U.S. student on a non-German EU visa

I am a US citizen on a student visa in Belgium until October 2008, have a girlfriend in Germany who I want to be near, but only want to marry to if I truly have such idealistic inclinations, and would like to live in Germany for one year.

First of all, does anyone know about getting some form of residency without having a work or student visa? Crazy I know, but perhaps there is an answer.

Second, if I go the route of work I assume they would like to see me in some sort of 'significant' job. Freelance writer would not fly, or would it?

Third, concerns going about getting a U.S. job and being placed in Germany immediately. After some casual browsing of the internets, it seems that many U.S. companies don't hire entry level jobs for european positions. If I am wrong, does anyone have advice about going through a U.S. company?

Finally, do you have specific advice about what sorts of jobs outside IT would be looking to hire a U.S. citizen?

Thanks for your time and help

d.c.

p.s. i'm a new user, so i apologize if i'm placing this poorly.

Without knowing more, I would suggest looking a getting a visa to teach English freelance- use the search function in the upper right hand corner to learn more. Make sure you have sufficient funds to try this though- I have yet to hear of someone becoming wealthy by doing this. You might also need to have at least a bachelor's degree. You could also try to get an internship here, especially if you are an enrolled student and have sufficient funds to support yourself.
Good luck, and welcome to Toytown.

You need health insurance, a place to live (with permission) and a job. I teach English with Berlitz, nothing fancy but it is money and it got me my visa till I marry.

Being new to social internet forums in general, what I did not realize while I was writing my first post was that I was looking for a more personal response from people who are there and have done it. In the two responses so far, this has been met. Thank you! d.c.