Transplanting from US to DE

narf said:
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.
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A point I would like to stress more: While living costs in germany are generally not that high in most regions (Munich being one of the big exceptions), coming from the Us people usually are shocked by the amount of taxes and mandatory insurances (health & retirement mainly) eating away their (otherwise big) paycheck.
The good bit - that?s already deducted once you actually get your paycheck, not like in other countries (France, I?m looking at you!).
 
93Flareside said:
[...]
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.
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As someone who?s immigrated to a country with a different language I can tell you that the most important point is whether you have to speak german at work or not. You?ll get along fine in germany (ideally with some help from friends when it comes to paperwork and stuff) with english for a while. But when german is a requirement at work, that will make it impossible to do it.
When I read "Niederlassungsleiter" as a possible job further down, I can tell you that this won?t be possible without decent Level B2 german or higher. Lower Level Jobs may require less german, but basic communication must be possible between you and your colleagues - again, if the work-language is german.
Once you are exposed and are forced into the language, you will progress rapidly - but your employer will prob not wanna wait for that.

to Quote the wikipedia article I linked above:
[...]Cambridge English Language Assessment said that each level is reached with the following guided learning hours: A2, 180?200; B1, 350?400; B2, 500?600; C1, 700?800, and C2, 1,000?1,200.
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Learning a new Language is not something to be taken lightly or something that comes easy. I?ve been in France for 2 years, came here already being on the B1 Level - and I have only progressed to C1 (by my own estimation, not official tests) and I still hit by the language barrier every now and then.
Long story short: Don't underestimate the role language is going to play in you moving your life to germany.
 
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Although I have no first-hand experience (other than knowing how daunting it is being in a situation where you don't speak the language) what I get from this so far is that if you aren't learning German already, regardless of the outcome of this, then you should be. Do it nao!

That's coming from me. I say every year that I'll learn more German before going to the next Ringmeet and it never happens.
 
I think one thing missing from this conversation are the taxes you will still have to pay as an American. America still wants a slice of that cake despite the fact that you no longer live here.
 
GRtak said:
I think one thing missing from this conversation are the taxes you will still have to pay as an American. America still wants a slice of that cake despite the fact that you no longer live here.
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To some degree that may be buffered by Doppelbesteuerungsabkommen resulting in lower German taxes, but before you actually make any decision you will want to talk to experts on both sides of the tax pond.
 
narf said:
To some degree that may be buffered by Doppelbesteuerungsabkommen resulting in lower German taxes, but before you actually make any decision you will want to talk to experts on both sides of the tax pond.
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Absolutely.
 
narf said:
To some degree that may be buffered by Doppelbesteuerungsabkommen resulting in lower German taxes, but before you actually make any decision you will want to talk to experts on both sides of the tax pond.
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There are a lot of webpages like these out there, explaining it generally. It?s not that hard to grasp IMHO.
https://www.americansabroad.org/us-taxes-abroad-for-dummies-update/
http://www.fool.com/investing/general/2016/04/10/how-do-us-citizens-living-abroad-get-taxed.aspx

http://www.howtogermany.com/pages/ustaxes.html

on first view, this site generally looks resourceful (while ugly) ... www.howtogermany.com
 
I'm doing house projects right now so, I'm only replying today to say "I'm still listening."
 
*subscribing*

I may be considering a move like this for myself in 2-3 years time, if I manage to find the right atuomotive-related job. The car stuff sounds like a nightmare but if I was to bring a car over, I think I would stash it on some family property in Italy.
 
Flareside - go for it. Europe as a whole is a really great place and has a bunch to offer, FinalGearians notwithstanding. Germany and its citizens I've always found to be friendly, humorous and supportive so ignore the stereotypes plus most of them speak almost impeccable English.

As you would expect there is a shit load of grammar to get your head around but nothing helps you learn a language better than being immersed in it.

Finally I am a tad envious. Since the Brexit vote and the last Ringmeet where I realise I speak much better German than I thought I did I've been using mine as much ass possible communicating with two of our major suppliers who are German. Not sure what my prospects might be in a couple of years time but if I keep working at it once my son is a bit older I'm giving serious thought to trying to make the same move myself.

I may be proud of my heritage but this country sucks ass, donkey balls and the hump of every living camel right now and I want to get the fudge out of Rog.

Viel Gl?ck und gute Reise.

And don't forget - ?ml??t B?tch?s!
 
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