Berlin advice

there of course the bigger internet companies, zalando and the like, which have english as their main internal communications language. they also seem to hire people without very relevant backgrounds.
three weeks ago i spoke to a polish girl there who i recall had studied languages or something but worked in the marketing dept. of zalando. her german was whinging because she has a british bf and they only talk english at the job.

but i want to second oliver; get to learning german. behind its hard surface is a beautiful language to discover.

oh. and if youre prepared to do unsklilled work, prepare for the absolutely tearjerking salaries they offer. a friend of mine worked in a bar for 4,85 an hour..
i seem to recall there's a debate going on about elevating the minimumwage in de, but thatll probz take a while

and to add to that in general; wages in berlin are eyewatering. my architect (good, master degree in france, 23 y/o) earned 1200 euro a month..
she's in the wrong industry anyway (like me) to be making any money in the forseeable future, but just to paint a picture.

They are bringing in a minimum wage, it was one of the SPD's demands when they formed the coalition. It's going to be €8.50, but I don't think it's enforced until 2015.

ok. like the 8.54 in the netherlands..

bu think of it; i earned 4,85 with waitering when i was 18!?

my architect (good, master degree in france, 23 y/o) earned 1200 euro a month..

Ouch.

Well yeah but I had an amazing room with a nice balcony in a really nice flat for €400/month including bills, and that was relatively expensive for Berlin. Es ist gehupft wie gesprungen.

Es ist gehupft wie gesprungen.

4- leider. Kein Abitur für Sie.

Warum denn?

Hupfen tuns nur in Bayern.

Hüpfen

Hmm I thought it was the other way around. Either way, I don't think it really works as a translation of 'swings and roundabouts' which is what I was aiming for.

"Gehupft wie gesprungen" is a saying that's used everywhere in Germany.

"Gehupft wie gesprungen" is a saying that's used everywhere in Germany.

Du kanns me vel verzälle wenn de dach lang ös.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0ML2krQ9zuc

jezus christ. could you guys start talking german already?

Well yeah but I had an amazing room with a nice balcony in a really nice flat for €400/month including bills, and that was relatively expensive for Berlin. Es ist gehupft wie gesprungen.

you were almost in brandenburg man..
my friends who remain are paying 400-500 euros for rooms +-20m2 in hipster epicenters hermannplatz/goerlitzer park.
its all going downhill....

i think i'm actually reinforcing your statement innit?
well, what i tried to say is that rents are increasing scarily.
its dem damn forrin's i say. dem hipsters..

#guiltyascharged

i shouldve joined one of those rallies on kottbusser damm against gentrifikazion. well ironic

I'd recommend attending courses at the Goethe Institute in London first before you make a move. It'll give you more confidence and a feel for German. Their courses are supposed to be very good (although I've obviously never done one there).

I did a week intensiv course at the Goethe Institute in Berlin, it was really well done but pretty expensive,
I switched to the Hartknackschule and did their 6 month class, it was a lot cheaper and really helped, the teachers would help with all kinds of random stuff aswell, setting up the internet, translating etc

The Humboldt University has very good German courses as well. I'm not sure how much they are for non-students, but plenty of degrees are free in Germany, so start a free degree and get a reduced price language course and a €150 Berlin ABC student travel card for the whole academic year.

As I've said before, if you have the right skills ...

http://www.lfgss.com/post2437790.html

...I'd recommend attending courses at the Goethe Institute in London first before you make a move. It'll give you more confidence and a feel for German. Their courses are supposed to be very good (although I've obviously never done one there).

Ah, well I do have some German, I'd been taking lessons in London for the last year and had moved to Berlin with the aim of completing a course at the Goethe Institut in Berlin, which I have now finished!... apparently I can speak German to B1 level, though I'm a bit dubious personally...

I agree though that language is key, and I reckon I'll try and do another, cheaper, course in Berlin, and continue with some form of tutoring as I can't see myself getting very far without a much higher level in the longer term...

Bar work would do for now!

Look round the bars in Neukölln, there are plenty there run and patronised by people whose German is probably as good as yours. Also look in Exberliner magazine, it's an English-language magazine in Berlin, with a jobs section in the back.

I'm in the process of having my CV translated into German (by a Swiss friend) and plan to approach as many bars as I can to start with!

I reckon bar work would be easiest (or least impossible) given the simple nature of transactions!

I just had a quick look at Ex-Berliner, and will keep an eye on the jobs section, cheers for the suggestion!

Berlin ist schon voll genug mit Zugezogenen und Touris.
Bleibt mal lieber in London ;)

Schnitter is right.. berlin is beautiful.
I recommend you learn some dutch tho else you won't understand any german humor.

He forgot to mention its also full of Kunst

Berlin ist schon voll genug mit Zugezogenen und Touris.
Bleibt mal lieber in London ;)

Und wie die meisten Leute die meckern du bist gebürtiger Berliner, nehme Ich an?

^^ eh? my dutch didnt really help me there. i ended up having to learn german...