onemark

Yeah, butting-in Germans is somwething else I hate here. My sympathies.

Legal and personal liability insurance are not compulsory in Germany the way medical insurance is but because Germans will sue you at the drop of a hat, you are well advised to have legal and personal liability insurance. Regard them as "compulsory" in the informal sense that you'd be mad not to have them.   Liability insurance is literally dirt-cheap. Legal insurance is not quite as cheap but is still good value.   An endowment life insurance policy may also be regarded as another form of private retirement insurance, so is very advisable. (See my remarks on compulsion above.)   John G may be able to help you on all these.   I am not being paid to say all this.

"I now routinely iron outer garments because I really like the crisp look. I don't mind ironing...to a point, but ironing underwear?"   It is said that some people iron - or used to iron - their shoelaces...

"He pointed a tiny little piece of carrots and said: this is not clean. In fact I was very amused. It seemed so natural for him to clean up things and put everything in right place, in right order. This must be in his blood."       Nothing to do with it. He was  brought up that way.

@ Janx Spirit: Yeah, but"Rocket Man" ain't bad either ;-)

Interesting. When I did my retraining course at a state vocational college in Mannheim (B-W) from may 1996 to January 1998, we never had religion, ethics or anything even remotely resembling this.

Deutschland = Neidgesellschaft

@ tokeshu: Looking at that US travelogue, please pardon the question: Is that really your (German) family?!

Got a lawyer?

If the poster paid for the goods, how come the two security guys missed that? Or have I missed something?

Serious question: is not wearing a hijab a realistic option for you?

Uncle Nick; If men had to take out abortion insurance, there would be abortion on demand overnight. Ditto if they could become pregnant. (Not as silly as it might seem in this context.)

@ engelchen:You're right. I was a little too quick off the mark.   Either: 1. the Daueraufenthaltserlaubnisse (or whatever they're called) will not be available for UK citizens as long as the UK is still in the European Union; or: 2. the German government has not yet decided whether UK citizens will become third-country nationals or whether they will end up in some sort of different/special category.   Simple logic/common sense/administrative convenience would dictate that UK citizens would be classified as third-country nationals but you can never tell.   The government is probably waiting to see what will happen before it tells the public what it's going to do.   @ sos-the-rope: Is German citizenship (not) an option for you?

Not now. They were abolished just a few years ago.   Apparently Brussels thinks your EC passport is enough.

Speaking as a freelancer (= self-employed), private medical insurance is only the way to go if you stay young, healthy and childless and do not necessarily intend staying in Germany. Private medical insurance premiums are low only if you fulfil the above conditions but they will rise as you get older. Also, if you have children and your wife/partner is not working, you will still need to take out separate policies for them all. That will definitely be a lot more expensive. Under the public system, they would be covered with your own contribution. Expensive now but (relatively) cheaper later on. Private medical insurance now would only relieve your current situation, which would "worsen", i.e. become more expensive, later on.   But as john.g would say, there is a host of other factors to take into consideration.   Alternatively, can you delay your move to Germany until you are in a better situation financially?