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Welcome on ½ûÂþÌìÌà Guy N

I hope that other members of the community will bring their input to your various queries soon.

Regards

Hey, Guy!

Well, I don't know about the language courses question, but Cologne, as a city, is a brilliant choice. I've moved here about 5 months ago, and it's a really great place to live. If you're looking for a flat-sharing opportunity, you can go to wg-gesucht.de, great website (of course, there are downsides, but I've found it to be a nice way to get to meet people, it's really cheap and you get to speak a little German as well, so there's that...)

As for tips: whatever happens, get a bike... public transportation is crazy expensive (and I do mean crazy).

guyn wrote:

Hi everyone,

I've decided to move to Germany (specifically to Cologne) about two weeks ago and planning to actually in about two months.

As you can imagine I've got tons of questions (I don't speak German and I'm still on the look out for a job).

But first things first,
I have a German passport and I understand I am entitled to some degree of help from the government (German language course etc.)

How can I find out exactly what I'm entitled to ?

I will be renting a house (short term rent) until I get settled. I'd love to get some recommendations on costs/locations.

Of course I'm also looking for any tips/recommendations for the city.

Thanks,
Guy N.

Hey Guy,

Cologne is a great city. Lots to do and not far away from a lot of great places.

If you are in possession of German citizenship, then you are entitled to receive BAföG, which is a type of grant used to fund education. However, the circumstances are very complicated and usually dependent on the income of your parents/your own income, with a number of exceptions.

A great website that you can use for information is: bafoeg-rechner.de/
The site is unfortunately in German. :-(

As far as I know, you can get language courses funded from the Arbeitsamt/Ausländeramt (Unemployment Office/Immigration Office), though I'm not sure what the circumstance will be like with you being a German citizen. These are usually only paid for if you do not have a job.

Finding a flat is not too easy in Cologne. Wg-gesucht.de is a great website for finding roommates, and immobilienscout24.de is great for finding an apartment for yourself.

If you have anymore questions, feel free to hit me up. ;-)

Hi there~*,
i honestly think that Belgisches Viertel is the nicest district in Cologne.

Rathenauer Platz, Mozart Str. Haendel Str. , Bruesseler Platz ... These streets and districts are really nice.

If you don't speak German yet ... how about sharing an appartment with some German college students?
If you don't know many people yet in Cologne, they will surely take you with them when they go to parties.
It's a good way to quickly get in touch with new people. ^_^

Hi there....how are you doing?  I am in the same situation.  I will be going to Koln versy soon.  I am in London.  I am Brazilian/British and just like you, I do not speak German hehe it is going to be something hehe...
here is a contact that you can get some info.
I hope to hear from you soon.
Valter.

Oliver Rühl

Telefon:   0049 (0)228 713 1313

E-Mail:     ZAV-Bonn@arbeitsagentur.de

(moderated: no ads please)

Hi, everyone,
I'm a Spanish guy who is thinking about moving to Cologne. I speak some German, not perfectly but I can handle...
I have decided to move to there for changing my life. I have my own place, work, etc but happiness is also important.
I would love to get to know people who are or have been in the same situation to help me or show me what to do in first place.
Would like to know if finding a job- it is a really difficult subject when German language maybe is the skill...
my best to all of you!!!!