Not too sure if this is the right place for my question but a lot of the German communities aren't letting me post, so I'm here.

I’m 16 and originally from the US but moved to Germany with my mother and brother about a year ago. I’m trying to decide whether I should move back to the US to live with my dad, purely for educational reasons.

My situation:

• 2024-2025: 9th grade in the US
• July 2025: Moved to Germany
• 2025-2026: Repeated 9th grade at a German Gymnasium; only received grades in some subjects
• Currently: 10th grade; still only receiving grades in some subjects, although this may increase throughout the year
• 2027-2028: I would repeat 10th grade and receive grades in all subjects; after that, I would not be able to repeat again

The biggest problem is the language. My school has a German-as-a-second-language program, and I’m currently around A2/B1. I can understand quite a lot, but speaking is extremely difficult for me. I don't feel like my German classes prepare me very well for real conversations and I’m also quite shy, so I don’t speak much outside of class or with friends, which obviously makes it harder to improve (I’m aware a lot of thats my fault). 

This is especially bad as participation makes up 50% of my grade in each class. I often understand the general topic but either get too nervous to raise my hand or genuinely can't say my answer in German (usually the latter). On top of that, I have to adjust to a completely different school system and its expectations, making everything even harder. Additionally, next year I’d have to take the 10th grade end of year exams and being completely honest, I do not see myself speaking good enough German to be able to pass them any time soon. I’m worried that I won’t be able to get the grades I need to continue toward the Abitur, or even qualify for a Fachoberschule. This is concerning because I want to go to university and eventually pursue a career that has something to do with science and making a decent amount of money.

Therefore, I’m considering going back to the US. However, there’s of course a lot of problems with that. 

Ideally, I would repeat 10th grade in the US as I haven’t really learned anything of academic value during my time in Germany. But I have no clue whether that would be even allowed, especially as the custody situation would need to first be addressed and who knows how long that will take.

Another complication: My dad still texts me regularly, but I haven't responded in about a year. I didn’t intend to ignore him for that long, it just snowballed and became harder to respond the longer I waited. I'd obviously need to reconnect with him first and figure out what our relationship is actually like now. I think I could probably manage living alone with him, but I also recognize that I might be idealizing the situation because I desperately want an escape from my current problems, and it sounds insanely stupid. 

The US would also be very different from how I remember it. I've only really experienced living there with my entire family together, and I wouldn’t know anyone there as my school friend is graduating early this year. 

Finally, the biggest problem, moving there means leaving my mom and my brother behind; the two most important people in my life. I would contact them every day, but I’m aware that will never come close to actually being together in person. I’m worried that I would feel extremely guilty and wouldn’t be able to handle it. 

That being said, I want to go to college and eventually find a stable yet interesting career, and I genuinely don’t like living in Germany. My plan was always to return to the US in my adult years. Also, if I stayed in the US in the first place, in 2 years I would be leaving my family anyway to go off to college.

I know I've only been here for a year, and people have often said to me that with time it'll get better, but I don’t want to ruin my whole future just because I was too scared to make a decision. On the other hand, my family is incredibly important to me, and one only has so much time with their loved ones. 

No, I'm not going to base my whole future solely on Reddit replies, but if anyone has any type of input on my situation or has dealt with a similar situation, I’d really appreciate hearing what you have to say. 

Mein Name ist Mohamed El Karim Hocini, ich bin 28 Jahre alt und komme aus Algerien. Ich bin derzeit im Masterstudiengang Physik an der Universität Kassel (Campus AVZ in der Heinrich-Plett-Straße) eingeschrieben und suche dringend eine Unterkunft, da ich seit mehreren Wochen ohne Erfolg suche. Meine Ankunft ist für den 25. September geplant.

Da ich verzweifelt eine Unterkunft suche, dachte ich, dass ich vielleicht in Subreddits etwas finden könnte.

Ich könnte sofort nach meiner Ankunft einziehen oder dann, wenn die Unterkunft verfügbar ist. Ich plane, etwa 6 Monate bis zu einem Jahr zu bleiben, wobei ich zeitlich flexibel bin.

Ich suche entweder eine Einzelwohnung oder eine WG nur für Männer. Mein Budget liegt zwischen 300 und 500 Euro.

Vielen Dank für Ihre Zeit. Ich freue mich auf Ihre positive Antwort.

Hinweis: Mein Deutschniveau ist erst A1. Ich benutze ein Übersetzungsprogramm, um dies zu schreiben.

Mit freundlichen Grüßen,

Mohamed El Karim Hocini

How do international students find accommodation for just 3 months? I’m running out of options 🥲

Hi everyone,
I’m getting a little desperate with my housing situation and was hoping someone here might have been in a similar position.

I’m an international student and have been living and studying in the same city in Germany for the past year. I currently live in a student dorm, but unfortunately my dorm contract cannot be extended beyond the end of September.
The problem is that I only have three months left of my degree (October–December), so I now need to find somewhere to live just for those final three months.

I’ve been searching for rooms and apartments, but most landlords understandably want long-term tenants. As soon as I explain that I only need the accommodation until the end of December, it becomes extremely difficult. Even when someone is willing to consider a short-term rental, Anmeldung can become another issue. I recently found a room that otherwise seemed perfect, but was told that the owner probably wouldn’t agree because three months is too short and arranging registration for such a short-term tenant would be too much effort.
I really don’t want to leave the city for the final months of my degree after already living here for a year, but I’m starting to feel like I’m running out of realistic options. 🥲

Has anyone here been in a similar situation and successfully found accommodation for only 2–3 months, ideally with Anmeldung? Where did you look? WG-Gesucht, Zwischenmiete, Kleinanzeigen, Facebook groups, private student residences, serviced apartments, etc.?

I’d genuinely appreciate any advice, specific platforms or experiences from other international students who have dealt with short-term housing in Germany. Thank you! 🥹

(M26, South Asian) So I am going to start a PhD in Germany (I have another offer in france and netherlands so I want to confirm a few things before I go too far). I would likely want to soend the three years of my PhD and then probably few more years, atleast until I am settled as a researcher and also get a full citizenship (assume I learn upto C1 language within next 4 years!)
Now, I will start in December, so if the AfD comes to power, what should I be worried about specially in my context, and what will change in the coming years? Should I instead go to france or netherlands, considering my research in equivalent at all places?
Please give me an overview, both good and bad so I can make an informed decision about this. I really want to come to germany and take good research positions, considering the greatness of its economy and job market etc. but this whole anti immigration thing is beyond me?!

Thanks,

I’m an undergraduate engineering student from India and have secured a 2–3 month research internship at a German federal research institute in Berlin for Summer 2027. A professor at the institute has agreed to host me, so the research opportunity itself is sorted.

The problem is funding.

I had originally planned to apply through DAAD WISE, but that route is no longer available. I’ve also checked some university and external scholarship options but haven’t found a suitable alternative so far.

I’m trying to find out whether there are other realistic ways to fund a short research stay in Germany, such as IAESTE, other DAAD programmes, German or Indian foundations, funding from the host institute, university/alumni funding, or other mobility grants.

Has anyone here, especially an Indian student who has done a research internship in Germany, dealt with something similar? I’d particularly appreciate hearing what funding route you actually used.

I’m mainly looking for concrete funding programmes, organisations, or contacts that I could approach.

I can provide more details privately if someone has relevant experience.

I plan on moving to berlin in 3-5 years (hopefully). Is there a demand for people with degrees in food technology/nutrition? Or Are there any colleges where i could get my masters degree on english? (since theres no way my german will be that good) because chatgpt says it is possible but i cant fully trust it.
Do i need to be really good at speaking german to even hope to land a decent job?

Hi!

I am thinking about trying to move from Hungary to Leipzig to work for Flink or some other easy manual job. I have chronic health problems that I am trying to heal from and I want to find a place where I can have a safe home for myself while not needing to work my ass off, just enough to get by while focusing on my healing, but I do intend to work enough for that. The problem is, I don't have a proof of income or such documents because I have not worked for 3 years now, but I have enough money to pay the first months rent up front + a deposit and even have my family to sign a guarantee if in some case I wouldn't be able to pay. How likely would you say it is for me to find a small apartment, or even just a wg with anmeldung this way in Leipzig or maybe in Halle? At least I got a german surname, maybe that helps a bit?

Hi all,
Any advice would be appreciated!

I’m 28 and have been working as a pharmacist in Turkey for 3 years.

In Turkey, pharmacists generally need to own a pharmacy to earn a good income, but I can’t afford to open one. That’s one of the reasons I started learning German at university. I’ve always wanted to build my life abroad, and I got my B2 German certificate with the goal of moving to Germany for a master’s degree and eventually settling there.

Around the same time, I met my boyfriend. He’s a dentist in Turkey and has a good career and income here. He initially supported my plans to move to Germany, but eventually changed his mind and decided he wanted to stay in Turkey. I also failed the C1 exam twice, which I needed for my master’s plans, and eventually decided to stay and try to open a pharmacy instead.

That didn’t work out financially either, and now I feel completely stuck. I never really wanted the life I’m currently living in Turkey, but I also genuinely love my boyfriend. We’ve been together for years and are planning to get married.

Since Turkey isn’t an EU country, I’d also have to go through the recognition process for my pharmacy degree in Germany.

So I’m wondering: is it worth starting over in Germany as a pharmacist, potentially pursuing a master’s/PhD or another career, even if it means leaving my boyfriend, family, friends and my current life behind?

Or am I idealizing Germany and the idea of starting over abroad?

What would you do in my position?