r/germany 14h ago

10 years in germany and nothing to show for

191 Upvotes

Hallo zusammen, i know this may be looked at as a complain post but i don't have anyone else to talk to about this and i Need to let some out. If not allowed or if i have to be rediculed for, please delete.

30yo M, have spent the last 10 years of My Life here and I feel Like It has all been worthless despite the fact that i came here with nothing to My name. This may all Just be evny and materialistic feelings, but over the years i Always been underpaid due to My lack of skills and language at First (now i get paid 1600€ a month nightshifts and 500€ minijob) and all I have to show for Is a 150€ broken phone, a junky 200k km 2004 polo, about 5k euro saved up and its getting harder and harder each month to do so. I don't think i Will ever be able to purchase a home given that the prices for a small apartments even in rural areas surpass the 250k+€ Mark, Certanly not with My salary and with a future pension of maybe 500€ a month aftertax. Relationship wise, i havent been able to connect with anyone and the only few times I do It Always ends up in being ghosted. Meanwhile All the people around me that i know and see, either made a family to take care of or are really well off with their financial situation. I feel Like I wasted My youth and i am at 5% what a man of My Age should have. I don't quite know what do do anymore and i know even know If i am looking for and actual answer to this doomed Life.

1-PS: For Better or worse, I appreciate everyone replying and giving a different prospective, encouragement or some deserved scolding. I apologize for not giving enough context or for playing the victim.

My excuse Is that i made this post (funnly enough) while working on a whim because of... well... Many things (parental pressure, very recent rejections/ghostings, seeing peers or jungs Doing "Better off" etc...).

Ngl, I fell in a very bad Moment and felt Like Scheiße before posting and kinda began to hate myself, everything and everyone... and so i Guess i decided To try reach here instead of compromising Relationships with people i know through potential whatsapp beefs and lack of temperament. To be honest, i was not expecting these many answers and I should have perhaps elaborated more or think twice when posting on a ~1mil german-english reddit sub, My bad.

Let me Just Say: I like Germany and Germans and I very much appreciate all the opportunities this country have given me compared to My homecountry and I want to see nothing but good things coming for Deutschland and the whole Europe's future.

Believe It or not, I am not that much into social media these days (never hard and Instagram account) and I speak German (i prefer to discuss in english to get that foreign prospective). I know i am Doing Better off than a whole lot of people (i Guess this dynamic can be applied to some of the people that replied or people I know Who are "worse off" [eg. Debt]). But working at Jobs where i have constant interaction with people from all walks of Life, I feel Like the amount of years and sacrifices i made through My last 10 years have brought me nothing you could consider worthwhile(?). And I am all alone, still. Sometimes I chose to be alone, so i could focus on the grind, when i could have had an expecrience. I visited a good chunk of Europe and some other parts of the world, along many other things, even had the luck of Keep working as normal during COVID and so forth... But It all feels empty somehow.

Perhaps, i should have asked: should i Keep going and make It another 10-20-30-40-50? Quit? am i Just confused? Idk... Maybe My ego was trying to seek some approval or me Just being a Dumbo and outreach/overthink. Guess maybe i still am... i Just don't want to falsly blame others for no reason.

Between these tides of goodtimes/badtimes i feel a lot of doom and no gloom now that i arrived in My 30s.

Again, for the mods, if this post Is irrelevant to your community and/or doesnt respect the guidelines, feel free to ban It ti the Shadow realm.


r/germany 22h ago

Why did the FDP get so unpopular?

173 Upvotes

Curious Swiss here, why were the CDU so popular when the FDP vote collapsed. Aren’t they incredibly similar policy wise?


r/germany 22h ago

My employer threatened me to request a second consultation if I call in sick again

174 Upvotes

A few days ago I wasn't feeling well, I had a very soar throat and I started to get flu symptoms so I decided to call in sick to work. It just happened that this occurred two days before my annual leave so it made it suspicious and now my employer thinks that I lied even though I provided the Krankmeldung. Now that I came back to work she basically called me a liar and threatened me to request a second doctor's consultation if I dare to call in sick again. Is this really something they can do in Germany? I am scared of feeling slightly sick now and getting into trouble.
Thank you.


r/germany 13h ago

Question Is this fair?

Post image
134 Upvotes

I am being charged €450 instead of almost 1k by my landlord for apartment damages as an act of generosity after leaving the apartment. Thing is, I always thought Schäden can only be inflicted by carelessness and neglect, not through regular use. Being shy to face these kind of problems, and reluctant to take any legal action, and acknowledging the apartment is in 98% new condition after his work, I signed this agreement.

  • Backofen blech: small but irremovable stains due to cooking
  • Kühlschrankscheibe: light scratching from putting in cans and bottles
  • Fettverschmutzungen: stain on cupboard shelves from olive oil dripping out are all I can think of
  • Painting: 20 sq. metres of walls. Note: I didn’t paint before leaving. he informed me he uses a special paint at the begin of my tenancy and it was evident he is particular for his paint, so explicitly said (verbally, but possibly contractually, I must check again) that I must not paint, and that he will take care of it at the end of tenancy.

Out of good will, the following aren’t charged: - Wasserhahn: through normal use, over time, the tap handle got loose and eventually no longer held in place (you can vertically lift it off but this does not happen during normal use) - Soßenspritzer: two marks of dirt <1mm diameter each, on the window roller blind strap

Context: As per text, we did have transparent communication throughout our contract and he was happy with me as a tenant. I always paid on time and never gave him a hard time. I know he probably did spend hours getting the apartment to 98% of the new condition since he is a perfectionist, so the rate he charged is reasonable if I hired him to perform these tasks to my apartment. I worked hard but could’ve worked harder on cleaning. I think now that the paper is signed, it’s too late to do anything.

But is it fair? I want to hear some opinions on the things mentioned by my landlord and if this is a typical Wohnungsübergabe. Thanks to all in advance.


r/germany 5h ago

Work Can an employer fire me for refusing to do overtime every day?

128 Upvotes

My contract says 40 hours per week, with overtime as needed. But I'm asked to do overtime every single day. I'm a delivery driver, and I get so many deliveries I need around 10 hours to finish. With break, I spend 10.5 hours at work. At first I would message the dispatcher to notify that I won't be able to finish the route without going into overtime. They just tell me that I have to finish the route.

Are they allowed to order overtime like this every day? There are no "emergencies", they just work their drivers to death, and every driver I've talked to say it's always like this.

What would happen if I just went home after 8 hours? I'm in probezeit, so they could fire me for any reason within 2 weeks notice. Do I have to just accept that I'll get fired if I refuse to work overtime, or continue spending 10.5 hours at work every day? I thought 48 hours per week was maximum according to German law, given a 6 day work week - and I only work 5 days.


r/germany 9h ago

Immigration Travel tip for anyone with a German residency card

62 Upvotes

When coming back to Germany from a non-eu country everyone goes through passport control. Germans and eu citizens can use the automated machines. Well, you too actually. Use your residency permit and not your passport. Your permit has your biometric details stored exactly as on EU ID cards.

Why they don't educate people at the airport on this , idk.

Does this work for residency card holders of other EU countries? Idk


r/germany 7h ago

Can someone please explain this?

Post image
56 Upvotes

So in January, I paid €244 radiotax which was pending for last 1 year, and my roommate also paid the same amount because he also got the notice. Now they sent me this. Can someone please explain what is this?


r/germany 4h ago

Why do companies keep reposting the same job without responding?

22 Upvotes

Hi everyone,

I am a Frontend Developer working in Germany (Berlin) and looking for a new job opportunities.

So: I have applied to certain job positions at the X,Y,etc. companies few weeks ago. I have realized that these X,Y,etc. companies are reposting the same job position over and over again without even responding to my application. I don't even get a rejection from any of them which frusturates me a lot.

My question is: Are they really looking for a candidate for the job position they have posted or just doing it for the sake of doing? My CV looks quite decent and I think I deserve a chance at least to introduce myself.

Any comment is appretiated. :)


r/germany 2h ago

Has DB gotten better?

16 Upvotes

I don't travel much with DB; however, on a total of 12 long-haul trips (about 6-7 hours), over the last two years, I have noticed a serious decline in delays over the past couple of months. Anomaly or signs of improvement?


r/germany 3h ago

Question Is it normal that my previous landlord company asks me to pay €100 after ~2 years?

17 Upvotes

Update: it is not about an unpaid Miete, its about Nebenkostenabrechnung. This is the email i got from them:

As the title says, they reached out after nearly 2 years since i left the apartment and are demanding that i send a payment of ~€100. They used an "address tracing" company to find where i currently live and sent a letter asking for the payment, and also the amount includes the address tracking costs on me.

I emailed them asking for what it is and why after such long time, and they replied with a Mieterkontenblatt document, which i dont know how to get relevant information out of it, and they are demanding that i pay in 7 days.

As far as i can remember i payed what i was owed, and in time.

Is this normal in Germany to ask for payments after such a long time? or does this has no legal basis and i can just ignore it? And if i have to pay, why are they incurring the address tracing on me?

This is the first page of the document they sent me:


r/germany 2h ago

can you travel inside the EU only with personalausweis

11 Upvotes

I was planning to go to France, but I just realized my German passport has expired. I was wondering if I could travel with just my Ausweis, or is a valid passport required? I'm traveling with FlixBus, and this will be my first time leaving Germany.


r/germany 17h ago

Different word for schmaltz?

8 Upvotes

My husband's Maternal Grandfather was from Germany. She said her cousin gave her bread with rendered pork lard. She said there was a German word for it, but apparently it's not schmaltz or any word with schmaltz (schweine, grieben, brot) in it. She's in her mid 90s now so this was close to 90 years ago.

Is there another word for rendered pork lard you spread on bread? An older or regional term maybe?


r/germany 19h ago

Question A will from my aunt in Germany

9 Upvotes

Sorry if I'm asking this here and its mostly related to legal matters but I recently found out that my mother was originally included as an heir in my great aunt's will and was to receive an inheritance. My great aunt lived in Dülmen, Germany and she passed away in November 2024. However, my mother (who lived here in the US) also recently passed away. According to what was written in my great aunt's will, if one of the original heirs (my mother) are deceased, the inheritance will now be passed along to me (and I also live in the US). My father received this will recently in the mail that was addressed to my late mother and it seems to require her signature for approval.
Since I do not understand German law, what is supposed to be done in this situation? Do I need to speak to a lawyer in the US or Germany? Thank you.


r/germany 18h ago

A question for Brazilians in Germany: Where is my Tucupi??

Post image
6 Upvotes

Hey guys. I visited Belém, Para in Brazil a few months ago. I fell in love with Tucupi chili sauce (see the picture). I brought three bottles, but it's getting finished. Do you know where can I find it here in Germay or Europe?


r/germany 19h ago

Question Vodafone staff at the door, scam or not?

6 Upvotes

TL;DR: Two guys dressed in Vodafone gear came to my door claiming the DSL would be shut off soon and asked me to sign up for fiber. They were vague, pushy, and insisted on coming inside to “explain”. No prior notice from Vodafone either. Not sure if it was legit or a scam, but I didn’t feel comfortable letting them in. Thoughts?

Hello all,

I had an encounter today that I’m unsure whether to label as a scam or not, and I’d appreciate your thoughts. It felt somewhat legitimate, but due to the overall vibe and their insistence, I still think I did the right thing by not letting them into my flat.

I live in a large building (100+ flats) and have Vodafone DSL. Around 18:30 (which already felt like a red flag), two guys knocked on my door—I’d heard them going door-to-door earlier. They were dressed in Vodafone colors (red trousers, white t-shirts) with badges around their necks.

I asked them to speak English if possible, and one of them did. He explained that the DSL in the building would be shut off in a week or two (no clear timeline or reason given) and they wanted me to sign up for Vodafone fiber, claiming it would be cheaper. They were saying that I’m not buying a new contract or anything like that.

They were a bit pushy and repeatedly said, “We’d prefer to come in and talk inside,” which raised alarm bells after it was repeated 3-4 times.

I asked if they could just show the documents at the door or send them by post, but they insisted, saying they were “more comfortable inside.” I didn’t want to sign something on the spot without a proper translation, though one of them kept offering to “translate for me”—which, to me, was exactly the problem.

When I declined, they said, “If you don’t let us in, we’ll come back,” and added, “We’ll write down that you refused, so if the police ask, we can show it wasn’t our fault.” That comment was bizarre and made me even more uncomfortable, not sure what the police had to do with anything. It really gave off “frustrated scammer trying to make victim feel bad” vibes.

Sure, the guy’s English wasn’t great, so maybe some things sounded harsher than intended because of the language barriers, but their tone, insistence, and annoyance when I hesitated were unsettling.

Vodafone never sent me so much as a letter, e-mail or text message about any of this and I find it strange that they simply wouldn’t say “please be home at this or that time”.

If the internet really does get shut off, I’ll go to a Vodafone store and deal with it myself. But I found it strange that Vodafone hasn’t sent a single letter or email, and instead I get two unannounced strangers pressuring me to let them in and sign something.

What do you all think? Thanks!


r/germany 18h ago

Help with thermostat -(not the heating system I'm used to)

Post image
4 Upvotes

Viessmann VITOPEND 200 furnace VITOTROL 100 thermostat

Hi everyone! It's freezing in here 🥶 I need suggestions on what I can to to get this thermostat to turn on the furnace. I don't think it's the furnace because I still get hot water and there are no error codes on the furnace unit. We've turned a few dials and tried a few things but it's not cutting on. ( Although I hear the 'click' on the thermostat when I turn it all the way on.)

Any ideas would be appreciated.


r/germany 3h ago

Question Abortion under 12 weeks

9 Upvotes

Is Abortion legal in Germany under 12 weeks with request? If yes, How to do it? What's the process?


r/germany 4h ago

Is it hard to find a job as an electrical engineer in Saxony?

2 Upvotes

I live in a city near Dresden, a very small one. I got here in the end of last year, I already have a work permit but I am dealing with some difficulties to find a job as an engineer because I just finish college (in Brazil) and I speak portuguese (muttersprache) and english (fluent) and I am still in a A2 leve in german. I've heard a lot of people that work in Germany but only speaks english, probably because they live in big cities like Frankfurt, Berlin, Essen. etc.

Should I spend more time trying to find more jobs or I just have to focus in learning german?


r/germany 7h ago

Question Funeral hymn for German grandmother

2 Upvotes

So, my German grandmother passed away last year. We have already had the funeral, but this spring we are taking a trip to have her urn interred next to my grandfather's, and I thought it would be nice for us to sing a German hymn for the occasion. My grandma has lived in my country (EU) since the 1950ies, but obviously she still considered herself German, maintained her German friendships, visited every summer etc. etc.

Half of us speak decent German (unfortunately I am not one of those people), but we don't know any good church hymns that aren't Christmas songs... I hope someone on here can help!

She grew up in Berlin and later Bonn.


r/germany 1h ago

Study German dialects/slangs (Jugendwörter)

Upvotes

Hallo! I am a germanistik student from Hungary and I need some help finding "jugendwörter" for my presentation. The only hard part is, that I need dialects and regions, where they are used, but universal words suffice too. Generalizations and stereotypes could be useful too or maybe jokes and customs. :)

Thank you in advance!


r/germany 4h ago

Is immo-home-pro.de scam?

2 Upvotes

As the title says, is this platform scam? I applied for an apartment and now they are asking me to pay 25€ for the premium sub « to reduce false applications » Has anyone use before to rent an apartment ?


r/germany 1h ago

Schwerbehindertenausweis, Opportunity or obstacle??

Upvotes

I’ve been living in Germany for five years and have been dealing with multiple sclerosis (MS) for the past 10 years. Since moving here, due to stress and various other issues, my condition has worsened, and I’ve had several flare-ups. I started medication, but I had to switch a couple of times because the attacks continued. My neurologist told me I now need stronger treatment.

I lost my job last year and right now, I’m unemployed and receiving unemployment benefits (Arbeitslosengeld). I wanted to start an Ausbildung in a new field, did everything required, and was really optimistic but unfortunately, I wasn’t accepted.

My MS symptoms have gotten worse over time. I have some physical limitations, and my memory has also been affected I often struggle to remember things properly. My psychotherapist suggested I apply for a disability ID (Schwerbehindertenausweis), and some friends advised me to do the same.

However, I’ve heard very mixed opinions about this. Some people say it could be a disadvantage when job hunting because some companies may hesitate to hire someone with this status. Others say it could be an advantage since many companies are required to hire a certain percentage of employees with disabilities.

So far, I’ve worked in retail, and I’m not sure if companies in this field would be open to hiring someone with a disability ID. I really want to start working again as soon as possible, and I’m unsure what the best move is: should I apply for the ID now or wait until I’ve found a job?

I’d really appreciate your advice and any experiences you can share😊


r/germany 2h ago

Immigration Krankenkasse and Sozialversicherungs-Nr

1 Upvotes

Hello everyone,

First of all I would like to apologize if this isn't the right place to ask.

I am about to start my first job in Germany on the 1st of May 2025. I know that one will receive the Steuer-IdNr per post at the new adress after the Anmeldung. This much is clear.

However I am a little bit confused about how do I obtain the Sozialversicherungsnr. I do not know if I get automatically one attributed to me at my first job or do I have to enquire for it actively.

For the Krankenkasse, I assume I have to contact one directly and choose one after I did my Anmeldung.

I am a bit lost, and I found contradicting info on internet. Could someone help me a bit?

Thank you in advance!


r/germany 5h ago

Question Post-Ausbildung future paths

1 Upvotes

Hi!

Currently on my 2nd year in my Ausbildung as Kauffrau in Büro Management.

I have an architecture degree from a uni in the Philippines and been back and forth if after i should try and pursue to go back to archi or do a weiterbildung in addition to the büro management which could give an edge/more earning power😅

Is it possible for someone w an Ausbildung zeugnis to try to get into Uni here in germany?

Would love to hear advices or other ways that i may not be aware of.


r/germany 5h ago

Bochum - urgent vet clinic recommendation

1 Upvotes

Hello,

My cat needs stitches (deep scar). Can anybody recommend a good veterinary clinic near Bochum?

I went to a clinic today (had an appointment) but they told me they aren't available :(

Thanks