| An American expat who calls herself Heidelbergerin is enjoying the terrific quality of life in Heidelberg, Germany, where she lives and works with her husband - also an American. Here she shares what she likes and dislikes about living in Germany, her experiences with the German educational system, and her impressions of the local attitudes and everyday way of life. Be ready to accept the differences is one of her tips for those planning to move to Germany. Read on for more. |
 Heidelbergerin |
-Where were you born?
I was born in a very tiny town in rural Iowa, in the United States midwest.
-In which country and city are you living now?
I now live in Heidelberg, a small city on the River Neckar in southwest Germany.
-Are you living alone or with your family?
I'm here with my husband of five years, who is also an American.
-How long have you been living in Germany?
We left Boston for Heidelberg a little over two years ago.
-What is your age?
We're both now 30.
-When did you come up with the idea of living in Germany?
My husband was looking for a post-doctoral position as he was finishing up his PhD in Boston. He considered several researchers who were working in his field of interest, and one of them just happened to be in Germany. We were both open to the idea of leaving the US, and Germany had a bit of extra appeal as we both have considerable German ancestry. After interviews at several places, it came down to staying in Boston or going to Germany. Really, it wasn't a very hard decision!
-Was it hard to get a visa or a working permit?
We couldn't get the visa in advance; we had to do it after arriving in Germany. Since my husband had already been offered his job, it wasn't a big problem, despite the efforts of the cranky people at the Ausländerbehörde to make it a pain. We didn't bring all the documentation they wanted the first time, so we had to come again - and when we did, with all appropriate documentation, they didn't even look at it!!
-Was it difficult for you to get medical insurance before you went there or when you first arrived?
Medical insurance is required before one can get a visa. Since the United States doesn't insure its citizens we had to find something here. The organization which provided my husband's research fellowship for his post-doc gave us a list of suggested private insurance providers and we chose one from the list. Later I found part-time employment, and we got statutory health insurance through my employer.
-How do you make your living in Germany? Do you have any type of income generated?
My husband found his job through networking in his scientific community. I found mine in the same manner. Both jobs were lined up before we arrived in Germany. Without these personal connections I think it would have been much more difficult, as we did not speak fluent German before we arrived (I'm still not fluent and not sure if my husband would call himself so, but he is closer) and American citizens are behind Germans and EU citizens in line for any position.
-Do you speak German and do you think it's important to speak the local language?
I speak enough German to get around and my husband speaks more than I do. Neither of us had studied any German before we decided to move here. Although one can get by in almost every aspect of life in Germany knowing just English, it's of course crucial to try to learn and use as much German as possible. Without it, one can feel very alienated. Those who try to speak German are also treated much better than those who can't or don't.
-Do you miss home and family sometimes?
Of course I miss my family, although I hadn't lived that close to them for several years before coming here, so the situation actually hasn't gotten that much worse. I did not have a very established adult home before coming to Germany, though, having spent a few years in a couple of cities.
Germany's full of great recreational opportunities, my favorite being travel! The public transit system here covers almost everything and makes it easy to go somewhere new any time we get the itch to do so. The whole country is covered with paths, in the forests and fields, which are great for walking or biking for just a short distance or from town to town across the country.
-Do you have other plans for the future?
We'll be here for at least another year, and after that, it's hard to say what will happen next! Chances are good that we'll eventually end up back in the US because of the better science funding available there, but that's something that could change, and we are open to trying a new country or staying in Germany.
-What about housing, have you bought, or are you renting a home? How much do you pay for it?
We are renting an apartment with two rooms (living room/tiny bedroom, then of course kitchen & bathroom) for 730 EUR per month, which includes a parking space (we rent that out to someone else) and the Nebenkosten. This is a 50 EUR per month payment that goes to cover water and heat. If we use more water and heat than that, at the end of the year we pay whatever is left - and vice versa if we haven't used that much. Our Nebenkosten can for some reason (to do with the size of the apartment) not be raised over 50 EUR/month, which is unfortunate, as last year we underpaid by 800 EUR, despite the water company showing our usage as completely normal for two adults. Not fun to make that payment when the bill came!
-What is the cost of living in Germany?
Germany is one of the cheaper places to live in Western Europe. However, Heidelberg is one of the most expensive places in Germany. It's cheaper than our former home of Boston, certainly. We've been able to live on 1.25, and now 1, incomes, whereas in Boston we felt like we were scraping by on 2 incomes!
-What do you think about the Germans?
On the whole, the Germans are polite, interesting, thoughtful people and I really like them. Their attitudes toward foreigners ranges, particularly depending on the amount of effort the foreigner is making to integrate and learn the language. There are some major cultural differences. Germans are much less open and much slower to make friends than Americans. They are not keen to make friends at work, which is a prime source of social activity for many Americans.
-What are the positive and negative aspects of living in Germany?
The quality of life in Germany is fantastic. People get about three times more vacation starting than Americans, so it's very relaxed. The consumer culture is here, but very mellow compared to the US. Stores close early and don't open at all on Sundays. Health care is so easy to deal with - we can go to any doctor we want, and often you can even just drop in without calling first. No HMOs! Germany is a great starting point for travel all over Europe, allowing me to visit more countries so far than I ever dreamed I'd get to in my lifetime! As I mentioned before the public transit, although expensive, has great coverage all over Germany and makes having a car totally optional. I love the urban planning in Germany, which allows countryside to exist right outside the city - no cities growing together and ugly suburban expanses closing the gaps between one town and the next, so a lot of the natural beauty of the land is preserved, and it's easy to just get out of town and be somewhere quiet!
On the bad side, the work environments are not as interactive and open as in the US. The relationships are more formal and departments hierarchical. The educational system is the same way; I am a student here and thought I was getting a great deal to be able to get a master's here paying so little compared to what I'd have paid in the US. This is definitely a case where you get what you pay for. The universities are not well-organized and teaching is not great and the professors are not very accessible and often very condescending and uninterested in the students. People are also very averse to change. I thought everyone in the US at my workplace was overdosing on change - they didn't care what the change was, just that it was one, and it often wasn't for the better. Germany has the opposite problem - they are quick to identify the problems, but not quick to propose or enact any solutions. Also, I wish it were easier for people to loosen up and have fun and good conversations with people they just met or work with.
-Do you have any tips for our readers about living in Germany?
Be ready to accept the differences - they are not that big and not that obvious at first, and have a tendency to sneak up on you and have a bigger impact than you think they will! Learn the language and give it a shot - they'll appreciate it more often than not, even if you end up having to switch to English. And take advantage of the opportunities to travel around Germany and Europe while you are here! It is important to go somewhere even more foreign now and again, so that when you come back to Germany, you feel like you are coming home. 
-Do you have any favorite Web sites or blogs about Germany?
My blog is at http://cndrnh.blogspot.com - it starts with posts that now seem so innocent to me, wondering about the way the windows work, the weird design of the toilet, the milk that comes in a box on the shelf instead of in the refrigerated section - and ends up in lots of posts about our travels and nitty gritty daily life stuff that becomes more front-and-center after two years here.
My favorite blog about Germany is Nothing for Ungood: http://nothingforungood.com. All very tongue-in-cheek! It even includes some little games to play, like tic-tac-toe and memory with German and American themes.
