Seeking lifehacks - relocation to Germany

Question

Hi all, as many Germans are on this forum, may I seek your tips on relocation to Germany? I am based in a developing country in Asia and am relocating to Germany to start a consulting position.

1.What are the items that you would recommend to purchase and then ship to Germany, especially expensive and necessary items? So far I have heard of bikes, carpets, and furniture. (Note: my company will pay for my moving fee)

2.Is it true that most flats in Germany come without furniture? Would you recommend finding a flat with or without furniture? Personally, I would prefer a flat that comes with furniture, but I heard that flats with furniture are “much more expensive and quite rare” in Germany.

Thanks in advance!

Answer 1

You have IKEA (and 2nd hand IKEA)! :)

I don't think you'll find anything to be specifically expensive. I guess electronics may be cheaper in countries without VAT, but moving them comes with a risk. You can look up the prices online.

You'll find appartments that have furniture, but that will reduce your options, and comes at a premium. That decision depends on how long you want to stay in that specific appartment before moving again.

Answer 2

Congrats on the new role!

You can use ChatGPT to actually brainstorm on this.

Aside from that, bear in mind that Germany has a very good second-hand market. So you can always find quality products that are being resold at a reasonable price.

So from my point of view I wouldn't be buying new stuff now just to have it carried to Germany. Only carry what you have already.

Best,
Cristian

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Answer 3

1 depends on 2 ;-). So start with 2. There are increasingly more furnished flat options, especially for young professionals. They come at quite a premium though, would you consider this? Happy to chat over a coffee. Warm regards, Frederic

Answer 4

Hey there,

Congrats to landing a gig in my homeland! I haven't lived the for 15 years but it's a great place to be.

As for your questions:

1.What are the items that you would recommend to purchase and then ship to Germany, especially expensive and necessary items? Nothing. Germany has a very competitive marketplace for just about anything and you can buy most things for ‘cheap’. This is especially true for 2nd hand stuff, which is a huge market place in Germany (e.g. ebay Kleinanzeigen). For comparison, I now live in Chile, which is objectively ‘poorer’ but things are quite a bit more expensive here due to lack of competition. Also, there's no real 2nd hand marketplace. Bottom line: Don't burden yourself with more stuff at this point.

2. Is it true that most flats in Germany come without furniture? It used to be the case that flats even come without kitchen as this was considered furniture as well. So people moved in and out with their own kitchen. Not a joke! But we've come a long way since then and you can indeed get furnished apartments, with kitchen and everything. However, you'll of course pay less for an unfurnished apartment. You either bring the furniture from Asia in the container or buy them once you're there at a good price (answer to question #1). Bottom line: Find out when you get there what options you have and take it from there. No reason to stress at this point.

Hope this helps a bit. Best of luck with the move and the new job!

Moritz

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Answer 5

Hi there,

Funnily enough, I'm traveling with a close German friend of mine at the moment!

I'd highly recommend leveraging Reddit, Quora, and other forums as well for these Qs!