Five things I would have liked to know as an expat

Waleochronicles lives in Berlin. She posts videos on YouTube, Instagram and TikTok about expat life in Germany. Waleo works as a project manager in the tech industry. Originally from Nigeria, she has previously lived in Indonesia, Switzerland and Kenya. So she knows all about relocating to new countries. She arrived in Germany five years ago. Waleo explains what she would do differently if she could begin again. 

Learn the language beforehand 

I cannot stress enough how important it is to learn the language as well as you possibly can before coming to Germany. Although I had reached B1 level before getting here, I wish I had learnt even more. I attended language courses at the Goethe-Institut in Jakarta. That was a lot cheaper than doing courses at language schools here in Germany. Especially if you come from a country with relatively low living costs, I would recommend learning as much German as possible in advance at the cheap language schools there. 

Simply speak 

Don’t be afraid to speak! In my experience, people are very accommodating if you make an attempt to speak German. Nobody will make fun of you. I always found that whenever I tried to speak German at all, people were immediately much more willing to help. It doesn’t matter if you make grammatical mistakes so long as people understand what you are trying to say. Simply speak, and your German will improve automatically. 

Do your research 

Find out about the region you are planning to move to. Every city and every region in Germany is different. I live for example in Berlin, a city renowned for being a whole world in its own right. It is very international and very multicultural. Some people have been living here for years without speaking any German and just use English to communicate. But that’s not the case in other German cities. No matter where you are headed, do some research in advance to find out how people there live, and what life is like for foreigners and expats in the city in question.    

Finding a place to live 

The process of finding a place to live in Germany is very different to what I have experienced in other countries. You have to write a kind of application, like for a job. In major cities, you will sometimes have to view a flat at the same time as many other people. You hand your paperwork over to the landlord, who then picks a tenant.    

Keep an open mind  

Keep an open mind with regard to your career. I changed my career path completely after arriving in Germany. It is possible that whatever you were doing previously, either in your home country or whichever country you were living in before, will not be what you end up doing in Germany. And that’s absolutely fine! There are so many opportunities here to make use of your skills.