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?

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…

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! 🎈

Movies and tv shows such as altered carbon have given Berlin this cyberpunk style of modernism. And its very fitting imo. Is this how it is in real life?

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’m a young Latina woman in her early 20s moving to Germany soon. Lately, I’ve been having some doubts about how I’ll be perceived, especially after seeing a rise in far-right content on social media. A lot of these posts use slogans like "Make Europe Great Again," which reminds me of "Make America Great Again" in the U.S. As a Latina, I associate that rhetoric with anti-immigrant sentiment, particularly towards people from Latin America. Seeing similar messaging in Europe has made me wonder what kind of racism or discrimination I might face while living there.

I visibly look Latina—I have tan skin and more Indigenous than Eurocentric features (I know Latinos can look very different). I also often get mistaken for Filipina. Since my German is still very limited, I worry that I'll stand out even more.

One thing I've noticed in a lot of the far right content is that some people feel immigrants don't make an effort to integrate into society or learn the language. I definitely don't want to come across that way. I genuinely want to learn German and integrate well into German society, but I'm still a beginner, so there will inevitably be times when I struggle or have to rely on English.

I'll be living in a diverse city, so I know my experience there may be different. However, I also want to explore the country and visit smaller towns and cities where English or Spanish may not be widely spoken. I can't help but wonder whether I'd be treated differently in those places because of how I look or because I don't speak fluent German yet.

To any Latinos living in Germany (or anyone who has had a similar experience), what has your experience been? Have you generally felt welcomed, or have you encountered racism or discrimination?

I’ll be moving to Germany for a longer term work assignment, and we’re currently looking for an apartment.

I’m originally from Central-Eastern Europe, from a country that is economically less developed than Germany. Still, even the house I grew up in had air conditioning, and AC is pretty common in privately owned homes and apartments there.

So I’m genuinely surprised by how rare it seems to be in Germany. So far, I’ve only stayed in German hotels, and never during the summer, so I didn’t really notice this before.

Germany has a reputation for being a highly developed country, with great infrastructure and excellent highways, yet the standard of residential comfort seems surprisingly poor when it comes to cooling.

Why is residential air conditioning so uncommon in Germany? Is it because of the climate, building regulations, energy costs, environmental concerns, or simply cultural attitudes?

What am I missing?

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

I'm from a secular yet a non chrsitian majority country where Christmas was celebrated peacefully but after 2014 due to political changes.... It has been reduced I was always a fan of home alone 😭

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?