Moving to Germany

[Myfanwy]

Which areas of Germany would be safe to move to for a mixed race British family? I am aware that some areas are a definite no-no. But there must be some areas which are safe. Thanks for your help.

 

[schwarzes_schaf]

why should some areas be a no no? bad people live everywhere. does not depend on the country or area!!! we are a friendly country.

would be easier for me if you would give you some infos. coz if you like the sea it would be better to go to hamburg. if you like a small city, to go to freiburg. many cultural sites, nice people, lot of sun in the summer, good vine . erfurt is cool too. or stuttgart, karlsruhe or dresden. and so on. depends on what you like to do or what kind of poeple do you like, ... what churches you prefer, ...

do you speak german? would help you a lot at the beginning.

so would be better to have some more infos. what jobs do you have, what kind of people do you like, your kids, are they going to school (coz would be better to send them to an international school if they don't speak german). and only big cities have such schools.



you can pm me too if you want.

 

[Myfanwy]

Thanks for your help. From what I have heard on the news, there are some areas of Germany where it is not safe for certain races to travel to. The British football supporters who were a certain shade and a certain race, were warned not to visit certain places in Germany, for fear of violence.

We have certain places like this in the UK, Norfolk, to name but one. I was wondering, therefore, whether there was a similar set-up in Germany. In the UK, ethnic minorities are generally tolerated and safe in the cities but if they venture outside the cities, there is trouble.

 

[schwarzes_schaf]

i think such places you'll find everywhere.

but i think now i know what you mean with not save areas - parts of brandenburg, sachsen anhalt, saxony, mecklenburg vorpommern (former GDR). but if i were you i wouldn't move to the former gdr area. no jobs, many people seem to lose all their hopes. but there are also very nice places there like dresden or erfurt.

from all of my experiences the best place to live in germany is in the south. bavaria or baden württemberg. i prefer baden württemberg .

freiburg is a very nice city. here is a link: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Freiburg

i live about 60 km north of freiburg and i love living here in that area. good wine, france is only a few km away. it's near the rhine river. and the people (in the city ) are friendly. basel (switzerland) is not far away from freiburg.

but i heard karlsruhe, heidelberg and stuttgart are very nice places too.

here's a link to the article of heidelberg on wikipedia:
http://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heidelberg

if you have any questions just feel free to ask

 

[soda]

what about munich or ulm?

oh, and of course... the closer you are to switzerland, the funnier the accents and dialects become...

 

[Ainuhina]

or to Austria...we are really weird here near the mountains

 

[janny108]

I am American, and have lived in Germany 6 years. Philippsburg is a small town and I know a lot of Turks lived there. I don't know about bigger cities. I've been to Bonn and Berlin.
Jan

 

[T0M]

I also think you should give us a little more information. What kind of job(s) are you looking for, and do you want to live in a big city or not?
I think all big German cities are more or less safe for everyone, though there might be areas in some cities that are more dangerous than others. And as you have already been told, the new "Bundesländer" (GDR) are said to be more dangerous for foreigners or coloured people, though I don't really know a lot about that.

Is it just an idea of yours to move to Germany or do you already have plans? Do you only want to Germany or is Austria also an option, as it is German-speaking.

And do you and your family already speak German?
If not, we're (we = the German speaking (or learning) users of this forum) all willing to help, I think!

EDIT: I forgot to say that it won't be a legal problem for you and your family to live and work in Germany or Austria, as we're all part of the wonderful European Union, which we all should support (constitution!)!!

(Probably you already knew that anyway ...)

 

[DLMoody]

I am moving to Germany (hopefully) as well. I am from America and I don't think the Goethe Institute in Bonn wil le tme in because I may not know enough German. Does anybody have informatio on this?

 

[schwarzes_schaf]

i think they should help you even you don't speak german.

do you want to work here or study? coz normally the uni or colleges help foreign students to find a room and they help with all the other stuff.

or do you want to go to the goethe institute to learn german?.

here's the english version of their website

http://www.goethe.de/ins/de/enindex.htm

but i think you'll already know this.

maybe you'll find some information there if not just write an e-mail to them.

 

[DLMoody]

I am going to Germany to study and learn the German language. The Goethe Institute only offers 2,4, and 8 week courses as far as I kow and I am looking to stay in Germany all year or semester. I am worried that once class ends I will not have a place to stay.

 

[schwarzes_schaf]

and after the course do you want to stay in bonn all the time? or do you want to travel trough germany. maybe you want to work or so?
there are also many students in bonn. maybe you'll find a room in a flatshre (?).

here's a link to a very good site. but it's only in german.

http://www.studenten-wg.de/gesuche_lesen.html?wohn_art=WG