archived-culture-study-visa

[foggy prism]

the difference is quite noticable

[exotic barn]

A levels can speak about easy topics like where they are from, what their hobbies are.

[foggy prism]

B levels are when you’re starting to be competent enough to be able to participate in actually engaging conversations

B1 can do it with effort, B2 can actually keep up with natives ^^

(roughly speaking)

[vague brook]

yeah, but im kinda talking about the "grammar requirements" for each level

[foggy prism]

fair

[vague brook]

not a clue what those are for every given niveau

i think there is a list?

[solemn bay]

There are lists in #resources with that information if you're interested.

[foggy prism]

the major roadblock at every point is just getting a ton more active vocabulary

and internalizing the grammar stuff you learn I guess

tthat’s more of an issue in the beginning tho

[solemn bay]

You can also go by the topics covered by each text book e.g. check the chapters/index/etc.

[foggy prism]

going by the philosophy of those levels being competence levels and not test requirements, I don’t really believe in there being grammar points for each level

there’s some things that you can postpone for later levels, e.g. Konjunktiv I

[vague brook]

I mean, aside from futur II and maybe konjunktiv I you need to learn everything, there may be some more optimal roads to take (like, hard to learn deklination if you dont know what an artikel is)

[foggy prism]

but for the most part, by B1 you should know most grammar rules

I think

you may not be able to actively use all of them

[vague brook]

yea there are some fancier constructions that are more liek b2ish

like konjunktiv II in passiv and stuff like that

[foggy prism]

as in wäre…INF worden?

[vague brook]

yea but thats konjunktiv II vergangenheit

yea just opened some list, most of passive is labeled as B2

except for the very basic vorgangspassiv in präsens

die arbeit wird gemacht

thats B1

[foggy prism]

konjunktiv 1 I’d say ignore before you’re going for C1, except if you’re in Switzerland, then learn it earlier ^^

(cause it’s acutally used here)

[vague brook]

there are many constructions that are not that often used but you need to learn them anyway

[solemn bay]

Of course there's no real requirement to learn stuff in one particular order, but there absolutely is a natural order to learn stuff. And a lot of learners need guidance to understand which topic they should be worrying about at each point.

[vague brook]

but up to B1/B2 all the basic grammar is covered

atleast in theory, because people here pass B1 exam without knowing what konjunktiv II/passiv is

they come to B2 course and have no clue about it O_o

[foggy prism]

there’s occasionally people with level B roles here that make me wonder whether my standards are just too high

[vague brook]

there is just a huge gap between what you need to pass an exam and what you should be able to use in order to be B1/B2

[foggy prism]

(I don’t think you’re one of them but I’m not gonna go looking :P)
things like failing to conjugate verbs for the right person should be eliminated in written German for a B1 I’d say

unless it’s like an obscure irregular one ofc

[vague brook]

and jumping from the level of passed exam down to the level of your actual abilities would be lethal

i had 100% on my B2 exam

im doing C1 courses atm

[fleet pelican]

I'd so second that

I always had the feeling like the exams and what the actual cefr requiremnets were were insanely polarized

[vague brook]

yea when i read the requirements i was like wow, thats hard

then i met people who passed B2 exams who could barely speak the language and i was like ok, I should just take the exam and see how it goes

plop, 100%

lol

[foggy prism]

tbf, learning for the exam is totally a thing

exams test a rather narrow skillset, especially if there’s no freeform parts

idk how the german ones are structured tho

[vague brook]

its heavily luck dependent too

in my B2 exams i had like, everything related to medicine

[foggy prism]

the english one I took was pretty comprehensive I found

[vague brook]

people were crying and i was like lol gg

[foggy prism]

had a word formation/choice section, a reading comprehension one, a freeform writing, a speaking section with a partner and a listening section that was actually really hard

[vague brook]

yea but im wondering what the criteria are, because german exams are like that too

somehow people who are terrible still pass them

[foggy prism]

(that was cambridge advanced, which can give you anything from B2 to C2 depending on grade)

[vague brook]

Listening tho seems to be the hardest part to pass for most people

because up to B1 you just need to pick the right word from what is being said and its usually the right answer

in B2 its never the right answer if it sounds too similar, its always rephrased, you actually need to understand the context of what is being said

[foggy prism]

for the cambridge one the difficult part of listening was one where you had to fill out a table. it was just like, every row represented a speaker, every column was some property and you had to: figure out who was speaking, what they were talking about, and what the thing was they talked about

like idr the details but a column could’ve been “day of doctor’s appointment” and then one of the speakers would make a doctor’s appointment on friday and you had to write friday in the right cell

and there was of course the mandatory strongly accented irish and scottish speakers

[exotic barn]

What is the age of consent in Germany.

[solemn bay]

@exotic barn Just google it.

[exotic barn]

Wait

How do I know when i'm watching a video.

What Dialect it is.

actually nvm

[magic star]

bruh 😂

[compact slate]

I applied for 3 universities, I assume they don't answer on the same day. So howblong can I wait after they answer me? Because I have a priority list

[tame forum]

if you are an EU state member. you can wait how much ever you want until sept/ oct. if not then u can only wait until ur visa appt.

cuz its bereucratic af i think to not go to the uni which u presented in ur appt.

[compact slate]

I have a german citizenship but I applied through uni assist

[tame forum]

*visa appointment

@compact slate you wont need a visa interview then. wait tho. uni assist is mostly for international students

did your uni website specifically say to apply thru uni assist?

[compact slate]

yes I had to because I don't have a german Abitur

[tame forum]

ahh ok then its fine

yah but i guess since ur a german, you can wait till sept end./ till the latest enrollment date.

and did u apply now or before 15 july?

[compact slate]

before

[tame forum]

if before 15 july, then ur uni will reply max till mid august.

[compact slate]

yeah they should reach back until the 15th of august

[tame forum]

if u dont get a reply from a uni till then, then i wud give up on the uni

[compact slate]

I see

thanks

[tight kelp]

How would you call this? It's over a bath/shower tub to hold a curtain so water doesn't spill out when showering

[fleet pelican]

curtain pole/rod?

[odd bison]

duschvorhangsstange

[hollow geyser]

Spielt jemand War Thunder?

[exotic barn]

Duschvorhangstange*

@hollow geyser #gaming might help you more

[hollow geyser]

I don't have access to it

[tight kelp]

#botchannel -> >gr Gaming

[agile fable]

Heya, can anyone give me some advice for what to expect in a Vorstellungsgespraech? It's my first time. :x

[tight kelp]

what field?

and have you already had a conversation over the phone (or is this going to be it)?

[agile fable]

Media field.

And not yet. I just got an invitation to it.

[tight kelp]

ok then they'll most likely jsut ask you about yourself and your background to make sure you're a decent person and that you fit their expectations in terms of education

it's not a hard phase particularly, but you need to demonstrate non-subpar social skills at least: nobody wants to work with or hire an unpleasant person even if they're good at their job, and this phase is about filtering out just that

[agile fable]

I've been through a handful of job interviews before but I don't know if it applies at all to German style.

Ah okay.

[tight kelp]

you can prepare by exposing your background orally, even just to the mirror. It will help noticing any vocabulary you need that you don't yet have

[agile fable]

Like, the ones I been through are sort of generic.

1. Talk about oneself
2. Talk about strength and weakness.
3. How does one go about solving a problem or what's the biggest mistake
4. Why should the company hire you or why is it a good fit.
5. Then they usually ask a technical question to test the interviewee.
6. End of discussion by asking for salary expectation

[tight kelp]

in addition to, of course, give you a more concrete idea of the flow of things to say

[agile fable]

How long does that phase last? The one to introduce oneself?

Because I intend to do what I normally do, talk in detailed about what my previous responsibilities are.

People told me that a normal interview is usually 20 to 25 minutes in Germany, but my experience usually lasts an hour and sometimes 2.

[tight kelp]

in my experience, 4 isn't really common in germany. After all, they invited you, so they must think you fit the company. Unless you proposed yourself autonomously, but personally i never encountered this question

yes it can last a lot

i'd say hardly ever less than 45 minutes

but you'd best have a conversational mindset rather than a full-on "gotta prove myself" one, or else it will tire you

[agile fable]

Ah gotcha.

[tight kelp]

honestly the hardest element of these for me has always been not feeling adequate on the language side

[agile fable]

I'm honestly nervous because I am not sure what to expect. I'm somewhat prepared to answer some of the more generic questions but I worried more about difficult or random ones or some easy questions disguised in fancy words

[tight kelp]

i.e. the language barrier is more impactful than the contents of the event itself

[agile fable]

That's true...

[tight kelp]

it's normal to be nervous, but being nervous during the interview is the number 1 problem because it will reduce your overall performance. Meaning your language will worsen, you might say something you didn't mean to say, and good things that you'd otherwise say may not come to mind

[agile fable]

Is it normal for the interviewer to cut in when one introduce oneself? Maybe they'll start to ask about certain things? Or is it normal for them for the candidate to finish up before asking?

[tight kelp]

so imo, the best approach would be to prepare yourself against stress and nervousness, and the rest will come by itself unless you're a sociopath or something

in my experience they'll usually let you finish, but you may want to slow down when you're about done saying the important bits so that they can easily cut in. Questions by them can actually help a lot because they give you something to talk about

[agile fable]

Could you kindly list down what sort of flow to expect? The ones I written is from my experiences back home, so I doubt it may apply too much?

Yea, being calm is key. I'm gonna try do that hah

[tight kelp]

they'll either start by introducing themselves (i.e. the company and what they do), or they'll let you introduce yourself first and then talk about themselves. In some cases they may even get everything else sorted out before talking about the company, but as far as I could discern, when that happened it was just because they forgot to do it earlier ^^

it's good when they do it first because you can infer what important things you can connect to your background

in my experience, there comes a point where you'll have chances to elaborate on specific hobbies or interests or how you acquired some specific or generic skill they need

[agile fable]

Gotcha.

Is it worth pointing out that I'm still not so good in German? I honestly don't want them to think I'm not good enough or not workable in the office.

[tight kelp]

also, depending on the company, many will try to make the mood less formal. If they do, go along with it and show that you can also be not as intense as interviewees usually (and understandably) are during interviews. That'll give them an idea of the kind of person they'll be working with if they hire you

i'd avoid mentioning anything on that

you can be humble if you talk about how or how long you've been learning german but don't put too much stress on not being good at it. They can judge by themselves; if your skills are adequate for what they need, you don't want to make them think otherwise, and if they aren't, nothing you say can change that

[agile fable]

Makes sense.

Because I do not plan on using my German to explain my weakness because I imagine that'll be shooting myself in the foot.

[tight kelp]

they will however be impressed if your skills are decent and they find out your learning time or method isn't "usual"

e.g. you speak relatively well but have only been learning for a year or so and without any course: they'll be impressed

[agile fable]

Sounds good to me. 😃

When they start to discuss salary, is that when they're about to end? Or are sure to hire someone?

[tight kelp]

they'll always ask that, and yes it pretty much signals the end of the interview, but if they didn't do it before that, they'll then ask if you have any questions. Do use that segment, and do it well

[agile fable]

How do you mean use that segment well?

[tight kelp]

by asking questions about the sort of stuff you care about (take some time beforehand to know what that is), and to show that you are interested in the position and the company

[agile fable]

Alright. 😃

[tight kelp]

for example you might want to know something about the usual workflow or the way difficult situations are handled, or how the hierarchy is structured or how superiors treat the rest of the workforce. Some questions, like the latter, require more indirect questions, of course

there are articles on the internet on how to ask the right questions at interviews, though i have none on hand right now that i could link

[agile fable]

Not an issue. I appreciate all the advices so far.

Hmm, is it appropriate to ask to duzen or siezen? Cause I'm not sure, I imagine it's better to just siezen all the way?

[tight kelp]

siez unless they propose otherwise

it is, however, ok to duz a person whom you've spoken to before if you already duzed in that occasion

if they duz you, do that yourself. If there's more than one interviewer and one duzes you though, be mindful that the other one does too. It's never happened, but I could perhaps envision a younger interviewee being ok with using du but a a second, older one using and expecting Sie

if they're particularly older than you and they duz you, it's not a given that you can duz them back

[agile fable]

I got more than one interviewer so I might have some leeway to just use Ihr as well if anything, I hope hah

[tight kelp]

yes that's a good strategy

[agile fable]

Alright, thank you. 😃

I honestly wonder if I should be more short and sweet with my answers because the less I speak, the less mistakes I make.

But I don't know if those were common for the interviewer to speak more than the interviewee?

[tight kelp]

they will definitely try to make you speak more

it's best if you speak as much as you need. Don't bore them, but don't be too brief or they might think you're either uninteresting, uninterested, or not proficient enough to be able to function in the workplace. They won't care about the grammar mistakes if they don't hinder communication significantly (and as I said, there's nothing you can do at the interview itself if that's the case). They care for you to be open and able to express yourself, they don't need you to sound like goethe

[agile fable]

Makes sense, thank you. 😃

I really appreciate it.

[tight kelp]

np. Best of luck to you

[agile fable]

Thank you! I'm glad to learn all this from you.

[foggy prism]

job interview? 100% start with Sie

they’ll tell you if they’d rather you use du

but using Sie in that situation is normal and expected so if they’re okay with du it’s no problem that you used Sie. but if you start with du, they might find it too direct even if they would otherwise be okay with it

[warped atlas]

@agile fable Salary negotiations wise, the company probably already has a number. Just don‘t forget to search online for the „average“ of what your position supposed to get. And frankly for interview-wise, people generally don‘t want to make it to be EXTREMELY formal, meaning, just make it like a chill conversation between you and the other person.

Ask them what your daily work would look like, and with whom do you regularly work with. This would put you both into the mindset that „you‘re already working there, and want to know your colleagues“ which makes it easier to check whether the work culture fits or not.

Be prepared as well to give as well as receive immediate feedback from the interviewer.

[agile fable]

Ah thank you. I appreciate it.

[compact slate]

Das Vergabeverfahren der Studienplätze Informatik findet in der Zeit bis 24.08.19 statt. In dieser Zeit erfahren Sie, ob Sie eine Zulassung erhalten. Da Sie sich über Hochschulstart beworben haben, erfahren Sie über das Portal von Hochschulstart, ob Sie eine Zulassung erhalten.

does this mean I should just wait for now?

not sure what the Vergabeverfahren is all about

This was sent to me from the TU Berlin if it matters

[odd bison]

Yep you have to wait

[compact slate]

the part I hate the most :x

thanks!

[brazen crest]

Kann jemand mir erklären, was Hartz IV ist?
in den einfachen Wörten

[tight kelp]

Hartz IV, oder Arbeitslosengeld II, ist Hilfe vom Staat, die du bekommst, wenn du nicht genug verdienst, um dich (und deine Familie) zu versorgen

[brazen crest]

als Zusatz zu Gehalt?

ok danke

[tight kelp]

genau

[exotic barn]

Hi, could someone give me some insight on au pairing in Germany? I am currently using aupair.com to search for host families. Is this a reliable platform?

[mental comet]

Hey Leuts ^^

Ich habe da eine Frage, die ich gerne geklärt haben möchte 😁 es geht um einen vorläufigen Studierendenausweis von der FH Dortmund.

Da es bei meinem ersten Studium anders verlief, bin ich etwas verunsichert und verwirrt, ob man diesen vorläufigen Studierendenausweis auch schon als Semesterticket verwenden kann.

Gibt es da draußen Leute, die an der FH DORTMUND studieren?

Auf dem Zettel selbst steht nicht viele Informationen bis auf meine Daten und dass dieser vorläufige Studierendenausweis bis 20.09.2019 gültig ist.

Long story short : gilt dieser Ausweis als Ticket und kann ich ihn schon verwenden oder ist er einfach nur als Bestätigung, dass ich eingeschrieben?? 😁

Danke!

[exotic barn]

Du solltest andere Studenten in deiner Uni oder das Sekretariat fragen

[exotic barn]

Bei uns an der Ruhr Uni Bochum muss man den Semesterbeitrag bezahlen, um das Semesterticket zu erhalten. Der Studierendenausweis gilt nicht mehr als Semesterticket, man muss das Semesterticket vorweisen, um den öffentlichen Transport zu benutzen.

[brazen crest]

Hallo, gibt da jemand, der Maschinenbau studiert? Oder etwas anderes, was mit Laser angegangen ist? Oder im allgemeinen ist ein Student vom Ingenieurstudium.

[warped atlas]

Ich bin Informationstechniker

[exotic barn]

Whats my name?

[true citrus]

I received an admission letter from Rhine waal kleve electronially

I don't think they send physical copies via post

[tame forum]

yah thats fine for applying for ur visa

[true citrus]

Is printing it out enough for visa?

[tame forum]

had the same doubt

but the embassy told its fine

[true citrus]

But, can't I just be a forger?

How do they know it's legit

[tame forum]

idk, i guess they confirm it somehow.

cuz i dont think many unis send physical copies

there are always some numbers on the top maybe they use that

[true citrus]

Alright thanks bro

Btw, is it true they increaszd the required blocked amount to 10000 euros?

[warped atlas]

Yes unfortunately

But when exactly, I‘m not sure

[true citrus]

This summer?

[warped atlas]

https://www.schengenvisainfo.com/news/starting-from-september-1st-foreign-students-will-need-e10236-to-apply-for-germany-study-visa/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=ios_app

[true citrus]

@tame forum how much did you have to block?

[tame forum]

yah its already started

i blocked 10236

they told me its not important for the application, but when the visa gets approved, u evetually willl have to update it

and only then they will give you the stamp on the visa

@true citrus

[fair talon]

At least from what ive read, I believe it goes into effect for appointments after September 1st

[warped atlas]

Nevertheless, you can't avoid it for next year's study...

and try to avoid Baden-Württemberg Unis

[fair talon]

Yeah, just for getting that first year permit

Whats wrong with em?

[warped atlas]

unless you wanna pay the extra 1500 Euros for Ausländer per semester

The law went into effect since Winter 2017

[fair talon]

Trying to remember, after a year, a blocked account turns into a normal account, doesnt it? Not quite sure how it works once the time period for the release of the money is up

[warped atlas]

Well....are you still a student?

The blocked account was a Studentenkonto for a time, and that means, no need to pay the monthly fee until you finish your studies

after you finish, and you "can't provide" your student enrollment to the bank

they'll convert said account to a "normal" account

which means that they start charging fees

Happened to my DB account

I left it as it is, though my main banks are now N26 and Comdirect

[fair talon]

Im setting one up whenever Deutsche Bank decides to be competent.
Just was curious how the account works towards the end of the study period

Once I dont need a Sperrkonto im ditching DB like the plague though >.>

[tame forum]

btw @warped atlas i am assuming ur a Ausländer. i had a small question. when u arrived in germany, and there is this process of getting ur student visa converted to a resident permit, how complicated is it?

is it a same day process?

and 2) is the permit only for a year or for the duration for our entire studies. according to my knowledge most of the time its a year permit. which needs to get renewed every year by refuelling the blocked acc.

[warped atlas]

not super complicated....

but your International Office should help you quite a bit

same day process? no way

[tame forum]

ohh thats good to hear

[warped atlas]

same day "making appointment" yes

lol

[tame forum]

damn thats sad to hear.

[warped atlas]

and depending on the city

[tame forum]

and at the office i guess they speak english too yah?

[warped atlas]

nope

sorry 😦

[tame forum]

fuckk lol

[warped atlas]

well, depending on the city, I guess

but really

[tame forum]

i feel paranoid talking in German to officials. i might miss out on some tiny detail

[warped atlas]

you're kinda fucked if you can't speak German....well, more like, "they don't like you as much"

[tame forum]

and end up getting deported

[warped atlas]

but you'll get things done

[tame forum]

and about the duration of the permit?

@warped atlas

[warped atlas]

1 year I'd say

[tame forum]

sorry for the pings btw. idk who else to ask this thats y. thanks for the answers

btw how much time did ur Aliens office take in ur case to issue a permit?

[warped atlas]

Well....can't remember

you get a 3 month temp visa

and it's supposed to be in between that

and it depends on Berlin office unfortunately

btw

you can extend the temp visa from the ABH just like that, if the Berlin office takes a long time

I had the same issue with my Blue Card

[tame forum]

i will be going to NRW

[warped atlas]

also please check whether you need to pay the 1500 euros as well

I heard that's the next Bundesland

[tame forum]

yah the law might come soon

but afaik if i enroll before the law comes, the rules dont apply to me

only to the new students

[warped atlas]

Well, that's what happened to me in BW as well

I was still studying in WS 2017

[tame forum]

wait fuck fr?

[warped atlas]

and I didn't have to pay it thankfully

[tame forum]

ohkk

i thought u had to

thanks for the headsup nonethe less

[warped atlas]

you're welcome

[fair talon]

@tame forum Where are you heading to?

[tame forum]

Duisburg Essen University in Duisburg.

[fair talon]

Hamburg's office speaks English, so you might get lucky. Worst case scenario, you could do what I do and ask Student Services if theres anyone who could accompany you to translate. (They would also know if the office speaks English)

But two things: First, yeah, its definitely not same day. I applied by email last month, and they booked my appointment for the end of September.

[tame forum]

what the fukkk

[fair talon]

Second, dont worry about when the appointment is. Appointments ate considered a legal extension of your visa

Are*

So even though my stay runs out August 22nd technically, im legally fine since I have that appointment

[tame forum]

ohhh

[fair talon]

Its a ton of bureaucratic work, but its structured work.

[warped atlas]

technically no.....

you still have to extend the visa

the temp visa I mean

[fair talon]

My bad, yeah. You still have to go and tell them

That you need it extended*

But there shouldnt be any problem extending it for the appointment

[warped atlas]

But I didn't need to have an exact appointment to extend that

[tame forum]

okay so after we visit the appointment, then we wait? thats it?

[warped atlas]

I called them directly, they understood it, and I needed to go directly to them the next day

and they just stick the new temp visa on my passport right then and there

You'll get a mail at your current residence (try not to move anywhere else)

and when you have that, you can go directly to the ABH and get your card

picking it up don't need any appointments

[fair talon]

Not as dramatic as the other thing, but something else to keep in mind: Residency in the city is handled seperately than residency in the country

[warped atlas]

^ yes

[tame forum]

man. doing this every year sounds exhausting lol

[warped atlas]

your international office should help you with that

but the residency in the city you can do on the same day

just come EARLY

[fair talon]

Once you have a place to live setup, get your Anmeldung within two weeks 👀
Same day, 10€ fee in Hamburg

[warped atlas]

Once you have a place to live setup, get your Anmeldung within two weeks 👀

well....

I don't wanna teach something that's illegal

[tame forum]

wait a min, so there are 2 appointments that i would need? one for applying for country residence and one for city residence?

[warped atlas]

just follow that one 😃

[fair talon]

Thats the rule on paper here. Course, I was an idiot and did mine two months after arriving

[warped atlas]

Appointment for your Aufenthaltstitel, and "Appointment" for your Wohnungsanmeldung

[fair talon]

Yeah, one for permission to stay in the country, the other is registering where you are living.

[warped atlas]

I give quotes there, because you don't need the same "level" of appointment

[tame forum]

ohhh yahh...... the fsecond is for all the people .... and the first one only for non EU

ohkk i get it

[fair talon]

Yup

[warped atlas]

correct

and whenever you move to another city

you need to do the Wohnungsanmeldung within 2 weeks

[fair talon]

Or another address I believe 👀

Not 100% sure tho

They need it to send you the TV tax bill :p

[tame forum]

okay so to summarize
city registration: not too bad and is chill?
country residence registration: appointment takes a shitton of time to come, lots of beurocratic stuff to do during the appointment, and then after the appointment i guess u wait for the permit?

[warped atlas]

Or another address I believe 👀

oh yeah, that too

city registration: can do "anytime" no need any appointment, just come early

[fair talon]

Yup. Ive been bringing a packet with copies of all my major papers to every German appointment so far 😅

[warped atlas]

Aufenthaltstitel registration: call/online to make an appointment, and they'll set things up. If for some reason your temp visa would expire before the appointment, they can do something about that

[fair talon]

^this

[warped atlas]

Listen to them on what are the things you need to bring

if everything goes right, and you brought all the documents

[fair talon]

I booked my appointment by email.

And yeah, they sent a checklist of exactly what to bring

[warped atlas]

you can LITERALLY finish in 5 mins

[tame forum]

jus to be on the same page "Aufenthaltstitel" is the "beurocratic" one yah?

[fair talon]

Yeh

[warped atlas]

.....

depends on what you mean by that

[tame forum]

as in the country regeistration

sorry for being unclear

[warped atlas]

all those are "bureaucratic"

[fair talon]

Appointments, paperwork and time, its the more intensive one @warped atlas

[warped atlas]

Well, it's not A38....

But you don't really have to do a lot of bureaucratic stuff, @fair talon

I mean, appointment, you do in 5 mins, paperwork is the one that takes a while, and time is more or less, just be patient about it

[fair talon]

Also, unless you got enough time to look up all the rules yourself, get your German passport photo done professionally. Its like 5-10€, and they know the (comparatively) shit ton of rules for the photo compared to other countries

[warped atlas]

Meh, I just did it at the nearest Photo Fix at the train station

lol

[fair talon]

The pdf with the restrictions for the photo was 9 pages 😅

[warped atlas]

😄

They have the giant poster, which is the same all around

[tame forum]

the "schengen visa" rules apply yah? i am guessing they were the same restrictions which one has for the student visa thing?

holy shit 9 pages wtf

[warped atlas]

I did the same thing as well for my Führerschein application

[fair talon]

Rules apply for?

[warped atlas]

They have the giant poster, which is the same all around

I didn't see the 9 pages anywhere

[tame forum]

yah as in the background shud be clwar and bla bla bla

[warped atlas]

what rules?

[tame forum]

sorry i meant guidelines

on how ur photo shud look like

[warped atlas]

photo guidelines?

[tame forum]

yah

[warped atlas]

then yeah

that's it

Biometrical Photo IDs

basically same thing as passport photos

[fair talon]

https://www.schengenvisainfo.com/photo-requirements/

They sent me this in PDF form 😅

[tame forum]

is there any website that each aliens office has?

[warped atlas]

Each Rathaus, yes

[fair talon]

Well, for Hamburg, its handled by the Hamburg Welcome Center (at the Rathaus)

[warped atlas]

the ABH would usually be connected to them

Stuttgart and Mannheim for example

I live near Aalen, and that one as well

[fair talon]

The city website should have info on where specifically

[warped atlas]

And also the opening times

btw, check the Alien's Office on how they handle the Ausländer coming in. I mean, the one in Mannheim has a specific staff handling Ausländers with the last name from B to C for example

if things go the same way, you can literally have a hotline on whom to call regarding your visa status

[tame forum]

ohkk i willl try checking my city website

[fair talon]

Vorherige Terminabsprache
Die Ausländerbehörde der Stadt Duisburg ist entsprechend Ihrem Wohnort in folgenden Außenstellen
zu erreichen :

• Bezirksamt Duisburg-Hamborn für die Stadtbezirke Walsum, Hamborn, Meiderich und Beeck (
  Tel.: [phone] )
• Bezirksamt Duisburg-Rheinhausen für die Stadtbezirke Homberg, Ruhrort, Baerl und
  Rheinhausen ( Tel.: [phone] )
• Bezirksamt Duisburg-Süd für die Stadtbezirke Mitte und Süd ( Tel.: [phone] )
  Eine vorherige Terminabsprache ( ca. 4 Wochen vorher ) ist in der Regel erforderlich, um unnötige Wartezeiten zu vermeiden."

[tame forum]

wait so can i book an appointment before reaching germany?

is that allowed?

[faint plaza]

Ehhhh

[fair talon]

Looks like depending on what district youre in, theres a different office you can contact? Not sure if thats an accurate translation 😅

[faint plaza]

Technically

Yes

But if it is I don’t know

[fair talon]

Like I said, I booked mine by email.

[tame forum]

hmm. so i guess 3 aliens offices in duisburg

it jus might be a bit risky yah?

[fair talon]

You'll need to make sure everything else is taken care of beforehand tho (register a place, get your health insurance registered, setup the blocked account)

[tame forum]

already have the blocked acc and insurance

jus no place

[fair talon]

Im having a horrible time with getting my Sperrkonto setup 😅

Well, you'll need enough time to get one and register it 👀

[tame forum]

these xpatrio like companies make stuff really easy

[warped atlas]

The place is KINDA important

[fair talon]

Im stuck with Deutsche Bank. It sucks

[warped atlas]

I had my WG already set by the International Office before I came to Germany

[faint plaza]

Deutsche Bank 🤮

F

[fair talon]

Ikr?

[faint plaza]

Fuck them

[warped atlas]

Sperrkonto you can open at Sparkasse.....

[fair talon]

Im American

[warped atlas]

though I wouldn't recommend as well 😄

[tame forum]

hmm. so as soon as my accomodation is set up i will book for an appointment

thankss

[faint plaza]

Sparkasse is lit

[exotic barn]

yeah having a place to stay is something germany is super strict about

[warped atlas]

well, if you're completely sure that you're getting the WG soon

you can already book the appointment

[tame forum]

yah i will be prepared about this stuff

[warped atlas]

say you're homeless today,

you call tomorrow, to make an appointment on 22 Aug

and you have some WG to see and already choose one by 15 Aug

you're fine with that

[tame forum]

ahhh.

[warped atlas]

bring the contract in on 22 Aug

[tame forum]

yah obv. i will look up the docs list that i need

[warped atlas]

I'm telling what's okay, I personally wouldn't recommend it, because my OCB side would go crazy if I were to do something like that

[tame forum]

and i will look up the estimated time for the permit to come.

[warped atlas]

I'd need to have things set like 2 months prior

lololol

[tame forum]

even i have ocd in that kinda stuff thats y i dont like tlaking to visa officers in germa

*german

i really dont wanna miss out on any detail that they might say

[fair talon]

It says at least 4 weeks on the city website @tame forum

For the appointment

[warped atlas]

They have a checklist

[fair talon]

^

[warped atlas]

from the International Office, they also would give you a checklist

[fair talon]

https://www.duisburg.de/vv/produkte/pro_du/dez_ii/32/formulare_der_auslaenderbehoerde.php.media/32888/Studenten.pdf

[warped atlas]

the IO from Uni Mannheim for example, had a booklet for every Ausländer coming in, where you can literally step by step follow the instructions

[tame forum]

yah i will go thru that..... Thnks guys learned a ton today. this info isnt there on the websites i have been till now, i guuess because they were english

[fair talon]

^where I got the foreign office info from

Theres a checklist at the bottom of the firstpage

[tame forum]

yah i was looking at all the wrong places for info

i never checked the city website

[fair talon]

I mean, I wouldnt trust an American city website lol
The German ones seem pretty well made so far

[warped atlas]

If you can speak German....

[fair talon]

Well, yeah. But at least its there in some form

Most of the websites back in the US havent been touched since the MySpace years

[tame forum]

nah not jus US websites. jus websites in general. they will give u information upto and leading to getting a student visa. after that its blank.

[fair talon]

Of course. Wheres the fun in telling you what you need to know when they can save a few precious minutes of their time by making you find out yourself 👀

[tame forum]

yah i get it lol. idm researching myself. but since i have been getting spoonfed with the process with english language websites upto this point, i was kinda lost where to start looking info for stuff after going there .

[fair talon]

Well thats what you got us for :p

Now if someone could find a way to let me open an account with literally any other bank, I would be thrilled >.>

[warped atlas]

?

Of course you can

Or you mean a Sperrkonto?

then no, you're f#cked, sorry

😛

The one that the government wants are usually from "established" banks, like DB or Commerzbank, or IngDiba

[fair talon]

Yeah, im ditching them as soon as I graduate, but I literally have no choice right now, and these fuckers are acting like it >.>

[warped atlas]

oh wait, maybe not IngDiba, but like something else

You can of course open any other bank account once you are in Germany

especially the online banks

like N26, Comdirect or DKB

[fair talon]

Its not even just being "established" or not. For Sperrkontos, the only one that will accept Americans is Deutsche

[warped atlas]

Really?

or you mean from the US itself?

I mean, I had a sponsorship beforehand from Singapore

[fair talon]

American citizens trying to open a Sperrkonto in Germany

[warped atlas]

and they could only supply me the sponsorship through DB, because that's the only international bank that they have which can be connected to Germany

[fair talon]

Its cause of the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act in the US

[warped atlas]

Oh yeah there's that

you Americans have these tax complications, which I really am not jealous about...

[fair talon]

Basically makes them have to file their paperwork with Germany and the US

[warped atlas]

I've looked at Steuerberaters nearby to ask consultation on tax declarations, and found out that some Steuerberatung had a separate or special person who handles US taxes

jeez

[fair talon]

Yup, its fun being stuck with them 😅

I submitted my paperwork for them (3rd time) a month ago, havent heard any response

Took almost a week to figure out how to contact the fuckers

Including my personal favorite: A support number thats literally just an automated voice saying "To find information on international accounts, please go to our website and enter "international student" into the search bar. Good day." and auto hangsup

[tame forum]

i fukin hates companies who wont even fukin allow u to talk to a real person

[fluid moss]

@tame forum soon you will hate all

[solemn bay]

Wieso?

Ach so. Du kannst mir eine DM schicken.

[exotic barn]

Is cursive popular in Germany?

not outside of school

[fair talon]

Good news: The bank account was successfully opened!
Bad news: In the month and a half it took to process my request, the government raised the amount you need for Sperrkontos, so I have to contact again and have them change the amount

[tame forum]

Db got u fucked up

[fair talon]

Yup. If my residence appointment was just 9 days earlier, I could get by with the old minimum, but the new one goes into effect September 1st

Gotta have 10236€ now instead of 8600something €

[tight kelp]

So I have to sign a contract and there's a "Zeichen ihres Schreibens" field. What do I have to put here exactly?

[tight kelp]

also, can i just leave it blank? :D

[exotic barn]

they're referring to your signature

[foggy prism]

I’ve never seen it referred to like that

here you pretty much only see Datum & Unterschrift

[hardy wren]

same

[exotic barn]

yeah it's Behördendeutsch and quite rare

[hardy wren]

is that like an austrian thing

[exotic barn]

Ive seen it before though

[tight kelp]

there's already a spot for the signature at the botto, do i just sign again? :s

or maybe it's the initials?

austrian? I live in nrw

[hardy wren]

oh

[tight kelp]

given that my signature's already there and this is useless, i'm going to leave it blank (as they themselves did on a second page where it appears) and they're going to deal with it, since i have no understand cryptic shit that doesn't even appear on dictionaries. Not to mention it's ambiguous to whom "ihres" and "meines" refer to

[exotic barn]

is Ihres not capitalised?

[tight kelp]

it is

[exotic barn]

then it's not ambiguous, I'd say

[tight kelp]

it's ambiguous because the body is in the form "I understand that blahblah"

so meines could be mine or of the other party's

and likewise for Ihres

[exotic barn]

@sick imp hey arrem, welche Krankenversicherung haste?

[sullen robin]

wie wirft man die leeren Dosen weg? ich schmeiße sie immer in den Plastikmüll, aber jetzt bin ich mir unsicher

[foggy prism]

Metalldosen? gehören sicher nicht in den Plastik, sondern in die Alusammlung

[tight kelp]

if it has this symbol (https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Einwegpfand#/media/Datei:Dpgkennz.svg) you toss it in the recycling machines at supermarkets

if not, then yellow bin. There's no separate one for aluminium here

[sullen robin]

ja genau, Metalldosen wie die hier:

okay danke, berzi, diese Kennzeichnung haben sie nicht

[exotic barn]

Die kommen in die Plastiktonne

Werden aber getrennt aufbereitet, da Deutschland keine eigentliche Alutonne hat

[foggy prism]

okay, Deutschland ist komisch

[flint spoke]

Is it considered ok to give the gift to your friend that you already got as a gift again from someone else?

[foggy prism]

definitely frowned upon but it depends a lto on the people involved whether they will actually mind

[grizzled minnow]

Will they ever find out?

[flint spoke]

They might, in the same friend groups

[grizzled minnow]

Then the answer is no.

[flint spoke]

That was what i already thought but in the exercises everyone gives the gifts that they take from smelse

Now, i dont have question marks, thx :D

[tight kelp]

so, in order to get a certain job (weekly teacher job at a VHS, auf Honorarbasis) i'm incurring certain annoying costs of transportation, postage etc, and i'll have to pay basically one third of the whole compensation just to get to the workplace and back. Questions:

1. Which of these costs can i get back with the steuererklärung or by other means, if any?
2. The payment will definitely not even get close to the 2000 (or was it 2400) € limit for the honorar from teaching and similar jobs. Do I have to declare anything about the job myself? Like to the sozialversicherung or whatever? Do I have to pay taxes on the income in some way?

[faint plaza]

@tight kelp das Gehalt darf nicht 450€ im Monat übertreffen sonst MUSST du steuern zahlen.

Fahrtkosten kannst du von der Steuer absetzen.

Ich hoffe das hilft ein bissl

Sozialversicherung sollte eigentlich keine Probleme machen wenn es nicht mehr als 450€ pro Monat sind

[tight kelp]

das, wovon du sprichst, ist das Minijobbasis. Das hier ist etwas anders, was nur für Erzieher, Lehrer usw. gilt

und die Regeln sind wohl anders, deswegen bin ich mir unsicher

[faint plaza]

Oh well

Da kann ich dann nicht helfen

Außer des mit dem Zug Ticker

Ticket*

Das kannst du definitiv absetzen

[tight kelp]

ich kann auf jeden Fall die Leitung fragen, aber das nur am Ende August, darum wenn ich mich früher informieren kann, kann ich alles erledigen und dann nur auf das Unterrichten selbst konzentrieren :D

gut

danke :D

[faint plaza]

Verstehe ich haha

Bitte 😄

[tight kelp]

is a Vignette needed for passing by Austria? 🤔

[foggy prism]

only if you go on the highway

and you can buy short-term ones (unlike switzerland, where you have to buy one for a whole year and stick it onto your front window)

“Autobahn” and “Schnellstraße” are what you need a Vignette for in Austria

[tight kelp]

yeah that's why I'm avoiding passing through switzerland :D

[foggy prism]

travelling between germany and italy?

[tight kelp]

yep

[foggy prism]

switzerland’s bound to be faster tho, isn’t it? the gotthard route is about as direct as it gets

[tight kelp]

it's not that much faster for the route i need actually

and certainly not worth a yearly vignette :D

do you know how much a temporary one for austria costs?

[foggy prism]

bout 10 euro I think for a 10-day one

yep

[tight kelp]

ah that's ok then ¯_(ツ)_/¯

[mystic anvil]

Ultra Übersetzungs Fail fürs deutsche Satz.
Wir brauen also lassen Sie verwenden Naturschutzgebiet 🤦
Der richtige Satz ist das türkische ,
was auch Sinn ergibt. Es geht dabei um unsere Umwelt zu schützen.
Locker haben die Google Übersetzer benutzt

das sind diese HandScanner ,von den man Papier zum abwischen bekommt.
Hab ich im Flughafen entdeckt , deshalb die 4 Sprachen

[cobalt parrot]

What would you guys consider a "decent" salary in Bavaria?

[true citrus]

in case I miss the enrollement deadline 15th october becuase the visa is taking so long

Can I have someone there enroll in my staed until I come?

I have family in kleve, was wondering if I can send them the docsd and everything and have them enroll as me

[exotic barn]

can't you enroll over mail?

[true citrus]

physical enrollement

but shit I didn't think of mail, need to call the uni

do unis have a mandatory presence?

for classes

[exotic barn]

no

unless the course explicitly mentions it

[true citrus]

ok

[exotic barn]

Anybody knows what would be the best student Krankenversicherung in Austria for eu-citizens?

[faint plaza]

@cobalt parrot what job?

[fair talon]

Anyone know a better way to get my savings account from my Bank of America account to Deutsche Bank?
Bank of America is kinda being a bit brutal with its fees

$45 to make the wire, 3% foreign transaction fee and an exchange rate of 1.176 USD to 1 Euro (compared to the 1.12 standard rate)

If I try and go with that, im losing $750ish dollars on a 10246€ transfer

[faint plaza]

Western union?

That would be my only guess right now tbh so yeah

Give it a try

[foggy prism]

just carry it with you in cash

[tame forum]

for that he would need to go there

he is currently already in germany

[foggy prism]

oh. tell your past self to get it in cash

[fair talon]

Thankfully, im going home for Christmas, so I can at least bring the rest over that way

But I still gotta get the 10236€ for the Residence permit

[faint plaza]

Western Union

[true citrus]

@exotic barn you said to enroll over mail

What about the original docs, will they send them back after the enrollement?

I need them for my visa appointement

[exotic barn]

no they won't, you generally never send originals

[true citrus]

They're asking of orginals, I'm gonna ask them if they'll accept certified copies

[exotic barn]

they probably will, yeah

I've never seen a uni ask for originals

[molten hearth]

Usually originals or beglaubigte copies they say

[cobalt parrot]

@fair talon have you tried using transferwise?

[tame forum]

@true citrus they are asking for originals because most students will enroll in person physcally

idk if this system of enrollment by mail is present in all unis

[exotic barn]

all unis in germany support it, as far as I know

[warped atlas]

I second Transferwise, @fair talon @cobalt parrot

@true citrus I think it‘s just „the norm“ to ask for originals. I applied for mine electronically for the application, and certified copies as well as original (which I got back on the same day) at the embassy for visa application with the confirmed enrollment letter

[true citrus]

Thing is

After I hand my passport to the embassy I won't get it util I receive ly visa

The uni requires the passport for enrollement

I'll call them and see what can be done

[fair talon]

@warped atlas @cobalt parrot I'll look into that! Anything is better than BoA's rate.

Also, made this while on hold for customer support, only to be told theres another form I need to fill and wait 1-2 business days for if I want to be put in contact with the right person

[warped atlas]

Try it directly with the website, mate

https://transferwise.com/de

I just tried using that for an imaginary 10000 USD

@fair talon

You get that

[tame forum]

@true citrus u should confirm that again. My German Embassy didn't keep passport with them. Returned immediately after interview.

[fair talon]

Transferwise looks good, just got to call and clarify a few things with Deutsche tomorrow. Thanks for the reccomendation 👍

[tame forum]

wgsuche.de is the best site for searching for Wg's yah?

or do people prefer something else?

[fair talon]

Depends on A: who you are (student, worker, temporary contractor, etc)
B: price range
It is one of the more popular sites tho, yeah 👀

[tame forum]

m a student

[warped atlas]

wg-gesucht.de, you mean? @tame forum

[tropic edge]

Lol if you're not in Germany don't bother with it

[warped atlas]

for WG or Einzelwohnung, it's up there with ImmobilienScout24, though the latter seems to cater more for houses, and not a lot of WGs

Actually, yeah, I second what Eziome said

[tropic edge]

The amount of scams is crayz and they prey of first year students

[warped atlas]

Though, honestly, if you're not in Germany at all, it's rather difficult to rent

if you're a student, and an Ausländer to boot, ask for help at the International Office of your Uni

and if they have a Studentenwohnheim, you'd be way more secured that way

[tropic edge]

I have a lot of tips to give as I've been living here for 7 months already, it'll take a bit to write em all down

[warped atlas]

and can book from outside the country (at tleast that one's safe)

[tropic edge]

Yup ich stimme dir zu

Best case scenario, depending on how busy they are, you might have to wait a semester tho

[warped atlas]

Otherwise, your best chance is to stay at some AirBnB or something for like a month, while looking for places in that particular month

[tropic edge]

Yeah this is also good

[warped atlas]

btw, WG-Gesucht.de and ImmobilienScout24 has quite a very low amount of scammers as far as I can tell

[tropic edge]

Social skills are very important here, if you're able to move with other students from your university or near your age it would be a pretty nice experience. Avoid Zweck WGs like the plague, they are not suited for students even if you're a nerd

[warped atlas]

You can definitely see the history of the person who rents the place out

although if they have no history, then that's where I'd be cautious

I did however almost got scammed by an ad in Ebay-Kleinanzeige

[tropic edge]

If they ask you to send money before getting the key issa scam

[warped atlas]

was really too good to be true for a place in Stuttgart

[tropic edge]

Yeah knowing beforehand how much things costs help

[warped atlas]

yeah for that one, refer to https://www.reddit.com/r/germany/wiki/living/housing

That's pretty much what you need already

[tropic edge]

Yup or your international students centee

[coral heart]

@warped atlas thanks. What’s a WG?

[tropic edge]

There are bulletin boards as well at universities, I'm guessing you could utilise those as well

[warped atlas]

Shared apartment

Wohngemeinschaft

Where you live with 1-3 other renters in the same apartment (doesn't mean you share a bedroom though)

In fact, I never heard of one sharing a bedroom....

[tropic edge]

A nice smily picture and a cool little description+ asking to meet them over coffee is pretty much bound to get you a place

[warped atlas]

other than....well, I've heard some Indonesian students having that to share the costs....

You share the bathroom, kitchen and living room, pretty much. It's the cheapest way to rent out. I'm working, and live in a WG with 3 other dudes atm

only cost 370 warm a month (electricity, water and internet)

[tropic edge]

The biggest challenge in living with othee people is getting used to everyones habits and attitudes

[warped atlas]

Err...yeah, if you never do that, then you'd probably have that issue, especially if you're in a Student-WG 😄

My WG has two working professionals apart from me

so pretty much everybody's well behaved, even the student

[tropic edge]

I'm looking at you, my roommate who doesn't like to clean when its his turn

[tight kelp]

usually the problem is that students have no discipline and respect at all :P

[warped atlas]

^

😄

[tropic edge]

^^

[warped atlas]

even now I'm living in the WG, I'm REALLY tempted now to get my own Einzelwohnung

[tight kelp]

after all, you're basically setting yourself up to live toe to toe with people who, most of the time, have just stopped living with their parents taking care of everything

[warped atlas]

but it's impossible to find that's really near the train station and cheap as well

since I have no car nor bicycle

[tight kelp]

it was hard for me to settle in germany since we were already a couple and not comfortable with sharing our spaces, so i'm glad we managed

[tropic edge]

Yesss @tight kelp

[tight kelp]

@warped atlas just to rub it in: my previous wohnung was some 150m away from the main station, einzelwohnung

[warped atlas]

FUUUUUUU Berzi

[tropic edge]

say sike right now

[tight kelp]

it was so central i could get by foot to the main station in a few minutes BUT i still had a ubahn station that was much closer

[warped atlas]

Well, my current is also roughly 100 m away, and though a WG, it's two stories, where my Mitbewohner (all 3) live on the second story, and I live on the first

I practically have my own bathroom, kitchen, and living room all to myself

[tight kelp]

AND it had a dönerladen in the same building. I never went as far as doing it, but I could technically have vorbestelled a döner by yelling in the staircase

[warped atlas]

so, next best thing, I guess 😄

HAHAHAHA Berzi

[tight kelp]

instead, like a fucking pleb, i got dressed every time, went down the stairs, passed the inner door to the store GREETING THE OWNER, went outside, entered from the front door, and ordered the döner

just picture the scene

[warped atlas]

Hahaha

my IDGAF mode is pretty much done, I went out with sweatpants that I wear to bed and a t-shirt to go to the Dönermann

[tight kelp]

but it was untermiete and the owner needed the apartment back, and i didn't like the neighbourhood, so we left

i'm too bourgeois to get outside in substandard clothing

[tame forum]

@tropic edge nah i meant wg-suche.de..... but i will check out wg-gesucht.de too...... The thing is i have applied at the studierendwerk for a house..... But theres no guarantee i will get a house

Thats y m searching for houses.

[tropic edge]

Read all we wrote up there

[tame forum]

Yupp i did

N m not even in germsny btw lol

Idk what else to do

[tropic edge]

And best thing is to get an Airbnb

[tame forum]

Yah we looked at those too

[warped atlas]

which city?

[tame forum]

So i guess what ur saying is, if i dont score a house in Studierendwerk. I shud move in an airbnb for a mintht and loom for houses yah?

@warped atlas duisburg

But idm living in the surrounding cities

[warped atlas]

Hmmm, thought about Essen?

In NRW, eh?

[tame forum]

Like connevtivity is good in germany

[warped atlas]

Yeah, but check with Bahn.de on that

I think NRW Unis have the Semesterticket that can let's you go to the whole Bundesland with that (unlike shitty Mannheim in shitty BW)

[tame forum]

So that means transport is free for a student

?

[warped atlas]

No

[tame forum]

And yah its the whole nrw

Ohkk its discounted?

[warped atlas]

more like you pay......I wanna say €300 for the Semesterticket, and that would last you for 1 semester

[tame forum]

Yah its 313

[warped atlas]

you can go everywhere with regional trains in NRW

[tame forum]

Gud guess

[warped atlas]

using the Semesterticket, you don't need to pay anything else

just that you can't take the faster trains, like IC or ICE

[tame forum]

Yah thats what i meant.... Like after a semester ticket u wont have to pay for trains

Except for the beefier ones

[warped atlas]

I think between Duisburg and Essen it should be pretty okay

I'd suggest Düsseldorf, but that'd be more expensive

AirBnbs should be plenty in those places

[tame forum]

Yep thats more expensive

Düsseldorf houses i mean

Okay so is it kinda useless looking at houses? N shud start researching only a week before i depart yah?

[warped atlas]

As a student, it's not really a financially good idea to rent a house for yourself

[tame forum]

Yepp not gonna do that. I meant a wg lol

Sry

[warped atlas]

I mean, it could take like 1000 euros to rent one

I'd say your chance for a cheap one is better with a WG

[tame forum]

Yah yah m gonna do that only. I tyoed houses by mistake

[warped atlas]

or if you're REALLY lucky, an Einzelwohnung/single apartment, which is basically a shared building, but you have everything by yourself in your apartment

[tame forum]

I wouldn't mind living with other ppl tbh

[warped atlas]

If you're already as old as me, and gathered enough experience, you'd change your mind

and if you got the dough as well

lol

[tame forum]

Nah only 19rn

Lol

[warped atlas]

I don't really mind shelling extra money for the added privacy

[tame forum]

Got no dough and no experience living eith other ppl

[tropic edge]

Same same @warped atlas

I definitely recommend it tho

You'll learn a lot from the experience

[warped atlas]

Good way to socialize as well, although lots of the Germans I've met also kept to their rooms (like me :D)

[tame forum]

@tropic edge so basically searching for rooms is futile now, n i shud only start shortlisting a week or 2 before my travel date ye?

[tropic edge]

Nope a month or month and a half

[tame forum]

okay and then what shud my steps be? contacting the the person who has advertised?

[tropic edge]

Depending on when you're starting uni there's lots of students in your position

[tame forum]

will be starting in oct 1. gonna assume its gonna be hectic

but i have also hward that most students in my uni live with their parents and jus come by trains and buses from other cities

[tropic edge]

Start looking now, see pictures and this sort of stuff

[tame forum]

hmm

[tropic edge]

Airbnb is fairly easy to book on

Idk how much your budget is but a room in an Airbnb wont be that cheap too

[tame forum]

yah ik. i only realised chatting here that i might have to live a month in an air bnb

i was expecting like 2-4 days

[tropic edge]

Nope depending on how hard it is in your city

In Berlin it's a mess

[tame forum]

yah i think duisburg is kinda chill

[tropic edge]

Too many people little apartments

[fair talon]

Keep in mind with AirBNB: Theres pretty heavy discounts for a lot of places if youre booking longer term

[tropic edge]

Just book 2-3 weeks if not for anything, it'll give you more time to consider your choices and move in with nice people

[fair talon]

I got 30% off the one I stayed at cause I booked a month 👀

Not always that much, but something to keep in mind. Most have some sort of discount built in

[tame forum]

hmm, i will keep these tips in mind. hope i get a reply from studierendwerk and get a flat from them

its kinda confusing though......tudierendwerk posted on their fb page a few weeks back that they still have rooms free....... and later i get an email that m still in a waiting list.

who knows tf is happening lol

anyways thanks my dudes.

very helpful

[fair talon]

More specific to the Hamburg area in some regards but I wrote this up for the university facebook group im in 👀

Might be helpful 🤷

[tame forum]

Thanksss

unrelated question, is cost of living in berlin on par with munich?

[fair talon]

Think theres a website that lets you compare? Cant remember the name

[tame forum]

oh yah numino

i will go check it out

[fair talon]

I dont know without looking lol

[tame forum]

i became curious since somone above mentioned that berlin is hell for finding a house

but berlin never gets mentioned in lists of expensive cities

[fair talon]

I believe Berlin's up there as far as prices. Hamburg's pretty bad with prices/competition compared to a lot of cities

[tight kelp]

i believe you meant numbeo?

[tropic edge]

Berlin is hella cheap living wise

Rent is mad tho

It's rare to find a central place, not very expensive and with nice people

Almost all of these good catches are going only to personal contacts

And if you do a quick search rent and Berlin, you'll see the news surrounding the issue- rent fixing and all the works

[jaunty oasis]

ist das ein Dialekt? Umgangssprache? oder gehobene Sprache? ich verstehe nur Kartoffel

[foggy prism]

I can't make out the words either but the intonations and sounds used sound austrian/bavarian to me

[dry nacelle]

Ihr Studenten meint auch ihr könnt uns hier drin alle mit eurem Gespinne auf Trab halten.

klingt wienerisch

oder einfach nach einem österreicher der hochdeutsch redet

[icy mist]

hi lovely people. so. does anyone have a bahncard? i am going to buy a bahncard 50 but im not really sure how it works. when i buy for example a monthly ticket, do i need to talk to someone in person or can i buy it at the ticket machine when using the bahncard?

[tropic edge]

Where do you stay? I think it defers greatly from one city to the next

[icy mist]

hessen countryside

the ticket machines have the little censor things that ive used to refill my plastic monthly card before, but i wasnt sure if it worked the same with the bahncard

i hope that made sense lol

[tropic edge]

We'll need to wait till someone with more knowledge than I do chimes in. Got no clue sorry

[warped atlas]

I have a BC50

I have never used the BC50 for a monatsticket though

And I think a Monatsticket is a regional thing, therefore BC50 doesn‘t apply for it (somebody correct me if I‘m wrong)

[icy mist]

Die My BahnCard ist gültig im Nah- und Fernverkehr der DB, in zahlreichen
Verkehrsverbünden sowie in Bussen und Bahnen vieler weiterer
Verkehrsunternehmen. ?

[warped atlas]

BC50 I used it for more or less long distance, or city to city with the regional bahn

[icy mist]

im looking at the information for it now

[warped atlas]

And I use online all the time now (bahn.de)

When I was living in Stuttgart, we had a VVS app, which sold us the day/week/month ticket

But no BC50 is applicable there

Die My BahnCard ist gültig im Nah- und Fernverkehr der DB, in zahlreichen Verkehrsverbünden sowie in Bussen und Bahnen vieler weiterer
Verkehrsunternehmen. ?

That applies when you buy a ticket through Bahn.de where you also get the connection using the local busses to reach your destination as part of your ticket

And as it said, „der DB“

[icy mist]

okay. okay. so if theyre all deutsche bahn trains then it should be fine? sorry public transportation always confuses me

[foggy prism]

(german public transport sounds super confusing)

[icy mist]

i want to take a b2 course in wiesbaden but its 50km away and im trying to figure out the logistics and cost

[foggy prism]

does Germany not do Streckenabos?

[icy mist]

that is a hell of a word

[foggy prism]

subscriptions for a particular route

like, if you regualrly have to go from A to B and back, but don’t often use any other connection

[icy mist]

with this ticket id have to take a certain predetermined route

it tells me which train lines i can take

[foggy prism]

you can buy a thing in switzerland that gives you indefinite access to that particular connection (which, notably, in switzerland means pretty much any connection you could take that takes you from A to B without significant detours)

though they are only worth it for relatively short distances and you have to use it a lot

[warped atlas]

Haven‘t heard of it @foggy prism

[foggy prism]

for my 4h/day commute I had first year of uni, it was actually cheaper to just buy the GA, which gives you unlimited access to all public transport in the whole country

[warped atlas]

Although a Monatsticket is probably the closest we have to Streckenabos

[foggy prism]

(the s is a plural marker)

[warped atlas]

My current Monatsticket in Ostalbkreis also only deals to certain route

[icy mist]

if the bahncard50 works here i could save like 400 euro so im 🤷

[warped atlas]

And if I had increased by one stop, I would need to pay €20 extra monthly

(Only 3 stops in total)

[foggy prism]

ultimately, cries in 2100 Francs after multiple discounts

that’s what I paid this year for my GA

[icy mist]

GA stands for ?

[foggy prism]

Generalabonnement

[icy mist]

ah okay

[foggy prism]

regularly it’s 2650/year for students, and they’re thinking of making it more expensive

I got a 550 Franc reduction for whatever reason

not complaining, it’s still a lot of money

cheaper than buying individual tickets and/or paying for my own food on weekends tho ^^

[icy mist]

people in language courses would not be eligible for Schülerticket correct

oh okay no not at all nevermind

[vague brook]

In rlp we have Waben and you buy a monatskarte, ~140€ for ~30km

[tropic edge]

AB zones in Berlin are 81€

That's the Monatskarte rate but if you get the yearly it drops by like 20€

[true citrus]

How does one get a flat before imligrating?

Can you speak with people, share a flat with them and set up everything before even arriving?

[solemn bay]

Yes.

Well, sometimes you have to go and meet them.

Like after finding someone who's interested and stuff.

Depends on what you're looking for and how lucky you are, I guess.

[fleet parrot]

Hey guys, could u give me the comparision between fh, uni, tu and htwg?

[tame forum]

@fleet parrot uni= theoretical teaching
FH= practical cmpany based teaching
TU= uni but for technical subjects

[fleet parrot]

@tame forum can u tell me which one is the most n the least difficult?

[tame forum]

Uni = most difficult
FH= least difficult is what i have heard.

[fleet parrot]

Achso, so you haven't study in there yet, right? 😂

I'm a foreign student

[tame forum]

i havnt studied there

thats what i have heard from the interwebs

[fleet parrot]

Äh

[warped atlas]

I wanna say TU is the most difficult in terms of Technical/Engineering studies in comparison to FH. I‘m an FH graduate myself

But you learn a lot more from TU AFAIK since it‘s usually also connected with new researches and stuff

FH you get more practical, as in, as part of the curriculum, you need to work at companies and gather work exp

Uni is more theoretical, and therefore less engineering stuff over there

And that‘s where you study Law for example, or Business Administration

The usual BA route that I have seen Germans do, is the Wirtschaft Ingenieur route, at BWL, Betriebswirtschaftlehre

@fleet parrot tl;dr: FH->TU->Uni from most practical to most theoretical

Hey guys, I‘m trying to find a Verein to join in my area. Can I just willy-nilly come by to their meetups, or do I have to officially register?

And is there a monatliche Gebühr to join?

[tame forum]

afaik yes u have to pay a fee to join a verein

[tight kelp]

you should contact them, each has its own rules

[tame forum]

compared to a uni, TU will have more choices for electives and stuff. like a lot more choice.

[warped atlas]

Ah, okay, I‘ll do that then

[tame forum]

looking at TUM's electives list and my unis elective list there a night and day difference

[fleet parrot]

@warped atlas danke dir

I'm willing to study at Hóchchule also

Because i think it is so difficult for a foreigner to study at uni or tu

[warped atlas]

All university would require you to have a B2 or even C1 German cert to graduate btw.

And I know that TUM‘s CS faculty for its Master study gives you a „grace period“ where you can do your first year taking all the english courses and do the German ones later

[exotic barn]

Zulassung für mit auflösenden Bedingungen 
 Sie haben parallel zu Ihrem Masterstudium ein Jahr Zeit, die noch fehlenden Bedingungen zu erfüllen.
Wir bitten Sie, folgende Leistungsnachweise bis spätestens 30. September 2020 vorzulegen, damit Sie anschließend das Masterstudium fortsetzen können (4 ECTS)

What am i supposed to do to prove these 4 ECTS? An exam or smth?

[patent vale]

Yap

[tropic edge]

How does one consume this? There are no instructions and it's my first time

[fleet pelican]

take off the top, peel off the foil, put the top back on, sip from hole

[tropic edge]

So I should be drinking it cold?

[fleet pelican]

yeah

[exotic barn]

alternatively: take off the top, peel of the foil, pour contents into blender, fetch something to drink it with, add ice cubes

[tropic edge]

Something like what?

Nutella Sandwich?

[exotic barn]

[tropic edge]

Oof sounds good

Shopping for food is like the most grownup thing ever

I always end up buying things I don't know how to cook or I've never seen before

[exotic barn]

experimenting is good though

[tropic edge]

That's true

[faint plaza]

Shake it

Before you drink it

[tight kelp]

latte macchiato isn't usually drunk cold

but this isn't the real thing so whatever

[tropic edge]

I don't even drink coffee xD I just saw my teacher getting one everyday for class and thought why not

[tight kelp]

latte macchiato is barely coffee

its name means "stained milk", where the stain is coffee

but it's a good thing that you try things out :D

[tropic edge]

What do you recommend if I was to start drinking coffee? My only experience is with Nescafé and quick hot water+ some granules and stirring type

I've never used a strainer or a french press in my life

[tight kelp]

in what country do you live?

(it's important)

[foggy prism]

latte macchiato is really good
but yea

it’s a glass of milk with foam and an espresso shot

[warped atlas]

Then what’a the difference between that and a cappucino? @foggy prism

[foggy prism]

ratio of coffee to milk, presentation

a cappuccino is like 50/50 with a bit of foam

[warped atlas]

Or was it milk first then coffee?

[foggy prism]

a latte macchiato is a tall glass, mostly milk

[warped atlas]

Cause I always drink a cappucino at the cafe at work

[foggy prism]

like something along those lines

that may be a bit extreme but you get the idea

[warped atlas]

And the way they made it was espresso first, then fill it up with foamed milk

[foggy prism]

it’s coffee-flavoured milk

oh yea, a macchiato you first make the milk, and then pour in an espresso

[warped atlas]

Though the ratio I wouldn’t say 50-50....

Though I might be wrong, not a coffee lover

oh yea, a macchiato you first make the milk, and then pour in an espresso

Yeah, I thought there’s something different with the mixing 😃

[foggy prism]

either way, a cappuccino is like… coffee with milk that happens to be mostly foamed, a latte macchiato is milk with accidental coffee

that said, affogato is the best coffee

[warped atlas]

I am also sometimes still amused by what’s the difference between a cappucino and a milchkafee

But then again, it’s foam and no foam

[foggy prism]

it’s literally whether it’s foamed or not ^^

like, it’s the same thing, one just has foam, and if you’re fancy, a bit of chocolate powder on top for decoration

[humble bough]

a cappuccino is like 50/50 with a bit of foam

no

cappuccino is like mostly foam

don't lie like this sascha

I have trouble with the difference between a milchkaffee and a latte macchiato tho like in germany I'm convinced it's just the cup they serve it in because I really don't notice much difference in foam amount

but cappuccinos are noticeably foamier

it's not helped by macchiatos being done differently in the US tho

so lots of confusion there

[fleet pelican]

things getting heated under the dach

[foggy prism]

cappuccino is like mostly foam
the ones I get at my school’s coffee machine are about 50/50

maybe a bit more milk

but not latte macchiato levels more

[warped atlas]

What do you expect from a coffee machine, man....

[foggy prism]

it's not helped by macchiatos being done differently in the US tho
I assume those are actually Cafe Macchiato tho

[warped atlas]

My coffee machine at work is really blech

[foggy prism]

which would describe literally the opposite

[warped atlas]

Best to go to the cafe at the main building, 5 mins away for a better tasting one, and made by a barista

[tropic edge]

I live in Germany at the moment @tight kelp

I was never opinionated on coffee but tea tho

[fair talon]

Random non-coffee question: How hard would y'all say it is to land a HiWi job at a university (particularly as a new student)? The one im starting at in September has some openings, and I'm thinking of applying

[warped atlas]

Hrrmmm...as long as you can speak good German, and already got a good head to start doing some scientific work (meaning you can convince the professor....I dunno, never been a HiWi) you'd do just fine on getting the job

try it though

[grand patio]

Just try it

Someday there will be someone on the other side that will make your dream (?) come true

[tropic edge]

What's HiWi

[grand patio]

"Hilfswissenschaftler"

[fair talon]

Academic assistant basically as far as I understand it

From my understanding, theyre nice because they work closely with your academic schedule

[grand patio]

Yeah, sounds like a great translation

to me

[fair talon]

I was mostly just curious if that was an option in my first year. I did grant research work during my Bachelors, but I'll be brand new at this uni 😅

[tropic edge]

I'd say definitely go for it, if it pays enough

The fact that it is on campus should be an advantage as well, oder?

[warped atlas]

If it pays well, if you learn something from it, and you can work it into your schedule, go for it

[tropic edge]

Ich bin der gleichen Meinung

[fair talon]

They dont have the pay listed anywhere 😅 so idk if it does
Honestly, even if its minimum wage id be happy to have money

[warped atlas]

Hahahahah

the concept of Mindestlohn has been talked about quite a lot politically in Germany

but if you get a HiWi job, you'll get by quite okay

[tropic edge]

I don't think they get paid minimum wage

[warped atlas]

just remember that you have the 20 hour limit per month

[grand patio]

It's law tho o,o

they probably will

!

[fair talon]

Theres an exception for university jobs though if I recall correctly 👀

[grand patio]

I think only people who manage to not pay that minimum vage are Amazon and some other big companies

Oh

pwp

[warped atlas]

Hrmm...but I recall most of the time they get 500-700 euros a month I think

[grand patio]

I think I have a friend doing that works who gets paid minimum vage

But I would have to ask him again

[warped atlas]

That's netto

[grand patio]

minimum vage is an hour thing

[tropic edge]

The 9.91

[grand patio]

like 10.50€ / hour or something

Aye

[warped atlas]

yeah, but as a HiWi, I don't think you get paid by the hour

[grand patio]

not sure, how much exactly

[warped atlas]

or do you?

[grand patio]

I guessed so, but I don't know for sure o:

[fair talon]

Just looked it up, HiWi jobs are exempt from the student visa work restriction (provided you inform the Ausländerbehörde)

[warped atlas]

I think you'd get a contract already, stating how much you'd get a month, and how many hours you have to work

Oh really?

wow, okay, then that's a different story

I'm out of the topic, then. Lol

[tropic edge]

Sounds even better

[warped atlas]

But still, they won't pay you lower than minimum wage

[fair talon]

Yeah, that lets me get a summer job too if I feel like it 👀

[warped atlas]

I heard urban legends about students working at Asian restaurants and get paid €4 an hour

or like what Bulli said, the thing in Amazon or Deutsche Post

maybe that's where the pay gets a lot worse

[fair talon]

Well, I believe some internships pay a stipend rather than a wage

Which, if you add up the hours, could be low enough for that 😅

[grand patio]

:P

[warped atlas]

Jup 😃

But don't worry, Germany is very worker friendly. You get a lot of rights

also as a renter, Germany is also renter friendly.

[fair talon]

Im hoping for a paid one for my mandatory one. Ive heard of companies trying to get people with those to do free internships... (since theres not a requirement to pay for mandatory ones afaik)

I just want food money 😢

[warped atlas]

Never heard of those free internships....but then again, I did also almost got a job like that before I started my job... 🤔

[fair talon]

Normally theyre required to pay, but I think theres an exception for university mandated internships 😅

[warped atlas]

I highly doubt that, but then again, I haven't seen the law nor the ad, nor the uni for a while now to say if there's a difference

or if you can get shafted like that

[fair talon]

🤷 Idk, I just got to get my budget back on track somehow

It was perfectly fine until the banks snuck a bunch of fees in