El Jeffo

 

   

I didn't realize you don't have the paperwork from the court yet. Once you get that, you'll know which court is involved (likely Bonn), along with the case number, and will be able to inquire about the reason why the lien was issued.   Have you changed flats since you moved to Germany? I suspect it might have to do with unpaid rent or alleged damage to a previous flat.

Can you black out your personal information and post the letter (or a link to it) here?   P.S.: Deutsche is a bank. The language (and nationality) is Deutsch.

  And the expenses (including staff) are at least twice as much as that. The danger is that the current headcount of 709 could easily exceed 1000 after the election next weekend - that would be more than a 40% increase in costs (and that's not even including building/leasing the Berlin office space that those new 300 members and their staffs would require) without contributing any additional net value to democracy.    

  Dude, it's only September. You could at least wait until after Halloween to start with the Christmas jokes...           (I keed)

I sympathize with your situation, but it all depends on how seriously you want to take the quarantine requirement.   It has been proven that covid can be spread through fecal matter, among other routes, and the New City Department of Health somewhat humorously issued a guideline based on this fact   To be perfectly safe, you should rent a hotel room for mom-in-law for at least the first five days, until she passes another negative test, They'll probably be happy to have the business. Or have her disinfect the toilet every time she uses it. Whether you're blood family or not, you don't belong to the same household, so the usual restrictions should apply - including any prescribed quarantine, especially if she's arriving from a high-risk area, as you said.   It's more or less up to you whether you choose to comply with this, because nobody's going to knock on your door and demand proof that the person who is quarantining at your premises also has their own private shitter. But think of the potential effects on you, your family, and your acquaintances if something did manage to enter your bubble because you figured it would do no harm to make an exception.   Sorry to be harsh, but that's where we are right now at this stage in the pandemic. Personal decisions can have far-reaching consequences.

That's all well and good, but in my more than 30 years in Germany dealing with various Gasetagenheizungen and living on the top floor of several buildings, I've had multiple Sanitärinstallature and bog standard Klempner in several German states explain to me that even a permanent hose between the water line and the heating circulation system is strictly forbidden by the binding regulations, to say nothing of an auto-fill, always-on system.   For whatever historical reason, Germans take their potential potable water contamination very seriously. Fuck with that belief at your peril or risk finding out.   No offense, Shenandoah, but do you have any experience living in Germany? Or are your comments based on what you imagine living in Germany might be, based on the local regulations you know?

Sorry, but that kind of setup is illegal in Germany, to prevent contamination of the drinking water pipes by the water in the heating system. If the system needs topping up, it always has to be done manually.

Right now, politicians are insisting that there won't be another lockdown for the vaccinated. In the worst case, everyone will switch to 3G (tested, vaccinated, or recovered) or 2G (only vaccinated recovered) mode.   What's more, except for the hasty first lockdown, commuting to work was always a legitimate reason for crossing the border.   Your post is a bit confusing, though - do you plan on renting a place to live in Nijmegen or only working there? I'm not sure whether having your primary residence in the Netherlands would make it more difficult for you to justify the cross-border commute. It would probably be easier for you to stay in Germany and work as a Grenzgänger.

You're technically not allowed to work here without a work visa, but if you're working remotely on your laptop (or whatever device) from your in-laws' home for a British company, I don't know how anyone would ever find out.   I wouldn't worry about it. Just don't mention it to the border guards if/when they ask you. You're just here on vacation/for a family reunion.

  Not quite accurate. The two exceptions aren't related. 1) Anyone who wins a direct seat (as opposed to being elected through the party list) gets that seat. You must have a certain number of seats to gain parliamentary group status, however. 2) The SSW is indeed except from the 5% rule because it represents a recognized national minority. In addition to the SSW, the Lausitzer Allianz (Sorbians) and Die Friesen (Fresians) are also exempt. (source)

Another bad take from the Emerald Isle.   The 5% rule has helped Germany avoid having the chaotic parliaments and short-lived governments of countries like Israel and Italy.

I agree with your first point.   The tax aspect is admirable, but Germany already has some of the highest income tax rates in the world (the top marginal rate is 45%) and to the Linke, you're considered "rich" if you earn more than 50-60k/year. So be careful what you wish for there.    I don't know why anyone besides Putin (or perhaps Xi) would want Germany out of NATO. Germany clearly gets way more bang for its buck out of membership than if it had to go it alone.   As to the nationalization of Deutsche Wohnen and other large landlords: it's a nice notion, but when you think about it, does it really make sense for Berlin to spend 25-40 billion euros to buy the companies out (estimates of the true cost of purchasing the properties vary widely), with the end effect that not a single new apartment will be created? Wouldn't it be more sensible to spend those billions subsidizing new construction, either through direct funding or through generous discounts on buying state-owned land for building cooperatives?   Last but not least, Die Linke are the direct heirs of the corrupt GDR regime and also tend to attract some of the worst politicians ever to enter the business this side of the AfD (see Oskar "Sore Loser" Lafontaine and Sarah "Mercedes Marxist" Wagenknecht).

The finalists for the 2021 Comedy Wildlife Photography Awards   I think my favorite is   ¯\_(ツ)_/¯   The resemblance is uncanny!

I'm afraid I don't, but I did move your question to the right forum section (Finance, not Life in Berlin), so maybe more people will see it there and have an idea.   Personally, the way you describe it, I would accept nothing less than a delegation - or a commensurate guarantee that you will get your job back (with your seniority recognized) when you return to the U.S. It sounds like they're trying to weasel their way out of that. You should also be aware that income tax rates in Germany are generally higher than those in the U.S. So you'll get less net for the same gross salary.

  Gee, ya think? I mean, just because it's in the Hamburg section of the forum doesn't mean the event will take place in "Hamborg".   Good of you to question it, though. You can never be too careful.

Not to beat a dead horse, but the Space Shuttle used a voting system, too.