Are you relocating from Hungary to Germany soon? Are you wondering how it is to live in the country of Einstein, Schumacher or Schiffer (yes, Claudia Schiffer)? Will everyone have a Mercedes or BMW? Crown Relocations has asked to some expats currently living in Germany, the best tips they could give to newcomers. Here the most frequent ones:
1. Punctuality is the key
It might be a stereotype but Germans are (almost) always on time. If it is going to rain, they will make sure they will leave earlier. If there are some construction works on the road, they will leave home earlier, instead of arriving later. If they have a meeting at 10 am, at 9:50 they will be there, ready to start. And if one day, there is a delay, they will inform you as soon as they know that they will be delayed – no matter if the delay is of 30, 10 or 2 minutes. Remember: one delay can be forgiven, two is too much.
2. Recycle – and recycle well!
Germany is a country environmentally conscious and recycling is totally implemented. As an expat in the country, you will have to get used to recycling… and recycling well. This mean, not only separating paper, plastic, organic waste or glass (in Germany glass is divided according to its colour), but also to do it in the proper way, for example, by cleaning your yogurt containers before you through them into the plastic recycling bin!
3. Be always honest!
Really few citizens are as honest as Germans. This means that if you have left your house door opened, it is highly unlikely that somebody will get inside – actually, your neighbour might even call you to inform you about this fact. But this also means that, despite not having any barrier, everybody will pay their train tickets. And it also means that if one day you accidentally break something at a shop or you don’t park in the correct place, they will be the first ones to inform the authorities.
4. Remove the shoes when you arrive home
Something all Germans do is taking off their street shoes when you arrive at any home. They will do it when they arrive at yours and they will expect you to do the same when you go to theirs. Remember this when you are invited to somebody’s home and avoid jumping immediately to their living room with your boots!
5. Don’t talk loudly
One of the things that might shock you the most from Germany is how quiet it is. Even if you are in big cities such as Berlin or Frankfurt, you will notice that streets are quite calm compared with other places of the world. And one immediate effect from this is that there is no need to talk loud – and of course, even less need to shout! With the time you will get used to this, but during the first months after your arrival, pay attention to your voice’s volume!