Create meetup in Berlinchevron_right
Select a place on the map to change the location.
I want to meet
Verified required?
want to meet at fmd_good Nonno's
want to meet at fmd_good Steeped
want to meet at fmd_good Daybreak Cafe
explore Berlin Guides
Berlin Hidden Gems (2026)
kirstin
Berlin on a Budget: Tips 2026
annette
Where to Stay in Berlin (2026)
frieda
3 Days in Berlin: Itinerary 2026
rabeakurth
Things to Do in Berlin (2026)
viktoria
Best Food in Berlin (2026)
bar_chart Trends in Berlin
advice: should i move to berlin/germany?
so i'm going through this things and i am considering moving to germany. i am from a country in south america and currently live in the US. i have a career in academia, with only a masters in… hello,
so i'm going through this things and i am considering moving to germany. i am from a country in south america and currently live in the US. i have a career in academia, with only a masters in this particular field, that i may soon lose due to various politics (all together, i may not be able to work in this field). i have a job that will last till next year summer. visa restrictions are tough (i am on H1B) and i may be able to find a job as staff somewhere. so that's an option, and i may consider it, since i am already adapted to the US. the issue will be the time limit: will I find someone to sponsor a green card on time?
i also have an unrelated masters in computer science that i just finished from a UK university, online. this university is on the anabin list as H+. my bachelor's degree, in the other field, also has a H+ rating.
i am currently thinking of options, including moving to germany to start a new career. i could move to germany with the chancenkarte (i fill all the requirements). i speak some german (and hope to get to B2 level by end of next year, when my job is over). i've lived in germany for about four months before, so i know what an insane place it is bureaucratically. i completely understand it is not the US.
the other option is the UK, where i can move for 2 years and work in an unrestricted fashion, as long as i find someone to sponsor a work visa by the end.
alternatively, i could do another specialized masters degree in CS in germany or france or the netherlands or somewhere similar. language is not an issue: i can learn european languages very quickly and have the foundation in many, because of my spanish. the masters period will give enough time to get to B2.
ideally, i dont want to go back to south america, i really want to just live abroad. this doesn't have to be europe or the us. i really loved germany and what i saw in those four months, but it sounds like the tech market has truly cooled down and i may struggle to find something in that one year. i do not have to work in tech, i can do some other job as well, that may make use of my tech experience.
i have enough money to fund a basic life for me for two years. but i need to make sure i invest this money and time well.
the UK option is prob simpler on paper but thats a trap, two years goes fast and sponsorship is brutal there right now. germany's bureaucracy is annoying but at least the path to PR is clear and you can get it in 33 months with a blue card
if you do the chancenkarte route, look at companies like zalando or n26 in berlin, theyre used to english speakers and the CS masters from an H+ uni will get your degree recognized without hassle. also check out the jobcenter's "Arbeitsmarkt" programs, they actually help with integration courses and sometimes direct job placements
one thing nobody mentions is the rent situation, berlin is competitive but not impossible if you start looking 3 months out and use immoscout's premium account. also be ready to pay 3 months kaltmiete as deposit upfront, thats a chunk of your savings right there
fwiw i think you're overthinking the tech market thing. yeah it's not 2021 anymore but berlin still has a decent scene for people with actual CS degrees, especially if you're flexible on salary. the real bottleneck is gonna be your german level, B2 is fine for day to day but most mid-level dev roles want C1 for client facing stuff. you could prob land something at a startup where english is the working language tho, there's still a bunch of those around mitte and kreuzberg
one thing i'd add about the chancenkarte vs UK decision: the chancenkarte lets you work any job while you search, even part time at a cafe or whatever. that's huge because it takes the pressure off finding a tech role immediately. the UK's 2 year thing is nice but you can't just pivot to bartending if things go sideways, you need sponsored employment by month 22 or whatever. germany's path is messier but more forgiving if you need to course correct
also since you mentioned academia backgrounds, check out the berlin university alliance jobs portal. they have research software engineer positions that love people with your exact combo of academic experience and CS skills. pays less than industry but the visa processing is smoother since they know the system
honestly, if you already have the chancenkarte option and a CS masters, just come. the tech market is quieter but still hiring, and with B2 German you'll have way more options than you think. worst case you pivot into some IT-adjacent role while you figure things out, two years of savings gives you a solid runway
What is the correct spelling for a street name that appears differently on multiple signs in Charlottenburg?
Worth noting that Berlin street names have official umlaut and ß rules that trip people up, so a sign showing "Strasse" versus "Straße" is not actually a spelling error, just an older transcription. Same with "ue" versus "ü" (e.g. "Kantstrasse" vs "Kantstraße"), both are considered valid renderings and you'll see the ß version on the blue Schilder and the ss version on older plaques or in databases that predate Unicode. If the difference you're seeing is between those two forms, there's nothing to fix and both are technically correct.
if the signs u mean are the old enamel ones on the house facades those are often protected as Baudenkmal so nobody's allowed to correct them even if the spelling is outdated. the binding version is whatever is in the Berliner Strassenverzeichnis plus the entry in the Liegenschaftskataster, so if u tell me the street i can point u to the right Bezirksamt Mitte or Charlottenburg-Wilmersdorf page. tbh the merged district thing is real but the facade signs are a separate story, theyre basically museum pieces at this point
honestly thats super common in Charlottenburg, the district offices were merged from older Bezirke and nobody ever fixed all the Schilder. if its a real street you can check the official strassenverzeichnis on berlin.de, that list is what the Burgeramt actually goes by. which street is it? some of the Kaiserdamm / Kantstrasse signs are notorious for this.
load 1 more reply