Practical Tips for Living in Germany
Social clubs
There are around 580,000 clubs in Germany. There are sports clubs, singing clubs, cultural clubs, environmental protection groups, civic initiatives and many others. They offer good opportunities to meet other people with similar interests and to pursue a passion together, to learn new things or to exchange ideas on certain topics. The various clubs are there for young and old. Some require a small membership fee. For sports clubs, however, this is significantly lower than, for example, the entrance fee for fitness studios.
Letters and Documents
Germany is known for its bureaucracy. You will get a lot of letters: from the immigration office or the tax office, your insurance company or your city administration. Many of these are very important and should be kept well. So it is best to create a folder in which you can store all important documents!
Reside
In order to get a residence permit, you must present your registration certificate to the immigration authorities. Your search for an apartment is therefore at the very beginning of your stay in Germany. You can find apartments in newspapers or on real estate platforms on the Internet. Compared to other countries, there is a very large proportion of rental apartments - so you don't have to buy an apartment right away. You can not only rent individual rooms or apartments, but also entire houses. The prices are very different. Living in large cities and their catchment areas is sometimes very expensive. In Munich, for example, the average price per square meter is over €17. Rents are significantly cheaper, especially in villages, but the transport and shopping facilities are more limited there.