If you are seeking a never-ending adventure to join your studies, to keep you high on life and motivation and provide life lessons never to be forgotten Germany is the place to be. Germany has it all, divine ancient castles and medieval towns that represent its history and roots surrounded by the divinity of nature, its forests, riversides and mountain tops along with the progressive urbanized city giants that never sleep, full of people running their lives and minding their business.
The big five, comprised of five metropolitan regions, are the most densely populated areas in the country. Each area is well known for its contribute in a different department therefore Berlin is the capital and the heart of culture, Frankfurt’s strongest spot is economy and human transport, Hamburg takes pride in international shipping and while science and technology are based in Munich, Dusseldorf and Cologne rock the industry.
Life is pretty dynamic, as you might guess, especially in the big cities like Berlin, Munich, Frankfurt and so on therefore the long hours of German language classes at first are dull and make you resent the idea of coming to study in this country. Once you start other courses, particularly the ones you are more interested in you start breathing again, kinda like when you see the rainbow after the rain, you’re wet like a dog but at least the view is beautiful.
Long hours at the university may tire you, and being a stranger in a new area means having to spend your free time alone. The first few days go by quickly, you get to walk around the campus, or your new neighborhood, explore the hot spots relevant to your taste and lifestyle, the feeling of content to be starting from scratch excites you and hours seem like seconds. The situation changes abruptly, and if you don’t start socializing you will very soon wake up feeling homesick and desperately alone and not have even a shoulder to cry on.
Students might find it difficult at first, to adapt to the German routine and German customs but once they’re in the game they hardly ever want out. First of all, Germans are LOUD. Secondly, they drink immense amounts of beer, every day. They are oddly polite all the time?!
Bottom line, people around here are friendly, and they respond quite well to open personalities. At the university or in the nearest café, having a coffee break or brunch, it’s never rude to engage in a light conversation, sometimes even a simple hi’ does the job.
Whether you want to live in a quiet and cozy town or in the loudest city streets that’s totally up to ones preferences, expenses vary depending on the requests and transportation system is a doll. Depending on the nature of your studies and of course the financial dispositions one tends to choose a suitable habitat to live in. If you are here to master the countries culture, history or territorial background a smart thing to do would be to live a clandestine life, travelling from one part to another closer to the more conservative countryside. The thought of it being cheaper to live outside the city or even in suburbs, while your University is localized in the metropolitan area is devilishly deceiving. My advice, always go for the city there is something for everyone out there.
Once you’re done with the paperwork, the first thing on your to do list is renting an apartment. Landlords can be overly demanding since this is a very cosmopolitan region therefore their experiences are hardly ever remarkable. Don’t rent the first cheapest apartment your eye catches online, there probably is a reason why it’s still vacant.
Living in Germany isn’t only about a great deal of hard work, heavy meals, tons of beer and crazy night outs. It’s more of a journey towards embracing a diverse culture, various peculiar traditions and challenging attitudes while integrating, and most importantly, finding pleasure in the process.