wow, so many great responses in so short a time. thanks everyone.
On Thu, Jun 26, 2008 at 12:20 PM, Julian Oliver <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > ..on or around Thu, Jun 26, 2008 at 10:03:52AM +1200 Luke Munn wrote: >> hey ADAers, >> >> my wife and I are tentatively considering moving to berlin, germany >> for about a year so I thought I'd tap the pool of knowledge... :-) >> >> -i'm an interactive designer (websites, animation, games, etc, >> http://www.werkhaus.co.nz) and my wife is a freelance illustrator >> (http://www.kimberleemunnillustrator.co.nz). any thoughts on how easy >> or hard it is to find this type of work in the city? > > there's pretty much no work in Berlin, so i wouldn't have too many > illusions about getting a job there outside of learning enough Deutsche > to serve tables or teaching English. within the field of interactive > design, some of the world's best live in Berlin, speak German and they > don't have work. luckily Berlin is well placed as a capital so you can work > in neighbouring countries or perhaps even the odd German city. > > it's also pretty hard given that Germany - as a rule - will employ one > of the 5 million unemployed there well before they will you, often even > if you are better qualified. almost no-one that comes from abroad moves > to Berlin with a work visa. most just turn up and wing it - that's the > cultural value of the place from a foreign perspective, why it's an > artist's mecca. > >> >> -how difficult is it to obtain work visas to germany? i've read some >> differing opinions on this. some say you need a firm job offer from a >> german company, etc. is this a lengthy process that i should start way >> before hand, or something easier done from berlin? >> >> -have read the cost of living in berlin is relatively cheap. is this >> true in your experience? how do food prices and rent compare to nz? >> > > well i lived there for 2 years on very little compared to european > standards: EUR600 a month was what we paid in East Berlin. that's was > marginally expensive by Berlin standards, vastly inexpensive > western-europe-wide and low for Germany: Berlin is a city made for 8 > million with just 5 million living there. at any given time there are > many thousands of free apartments. > > if you're bringing weak NZ dollars you'll need to be resourceful > regardless. shop at Lidl, do the market thing and make sure you take an > apartment with an oven so you can actually cook at home. > >> -is it true that you can get by on english alone? or do you really >> need some german to work, get around, get by daily? >> > > if you want to participate in German life, become a local, then learn > Deutsche. even just enough to order bread, ask where you are, tell who > you are, will also earn you social time and greater freedom of movement. > > if you're happy hanging out with the many Brits, Americans, Aussies and > English-speaking Berliners, then you can certainly get by very basic > Deutsche: most youngish people speak a little English just fine. that > said, i experienced a distinct cultural glass-ceiling: you'll always be > just another foreigner - temporary - while you're not making an effort. > > warnings? > > one of the first things to do when you get in is register with the > police. do so on the Frankfurter Alle branch, corner of > ProskauerStrasse. the queue is very short compared to most other places > in Berlin. get there at 10am at the latest to avoid a wait. if you ever > get into trouble the city will be on your side with this registration. > it's as close as you'll get to being 'legal' as a non-EU Ausländer, > especially after your 3 months of gratis tourist visa. > > secondly, don't rely on Craigslist to find a place - many scheister's > hang out there these days. look in the immobilien guides. this one is > perhaps the top: > > http://www.immobilienscout24.de/immobiliensuche/berlin/berlin.htm > > remember that apartments in Berlin come with *nothing* in them, > sometimes even the light-fittings are taken with the previous tenant. if > you find a place with furniture and a kitchen and it's a little more > expensive, than a competing apartment with nothing, take it. > > bear in mind also the difference between "warm" and "cold" rent. warm > rent is often sometimes the monthly average *including heating* of the > previous year's tenancy. always take warm-rent as your final guide and > ask "what is the warm rent?". when you leave you will get money back if > you've paid too much heating cost. always take a meter reading.. > > don't take a house with coal-heating unless you're prepared to buy coal > and huddle around in just one room to stay warm in Winter. central > heating is your first priority, then light: when we were there it got > down to -27C for a couple of days one winter. you'll have just 5 hours > of decent light that far north on a sunny winter day. if you take an > apartment high-up you'll benefit from the heat coming up from below and > - in many cases - more light. > > if you want to lease a flat make sure you have papers from your previous > apartments in NZ or elsewhere. also be prepared to present your financial > records. this doesn't always happen but we were hit with a full check. > > Berlin's a beautiful and great city, however, rather than planning to > set up a castle there straight away i would give it 3 months of > live-in-research in a flat-sharing situation. your social relationships > there will define your movements and options much more than your > abstract ambitions will have it. to some degree we found that only once > we embraced this contingency, once we dove in to social life there, did > the city open up for us. > > that may sound undeservedly romantic, but it really is the case with > Berlin, something others will tell you also. > > cheers, > > -- > julian oliver > http://julianoliver.com > http://selectparks.net > messages containing HTML will not be read. > _______________________________________________ Ada_list mailing list [email protected] http://aotearoadigitalarts.org.nz/
