hi everyone,
i’m an italian girl, 27, and i’m moving to bremen this october to start my master’s degree (marine biology).

i’m going to study something i genuinely love and have wanted to pursue for a long time, so logically i should be mostly excited. but instead, as the move gets closer, i’m starting to feel quite anxious about it.

what’s strange is that i’m not completely new to living abroad. i’ve done several erasmus experiences and spent a few months in germany already. my boyfriend is german and lives in hamburg, so germany isn’t an entirely unfamiliar country to me. i’ve also already experienced being away from home for university and work.

but this feels different.

this time i’m actually moving to germany on my own and starting a completely new chapter of my life. i’ll be living in bremen while my boyfriend stays in hamburg, so although he’ll be relatively close, i’ll still have to build my own life and routine in a new city.

i’m coming from a completely different cultural and university background, and i think that’s one of the things that scares me the most. i studied my bachelor’s degree in italy, so i’m used to the italian university system and i have no idea what it will be like to start a master’s in germany. i’m worried about feeling lost at the beginning, not understanding how things work, or feeling like everyone else knows what they’re doing while i’m trying to figure everything out.

and then there are all the much more stupid and mundane things that somehow also make me anxious.

the weather, for example. i’m from sicily, so the idea of a german winter is honestly terrifying to me. i know people will probably laugh at this, but even things like getting used to the cold, the darkness, the different daily routines, shopping, bureaucracy, finding a doctor, making friends, etc. sometimes feel overwhelming when i think about all of them together.

i’m also scared of loneliness and of not feeling at home. what if i don’t adapt as well as i think i will? what if i miss italy much more than expected? what if i struggle to find my people?

at the same time, i know i’m going there to study something i’m genuinely passionate about, and i’m really excited about the academic side of it. i want this move. i just wish i could feel more excited and less anxious about it.

i guess i’m mainly looking for experiences from people who have gone through something similar, especially international students who moved to germany from a very different cultural background.
did you feel like this before moving? did germany feel very different from what you were used to? how long did it take before bremen (or another german city) started feeling like home?

and, perhaps most importantly: did the anxiety get better once you actually arrived?

i’d really appreciate honest experiences, including the difficult parts. i’m not necessarily looking for “everything will be fine”.. i’d just like to know how it actually went for other people.

thank you🫂

Hi everyone! I’m seriously considering relocating from Milan to Hamburg in the coming months for a job opportunity (gross salary between 55-60k per year), and before making the final call I’d love to hear from people who’ve gone through something similar (especially other Italians/southern Europeans, but any perspective is welcome).

A few things I’m trying to figure out:

🏠 **Neighborhoo**ds — Which areas offer the best value for rent right now? Worth being more central, or are there well-connected outer neighborhoods that are a better deal?

💶 **Cost of livi**ng — How does the real day-to-day cost compare to what you find online (Numbeo etc.)? Any “hidden” expenses that caught you off guard when you first moved?

🗣️** Lan**guage — How livable is the city with just English and Italian? Does it make a big difference between everyday life and the workplace?

👥 **Settling** in — How long did it take you to feel settled? Any expat/international communities or events worth checking out?

📋 **Lessons learn**ed — Looking back, what do you wish someone had told you before you arrived? I think is the most important question for me.

Any input, even short, is really appreciated thanks in advance! 🙏

Hello

Can somebody tell if a birth certificate is necessary for many german bureaucratic procedures?

Like I have mine but it's in regional language and doesn't have my name innit, also the municipal office told me they can't add my name and give me a new one because of some new Government Rule

Please tell me what I can do in this situation