Transplanting from US to DE

[93Flareside]

As many know, I've been seriously considering the option of moving across the pond. I wouldn't need to change jobs because my current employer said that they could transfer me no problem. What does matter is everything else about life over there. Many (namely Dr. Grip) have helped as well has googling to give me an idea of what to expect cost wise for many things. Reading through vehicle importing, it looks like the Mustang would make more sense because it will produce less CO2 per kilometer and is newer which will make registering it easier because it could already be TUV approved. I've calculated below some costs that I could give an idea of what I'd be in for. (Start saving now!)

Mustang kg CO2 per kilometer: 282 (roughly) Engine displacement: 4600 cc. = 23 euro for displacement? I don't think my math is right.
Colony Park kg CO2 per kilometer: 450 (roughly) Displacement: 5000 cc. - probably wouldn't bother importing.

This is all an idea that probably wouldn't happen soon. I'm trying to get an idea of how much I would need to save up before even raising the idea to my German colleagues.

Obviously, the biggest hurdle is learning the language which, if I learn through a program like "Fluenz" and watch a lot of shows in German(not German dubbed), I would feel that this would at least get me started because right now it's just awkward pointing and speaking in english to people at restaurants. While I've been told most everybody speaks english in Germany, what I've found is that is not the case in rural areas and anybody over the age of 50.

Reading up with a drivers license and vehicle insurance. A license is anywhere from 1000-2000 euro depending on where you are like a small town and big city such as Munich. Is that a one time thing or is it an annual payment? Vehicle insurance looks to be similar if not a little less than here in the states. I pay about $980 a year for the mustang and $520 for the Wagon. Of course this depends on age of vehicle, age of driver, and a bunch of other junk just like the US.

Renting looks be much better than where I'm at. To get close to what I'm seeing around Ulm, I would have to be a good 70-100 miles away from Chicago, or move to Wisconsin. Renting seems to be anywhere from 480-1000 euro a month for a 1 or 2 bedroom apartment and 800-1500 to rent a home. So, living expenses might be cheaper. Obviously, I wouldn't get the same thing I have here over there but, I'm finding out how much i hate yard work so, it would be a plus for me to not have any or much less.


I don't know what else besides the shipping costs for a vehicle which varies but, it seems like somewhere around 2500-4500 usd should be expected.

So, if there's anything I'm missing, let me know! I want to know as much as possible before I really do this.

 

[eizbaer]

I'm not sure what the deal is with getting a US license approved, but I can't imagine it'd cost 1.000?. There's too many people I know that actually did their driving license in the US during whatever kind of year they were off gallivanting around in highschool - I think you can get that thing approved fairly easily for rather cheap.

ah yes, here we go (German): https://www.adac.de/infotestrat/rat...a/umschreibung-usa-fuehrerschein/default.aspx
- if your state is on the list of states that have an equivalent licensing procedure / test / whatever, you can have a German license issued: https://www.adac.de/_mmm/pdf/2016-Staatenliste-nach-Anlage-11-+FeV_129770.pdf
- for Illinois it says you can have your existing license of class D (whatever that is) translated to a german / EU license class B (cars up to 3.5 tons) no problem. no need for either a theoretical or practical test, only bureaucracy.
- as I said, I think US licenses are fairly common for this procedure, but it might be a good idea to research what place best to go to...

 

[Der Stig]

Don't forget about parking, too. Munich and most other large cities don't have much in the way of parking. Your best bet would be to store the car in a garage unit and rely on public transport/company car to get around.

Once you get past learning the basics of grammar, it's not too hard to learn the language. Most people will understand what you're on about even if you mess up. Technical terms and vocab pertinent to your industry would be what I'd focus on. Older folks that speak regional dialects (especially outside of Bavaria) are out of my realm of comprehension for the most part though :lol:

 

[Dr_Grip]

As I said, with the Colony Park you can get a historic car registration by 2017/18 (it depends on the car being 30 years old down to the month of first registration, or, that being unknown, the month of manufacturing). That's a flat tax of 190 Euros/year, no matter what displacement or emissions. It's how I can afford Lucille

 

[DanRoM]

Regarding the driving licence, eizbaer covered it.

Regarding importing a car: Is your Mercury in original, non-modified (or periodically-correct modified) state? Because with it turning 30 next year, it could (depending on originality) perhaps be registered as a classic car, triggering very cheap road tax and insurance.
Or just get a German car.

Also, you should check what your company provides in terms of non-financial relocating support - meaning primarily language courses, company cars, help with finding a place to live. From what you've written, it seems like someone from the US coming over here for a few years isn't a rare occurance for them.

About that place to live: Think about where you're going, then we can provide more detailed information. Since you've mentioned it: Munich is a whole different story than most other, smaller towns. One of the, if not the most expensive city to rent in the whole country, especially if you're competing with the student crowd for single-person flats. Top tip: If you're searching for a flat in a university town, avoid starting here at the beginning of university (September/October or March/April) when all the first-semesters search for a place too, but rather in the middle of a semester.
Ulm should be more relaxed with regard to everything. gt1750 should know more, he actually lives there...

It's also much less common to rent a place including furniture over here. More likely to be found in large cities, the flats being targeted at business people looking for a place for the workweek, for a (in comparison) short term stay or quite simply, to avoid a certain law limiting rental fees. So there's a good chance of being ripped off.

 

[Eye-Q]

Disclaimer: all quotes include VAT in Europe so they might seem a bit higher than in the US but in reality they can be lower.

Mustang kg CO2 per kilometer: 282 (roughly) Engine displacement: 4600 cc. = 23 euro for displacement? I don't think my math is right.
Colony Park kg CO2 per kilometer: 450 (roughly) Displacement: 5000 cc. - probably wouldn't bother importing.

Neither the Mustang nor the Colony Park would be cheap. There is a calculator for the road taxes, and it doesn't matter which kind of CO? per km you have, your cars will be taxed based purely on the displacement since they are older than 8 years. Depending on which pollutant category the Mustang falls into you'd have to pay either 310 Euros (if it falls into category Euro 3 or higher), 338 Euros (if it falls into category Euro 2) or 695 Euros (if it falls into category Euro 1) annually.
As others already wrote, your Colony Park is eligible for a historic license next year though, but only if it's in good condition and has period correct mods (if it has mods at all).

Reading up with a drivers license and vehicle insurance. A license is anywhere from 1000-2000 euro depending on where you are like a small town and big city such as Munich. Is that a one time thing or is it an annual payment?

That's a one time thing. Once you have a german license it doesn't expire at all, unless it's a truck or Taxi license.

Vehicle insurance looks to be similar if not a little less than here in the states. I pay about $980 a year for the mustang and $520 for the Wagon. Of course this depends on age of vehicle, age of driver, and a bunch of other junk just like the US.

Since we didn't get the 04 Mustang GT with the 4.6 litre engine over here I have no idea what the quote would be since my insurance company doesn't have that car in their online list. My 2001 320i touring costs 460 Euros annually, I'm 35 years old, live in the vicinity of Hamburg, have it insured for 15tkm annually with third party liability (mandatory) and part insurance cover and didn't have an accident in 4 years. Your car is more powerful, you are younger and I don't know if you can take your driving experience in the US with you so I'd guess you'd be around 1000 Euros annually for the Mustang.

Renting looks be much better than where I'm at. To get close to what I'm seeing around Ulm, I would have to be a good 70-100 miles away from Chicago, or move to Wisconsin. Renting seems to be anywhere from 480-1000 euro a month for a 1 or 2 bedroom apartment and 800-1500 to rent a home. So, living expenses might be cheaper. Obviously, I wouldn't get the same thing I have here over there but, I'm finding out how much i hate yard work so, it would be a plus for me to not have any or much less.

Surprisingly Ulm seems to be almost as expensive as Hamburg regarding rents, it's about 10 Euros per m?.

I don't know what else besides the shipping costs for a vehicle which varies but, it seems like somewhere around 2500-4500 usd should be expected.

You might be better off buying a car here, for one you don't have the shipping costs and then you can buy something which is cheaper to insure and tax.

As DanRoM pointed out, most apartments don't have furniture in them, some even lack a kitchen. You should seriously consider asking a co-worker to help you with renting an apartment, I gathered you already know people over here. Ebay small-ads is a great source of lightly used furniture though, I have almost all of my showcases and cabinets from there.

 

[Dr_Grip]

I don't know what else besides the shipping costs for a vehicle which varies but, it seems like somewhere around 2500-4500 usd should be expected.

I paid less than $2000 in shipping for Lucille. I delivered her myself to the port of departure and picked her up at Bremerhaven myself after she arrived. This saved a bunch of money.

 

[93Flareside]

What does insurance cost for Lucille if you don't mind me asking?

 

[Dr_Grip]

What does insurance cost for Lucille if you don't mind me asking?

Something like 300 Euros/year, but I am on a classic car insurance that requires a daily driver, so it might be different for you.

 

[gt1750]

Since I actually actually did something along these lines last year, here's my 2?. I'm sure I told you some of it in the pub back in March, just can't recall what exactly

First off, a website that might prove useful in many of your areas of interest: http://www.howtogermany.com/

Learning the language:
I started learning German about 3 years before my move here, at a time when I had absolutely no idea or desire to do something like that. The course was very basic and I had zero interest in the language, using just English to communicate with my colleagues from the German branch of the company. When moving here, I knew a few words, could order a meal at a restaurant and that was about it... I wasn't able to hold a conversation in German and didn't understand complicated things like various contracts and forms and I relied heavily on my colleague, who offered me the place here. He helped me get a rental apartment and explained some of the stuff regarding taxes and so on. First 8-9 months I worked using English and both the customers and most of the colleagues somewhat accepted that while the company provided me a language course to improve my German to an acceptable working level.

After about a year since I moved in, I was able to work using just German and looking up words only while discussing general stuff with colleagues. I still make a lot of mistakes in the grammar though, to my mind it's overcomplicated and I can't find logic in it, but I'm damn sure the Germans who try learning the Czech language think the same or worse :lol: Anyway I'm mostly able to explain myself and unless the other person speaks too quickly or with a heavy dialect (here Schw?bisch, Bayrisch), I can understand them too.

See if you can get someone to introduce you to the language before you move, a person is always better than a book or learning software. When you are here and see and hear the language all around you, it will go quick.

Car situation:
Umm, do you really love your cars so much that you want to move them over here? As some have pointed out, you will get raped on road tax and insurance, not to mention the shipping costs. I'm pretty sure you can find some interesting cars with lower tax and insurance for less than shipping + inspection price of your Mustang. Just see for yourself: http://www.mobile.de/?lang=de
You can search for cars around Ulm using PLZ 89073. If you find something you really like within 50km from Ulm, I can try contacting the owner/dealership and go see the car for you. Used cars from dealerships usually come with a one year warranty and the dealer can get a fresh inspection and registration for the car.

Living:
Some stuff like missing kitchens was mentioned already. Generally you need to pay about 2-3 monthly rents as a deposit + the first rent before you move in. So with a flat that has Kaltmiete of 500?, you are looking at around 1500-2000? Then some Nebenkosten (heat, water, janitor service) + electricity + internet/TV. So, be ready to shell out 2000-2500? in the first month alone and even more if you have to pay the previous owner for the kitchen they installed themselves. Since you have a dog, you should also know that most of the homeowners allow no pets in the flats. Some of them also refuse to rent their apartments to non-Germans.

As you probably know, Ulm lies in Baden-W?rttenberg on the river Danube and on the other side of the river lies Neu-Ulm and that's in Bayern. So you can actually choose between two states to live in There are some pros and cons for choosing one over another, but I guess the most important difference for you might be that the Bayrisch side has a bit cheaper rents. That and maybe the distance from your workplace.

Here are two main websites to look for places to rent - enter PLZ 89073 for Ulm or 89231 for Neu-Ulm:
https://www.immobilienscout24.de/wohnen/mietwohnungen.html
https://www.immowelt.de/suche/wohnungen/mieten

 

[Eye-Q]

Living:
Some stuff like missing kitchens was mentioned already. Generally you need to pay about 2-3 monthly rents as a deposit + the first rent before you move in. So with a flat that has Kaltmiete of 500?, you are looking at around 1500-2000? Then some Nebenkosten (heat, water, janitor service) + electricity + internet/TV. So, be ready to shell out 2000-2500? in the first month alone

At least in Hamburg when the standard rental agreement is used you can pay the deposit in three installments if you don't have all the money for the deposit upfront. That might be the case in Baden-W?rttemberg as well, but YMMV as I never searched for apartments there, let alone having seen a standard rental agreement there.

 

[gt1750]

At least in Hamburg when the standard rental agreement is used you can pay the deposit in three installments if you don't have all the money for the deposit upfront. That might be the case in Baden-W?rttemberg as well, but YMMV as I never searched for apartments there, let alone having seen a standard rental agreement there.

We had to pay the first rent, the deposit and the fee for the real estate agency, despite not being the ones who ordered their services... Good thing you don't have to do that today.

 

[ScarFace88]

Another thing to consider is whether or not your salary will be the same in Germany as it is in the US.

 

[narf]

Another thing to consider is whether or not your salary will be the same in Germany as it is in the US.

Once you do get into the salary part, make sure you grasp the significant difference between gross and net income over here. Depending on your actual salary and tax status and other things, you can expect to lose 35-45% between the two.

 

[93Flareside]

Transplanting from US to DE

Another thing to consider is whether or not your salary will be the same in Germany as it is in the US.

I know...

EDIT

GTFO.

Those all more than what I make currently. What the fuck am I doing here.

One of those, branch manger, yeah no thanks.

Either way...

 

[narf]

~55k? for the logistics job seems quite high, a quick googling suggests half that.

https://www.gehalt.de/einkommen/suche/fachkraft-fuer-lagerlogistik

 

[93Flareside]

Transplanting from US to DE

Yeah, I don't know how well I can trust glass door. Despite the company being rather large, wage averages seem to be nonexistent.

Yeah, pay will be a huge factor of whether I do this.

Now that that's out of the way, what does retirement look like for a German? Is there 401k type things with social security? Am I screwed if I don't save when my life depends on it?

 

[Dr_Grip]

Now that that's out of the way, what does retirement look like for a German? Is there 401k type things with social security? Am I screwed if I don't save when my life depends on it?

There technically is a government-run retirement fund. 18.7% of your monthly pay will automatically be deducted into it.

BUT, it works through what is called the "Generational Contract", meaning that the money you pay now pays for the retirement money of people retired now, with the next generation paying for your retirement when time comes. For (most of) the current bunch of retirees, that makes retirement a blast. But with more people growing old and less people having kids, the monthly payment you can expect from this fund gets lower and lower, so by now you are advised to buy real estate and/or save privately to topple up your income later if you want to keep your standard of living.

That being said, there's always basic social security, so you won't have to starve. And with interest rates the way they are right now,s aving does not make a whole lot of sense. My girl and I, for example, are planning to buy an apartment as our "retirement savings" - either for us to live in or to have the income from rent to fill our accounts...

 

[Dr_Grip]

GTFO.

I highly doubt any of these numbers. Even with Christmas and Holiday payments and the higher salary level in the South of Germany, these feel at least 30% too high.

 

[Cowboy]

A whole page of tax and car stuff? I'm sorry but you guys are forgetting the most tiring thing about living in Germany as a foreighner : mentioning the war in every conversation.



*ducks*