Going to work in Germany

[benners]

I maybe going to work in Germany, (Güntersthal) and was wondering if anyone had done something similar. I am interested in the differences between the cultures and things like cost of living, TAX, health benefits, things that are going to differ from the UK. I am trawling the web but a condensed version of peoples experiences would help.

I won't be going for another 12 - 18 months but the more I find out it will equip me to make a better decision when the time comes, I will also take the time to try and learn the language, currently trying Rosetta Stone but if anyone has tried\used any other software successfully I would appreciate a heads up.

Thanks

[Martin L]

never did that, but i wish you good luck in Germany and i hope you have a nice time there I went to China for a few times and you better have your insurance fixed, Germany is not cheap in with hostiptal things! owh and dont forget... we here on the other side of the water... we drive on the right and right side of the road

[utw-Mephisto]

I am from Germany (Berlin) and moved 2001 to Ireland, from Ireland I went to Spain, then I worked in Gibraltar and next month I am leaving Gibraltar to work in the UK (Essex). So I MIGHT be able to tell you something

Healthcare : One good thing has a bad thing. The good thing : When you work you are automatically insured as you don't have a choice whether you want to insure yourself or not .. You MUST do so by law. IF you go for a private insurance depends on your salary. The bad thing : You pay by percentage .. For example : AOK cost 12% of your salary where half of it (6%) is being paid by the employer and the other half by you. (Was like that until 2001, since then I never worked there anymore). I got a redundancy package once (100k German Marks = 50k Euro) - so now take 6% our of it

Tax: I don't know about the UK, but depending on your salary, you most lkely pay 40-45% of your salary which includes Social wealthfare, Tax, Health and so on. You have also additional stuff like social bla bla (don't know the word for it in English which is used to build up the Eastern part), Pension and soooooo on..

Language ... well the Germans are quite arrogant (I am allowed to say that since I am German ), most of them refusing to speak English simply because they don't speak it (English in school sucks big time) and therefore they don't want to be ashamed of speaking.

You can send me a PM if you are interested to exchange MSN so I can try to help you any time

[tain]

I've heard that Rosetta Stone is the best.

Good luck to you!

[benners]

Thanks for the replies,

@Martin L

That's a good excuse if I get pulled over by the UK police for overtaking, "Sorry officer I thought I was in Germany, jet lag an' all", doubt it would work

@utw-Mephisto

Thanks for your informative reply. It would be nice to get the health insurance for free but I have also read that the health care is good in Germany so if it is there when I need it, it is money well spent. You don't seem to get anything here for your money unless its an emergency, Opticians, Dentists sorry pay for them yourselves, unless you're on the dole 'cos your to lazy to find a job then we'll pay for everything </mini rant>.

I will PM you sometime and maybe chat on MSN after that, I won't pester you with info I can find on the internet.

@TAIN

I have started to use Rosetta and when you see the words you can hazard a guess at the meaning but audio is a different matter. I am resigned to learning the language by watching as much German pron as required no matter the content, I may end up like John Candy in Splash

[tain]

I am resigned to learning the language by watching as much German pron as required no matter the content, I may end up like John Candy in Splash

[Andromeda43]

Benners,

At the insistence of my dear uncle Sam, I spent two + years in Stuttgart Germany, at the 5th General Hospital.

I know nothing of the taxes or cost of living there, since I lived on-post and everything was FREE.

I found the German people to be very nice and for the most part friendly to Americans.

The coffee and gasoline were very expensive but the beer was cheap enough and that's about all I ever drank there.

Even back in 1962, most young Germans spoke at least some English and were always eager to try it out on any willing subject. I probably wouldn't want to actually live there, but I'd sure like to go back for a couple of months on vacation.

Especially for "Octoberfest". God, I do love their roasted chicken and fest beer!

Good luck to you and try to make the most of the experience. I did!

B)

[Lost Soul]

tisk tisk bat man, hmmm germany you say,, man never been there but i hear some of the ladies are hairy,, lol but then again thats just what i hear,, so you must be getting a good job to make you think of jumping ship, as for Rosetta Stone it really is the best, ive used to spruce up on the 3 languages that i speak, well not completly fluent but i know enough to get my self out of a tough pickle lol

i honestly hear they arnt much different from where your at now m8,, but the gas may be cheaper and the food priceyer then the uk.

well thats my 2 cents ,,, either way its a tough call, definatly weight all of your choices

good luck bro

[benners]

The coffee and gasoline were very expensive but the beer was cheap enough and that's about all I ever drank there.

D.a.m.n (why's that filtered?) 17th, wheres my board e-mail reply?. Ah well thanks man, at least I'll save a bit of money as I don't drink any of the above

but i hear some of the ladies are hairy,, lol but then again thats just what i hear,, so you must be getting a good job to make you think of jumping ship

I doubt they are as hairy as my left hand so I'll just take some Immac and see what's underneath. lol. As for the job. my current company has been bought out by the same people who bought out our competitors and the main factory is in Guntherstahl, they also have one in Ohio (that would be better but I would still have to learn to speak American). It has to go through the monopolies commission, can't forsee a problem though but might not go if there's no redundancy or they find out how lazy I am (hope they don't read this).

Where ya been hiding? in that WPI forum lol, any hope ur well.

[Lost Soul]

lol keeping low, i havnt done much programming these days, hmm lazy huh,, i hear your company maybe enforcing that new tazer law on slackers lol,, that may just speed up productivity

btw i dont even wanna know why that hand is so hairy lol