I’ve been in the Vaterland for nigh on ten years and settled in Munich for seven. Prior to that I was flitting about between Munich, Austria and Italy, basically the alps working as a bike guide.

I speak fluent German Bavaria. People in northern Germany assume I’m Bavarian 🙄

I going to get my driving ban sorted, apply for citizenship and then move on.

I feel as though I’ve stagnated. Nothing new or exciting happens much (other than being stopped by the Polizei). I’ve experienced more or less everything I want to experience here.

I wouldn’t want to live elsewhere in Germany other than Bavaria. I can’t realistically afford any property around here. Rents (and property prices) in and around Munich are on par with London.

I find living costs, our rather the fixed living costs are high and that I’m running in a hamster wheel just to keep my head above water.

I’m tired of being moaned or shouted at by walkers or the Wirt (landlord of the mountain hut) for riding my bike.
I’m fed up with being tutted at because I have crossed the road against the red man.

Despite having been in Schermany for so long I find aspects of the culture hard to deal with. Few people say thanks when you hold a door for them or when you pull in to let them pass on a tight road.
There’s next to no small talk other than with people you know.
I find London a friendlier place to be.

Taxes are high. Even my accountant says I shouldn’t earn so much as I’ve not got enough out going costs. As such I’ve had a few eye watering tax bills for a relatively tame turn over of 45k.

It’s not all bad, I’ve got some great friends, have had some great experiences and live in a safe and clean environment.

However, there is a certain mentality here that grates with me.

I want a more relaxed lifestyle and believe it is difficult to find here.

. I start to learn and then never have need to use it.

I intend to stay but I could really do without this **** fest and the worry it is causing

Does that mean you spend your free time hanging around with expats…?

Join a club and socialise with the natives.
I used to go ride with a group twice a week and then got a job where no one spoke English. Was the best thing.

Jetzt ko i deitsch und baorisch redn, gar koan problem.

At the moment expats get healthcare free under EC rules.

Nope. Not after six months and not if you’re working. I pay a darn sight more for my Krankenkasse (lit. sick bank) than I would be paying in the UK. On top of my monthly payments I’ve got an excess of 1000€ and none of that money goes towards a pension or unemployment benefit like National Insurance payments do.

OP… Where in the Vaterland are you?

The traditonal CDU voter is mildly xenophobic to say the least and then 12% vorted for the popular right AfD, so i would guess nearly half the population are at least mildly xenophobic

Yup, this too… There is a certain #everydayrascism culture.

The GF is half Persian. He dad is from Iran and he often hears comments despite being here since 1975.

Have met a few POC (ninfan©) who have said that life in Germany is one compared to the UK or France.

gobuchul – Member

Its unacceptable to the EU to treat its citizens differently from UK ones

What is the different treatment? [/quote]
Forcing EU citizens to have some for of registration card when UK citizens don’t have one

Forcing EU citizens to have some for of registration card when UK citizens don’t have one

But only they don’t.

Which EU citizens are forced to “register” in the UK?

Besides, isn’t it compulsory in a lot of EU countries for all of their citizens to carry ID cards? France for example? So if you want to apply for residency and live, work, pay tax, access all the health care etc. Surely you would also need to have an ID card? And if you have an ID card, you must appear on a register and are therefore “registered”?

Those are above are genuine questions, I have no idea what the detailed requirements are.

Seems there is no requirement for EU citizens in the UK to register yet. HoweverIt’s coming soon according to The Guardian
I am uncomfortable with one group of people being singled out for registration.

Forcing EU citizens to have some for of registration card when UK citizens don’t have one

Not sure that’s against EU law TBH – if you live in Spain you have to get residency papers, while Spanish citizens are exempt. You also have to get private health insurance if you’re not working and paying social security… So differential treatment isn’t completely forbidden.

And what will UK citizens have to do as third country citizens?

Seems there is no requirement for EU citizens in the UK to register yet. HoweverIt’s coming soon according to The Guardian
I am uncomfortable with one group of people being singled out for registration

I have to register as living/being resident in Germany, but do not have to carry ID as I’m not a German citizen.

To answer the original question, my sister has lived in Germany for a few years and is applying for Irish citizenship (my maternal grandparents were Irish) to allow her to live and work in the EU hassle-free.

I’m going to apply for it too, once she’s finished with all the documents, just, well, cos.

I have to register as living/being resident in Germany,

TJ – Do you think that’s unacceptable and illegal?

I have to register as living/being resident in Germany,

Everybody in Germany has to register, whether a German or not if you move you have to go allong to the town hall and register with your new address (funnily enough it was a system devised by the British after ww2) everyone is treated the same. Also everyone has to carry national ID card or passport at all times, so again everyone is treated the same (if you come from a country that issues an ID card, that is sufficient, I you don’t you need to use your passport), although it is a pain to carry a passport so very few actually do and I would prefer if residency was enough to get a German ID card rather than citizenship.

although it is a pain to carry a passport so very few actually do and I would prefer if residency was enough to get a German ID card rather than citizenship.

yup… have been stopped by the Pozilei many a time and none of them have been upset that i’ve not got ID or passport.

“wenn sie mir nix geben, dann trag i auch nix”

if there was a Bavarian citizenshipi would have applied long ago.

@Alpin – are you sure you will be able to get German citizenship based on the reason for your driving ban?

I like your comments e.g. regarding crossing the road on a red man, as you already know, its one huge mind set difference between us Brits and Germans. In Germany rules are for everyone, in Britain we feel that the rules are a guide that mainly only applies to other people 🙂

In Britain the highway is for the free use of pedestrians and the red man is merely advisory. 🙂

@ selled….

My driving ban isn’t a criminal offence, but a civil one. Shouldn’t be a problem.

Brits, Italians and in my experience the French live by a moral compass. It may be against the law but if you’re not hurting anyone you can, within reason, carry on with it. In Germany if there is a rule, however obscure or irrational, you follow it.

Talking of rules.

Our village has a ban on decorating Xmas trees outside with flashing lamps. The lamps must be a neutral colour and a constant light.

Needless to say, someone seems to be setting off a strobe in my garden every night 🙂

Brits, Italians and in my experience the French live by a moral compass. It may be against the law but if you’re not hurting anyone you can, within reason, carry on with it. In Germany if there is a rule, however obscure or irrational, you follow it.

I think it’s a sliding scale – Brits are far more likely to follow the rules than the Spanish, for example.

With you on those points Alpin.

Where we live and try to ride in Germany (Black Forest….
This:

‘m tired of being moaned or shouted at by walkers or the Wirt (landlord of the mountain hut) for riding my bike.’m tired of being moaned or shouted at by walkers or the Wirt (landlord of the mountain hut) for riding my bike.

and this:

In Germany if there is a rule, however obscure or irrational, you follow it.

I go out on the bike into the forest wodering how may arguments I will have today… except with non-locals. Their areas repealed the biking restrictions a while ago…

Re holding doors, acknowleging people in cars, some please and thank you’s etc I dont mind now…
Expect nothing, you wont be disappinted. Anything else is a bonus.

rickmeister – Member

Re holding doors, acknowleging people in cars, some please and thank you’s etc I dont mind now…
Expect nothing, you wont be disappinted. Anything else is a bonus.

My exact same way of thinking here in Estonia. Sometimes I get an odd thank you for holding a door open or waving someone out of a junction while driving. Its rare but a nice bonus when it does happen.

gobuchul – Member
Forcing EU citizens to have some for of registration card when UK citizens don’t have one
But only they don’t.

Which EU citizens are forced to “register” in the UK?

Besides, isn’t it compulsory in a lot of EU countries for all of their citizens to carry ID cards? France for example? So if you want to apply for residency and live, work, pay tax, access all the health care etc. Surely you would also need to have an ID card? And if you have an ID card, you must appear on a register and are therefore “registered”?

Those are above are genuine questions, I have no idea what the detailed requirements are.

Estonians all carry ID cards and so do I as a foreign resident. I actually love the ID card system here as it is linked to all digital services (It has a chip and pin system). You can vote online / Access health service (even prescriptions are obtanined from a swipe of your card / Manage tax / Be able to sign documents legally (card reader at home) / Pay parking or speeding fines / receive discounts and loyalty points when shopping or at restaurants (especially on your birthday week). Plus many more uses for it but it all works seamlessly.

France for example?

NO, no obligation to carry ID or even own an ID card.