Desperate to move to Frankfurt from the UK

I am desperate to move to Germany,my partner is German and i have 2 children(3 and 7).England is falling apart,i live in a small town in lincs,Stamford.I have read some of the forum about Frankfurt but compared to here ,some of you must not appreciate the drink and dope culture that is prevalent in 12 to 13 year olds in middle england.I would love some advice about the jobs i can get and the social security system in Germany.Any advice would be welcome and for all u ex pats that wine,please,i have traveled to every European country and Germany has by far been top of my list and other peoples lists.I will miss England but not as much as i am looking forward to being "German".any replies welcomed.

Welcome to TT! For basic info on social security, there's a brochure by the Labour Ministery Social security at a glance. See also TT info on Health insurance. The search function will produce a whole lot more detailed info.

Regarding job prospects, it really depends on your skill set and foreign languages. Do you speak any German? For a start, here are temp work agencies:Englishlanguagejobs and Eurolondon.

Hey tallpaul,

Can understand your concern about drugs culture. Ireland seems to be overrun with drugs at the minute, not just the young people but the professionals too. Crazy!

Anyway I can't offer you much advice but here's a good link...it might give you some ideas or some other links for research. HowtoGermany

Best of luck.

turas

Hi tallpaul,

welcome to TT. There are lots of different jobs available here in Frankfurt, now might be even a comparatively good time to come over here, with the UK teetering dangerously on the edge of recession or at least likely stand-still. Here by contrast things are going along ok, more jobs being created, the economy is doing somewhat better than it was eg 5 years ago when the outlook was pretty bleak.

It depends on your profession though, what field are you in? Frankfurt is of course the financial centre of Germany, but many other sectors are well represented here. Its perhaps the best part of Germany to look for work, particularly for foreigners.

As regards soc sec, I understand you can claim unemployment benefit for 3 months initially on coming to Germany, but paid at UK rates though, which are somewhat lower than those over here. I dont know whats available as child support - Kindergeld or something I believe its called, but Im not sure exactly how it works, maybe others can fill in on this. Best though is obviously to find a job ASAP so you dont end up languishing on social security.

Forgot one vital thing. What's your language ability with german? That plays a big role in finding work! There are jobs around for people with little or no german, but finding a decent paid one if you dont have any german will depend in large part upon your field of work.

thanks for the advice Turas and hessen,I will follow those up.Is it true that german parents must support their children if they are unemployed??That can't be true can it?Also is unemployment in Germany as bad as some Germans have told me.?If anyone is thinking about coming back to England,think again.Immigration is a major problem,around here Poles,Hungarians,etc,i love them but any unskilled job is taken rapidly and there is alot of resentment from your usual prejudicial white english man.I lived in London for 22 years and moving into the countryside has shown me what a racist,conservative,bigoted country this is.I am trained in wine,in case anyone needs some help running a wine shop!!If anyone needs a floor to sleep on near Peterborough for a few nights,let us know.Dont anyone think about coming back,i will personally stop you at the airport.all the best. Dear Rick,german is not good as every bloody time i am in Germany they all want to talk in german to me.Trained in retail management,off licences,plus sales experience.Anyone,all advice warmly received.many thanks again.paul

Hello Paul,

I just remembered that I once wanted to join a British or American Club in Frankfurt and sought on the net.
I found this list of British Clubs in Frankfurt. Hope that they can answer some of your questions.
The unemployment rate for Frankfurt (Arbeitslosenquote) is 6.8%, in Hessen it is also 6.8%. Unemployment is a big problem in particular in the former east. You can see this from the figure in the article.

Good luck for your move!

QUOTE (tallpaul @ Jan 11 2008, 9:46 pm)

England is falling apart,i live in a small town in lincs,Stamford - some of you must not appreciate the drink and dope culture that is prevalent in 12 to 13 year olds in middle england.- I will miss England but not as much as i am looking forward to being "German".any replies welcomed.

I totaly agree, as I said in my first post on TT (Returning to the UK after a long time in Germany) I returned here after 18 years in Germany. I definately wish I hadn't, I will definately be returning to Germany asap. The trouble was with me that after being gone for so long, only going back once a year and having no English TV or radio (had no satelite dish), I had no idea how the Uk had become. Sure Germany has problems, but not even half as many as the UK, they will also deal with them better than we do.

Immigration is not really the problem, it is normal for people to want a better life,I am doing the same by going back to Germany. The problem here in the UK is how we deal with immigration. For instance instead of sending assylum seakers home who break the law, we give give them a room and pocket money. It is this PC crap again everyone is terrified of saying their mind here.

I think Germans are obliged to support their children for far longer and far more than we do in UK, it is not a topic I know much about though. Unemployment is high in Eastern Germany and possibly in parts of Western Germany too. But many parts of Germany have a far more comfortable and easier life style than we do.

You ought to get your wife to speak as much German with you as possible, in your line of work it will be vastly important I think, the sooner you start with the German the easier it will be. Your only chance might be to just move to Germany and try, it will be hard at first but worth it in the end, if you really want to make a go of it, you will. It sounds like you won't make the same mistakes that I made, ie thinking too much of the things you miss instead of concentrating on the positive side.

Give it a go, you might never look back, and if you do the Uk will still be there and you never know buying a place to live might even be affordable for the average person.

Parents are obliged to support their children financially until they are 25 (recently lowered from 26). Until this time, they can also receive financial support from the state for the children in various ways (Kindergeld or tax breaks), and receive other benefits for the children (e.g. in health insurance).

The obligation to support adult children is not just if the child is unemployed, but in any circumstances where the child is 1) not earning enough to support itself or 2) not able to find the time to work to the extent where they could support themselves (due to education taking a priority for example). And in case you're wondering, yes they can sue for the money until you're stripped to official "minimum".

Having brought four children up, I
would not be over happy in Stamford
with a 3 and a 7 year old.
(Unless I could afford to send them to private schools).
Unless you have a skill that is in demand here
(not many - some types of qualified engineers are needed just now)
you will have the greatest difficulty in finding work.
You need passable German and proof of relevant vocational
training to do just about anything here.
The German educational system is not too great either.
by international comparison it is poor to middling (PISA).
The Uni system is far from world class as well.
Learning German to an acceptable level is a lot of work -
and a big extra problem for a seven year old.
Have you thought of moving to somewhere well away from London in the UK?
My kids thrived in a small town in Southern Scotland and were
brilliantly educated in a 500 head High School.
You'll find umpteen other "That can't be true, can it?" things here too!
Come over and try and find work yourself if you are determined to come -
but do not burn your boats!
And sadly, there is racism and conservatism here too.
The Turks, as the largest immigrant group, bear the brunt of it.
That being said - it's a great place to retire to!

many thanks for all the replies.much appreciated.My 7 year old can speak pretty good german but you are all correct,being able to speak German is a priority.But 2 years is not a option.How much is the average rent for a 2 bedroomed flat in the suburbs of Frankfurt???I am thinking of doing a CELTA course and teaching english which is a good option,isn't it???

Two bedrooms = 3 or 4 rooms here. So you would probably be looking for a 3 room Wohnung. In Germany they dont describe flats in terms of "bedrooms" but rather Zimmer - rooms, This includes living rooms but not kitchen or bathroom. Property descriptions also always state the number of square metres, so you know exactly what you are getting, unlike in UK where "2 bedroom flat" can mean anything sizewise. So you need to decide how many square metres roughly you are willing to accept.

Rent: depends on location. Areas like Taunus in the northern edges of Frankfurt tend to be more expensive. Eastern parts of Frankfurt less so, as is Offenbach (officially a separate city), but part of the built up sprawl of Frankfurt urban area. It could be 500-1000 Euros or more, Nebenkosten (additional charges, utilities, etc) on top. The lower end of the scale will more likely be property in poorer condition, and/or in less pleasant locations. By the way thats per month. Rents are always quoted per month here.

As for teaching english, I suggest you look carefully into the situation here. Ive never done it, but I know several people who have. The general consensus is that teaching english in Germany is a bum deal. Compulsory state pension contributions of 20% or so - paid 100% by you if you are freelance, as most are, pricey health insurance, outrageously low hourly rates (like 12-15 Euros an hour, and the most hours you will be able to work will be ca 20/25 or so a week, preparation on top and travel time - which is not paid).

About the only way in Germany to make a viable go of it is to teach business english with contracts directly with - preferably large, companies, bypassing the tefl schools. Then you can charge a decent rate which goes straight into your pocket (less tax and deductions). Otherwise it can turn out to be a frustrating poverty level existence.

Have you taken a look at this teaching english board for Germany, it gives you the full lowdown,

http://p219.ezboard.com/belt.html

and in particular:

http://p219.ezboard.com/The-freelance-pay-...picID=159.topic

Forget teaching English to make a living!
No chance except in really exceptional circumstances.
rick de knows what he is talking about!
And as for selling yourself to firms - even with brilliant
German you'd find it really difficult.
I'm a happy pensioner and sometimes do it for fun -
but for a living - forget it! Sorry!

Many thanks rike de and all.sounds a bloody nightmare.shit.Dreams dashed in a single e-mail !!!Poverty is relative,i am poor here so it may be better to be poor in germany.So there is no point in spending £1000 doing a CELTA course then???shit.God is there any positives out there???I have sorted out a free place to stay for a few months in Frankfurt already.How much is the dole in germany???do they pay my rent??is there child support??do germans understand sarcasm yet??Can i rent a flat and then the govt pay for it and claim unemployment benefit as half of eastern europe is doing in this country at the moment???Am i sounding bitter,probably.I have done every job known to man,croupier,cocktail barman,cab driver,wine merchant,factory operative,building sites,logistics.Any advice warmly received.All the best. Paul .

There are two major wine regions just West of Frankfurt, the Rheingau and RheinHessen. I don't know much about the wine trade other than as a dedicated consumer. But maybe you could investigate opportunities with some sort of export company which sends its wares to the U.K.? Just a thought. In any case, language skills will be key. There are also casinos in Mainz and Wiesbaden so maybe your croupier experience could be put to use.