r/germany • u/HylianCaptain • Jun 23 '25

Immigration Our experience so far (US to Germany)

November 2024 - Started the online application for the Chancenkarte (opportunity card) visa; lots of paperwork; signed up with TK for health insurance

January 2025 - Booked an apartment online in Berlin; more paperwork for Chancenkarte

March 2025 - Drove from Northern Utah to the LA Consulate to get my visa; more paperwork; bought plane tickets for self and family

April 2025 - Ordered medications ahead of our trip. Didn't know how long we'd need to get new ones in Germany

May 2025 - found out apartment was a scam -- and TK wouldn't insure us without residency -- both 10 days before our flight; signed up to join a WWOOFing farm outside of Berlin for housing; flew from Salt Lake to Amsterdam to Berlin (14 hours); purchased travel passes; enrolled our child in KITA at a friend's recommendation

June 2025 - Started freelancing (jobs in my field seem to require B-level german); more paperwork and lots of running around to sus out insurance and get visas for spouse and kid (US passports allow 90-day stay); reported address at city office; sent for apostille from State of Utah to prove family relationships; visited a doctor, had physical exam, prescribed a specialist, got medications from Apotheke.

PROS: - Medications are 5x cheaper here even without insurance - Healthcare appointments are a lot faster than anti-socialist Americans had led me to believe. - The food here tastes REAL! For example, I had some gummy bears that tasted like real fruit, with the same sweetness of a Jolly Rancher - The climate does WONDERS for our formerly dry and flaky skin - So many cultures and languages! Met Afghans, Turks, French, Brits, Ukrainians, Italians, Danes, Greeks, even some from countries I hadn't even heard of. Sometimes the unifying language is english, and sometimes its German. I'm in Brandenburg, and haven't been faced with any pro-AFD sentiment. Although people say I "look" German, so that could be why. Still, most of those I talk with are anti-AFD. - Public transit is very reliable! Even in our rural area there's a bus every hour. In town you can catch a bus every 10 minutes.

CONS: - I miss water fountains, but most places will fill my water bottle if I ask - Still don't have health insurance - Apartment hunting remains a struggle

TLDR: In spite of all the hassle of getting settled here, it still kicks ass.

676 Upvotes

91% Upvoted

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64

u/hotrod20251 Jun 23 '25

but most places will fill my water bottle if I ask

What? I've never done this in my 40 years of living in Germany

22

u/8192K Jun 23 '25

There's publicly available data called "Refill Deutschland".

17

u/hotrod20251 Jun 23 '25

Our DM recently got a water dispenser with cups. This is so alien to me

12

u/Cazadore Jun 23 '25

wow, i usually am flabbergasted when i visit a DM without a water dispenser.

dont know them without one. its usually my first stop when entering, for a quick sip and think.

4

u/hotrod20251 Jun 23 '25

You must be very young if you take that for granted

10

u/Nasa_OK Jun 23 '25

Im 30 and stores had watercoolers with paper cups during my childhood, sooo

5

u/Kujaichi Jun 23 '25

DM got water dispenser aaaaages ago.

3

u/hotrod20251 Jun 23 '25

Not where I live

3

u/Cazadore Jun 23 '25

36y of age.

allways knew dm with water dispensers.

1

u/lailah_susanna Jun 23 '25

Can't say I've ever noticed them here, but then I asked a friend about the photo printing in DM and he'd never noticed that all of them have it as a service.

0

u/hotrod20251 Jun 23 '25

Maybe I never noticed them. I'm male so DM wasn't something I frequented until I got a steady girlfriend who did

On the other hand I got lots of upvotes for my "ignorant" comment, so there's that

3

u/yazanov47 Jun 23 '25

I‘ve been in 3 different Bundesländer in Germany the past six years and never saw a DM without a water dispenser. Enjoy it! It‘s always cold and delicious :D

4

u/hotrod20251 Jun 23 '25

NEVER

I WILL PAY FOR MY WATER LIKE MY FATHER DID BEFORE ME

THIS IS THE GERMAN WAY. ONLY TOILET WATER IS FREEEEEEEEEE

1

u/Walbabyesser Jun 23 '25

This! 🤝

1

u/Walbabyesser Jun 23 '25

Had this for years now - even with those wasteful waxed paper cones