{"id":40869,"date":"2016-11-11T10:27:36","date_gmt":"2016-11-11T09:27:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.sleek-mag.com\/?p=40869"},"modified":"2016-11-11T10:27:36","modified_gmt":"2016-11-11T09:27:36","slug":"berlin-relocate-guide","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.sleek-mag.com\/de\/article\/berlin-relocate-guide\/","title":{"rendered":"Moving to Berlin: A Beginner\u2019s Guide to Running Away from Your Problems"},"content":{"rendered":"

 <\/p>\n

\"Thelma Film still from Thelma and Louise (1991)<\/p>\n

 
\nSo, what\u2019s your plan? You\u2019ve gone and done it: A rogue deputy of capitalism has stormed the electoral college to claim the throne as Commander in Chief of the United States of America and you\u2019re planning your escape. Your Spanish is too dusty to head south; your feeble heart and tired soul might not be ready for the north\u2019s winter. I\u2019ve got it, you declare with the eager eyes of a teen who learned that yes, the drinking age is 16 in many parts of western Europe. I\u2019m moving to Berlin.
\nYour suitcase is packed, your assets have been liquidated and you\u2019ve got your one-way ticket in your hand. Here\u2019s what you need to before you hit the tarmac of Sch\u00f6nefeld, or Tegel, or Flughafen Berli\u2014just kidding. That airport is never being built.
\n <\/p>\n

In fact, I\u2019ve found the Ausl\u00e4nderbeh\u00f6rde to be quite like Berghain, the lines are infinitely long and the final decision may seem without rhyme or reason<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

 <\/p>\n

Get Your Papers<\/h3>\n

A fun fact is that despite tightening restrictions on carbon emissions and energy expenditure, many of Germany\u2019s world-famous bureaucratic systems refuse to communicate over email. In the interest of inefficiency, most communications are done in person or through snail mail instead. Indeed, my relationship with the local tax office, for example, has blossomed into bi-weekly love notes from my local representative reminding me that I\u2019ve gotta pay up eventually.
\nIt makes sense to some degree \u2013 it\u2019s an effort to protect our data privacy, and I can\u2019t think of anywhere safer than my postbox. More aptly, Germans are an honest folk. Their inability to bend the rules can be almost militant at times, but there\u2019s something refreshing in knowing that their word is bond. Having paper proof is accordingly an unquestionable testament to which ever point you\u2019re trying to prove. Existing in Berlin is a bit like filing a case against a lawsuit: it requires you to document everything in duplicate, trust no one and get everything in writing \u2013 have the receipts, basically, from the moment you buy your plane ticket and arrange your AirBnB. Germany is a harsh mistress and you\u2019ll be prodded and probed for every ounce of documentation upon arrival. As Queen Bey once slayed: \u201cBest revenge is your paper.\u201d
\n <\/p>\n

Berlin exists as a hub for digital nomads, freelancers, and a cloud-based culture of exchange<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"beetlejuice\" Beetlejuice (1988)<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Literally Get Your Papers<\/h3>\n

It is true that there\u2019s a subset of the expat community wherein not speaking German is almost a point of pride. But even amongst these Arschl\u00f6cher<\/i> \u2013 as a local would say, so take note \u2013 there exists a vocabulary viewed as critical: Das wei\u00df ich nicht! Ich bin Amerikaner! Jawohl, ein Halloumi mit allen So\u00dfen, ohne Gurke! <\/i>Now go Google Translate that.
\nAmongst these key phrases is Ausl\u00e4nder \u2013 <\/i>the dark mark placed upon expats, immigrants, and people seeking refuge from abroad. The immigration office is named with no false promises: Ausl\u00e4nderbeh\u00f6rde<\/i>. Foreigners Office.
\nIn fact, for most citizens of western nations, the Aussie-Bee is more bark than bite, as they tend to look more favourably upon the \u201ceconomic migrants\u201d seeking shelter in Germany\u2019s cold, muscled arms. Book an appointment online and prepare to state your case auf Deutsch \u2013 <\/i>collect the aforementioned receipts, really.
\nIn fact, I\u2019ve found the Ausl\u00e4nderbeh\u00f6rde<\/i> to be quite like Berghain: the lines are infinitely long and the final decision may seem without rhyme or reason. Prepare in a similar fashion: wake up early, dress in matte black out of somber sobriety, and \u2013 if all else fails \u2013 at both, I\u2019ve definitely gotten my way simply by shouting at the gatekeepers. They love a show.<\/p>\n

 
\nYou\u2019ve got your visa and an apartment. Maybe even friends and \u2013 dare I say it \u2013 a job. What now?<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

 <\/p>\n

Find Your Light<\/h3>\n

One of the most exciting characteristics of Berlin is the low-hanging buildings and wide streets. Despite the characteristically high ceilings of Altbau<\/i> architecture, zoning codes prevent the high-rise apartment buildings that litter the skylines of New York and LA. What this means for you is that even in the depths of winter there is always ample natural light for a good selfie. Indeed from the sun-kissed summers to the white Christmases, social media is buzzing with Berlinstagrams\u2014join in the fun and who knows who will slide into your DMs? Find your community online. Are you a Wedding girl or is Neuk\u00f6lln more of your Kiez<\/i>? And where do you stand on the discount beer debate: #TeamPilsator or #TeamSternie? Actually, if you\u2019re #TeamPilsator, you can see yourself out. We don\u2019t want you.
\nJokes aside, Berlin exists as a hub for digital nomads, freelancers, and a cloud-based culture of exchange. Like any good metropolis, everything from apartments to jobs to concert plus-ones to lovers can be found from the comfort of your Facebook. There\u2019s a group for nearly every interest and every question<\/a> you might have and every odd or end you need sorted. They also serve as a great way to trim your friends\u2019 list as you watch acquaintances get racist on Toytown Berlin<\/a> polls!
\n <\/p>\n

\"rihanna-work\" “Work” by Rihanna<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Get Shit Done<\/h3>\n

You\u2019ve got your visa and an apartment. Maybe even friends and \u2013 dare I say it \u2013 a job. What now?
\nTo many, Berlin\u2019s appeal lies in its relatively affordable rent, vibrant youth culture, and the notorious party scene; for others, expatriating offers a passive form of protest against the rising radical right in their home countries. But there\u2019s something more sinister from which we run away: be it by Brexit or by Trump. As expats and immigrants, our departure from the lands in which we were raised can too easily be read as us giving up. As often as I joke about my countdown calendar marking time until I can claim a German passport as my own, it\u2019s not without daily reminders of why I left America three years ago, and why members of the communities I left behind as well as their global counterparts need our support, our aid and our empathy.
\nThere are ample resources for finding organisations that need your skills and your hands; there are services that won\u2019t mind your stumbling German like Vostel<\/a> oder GSBTB<\/a>. Find the communities that need you, or build one around yourself \u2013 Germany faces its own elections in late 2017. The right-wing AfD got 14% of the votes in the local elections last month, so let\u2019s help Berliners learn from our mistakes.
\n 
\n 
\n <\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Our foolproof guide to settling in this hub of digital nomads and freelancers that we call home<\/p>","protected":false},"author":23,"featured_media":40887,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_kad_post_transparent":"","_kad_post_title":"","_kad_post_layout":"","_kad_post_sidebar_id":"","_kad_post_content_style":"","_kad_post_vertical_padding":"","_kad_post_feature":"","_kad_post_feature_position":"","_kad_post_header":false,"_kad_post_footer":false,"_kad_post_classname":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[11856,139],"tags":[34,6677,3905,2979,6678,1274,6679,6680,1757,4325,6681,5144,6485],"class_list":["post-40869","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-sleek-art","category-art","tag-berlin","tag-bureaucracy","tag-culture","tag-expat","tag-freelance","tag-germany","tag-immigration","tag-migrant","tag-nathan-ma","tag-politics","tag-relocate","tag-trump","tag-usa"],"acf":{"main_category":null,"legacy":"1","exclude_from_ads":null,"hero_title":null,"subtitle":null,"hero":null,"teasers":null,"facebook_image":null,"related_articles":null,"next_article":null,"sleek_card_focus":null,"content":null},"yoast_head":"\nMoving to Berlin: A Beginner\u2019s Guide to Running Away from Your Problems Moving to Berlin: A Beginner\u2019s Guide to Running Away from Your Problems<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.sleek-mag.com\/de\/article\/berlin-relocate-guide\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"de_DE\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Moving to Berlin: A Beginner\u2019s Guide to Running Away from Your Problems Moving to Berlin: A Beginner\u2019s Guide to Running Away from Your Problems\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Our foolproof guide to settling in this hub of digital nomads and freelancers that we call home\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.sleek-mag.com\/de\/article\/berlin-relocate-guide\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Sleek Magazine\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sleekmag\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2016-11-11T09:27:36+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@sleekmag\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@sleekmag\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Verfasst von\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Nathan Ma\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Gesch\u00e4tzte Lesezeit\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"6\u00a0Minuten\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.sleek-mag.com\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.sleek-mag.com\/\",\"name\":\"Sleek Magazine\",\"description\":\"Sleek is Germany\u2019s leading independent media house\/brand for creativity and innovation located in Berlin the creative capital of the world. 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