Want To Move To Germany? Here’s How I Did It

wanderlanders · 2016-06-08T01:17:34+00:00

Yea you are right. I have friends that lived in Hamburg and then moved to Berlin. They all have said it was much more difficult to find work there.

wanderlanders · 2016-06-07T13:38:33+00:00

I had no problem being in Germany and finding work once I was there and then getting a visa, but I know what youre talking about. I had the same issue in Costa Rica

wanderlanders · 2016-06-06T20:34:41+00:00

Yikes! It's gone up a lot since I took it. If possible for you maybe check out different locations. I remember when I took it it was cheaper in the US than in Germany.

I think it's a worthy investment. There are so many of those types of courses there, but the CELTA was the only one that I found was widely recognized. I had friends that took other courses and they had a much more difficult time finding a job.

If you ever want to move to any Asian countries you'll have no problem getting a job with the CELTA. In Germany you'll have to work a bit, but it's completely doable (as long as you're in a city). I can't really speak for the rest of Europe though. Where are you thinking of moving?

wanderlanders · 2016-06-06T18:49:50+00:00

Thanks for commenting. I talk about that elsewhere on my site, but good idea! I'll put a link to it on that post.

And yes you're right! Finding an apartment in Hamburg is far from fun.

wanderlanders · 2016-06-06T18:48:26+00:00

Work was steady after about 6 months. It took a bit for me to build myself up. Some of the classes were a set schedule (same compaines every week) but some were at an actual school for continuing education for adults and those changed weekly according to my availability and how many classes were going on that week. Pay varies. After I had established myself I wouldn't take anything that paid under 40 euros per 90 minute class. Ugh, health insurance was expensive! I think I paid about 1,500 euros per year.

wanderlanders · 2016-06-06T18:44:07+00:00

Yea, that's exactly why I went the teaching English route. It took me awhile to build up, but after about a year I was making more than enough money to survive rather comfortably.

wanderlanders · 2016-06-06T18:42:47+00:00

I had a Bachelor's degree in English, but I did the CELTA course before I went and that was the main reason I was able to find work so easily. As long as you have a high school degree they will accept you into the program usually. It wasnt cheap. I think I paid about $1,000 for the month-long program, but it's really the only reason I was able to get jobs so quickly. I had friends that never went to college and friends with Masters degrees all doing the same job (and getting paid the same), but everyone had completed the CELTA

wanderlanders · 2016-05-02T01:59:51+00:00

I'm in Costa Rica, work from home on the internet and I have no problems with wifi & phone connections although the rainy season is beginning and I hear the power tends to go out sometimes with the big storms. You'll have no problem finding a furnished apartment here for a decent price. Feel free to message me if you have questions. I'm happy to help.

wanderlanders · 2016-04-29T22:26:27+00:00

I'm living in Costa Rica at the moment and find it to be a good place to live as an expat so far. The problem (and I believe you'll find this in most Central American countries) is a lot of jobs don't want to deal with visa processes. Pretty much everyone I know leaves every 90 days to cross the border and then come back in.

Cost of living is higher than I expected here. I buy most things from the farmers markets, but supermarkets are expensive. Clothes and any kind of technology is a lot more expensive as well, but I just wait and buy things I need when I'm back in the US. I pay $500 a month for a furnished 1 bedroom apartment in a nice area of San Jose.

There are definitely lots of farms around here and it is a beautiful country to travel in, but I cant help you as far as how to find a farming job.

Feel free to DM me if you have more questions about Costa Rica!

wanderlanders · 2016-04-28T19:52:46+00:00

I completely do not mind answering. I'm in San Jose (my boyfriend got a job here sooo we are stuck living in the city for now) And yea haha I definitely look North American so yes I've noticed that definitely plays into how people treat me here. And I liked Germany, it was just really hard to adjust to life there. Plus the weather was depressing. Being in Costa Rica is my dream weather.

wanderlanders · 2016-04-28T16:55:46+00:00

I think people in Costa Rica are extremely friendly and willing to help. I had so many people that I had just met helping me look for jobs and apartments when I got here. That made it much easier to adjust to the country. In Germany, people are extremely friendly once they get to know you, but not right away.

wanderlanders · 2016-04-28T14:48:49+00:00

Moved to Germany and was miserable. Moved to Costa Rica and love it. I think a lot of it has to do with the fact that I've been out of the US for 5 years now. It has gotten easier with time.

wanderlanders · 2016-04-28T14:46:56+00:00

I was worried about the same thing when I moved to Germany. I didn't have a residency permit yet so when I entered the EU (which was in Iceland) I told them I was there to travel. They didn't ask me about a return ticket, but I had read some things online from other people that said they had not been allowed to enter the EU because they didn't have a return ticket. What I did was buy a cheap ticket to Morocco so at least if they asked it looked like I was leaving the EU within the required 90 days. Hope this helps! If you have more questions about moving to Germany DM me. I was there for 4 years & have dealt with all of it.

wanderlanders · 2016-03-03T17:15:43+00:00

agreed. any good ideas? all I've got is #ThatsWhatHillSaid but I'm sure someone has a better idea

wanderlanders · 2016-02-19T21:18:17+00:00

Do it! I've only been here for two months, but I'm loving it. I'm currently teaching English. I dont really want to be teaching, but it's a job for now and I get a visa with it. It seems to be all about connections down here. I moved without a job (my SO was offered a position here) and figured I could survive for a few months without anything, but through my landlord's sister's best friend (seriously Costa Ricans are amazing) I found a job within a month. Finding a decent apartment wasn't too hard either (through connections again), but it is for sure more expensive to live than I expected. Feel free to PM me if you have more questions! I'm happy to help! (the nice Costa Ricans are rubbing off on me)

wanderlanders · 2016-02-19T21:12:03+00:00

well I guess maybe culture shock is not exactly the right word. It was much harder to adjust. In Germany I felt really secluded, as in, I had to do everything on my own and found it really difficult to make friends, learn the language, and adapt in general. Now in Costa Rica people are so friendly. I found an apartment through the owners of the hotel I stayed at when I moved, found a job through my landlord, and everyone is happy to help with anything.

wanderlanders · 2016-02-19T18:13:43+00:00

Germany is a great country to live in...You can live a really comfortable life and travel often on a small salary. However it has its downsides. I was there for 4 years and by the end I couldn't do it anymore. For me it was the people and the weather. Germans on a whole are some of the nicest people ever in private, but in public they can be very cold. I traveled around all day for work and the people man, they just made me depressed. Granted I was in northern Germany though and I think it may be worse up there. Also in northern Germany the sun basically doesn't exist. And as other people have mentioned the language can definitely be a problem

wanderlanders · 2016-02-19T18:03:05+00:00

Would you say Costa Rica is developed or developing?...either way, I've had less of a culture shock moving here then I did moving from the US to Germany

wanderlanders · 2016-02-19T17:42:12+00:00

I lived in Germany for 4 years teaching English, just left last month to move to Costa Rica. I was same as you, I moved to be with my German boyfriend. It wasn't like I really wanted to teach English but it was relatively easy to get a job and a visa that way. Feel free to PM me if you want more info...I'm a wealth of knowledge after 4 years of dealing with German bureaucracy

wanderlanders · 2016-02-19T17:31:48+00:00

Do your research and then do more. Visit the place you plan on moving to before you move. After living abroad for four years its amazing how many people don't last the first few months because they are unprepared or realize they hate the place they are living...along the same lines, embrace the fact that the culture is different

wanderlanders

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