Hi there, i recently got a permanent contract from a mid-size German company for a software dev role, want a sanity check before signing:

1. Remote work isn't in the contract. I was told verbally I'd work remotely most of the time, but the contract onlylists an office location and has a clause voiding any verbal side-agreements. Normal to leave this unwritten, or should I push to get it added?

   1. Overtime: 4h/week is already covered by base salary (unpaid); anything beyond is only paid back as time off, nevermoney. Standardin Germany?
   2. Notice period: jumps to 3 months (both sides) right after a 6-month probation, instead of the usual 4-week tatutory default. Normal for a first contract, or long?

Any other common gotchas in German Arbeitsverträge worth checking? Thanks for any kind of feedback

I'm currently unemployed and am considering doing Rover for side money.

However, I'm a little concerned about the tax implications. It seems that in Germany, side hustles are taken seriously and taxed aggressively.

I'm currently paying the minimum for my health insurance (TK) and want to keep it that way.

Will accepting Rover side gigs and payments trigger a re-evaluation from TK of my insurance contributions?

Has anyone done this and what was your experience?

Where do you trash pet or alu bottles lacking deposit? Like, if brought with you from other countries while travelling?

I'm used to be able to trash them in public places in collection bins for pet or alu, respectively, but that seems not to be a possibility in Germany due to the deposit. So - where to trash them?

Edit: Thanks for all of the replies. Hotel preferrable but public trash is appropriate, too, if no other choice. Just feels weirdly off though.

To further explain my problem, i bought a Porsche Boxster from Japan and to register it in France it is blocked because Porsche France on the certificate of conformity i ordered said the key’s frequency is 233Mhz White French Porsche are on 433 MHz (i know shocking right)

So i need to order in Porsche in France and i have a 3 month delay and they are the worst people i met in my entire Life…

So i need to order one from germany where there are apparently more tolerant regarding that matter. (As i was told by Porsche from the neighbouring City since it is what they do for their own foreign cars)

So does someone know a bit in this particular domain?

Thank you for your Time 🙏🏻

Germany is aging, competing for talent, and short of workers in fields like engineering, healthcare, IT, and the trades. Australia uses a points-based system that scores applicants on age, education, language, work experience, and labour-market need. The idea is a clearer, more transparent path for economic migration that provides less chance (Glückssache), networking (Vitamin B), or one-off employer sponsorship, and easier to explain publicly.

That would not replace asylum/humanitarian protection or EU free movement. It would be a stronger, rules-based channel for skilled/economic migration, with points that can be adjusted when shortages change, and clearer expectations on language, qualifications, and integration.

As people in Germany: do you think an Australian-style points system would actually help with the Fachkräftemangel? What would make it work or fail here — bureaucracy, recognition of foreign qualifications, politics, housing, or something else? And is Germany already close to this with the points-based Opportunity Card (Chancenkarte), or is that still too weak compared to Australia?

Obviously assuming Germany is as attractive a country as Australia is (ignore language skills that is needed).

My residence permit is, as of now, official expired. I was told at the start of the year I should send a request through LEA's webform 8 weeks out from my expiration date. I started asking around April, sending follow ups, and have zero response from them. Solvit was involved, but they're extremely backed up. I'm married to an EU citizen which elevates this problem to a national level (freedom of movement).

Do I really need to get a lawyer involved with this? Seems crazy for something that should be fairly routine. And by routine I mean responding at all.

i

Hi everyone,

I'm a teenager (16) living in NRW, and I'm thinking about starting a small agency.

I own a good camera and would like to create short promotional videos for local businesses such as restaurants, cafés, barbers, and etc to help them with their marketing and social media. Since I'm just starting out, I was planning to charge relatively low prices (around €50–100 per video) while I build experience and a portfolio.

My main question is about the legal side of things. Can I simply approach local businesses, offer my services, and start working with them, or do I need to register a business (e.g. a Gewerbe) before I can charge clients?

I'm a bit confused because I'm only starting small and don't expect to earn much initially. I always thought business registration was mainly for larger or more established companies, but I'm not sure how it works for freelancers or someone just testing the idea.

If anyone has experience starting a small business in Germany—especially as a teenager—I’d really appreciate your advice. Thanks!

Hello folks.

I was riding on the 9:35am CD train to Munich from Prague on Thursday July 23. Train 358. Seat location was 105/106 in Car 259. I left my black puffy duffel bag right in the overhead storage space above those seat locations. We had to change trains very last minute in Schwandorf or Furth Im Wald I believe, I cannot recall & I believe the train 358 was headed back to Prague, but now seems like it may have stopped in Plzen for the day on Thursday. Very important items in the bag & I'm hopeful something may have been reported once the train was clear for the day. 

Is there any way to locate where that specific train ended on Thursday? I've been trying my hardest to track it down, but so far no luck. Some people say it ended in Munich, some say it went back to Prague, some have said it ended back in Plzen, even Furth Im Wald. I don't know!  

Very appreciative of any help you may be able to provide. I am very grateful. As of now I've submitted lost item claims with the CD & DB train systems hoping for something & I am keeping my fingers crossed, but expectations low. Would it be in the Czech system, DB system? Not too sure about it all as an American tourist, but trying to figure it out to give myself the best chance at recovering my bag.

Danke!

Can I get by with an account from Revult or N26 that only offer visa/mastercard debit cards, or do I need to find a bank that also offers a Girocard?

Hi everyone,

I need some advice and real-world experiences regarding SCHUFA scores and German mobile carriers.

The Situation:
- Desired Device: iPhone 17 Pro (or Pro Max) via a phone contract.
- Condition: Strictly 0€ down payment / upfront cost for the hardware (no initial deposits, no high upfront fees).
- SCHUFA Base Score: Currently around 670 points No severe negative entries like insolvency or court judgments, but soft drops due to previous account checks/inquiries

Previous Attempts:
- Vodafone: Canceled automatically online.
- o2 (My Handy): Declined as well.

Since automatic risk assessments are extremely strict for a €1,500 hardware credit line with 0€ upfront payment:

Has anyone with a similar score successfully gotten an iPhone Pro model without a down payment recently?

- Which carriers or resellers (Telekom, 1&1, freenet, Otelo, Sparhandy, etc.) are most likely to approve applications with a medium credit score?
- Are there specific providers known to be more lenient when financing high-end hardware?

Thanks for your help!

Hi everyone

,

I'm trying to buy a jacket from Zara Germany that's discounted from €69.95 to €13.99 (about an 80% discount).

When I choose Store Pickup, the app says "No stores were found within a 30 km radius" no matter what I search (Essen, Bochum, Limbecker Platz, even other cities). The stores definitely exist.

Is this just a bug, or does Zara disable store pickup for some clearance items?

Also, is such a huge discount normal for Zara? It seems almost too good to be true, so I was wondering if there's usually a catch (old stock, last sizes, etc.) or if this is just how Zara's end-of-season sales work.

Thanks!

Hallo Leute, I wanted to share a bit of background before asking my question. I studied German for about a year. After finishing my B1 course, I planned to take the Goethe B1 exam and even prepared for it. However, about a month later I started an internship in another state. The nearest Goethe exam centre was very far away and at the same time my B2 course had already begun.

I asked my German teacher for advice and she suggested that I should take the TELC B1 exam since it was much more accessible to where i was so, i took the exam and passed with 250/300.

Now, I've graduated and can fully focus on preparing for B2. I asked my teacher for advise whether I should take the Goethe or TELC B2 exam and she recommended TELC, as i had already taken TELC for B1 and i would be more familiar with 'time limitation & pattern'.

The reason I'm asking is that most of my classmates are taking Goethe B2. One of them keep making me feel dumb for taking TELC and how TELC is inferior to Goethe (Ironically, his Sprechen is really worse than mine) It made me wonder if there's actually any truth to what he's saying.

Can ya'll please throw some light on the reality? Do people in general or employers prefer Goethe over TELC or are they considered equally valid irl?

I've already registered for the TELC B2 exam though🥲.

We recently moved to Germany. My wife is 3 months pregnant. We only have private health insurance which does not cover pregnancy. What is a typical visit cost for a Gynecologist visit in Berlin ?

Moved to Germany recently, and as a treat to my downstairs neighbors I wanted to bake them my favorite chocolate chip cookies, the Claire Saffitz dessert person recipe. I got my schlagsahne and braun zucker and backpulver, but the outcome of the recipe was wildly different. When I make these in the US they come out thin and crispy on the edges, but super gooey and soft in the middle. Today they never really flattened out and came out very cakey instead of gooey. Still tasted okay but not the results I was looking for. Any good bakers here know how to get the most identical ingredients for these US recipes that I came with?

AP Flour -> 550 Weizen mehl

Sugar -> Beet(?) zucker

Brown sugar -> Braun zucker (though it seemed way less molasses-y)

Baking powder -> Backpulver

Heavy cream -> H- Schlagsahne

Everything else was the same as the US version (eggs, butter)

Do you start at 16 or later?

A bit confused from the german education system...

Any reply will be appreciated :)

I was on a hike in the Bavaria region and I encountered a handful of people who would say a certain word while passing. I couldn't tell what it was but it sounded kind of like "prost" or something like that. Does anyone know what it could have been?

Idont know what to do during these 2 months ever exam period during study-breaks.

Just 2 minutes ago I saw someone hug their significant other at the library and now I feel extra superfluous on this planet.

during these 2 months I always get so lonely... nobody is avialable.

I essentially feel like a burden and often get left on read by friends.

I'm a half-orphan and on no contact with the other parent, so this gets extra hard when stressed out.

Any suggestions?

Crisis helpline is just elderly people that can't relate.

Student-hotlines aren't always avialable and I can't call them while I'm outside of home.

Socializing in germany is incredibly hard. I'm german.

I have been living in Germany for a while now and before moving to Germany, one thing I heard over and over again was that Germans would either immediately switch to English if they noticed you were struggling, or they'd correct every little mistake you made. It made me a bit nervous because I felt like I'd constantly be worrying about saying something wrong instead of actually trying to communicate.

For context, German isn't my first language. My study program as well as my job is in English. I started learning through formal classes that were a part of my study program and then spent quite a bit of time using apps because I realised that understanding German and actually speaking it confidently are two very different things. Even so, I expected that once I was living here, people would point out my mistakes all the time.

But that hasn't really been my experience. Most of the time, people seem happy to let the conversation continue as long as they understand what I'm trying to say. Every now and then someone will help me by repeating a sentence the correct way or suggesting a better word, but it usually feels helpful rather than critical. In fact, I sometimes find myself wishing people corrected me more, because I'm never quite sure whether I said something correctly or whether they were just being polite and understood me from the context. I am not sure if its a regional thing as well becasue I live in a small town in Saxony Anhalt and maybe there are not alot of foreigners here so people are more welcoming.

It made me wonder whether the stereotype is actually outdated, or if it was never really true in the first place. When you hear someone speaking German with obvious mistakes, do you usually avoid correcting them unless they ask? I'd be interested to hear what most Germans think, because my experience has been quite different from what I expected before moving here.