TurMech

  According to this article, Common European Framework of Reference for Languages was developed between 1989 and 1996, and recommended by the European Coouncil to assess language ability since November 2001.    So, what you used should be something else.

  When the PR is applied for after having a Blue Card, the priviledges of the Blue Card are retained. But as i said above, your wife can't have a Blue Card without a job and must wait for 5 years for the PR.

I sent an e-mail to the VHS about this topic, and received the reply below, which implies that, there are 2 different tests. I plan to go there when i have the time, but a clarification from experiences would also be nice.   Sehr geehrter Herr xxx,   wir bieten sowohl den Einbürgerungstest als auch den Test Leben in Deutschland an. Bitte kommen Sie für eine Beratung und Anmeldung zu unseren Öffnungszeiten ins Zentrum Deutsch als Fremdsprache:

I am in the same boat now. I took the telc B2 exam in October, and received the results yesterday. The plan is to make a citizenship application after living 6 years in the country, that is about 3 years from now.   My original plan with the language development was, to stop studying for the exams at this point, and focus more on conversations and colloquial speech, because further certificates will be of no use for me (C1 is required for university admission, and by the doctors AFAIK). On top of this, studying for a language exam is getting boring, and time consuming, when done together with a full time job at a relatively later age. There are also other things requiring my attention in life.   What would you do? Go for C1 or not? through a language course or self study (if possible). Or natural progress further with tandempartners, TV, Newspaper etc. ?

  To be eligible to receive an unemployment benefit (ALG1), you should have worked at least 12 months. You say that you have been working with a Blue Card for the past 8 months, did you work with another permit before that?

It is possible. A friend of mine has done it. He couldn't have found a job before his language school visa expired, and towards the end of his duration, he applied for a job seeker visa and received it. The only thing to consider is that, he wasn't allowed to apply for this visa in Germany, and was told, he could only apply it from his home country, which he then did.    As you are American, it could perhaps be possible to file the application without leaving, but needs to be confirmed.

  This should be B1 or higher.

  Sorry, i don't get it. What kind of difference does it make to be in Germany, or elsewhere, when a retiree is sick or can't care for himself/herself? 

  seems there is no better alternative :).

So, the plan is, when possible, retire in Germany, and then go and live in a country, which is cheap to live and offer better living conditions like warmer weather, more daylight, etc., right?

  With the increasing costs of living, especially on the housing situation, it seems, it will almost be impossible to live with a pension in Germany. On top of this, people who have migrated to Germany after a certain age (like me), will have paid into the system less than those, who joined the workforce right after their graduation, thus will have a (assuming lived long enough to retire) much less pension.    https://www.spiegel.de/wirtschaft/soziales/rente-mit-69-dgb-warnt-vor-eiskalter-kuerzung-fuer-arbeiter-a-1292663.html

  There are many people thinking this way. It is very valid, because this profession will always be in demand, and also sector independent. The thing is, it requires some special skills, that i believe i don't have. :)

  I think it is useful for the reasons below; Normally a third country citizen should have a residence permit to live here, and be able to visa free travel in EU countries. When this person decides to leave the country for good, he/she loses the permit after a while, but a German passport stays with him/her forever, so actually it can be seen as a ticket, allowing you to leave Germany without losing benefits. If one has a family with child(ren), the children will also obtain the passport along with the parent, and they can utilize the benefits all their lives long, like being able to live in the EU, Study in the EU, visa free travel etc.

  I tried to put some light on my concerns with regards to my profession in an earlier post. Germany is slow and expensive, and the Asian countries have closed much of the gap (not all) in the technology and design capabilities, and they are fast and cheap. I had earlier mentioned my concerns about the Job market in Germany under "this thread". Currently, a great deal of design work is outsourced to countries like India. A lot of attention is on automated manufacturing, industry 4.0, machine learning, etc. I believe that any engineer without coding skills will have difficulties in the job market in the future.   Coming to the "lots of opportunities" that Germany currently offers in my profession, yes, but the form is pretty different than before. If you look at the available oppotunities on linkedin, stepstone, xing, etc., you will see that most of them are consulting companies (dienstleister). These companies offer most of the time lower salaries, higher working hours, and a project dependant job security. No Betriebsrat, No IG Metall.   So, i just want to be prepared for the future. 

  I remember you saying, it was a foolish decision for you to take German lessons at the high school, and if you hadn't taken those lessons, you would never have come to Germany. At the time, i interpreted it, as if you regretted coming to Germany.