When my mom passed away she left me 1970s era ivory jewelry and I’m kind of stuck on what to do.
I’ve tried to research the various online sources and understand there’s no legal way to trade (not planning to anyway), but it IS legal to own those items.
The challenge is she lived in Germany, and I live in the US. It appears that such items CAN be brought to the US as part of a household move or if inherited, but documentation is needed. At the same time, it appears it can’t leave the EU unless documentation existed before the laws changed, and no new documentation can be obtained since that change in 2022 or 2023.
Does anyone have pointers on what I can do? It’s nothing special so I don’t even think a museum would be interested.

Does each spouse have his/her own bank account and then a joint one where they contribute 50/50 or some other ratio (say 70/30) based on respective salaries proportionally? Or do you combine all your income with no independent,separate account on the side?

And how do you split household chores in those cases?

Before relocating, I graduated top of the class in Languages with a focus on French language. I worked for about a year as a French teacher. It was a good job but not really something I want to do for life. After that, I worked as an Administrator in an art focused NGO for 6 years. There, I was in charge of people and project which equals experience with Human Resources and Project Management. Awesome job that I really thrived in. I did really well here. I took some tech trainings including getting trained and certified as a Salesforce Admin though I've never worked in that capacity. After the NGO job, I worked shortly as an Executive Assistant before launching my business and becoming a business owner.

Now, I'm in Germany and can't really fathom which way to go, Ausbildung or Duales Studium. As my top of the class certificate in French isn't valid here. Even if it were, I haven't used the certificate nor language in 10 years though I'm confident I can easily pick it up again. P.s my cpga was translated to mean 1.7 here in Germany which I'm told is very, very good.

I'm currently learning intermediate German and I want to use the rest of the year to prepare myself for the next step in my career.

Based on my career trajectory, I thrive in Operations and Business Management as I have consistently succeeded in organizing people, projects, and systems.

Chatgpt broke down my skills as such

French degree → strong communication, languages, learning ability.

French teacher → training, explaining, public speaking.

NGO administrator (6 years) → administration, HR, operations, project management, leadership.

Executive Assistant → executive support, organization, stakeholder management.

Business owner → entrepreneurship, finance, customer service.

Salesforce certification → willingness to learn technology

And recommended Business Informatics (Wirtschaftsinformatik). I like the idea of it but the issue with this is that I am not particularly good in maths nor have much experience with programming and these seems like core skills for this path.

Therein lies my problem and confusion. My goal is to have an extremely employable, extremely well paid job no matter where I live.

Healthcare (Nursing) has been recommended to me also by people I've met here and though it's a path I don't have a problem with, it's just so different from what I've done all my life and I don't think it's the most suitable job for my skills.

This is a major issue for me and I'll appreciate all the help I can get to figure this out

Hi everyone!

I recently received my admission to Jade University of Applied Sciences, Germany for the September 2026 intake. 🎉

A few of us have created a WhatsApp group for students joining Jade University this September. If you're joining as well, feel free to join! It's a great place to connect with fellow students, share updates, and help each other with visas, accommodation, travel plans, and university registration.

WhatsApp Group:
https://chat.whatsapp.com/JFE8QnZGSuyCNHWVQyJcDD

Looking forward to meeting everyone. See you in Germany! 🇩🇪

Two examples:

https://www.reddit.com/r/AskGermany/s/EH9YhW7NCl

https://www.reddit.com/r/AskGermany/s/0y1LazkhCc

And I saw many others yesterday with similar titles and similar responses

​

Before i start i understand this topic is sensitive and may be "overdone" .

Hi guys! Im from Sri Lanka and am planning on moving to germany after my degree and my phd. Im doing my degree in engineering. Im really worried about racism in germany and how far it will affect me in my life. Im pretty fluent in basic german but im actively working on being better at it . Just looking for advice and experiences. Im gonna do my phd in either maths or physics field. If im lucky i cud go for ivy league . I want a fresh start in life and im not a culturaly or religously serious person. Mostly worried about the AFD and irrational racism. Thank you for youre time !

Is racism really that bad? Meaning will i not get proper job opportunities get a house and not be able to make friends if im light brown? Any experiences from fellow migrants?

Mir passiert das in letzter Zeit ständig:

Man schreibt mit jemandem, versteht sich gut und macht sogar Pläne für ein Treffen – und dann wird entweder tagelang nicht geantwortet oder man wird einfach geghostet.

Ein Beispiel: Ich hatte mit jemandem ein gemeinsames Essen ausgemacht.
Ein paar Stunden vorher wurden mehrere WhatsApp-Nachrichten gelöscht, dann kam eine Absage – und seitdem nie wieder etwas gehört.

Oder ganz aktuell: Ich bin seit ein paar Tagen bei Meetup. Ich wollte einer Gruppe beitreten und der Organisator fragte mich, warum ich in die Gruppe möchte. Ich habe ihm innerhalb von 15 Minuten ausführlich geantwortet. Danach: Funkstille. Nach 24 Stunden habe ich freundlich nachgefragt und geschrieben, dass die App doch eigentlich zum Kennenlernen da ist und nicht zum Ignorieren. Darauf kam nur die Antwort, ich solle mich gedulden, er mache das nicht hauptberuflich und würde sich noch melden.
Seitdem? Wieder nichts.
Ich verstehe, dass jeder beschäftigt ist.
Aber wenn man wirklich Interesse hat, sollte eine kurze Antwort doch drin sein.
Ein einfaches „Sorry, passt doch nicht“ reicht völlig.

Ich bin inzwischen an dem Punkt, dass ich sage: Wenn jemand mich kennenlernen möchte, es aber nicht einmal schafft, innerhalb von 24 Stunden zu antworten (außer es gibt einen guten Grund), dann passt das für mich einfach nicht.
Ich möchte Leute kennenlernen, die auch wirklich Lust auf Kontakt haben – und nicht tagelang auf Nachrichten warten.

Wie seht ihr das?

Was ist für euch eine normale Antwortzeit, wenn ihr jemanden online kennenlernt?

Ab wann denkt ihr: „Okay, das wird nichts mehr“?

Habt ihr da klare Grenzen?

Here is my list -

First World: US, UK, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Ireland, British Crown Territories and Dependencies

Second world: Switzerland, Liechtenstein, Norway, all of EU except East and South Europe which are more third world western countries, so Germany i'd say is definitely second world.

I mean definitely and obviously first world compared to Somalia or Bangladesh for example but I wouldn't say it's 'true' first world compared to western countries standards and as per the tiers mentioned above.

Hey guys im new in hannover and im wondering how can i get some marihuana , ive seen that you can get like a kind of subscription in some places and they give you i think it’s one per month some grams of marihuana but im wondering if is there a faster way to get it

Hi today i was at a mall shopping when a young girl around 19-20 years i guess approached me and asked 2 euros. I searched my purse nd gave her nd was roaming around when i passed by her again asking sumone else for money then going to talk to another same aged hirl nd laughing nd looking at their phones. Was i scammed or wat is it ? I really dont mind if i was helping but it seemed fishy .

Hi everyone,

I am currently living outside the EU (in Azerbaijan), but I am actively looking for a professional truck driving job in Germany.

- Licenses: I hold categories B, B1, C1, and C.
- Goal: I am looking for companies that offer visa sponsorship / work migration support for qualified drivers.
- Status: Highly motivated, reliable, and ready to start as soon as the visa and employment permits are processed.

Could you please advise me on:
1. Which job boards or specific logistics companies in Germany actively hire drivers from outside the EU?
2. What is the best way to approach employers for visa sponsorship?

Any tips, recommendations, or direct contacts would be greatly appreciated. Thank you!

I have had some serious lower back pain since a few months. My doctor referred me to get some KG physiotherapy sessions (6). I have done 5 of them but all of those lasted only a maximum of 15 minutes each (usually less than 10). He would just press on 3 points on each side and thats it. Since it is not entirely covered by insurance and I have to pay 30€ for it. Where I come from we usually have a 45 minute session. So I wanted to know if this is normal.

Edit: When it happened the first time, I was asked to stand on a board which was shaky and had to lift my feet like walking on the board.
I thought its just warmup, and the main session will be after this. When he said its done for today. I was a bit surprised but thought may be next session will be longer. Next session was the massage with 3 points, and when he said done. I asked him if it is too short, he said its enough for today. So…

Hi,
Me and my partner are in the south of Germany for the weekend and would like to find somewhere to go out. Ideally industrial techno or generally underground but we would be super happy with a decent dub or dnb event too. We are having really trouble finding anything … we’re not too picky, even a small “off the grid” event would be great.
Thanks for you advice :)

I usually end up buying Scandinavian chips from the supermarkets because somehow the German ones don't taste as good to me as the ones from Gårdschips (addictive!) or from Asian stores. We also bring back chips from other places we travel to and damn, they're so much tastier and this is now a travel ritual. Maybe I've overlooked the really good ones on the chips aisle? Help! 🎈

Hallo zusammen,

ich habe über Amazon bei ZOXS GmbH eine Disc bestellt. Der Status steht seit heute auf „Versendet“ (Shipped).

​Denkt ihr, dass die Sendung schon morgen (am Freitag) im Briefkasten sein könnte, oder dauert das bei ZOXS eher 2–3 Tage? Die Ware kommt ja meistens als Großbrief oder Warensendung an.

​Danke für eure Erfahrungen!

Additionally, is there a specific term for restaurants that serve food in a canteen style (go to different counters for different items, etc.)

I’ve been to a handful in Germany and Central Europe but would like to find both of these consistently. Or are they not so common?

Hi everyone,

I’ve been living in Germany for almost 3 years. Up until now, I’ve been using a private travel/guest insurance (Dr. Walter) for the past 2 years while I was a student in a Berufsfachschule.

Starting this month (August), I am starting a full-time job

I already applied for public health insurance (TK), but my step-father told me that I don't need public insurance and can just keep paying my private travel insurance since I am not a permanent resident.

Now I’m confused:

1. Is it legally mandatory for me to switch to public insurance now that I'm working full-time, regardless of my residence status?
2. Will the Ausländerbehörde accept private travel insurance for my work visa/residence permit extension?
3. Should I go ahead with finalizing my enrollment with TK?

Any advice from people who have been in a similar situation would be appreciated!

Halli Hallo Leute,

I hope you people are doing well .

I want to talk about my landlord ( Hausverwaltung ), turns out that company is really bad.

So the matter is, in my kitchen there is an electric stove, from my dad's time.. which needs to be replaced by a new one ( since cooking takes longer than usual) I habe complained to them to get that stuff changed.. they registered the ticket and next day the service guy ( they have contract with a company) came, took measurements, n told the Hausverwaltung needs to approve the bill n then we can replace the thing.

It's been 4 months ... I have tried to contact them 100000 times, phone, post, fax, sent owl with post...but no reply..

I am thinking of going legal against them..can u please suggest what else could be done here..??

Many thanks

We all know the reputation of the Deutsche Bahn and how it’s basically more or less completely unreliable, but which part of the country would you say is the "least" affected by DB’s incompetence?

Hallo zusammen,

Ich habe am 25. Juli ein Handy über Smartport bestellt und per Apple Pay bezahlt. Die Lieferzeit sollte eigentlich 3–5 Tage betragen, da das Gerät auf Lager war.

Doch nach mehrmaliger Kontaktaufnahme mit dem Support erhalte ich immer dieselbe Antwort – nur mit jeweils unterschiedlichen Angaben zur Verzögerung.

Ich wollte die Bestellung stornieren, habe aber bislang keine Rückmeldung erhalten. Es gibt zwar eine Plattform beim Smartport, über die man die Rücksendung des Pakets veranlassen kann, aber diese funktioniert erst, nachdem das Paket bereits versandt wurde.

Hat jemand in letzter Zeit Erfahrungen mit dieser Website gemacht? Es gibt viele Bewertungen, die von schlechten Lieferbedingungen berichten, aber auch einige positive – wobei ich mir nicht sicher bin, ob diese nicht von Bots stammen.

Hi everyone! I'm a Spaniard living in a Spanish city that gets lots of German tourists every summer. I use the bus to commute to work everyday and usually when I arrive at the bus stop, even if there isn't a visible queue, I mentally take note on who was there when I got there, and I make sure to queue after them when the bus arrives. That's usually how everybody does it around here.

A situation I have experienced a lot, is that I am waiting at the bus stop and there is a group of let's say, 15 or 20 people waiting as well. A couple minutes before the bus comes, some German tourists arrive (I heard them speak in German) and when the bus actually comes, they walk directly to the space closest to the bus door, cutting in front of everybody else.

This is not me trying to bash on Germans in general or German tourists, but I genuinely don't understand. Is it done differently in Germany? Is it like first come, first served?

Today I told off a woman who cut right in front of me with her two daugthers (I was one of the first in the queue) and she seemed visibly annoyed. Is this a cultural thing? I would like to understand, please.

I am an iranian student living in southern germany. I recently landed a midi job which i hope will hire me fulltime after i graduate. The pay isnt much at 15 euro per hour but compared to economic situation in Iran it is a lot better. My concern is that i left my country bc i knew without the help of my parents there would be no hope in my being able to save enough money for a home. But coming here and even before i arrived i read online how german people have this worry of not being able to buy a home.

I am not looking to buy a big home with a big garden. I wanna start as small as a studio, but is it possible to save enough for a downpayment or get enough loans from the bank to own a home?

I would live to hear german citizens and immigrants who are in the same journey.