Buzznut3000

In 1976 I bought a 1972 Opel GT for $500.  I drove it for 10 years until my girlfriend at the time drove it into the back of a dump truck.

I used to think health insurance was crap in the US until I moved to Germany.  In my situation at least, its way worse.  It's surprising to me that Germany is not considering a single payer system as they seem to be rather progressive in other areas.

I'm in favor of it, but I hope they regulate the sharing companies a little better than in the US.  In a lot of cities, there are literally piles of them everywhere.

I was told by Barmer there is no way you can get on after 55, no matter what your income.  We even filed an appeal and it was rejected.  They said income had nothing to do with it, although they didn't specify want happens if you are completely destitute. I can only go with my own experience.

Fair enough.  I felt that way about US expats until I'd been gone for several years, then I began to soften my opinion and in some cases seek them out.

Just to sum up this thread as I see it.  1. Housing in Frankfurt is high and going up every year.  We started looking in 2015 and its hard to believe how much things have gone up, although rent seems low to me compared to comparable places in the US.  We decided to buy outside of town and it looks like our house has gone up about 20% in 3 years.  2. You cannot get on the public health insurance if you are 55 or over unless you had been on it before (even if your German spouse is on it and you are in perfect health).  3. State and Federal pensions from the US are exempt from German tax as well as rental income from a property there (although, of course they are taxable in the US).  The only other income that might be exempt is if you are an American citizen working for the US government here for example at the Consulate. All other private pensions and Social Security benefits are taxable.  4.  Germany is expensive to live IMO, especially if like me your income comes in US dollars.  Even so we found most things more expensive than where we lived in the US (Austin , TX which is about the same size as Frankfurt).

The Darmstadt Meetup group used to meet occasionally here. It's pretty good, actually.  https://corroboree.info/en/darmstadt-cafe-restaurant-bar-en/   Not sure why you would cringe over an Aussie bar.

Yeah I thought that was weird too so I looked it up.  If you are intending to return to Australia with 6 years you can register as an overseas elector.  If you are living permanently overseas you cannot vote and must file a de-enrollment form.  Source:  https://www.aec.gov.au/Enrolling_to_vote/overseas/index.htm  Did you register and get a postal vote form?  It would be odd if they still required a witness.

They are supposed to send it back to the state where is was issued, but some offices apparently don't know or don't care.

If it helps anyone, I applied for the conversion (Texas DL with full reciprocity) as soon as I established residency.  They said I couldn't get my German license until the full 6 months had elapsed but they processed it and I had my license a few days after the 6 months.  It's a weird deal where your license is only good for 6 months but you have to wait until the 6 months has passed to switch it.

There are several checks in place to guard against people doing this.  You have to show your residence document.  You are supposed to hold the license you are trading for at least 185 days (this was told to me when I traded my Texas DL).  There is also a 3 year limit (someone always posts that this has been changed but never has a source).  It appears though that many offices just don't care enough to bother with any rules.  The office I went to was rather strict but others have reported that they were able to get away with this.

Glad to hear you are settling in.  I feel your pain, last year we were being audited by both the US and Germany at the same time!  I wouldn't agree totally with your last sentence, though.  I have income from rental property in the US and that is not taxable in Germany.  Germany was trying hard to find something to tax but ultimately failed (my other income is from a government pension which is also not taxable in Germany). 

I'm an American retired in Germany.  My resident permit was no problem as my wife is German.  You'll need someone to help you with the paperwork for sure as you can't count on anyone speaking English in any government office.  A couple other things I discovered:  1. You cannot get on the public health insurance if you are over 55 even if you are in perfect health and your spouse is on it.  2. Learning German in your 50s (or older) is a LOT harder then I thought it would be.  3. Be sure you have at least 3 more years on your passport, otherwise renew it before you arrive.

International Kids' English Club in Darmstadt info:  toddlergroup@ikec.de