Moving to and living in the city of Trier

Hi Everyone...
My Name is Ben and im from australia I have Just moved to germany to be with my german girlfriend, who thankfuly speaks english, as i am just now learning german! :) We are moving to Trier at the end of september and i have found this site while looking for work and other things to do with trier! :)
So any info about what happens in Trier from a local perspective, what sort of work there is, is there an english speaking group around, though im really keen to become fluent in German, and am looking forward to doing so, My girlfriend will be studying at the university, and i am as yet unemployed and am excited by the idea of living and working in a "non-english" speaking country, so any advice or hints are appreciated, its a bit of a shock i think to move countries, especially halfway round the world, but im up for the challenge, and may see some of you in trier for a beer, mate!

take care! :)

How to take up a job in Germany ... Working Holiday Visa (WHV)

Trier Info
Not too many English speakers around here, any you do meet will probably be daytripping Irish & Brits from Luxembourg or Yanks from the remaining bases close-by. Good that you're wanting to learn German, because you'll need it here!
Nice place though in a really nice part of Germany.

I live about an hour north of Trier (in The Eifel) and have friends in Trier. There are not many native English speakers down there, so be prepared for that. In the longterm that is better, though. In my region there are only two more native English speaking families so my immersion into German culture is pretty complete. When I visit English speakers in the big cities like Cologne I can see that their integration is going much more slowly even though they've been here longer.

I do, however, organize periodic events for English speakers in The Eifel area so keep checking back here. It is purely on an ad-hoc basis. Feel free to prod me to put one together when you feel the need to for more English speaking contact.

You don't mention what you do for work, but if you are living west of Trier lots of people commute to Luxembourg for work. If you have tech skills or financial skills or speak French that would actually be a good bet.

Hello, Im going to be in a similar situation and was wondering if any one could give us a hand...
My wife and I will be moving to Trier in August. We would also like some advice on where to live.

My wife wife will be commuting to Luxenbourg and I will be staying in Trier. Where is a good place to live keeping in mind the commute? We would like to have easy access to the city, but it is not critical that we live right in the centre. We would also love a small garden / green areas where we can enjoy the summer.

Any suggestions much appreciated!

Lots of commuters to Luxembourg seem to pick the villages to the west of Trier, assuming that as they're closer, the commute will be easier, but it ain't necessarily so. There's a few real bottlenecks to get onto the Autobahn which can really slow things down. Also the way in and out of Trier to the north can be a real pain.
We live right on the eastern side, yet it's just a 5 minute drive to the Autobahn. My wife commutes to Luxembourg and normally once she's on the Autobahn it's ok. THere are a large number of commuters though, so any accidents or roadworks will cause problems and a stau will build up quickly.
The trains are slow and surprisingly infrequent. There's also a bus service which is about the same journey time as the train, but with the added possibility of a stau on the Autobahn.
I't's hard to say where you should be looking- there aren't really any no-go areas, and even some of the less attractive parts have nice areas within them. Trier isn't a big city and while the public transport can be patchy in some areas, it's mostly ok. immopool.de were useful for property searching and give you useful information on the area you're looking at.

Hi,

I recently moved to a very green area close to Trier (in Biewer/Ehrang, across the Mosel). It has easy highway access to Luxembourg (it takes me half an hour to go to the airport, 40 minutes to the city center) and there usually is no traffic (I leave a round 8h30 in the morning). To Trier takes about 10-15 minutes depending on where you have to be.
It's located in the middle of a forest, on top of a hill. Look up "Auf Der Bausch, Trier" on google maps to check out where it is.
I think there are still some apartments for sale or rent around here, not sure about that though. It's a child friendly area, with a big playgarden. There's also a big grass field to play / relax or have parties
You're always free to come have a look.
I used to live in Zewen, which is closer to Luxembourg but it took me 15 minutes to drive to Wasserbillig to get on the highway, so in the end it was the same amount of time spent to drive to Luxembourg. Do look for something on the Luxembourg side of the Mosel otherwise you'll be loosing a lot of time crossing it. Forget Konz etc.

Hi,
thanks for the replies, some really helpful information.
We were originally thinking about the west, so great tips.
Gerry - would you mind saying where about you live just to give us an idea of timings?
Ventor - We have been talking to a real estate just today about Auf Der Bausch, and if they are willing to work on Sunday, we can check out a house thats still up for rent.

Thanks again

Hi, we're in Ruwer

Cheers all. Thanks for the help!

Hey Aus Aus,
I live in Trier South and like the location. I prefer living within walking/biking distance to downtown as my wife and I go there often for the festivals and/or for a drink after work. The bus runs regularly during the week and hourly on weekends; however, it takes me 15min by foot and 5min by bike to get downtown. Some areas in the west side of town are considered ghetto but most are fine and safe. Crime is low here (mostly petty crime) but seems to be picking up a bit the last 6months or so (not by germans but mostly by "non-germans"!);however, it is still very safe here.

Jobs are a bit trickier to come by as it is a University town built around tourism. If you can swing it, Luxembourg jobs pay more and have better benefits.

You will have to learn german to really enjoy it over here. Although most Germans speak a bit of English, remember, you are in Germany so learn the language! Take a course right away while you are looking for a job. There is a language school around the corner from my place and they have an "intense" course that runs 6months, Mon-Fri, 8am-12noon. It would be a good start for you. The place is called "Logos". Since your are married, the local auslander amt, should pay for the course as long as you are unemployed. Oh yea, be prepared for the paper work that you and your wife will have to fill out after you get here...hhahaha...!

When you get in town, get in touch with me. We can meet for a few biers and my wife and I can show you around a bit.
Do you have any children? We have a 13yr old son.

Take care and good luck!
J

Hi Jon,
thanks for all your info.
I know a little bit of German now, but planning to study the language intensively when I get there.
We are still looking for flats at the moment, its very hard to organise from London!

Hmm, paper work, I'm not really looking forward to that bit. I've already had my fair share in the UK...

The beer offer sounds good to me. I'll let you know when were settled.

Cheers

R