad. Also all the Germans I met were very warm and friendly, completely the opposite of the stereotype.
 
TangoSixteen said:
Germany kicks the UK's ass for everything really.

Fitter women.
Better roads.
Better beer
Better food
Nicer weather
Cheaper to live
Less crime
Less immigration
Less jobless scum
less council estates
Cleaner cities
Less stupid laws
Better education
Better trains, buses, trams etc
Better at sports, and better sporting facilities
Internationally respected
Better, faster, cheaper Internets

Jeesus, the UK is becoming quite the toilet. (!)

Hang on... why am I not there??? Ahh, I forgot, they dont have a decent sense of humour like us Brits!!
Click to expand...
WTF? Do you know anything about Germany?

Firstly, the people are lovely, and all very helpful/ nice as the above poster said.

Yes it is a nice place to live, arguably slightly better than the UK, depending what you want, but just a few things:

In the north, the weather SUCKS- seriously it's just like being here. Also, places like Berlin get incredibly cold in winter. I also know someone who lives in Munich and he says the weather isn't great for much of the year.

Ok maybe we have some 'stupid laws' but go to Germany and try and start a company or file your tax return, it's a real nightmare... 100x worse than here

Plenty of immigrants, crime, and unemployment- all of those things are similar to here in fact.

Better education.... are you having a laugh? German universities for example are actually widely regarded as being quite poor on the whole. Their secondary education is not great either.

I could go on...

Seriously get a ****ing clue before you start bashing the UK, all the people on here spouting unfounded bull**** about our country and how we are the worst at everything is really starting to **** me off.
 
Last edited:
Germany is a great country but from travelling europe a month we should i've realised really appreciate what we have and the fact that island life has given us liberty and peace and stability a whole lot more than the other european countries these last 100 years.

the UK does have some great things to offer and as people have said, i liked frankfurt, but it seemed like a big big city with not enough people / soul to fill it, especially all those high rise towers which seemed almost out of place in the town.

i heard its the highest GDP city due to lots of bank workers? just seemed like it'd be draining working there a while, icould be wrong
 
Just spent two weeks working outside of Frankfurt city in Niederrad with one of the Banks.
Very nice place, with great people. I was staying in a hotel the whole time so it was obviously slightly different.
If someone came and offered me a move to their for a few years, i would seriously consider it.
 
i go to Germany 3 or 4 times a year and love it, we are cut from the same cloth as them and very similar in many ways. i enjoy the culture and night life. Young men handle there drink a lot better than us Brits. if i had the chance to live there for a period of time i would take it. Oh and pubic transport is cheaper than using a car.. unlike here... and surely the point of it? most things seemed to run like clockwork. just my take, others will disagree
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom