Customer Reviews

Living & Working in Germany: A Survival Handbook

5 star:		(5)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(0)
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1 star:		(2)

 

 

I have read several books on moving/living in Germany. Of those books, this one is the most comprehensive. It focuses on the nuts-and-bolts of the overseas move, including the various government agencies one must deal with, housing issues, utilities, and more. It's fairly upbeat but at the same time appears to provide a balanced view on the good and bad. Combined with "The Expert Expatriate," this book seems to cover all of the bases.

I saw this book and realized that it didn't have a review yet - which I had to rectify. I used the previous version of this book for my move to Germany as this version was not available yet. I honestly do not know how we would have moved here and gotten everything done without this book! Great tips on the visa process and literally everything else you need to know as you're living in Germany. At various times we looked up information about doctors and pharmacies, apartment rental info, how to buy/register a car, get an oil change, travel, etc., etc. From the big stuff like arriving and departing and schools/family life to the little things like recycling and apartment issues that you feel silly asking a local - it's great!

First of all I would like to say that when I read jjmojo from PA review, I just laughed. I am sure he knows many Germans and finds them wonderful. However it is clear this person has not lived in Germany for any length of time. If, I am wrong perhaps it was in Berlin or Munich. I am living in Germany and have been for 4 years. I live in the south, outside a city and life is very much like america in 1950. The book is very accurate, people are very self centered and laugh at the expense of others. I have many times seen people needing help and no one except myself has offered assistance. Children are not taught to be nice, the people in this culture learn to look for themselves first and formost. It may be a nice place to visit but.......Like I said if you are going to live here, especially outside the big cities, read the book.

I was recently at Nick Daws' website (writequickly.com) where it said:

Learn how Nick created two internationally best selling guides to living in Italy and Spain [and presumably Germany], without ever having visited the countries...

So, clearly, I wouldn't spend my money on this.

This book has been helpful in our recent move to Germany. All the piece by piece information that we received from friends and colleagues were all covered in the book and I felt I had a firm understanding of a lot of stuff on our arrival. I like how the book explains what is more common in the East vs West Germany.

The only criticism I have is I wish there were more pictures to help w/ the explanations (i.e. German houses/kitchens, train stations, etc.) and I would have liked to see information on importing pets particularly because they are such a dog friendly society and we brought two of our dogs over.

My family spent the summer of 2002 traveling in Germany, lived in Mannheim August 2002 to April 2003, and then were in Berlin from May until September 2003. Mr. Daws' book was an excellent resource for us and we often referred to it. The advice on job-hunting, obtaining driving permits, residence visas, etc. was all top-notch. The advice in the book was very specific and where it was dated the general principles laid out were still quite applicable. I would highly recommend "Living and Working in Germany" in combination with "Culture Shock Germany".

This book is so full of inaccurate observations of the German people as well as there society that it makes me sick. Over and over the author states how Germans have no sense of humor and how they are cold in there interactions with others in society. How inaccurate these statements are. Every German I have ever met is friendly, warm and fun loving! The author also talks about there way of living as if it was 1920. The only positive thing I got out of reading this book is phone numbers for government agencies, and conversions for Metric and Celsius. Don't read this book. Go to Germany instead and see how the German people are for real!

This by far has been the best resource I've found regarding life in Germany. I feel I am prepared for all the red tape and the idiosyncratic nature of Germany and it's people when I move there this fall. Very detailed information without becoming dry. Many references to other sources of information such as websites, offices and other books. I highly recommend this book for anyone who will be living in Germany for any length of time!

I also recommend Culture Shock! Germany

Went to germany and this book in 100% on the .....

Trust me on this. If your thinking about moving to germany then you will NEED this book