Moving to Germany with no job

Well I'm 23 so old enough.

My parents are German, though I know no words of German and they've cut all their contacts there.

I've thought about it and I just want to move. Get on a train and go.

How can I possibly survive when I arrive? I won't have much money and I won't have a job or any German. Its a Catch 22. No German, no job. No job, No german, because I won't be able to stay.

What can I do when I first arrive?

I'm so stressed

Scroll to see replies

Reply 1

Antonia87

Er... well you cant really do anything if you dont know a single word of German.

Reply 2

Anonymous #1

Well I have a phrasbook for the basic and I will be learning as I go

Why Anon, may I ask?

Anonymous

Well I have a phrasbook for the basic and I will be learning as I go

But in order to secure a job over there, you would have to be speaking German at an advanced level. A phrasebook just isnt good enough. No employer would be interested if you couldn't speak the language.

Reply 5

jamz0770

I agree. Moving somewhere you dont speak the language is mental.

Reply 6

RealityIsDull

If you're serious, you need to learn German!

Reply 7

username133326

move to france, its closer and you probably learned some amount of french in school?

Reply 8

crazyhelicopter

Why not learn some German then move - you'll have more employment prospects, more chance of settling etc

Reply 9

BeckyIsOptimistic

I know it sounds insane but I'd love to do what you're doing, albeit not to Germany (I speak pretty good German anyway).
I'd advise you to work for an English company or spend some time getting the qualifications which would allow you to teach English as a foreign language/be a teaching assistant or something.

Reply 10

geetar

As people have said, first: learn German. Then get a job. Then you can move.

Reply 11

Y__

What kind of qualifications (degree, work experience) do you have?

Reply 12

Anonymous #1

Why should I? I'll be learning as I go.

What about all the foreigners over here? Many don't speak English but get jobs in places like Primark.

I'm just worried that the German equivalent of Primark pays too little to survive

And I don't even know if theres a german equivalent!

Reply 13

Apfel

Germany is so German.

And I know that sounds obvious, but what I mean is, even when people realised I was English, they'd still try to talk to me in German.

I think you should learn some German. The Turkish immigrants do okay, but they usually speak German. If it's between a Turkish immigrant who speaks basic German and you who speaks phrasebook German (difference) then they'll pick the Turk. Or indeed someone of another nationality.

Reply 14

hannah_dru

Where exactly do you want to go to? I wouldn't advise somewhere regional with their own dialect. I'm working with a Scottish lad here in Bavaria and he's like you, doesn't speak a single word of German. He finds it pretty difficult. Why do you want to go so much? Running away from problems at home? There's lots of things you'd need to consider- Germans are very fond of bureaucracy and have lots of different laws and doing things. I imagine it'd be very difficult if you don't speak any German at all.

The German equivalent of Primark is probably H & M.

Reply 15

phen

Apfel

Germany is so German.

And I know that sounds obvious, but what I mean is, even when people realised I was English, they'd still try to talk to me in German.