Ordinary Germans are not at all enthusiastic about the policy of the authorities: a story about moving to Germany

Kina, a reader of The Subtleties of Tourism, spoke about moving from Podolsk to the German Bautzen. “This is a city in eastern Germany next to Dresden, a fabulous place to shoot vintage films. It is simply impossible not to fall in love with him. So, briefly about life in Germany, ”the tourist shares.

I moved to my husband, a Russian German

The marriage was registered in Podolsk. The list of documents required for moving to Germany for permanent residence will not be given here, everything is on the website of the embassy. I can only say that all documents need to be apostilled, translated into German and notarized. You also need to confirm the minimum knowledge of the German language – bring a certificate. The embassy issues a national visa, according to which you enter the coveted country.

Upon arrival, you need to submit documents to the Office for Foreigners to obtain a residence permit. The department of this department is located directly in Bautzen, but does not receive every day. A couple of times we had to go to a neighboring city to the central office of this department. My husband has German citizenship, so I was given a residence permit for three years at once.

Chips and features of life here

What is surprising in Germany is that they send a lot of papers by mail. By the way, on the intercoms in the houses you will not see the apartment numbers, only the names of the residents are written. And postmen lay out letters by specific names. We learned about the readiness of the residence permit, about opening a bank account from postal items. Even a bank card comes by mail in a letter, and in a separate shipment – a pin code for it.

There is certainly enough bureaucracy, but you gradually get used to it.

It is unusual that on Sundays and holidays (and there are plenty of them here, and it’s better to look at the calendar regularly) everything in the city is closed: the shopping center, supermarkets and everything, except for a couple of cafes. So it is better to buy products in advance. 1/1

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About locals

The locals are very friendly and welcoming, happy to chat with you, prompt, recommend. And even if you say something not quite right in German, they will still try to understand you. At the pharmacy, you can explain in your own words what you need or what hurts, and they will offer you medicines.

In all public places you can hear Hallo! and meet a smile.

There are a lot of migrants from Arab countries. Asians, mostly Vietnamese, run vegetable shops, Turks run kebabs and pizzerias. In state institutions – banks and insurance companies – I met mostly Germans.

There are no particular problems with the language, even if you do not know German, you can use sign language. Recently, migrants without knowledge of the language have flooded the country so much that it no longer surprises or embarrasses anyone.

Native Germans treated people from Russia well, and continue to do so. I have never met any preconceived notion that I am Russian.

About politics and attitudes towards Russians

Many older Germans still remember how the Russian military stood in East Germany and how they learned Russian at school. At the meeting, they will definitely try to remember a couple of words in Russian.

Ordinary Germans are not at all enthusiastic about the policy of the authorities, but they express their opinion, so to speak, “sitting at home in the kitchen.” And in public, many are silent so that all sorts of labels are not hung on them in society. 1/1

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A little about prices and stores

Grocery stores are represented by Lidl, Netto, Edeka, Kaufland chains. All stores have weekly promotions and discounts, you can find out about them in the prospectuses in advance. The Germans actively use this and it is better to go for a pack of oil to a more distant store, if there is a promotion, than to buy without a promotion near the house.

In addition, these stores often sell cheap clothes, various household and household items at very good prices. Household, household, cosmetic products can be bought in specialized stores such as DM. By the way, there you can also buy everything you need for small children from birth. Hairdressing services vary in price, but approximately: women's haircut – up to 50 EUR, men's – up to 30 EUR, children's – up to 20 EUR. A bank account (we have Sparkasse) costs us 8.95 EUR – this is a monthly subscription fee.

For home internet from O2 we pay about 40 EUR per month. A mobile connection with a large amount of Internet traffic from the same operator costs us about 42 EUR monthly (70 Gb, 4G/5G, calls to all networks and SMS, nice bonuses in the form of an additional 10 Gb per year and other amenities.)

What else to read on the topic

• 7 reasons why moving to Germany is worth all the pain
• Moving to a small town in Belarus was a real test for me: the story of obtaining permanent residence
• Lightness and optimism appeared: the story of moving to Turkey

You need to get used to many things

There are a lot of differences compared to life in Russia, there are both pluses and minuses. As for the city of Bautzen, where my family now lives, it is a small city and life in it is measured, but interesting. Those who want the rhythm of life faster should go to big cities, and peace and tranquility reign here.