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Germany

A collection of 11 issues

From Employee to ALG to Self-Employed in Germany: Everything I Learned About Registration, Insurance, and Taxes

I just had coffee with a friend who asked me about switching to self-employment in Germany. In case it’s helpful, here’s everything we talked about. Disclaimer: This is my personal experience, not legal or tax advice. I’ve done my best to be accurate, but had to make

Day 17: 6 Biggest Job Search Problems Facing International People in Germany, and How to Overcome Them

I spend all my free time helping expats secure jobs in Germany. I’ve boiled our problems down to the 6 biggest. Here are the 6 problems, how to overcome them, and all in 2 minutes. 🇬🇧 Problem 1: The English-Limited Job Search It’s hard to find jobs that don’

Review: Lalia German courses

I wanted to share my experience with Lalia since I couldn't find much information about it before I joined. I enrolled in the "Lalia: Intermediate Low 2" course in September 2023. I already had a Goethe B1 certificate from 2020. But aside from a certificate, I

German Permanent Residence aka Permanent Settlement Permit for EU Blue Card Holders

💡2. May 2024 Update: For applications sent from January 2024, it seems like people are getting appointments within 3-4 months now. 💡17. Jan 2024 Update: It is now taking forever (not sure exactly how long) to receive a reply for this. I have friends who have been waiting for a

Rocket German Walk + Anki

Today, I felt a little feverish, probably from the second shot of the COVID-19 vaccine. I didn't work at all, but I still did my "Rocket German Walk + Anki" habit. I've been doing it almost every weekday for a month. It's the

Milestone: Short back and forth in German with a barista in Berlin

Yesterday marks a milestone in my “learning German” journey. I met a UPAA Germany [https://upaagermany.org/] (UP Alumni Association) alumna in Oslo Kaffebar, a coffee shop here in Berlin. The barista didn’t switch to English the moment he heard me speak. Not only did I order in German,

How to get an English-speaking job in Germany, from abroad

My biggest tip: Don’t try to convince people to do something they’re not already looking to do. Instead, find people and companies are who are already looking for people like you. Your goal is to find and talk to 100 such people. I write about this in How

Why I moved to Germany

It was easier to move from the Philippines to Germany than it was to move from Caloocan to BGC. I think it’s the Filipino-Chinese. Perhaps, it’s just my family. Either way, it was frowned-upon and kind of unacceptable to live on my own. When you already live in

Notes: How do I prepare for my German B1 Exam?

Update: I took and passed the B1 Exam in December 2020. These were very helpful: * I took SmarterGerman's B1 Exam Preparation [https://courses.smartergerman.com/p/b1-exam-preparation] course taught by Michael Schmitz (the person in the YouTube video). * For speaking practice, I hired Andrea from Lively German [http:

Q&A to: Filipino’s Guide to Overseas Employment Certificate (OEC) for Direct Hires

I am grateful to Nicole Kalagayan’s Filipino’s Guide to Overseas Employment Certificate (OEC) for Direct Hires [https://medium.com/@nicole.kalagayan/filipinos-guide-to-overseas-employment-certificate-oec-for-direct-hires-62f70d110202] , as well as Ayra’s guide [https://docs.google.com/document/d/1ay34z4Q_3jiL91wDXgr76ZWp8trTOnt1BEAW2FdzTCE/edit?fbclid=IwAR2SOmsIj5exTCRVrUmltdKJSA11lMoD-lWbFt9pBnoEvb-JeQlxjPgIbpg] . I am also grateful to Lee’s [https://www.