Moving to the Heidelberg area

Hi All

I am a 35 year old Irish Lad moving to Heidelberg area in June/July 2008.

• My level of german is very basic, I am planning to go to a language school. Any Advice?
• Any advice on where to get employment. I am a trainee accountant in Ireland but have worked in pubs and hotels previously for a number of years. Is it hard to get a job in hospitality?finance with only very basic german?
• Any other advice would be appreciated?

Any help will be greatly appreciated and the giver will be showered in tayto or guinness or both.

Thanks

Regarding the question "why move to Heidelberg", the answer is because it's quaint, cute, postcard-like.

Regarding work, I think O'Reilly's Irish Pub often looks for wait staff.

Good luck.

Hi,

I'm relatively new to the Heidelberg area and also had a few questions.

• Does anyone have any recommendations for a language school in Heidelberg? I'm currently enrolled in a course at the VHS and I hate it! I really need something with structure, which isn't present in my current course.
• How about English speaking hairdressers? Any recommendations?
• Finally, I'm an avid birder and was wondering if anyone had any recommendations for birding hotspots or clubs in the area.

Any other advice on life in Heidelberg and meeting people would be much appreciated!

Regarding the bird watching...

Close to home, in Heidelberg: Wieblingen, south Neckar shore. Nature protection zone with some rarer birds.

Still trying to get this one identified myself btw. Picture was taken there on a walk.

Other than that, there are plenty of nature conversation zones along the Rhine river in the area, along the old bends that have now become islands with floodplain forests mostly. I recommend the Reißinsel in Mannheim, although that one will be closed till July.

Thanks for the tips! I'll definitely check out those sites. BTW, I think your bird is a Cormorant (Phalacrocorax carbo).

Possibly this one: http://www.heidelberger-paedagogium.de/

I am a native German speaker so I cannot give any advice from experience. I think a friend of mine did an intensive Latin course with them. The level might be a bit higher there (which is a good thing in my opinion). About eight years ago I did Spanish at the VHS for a year and wasn't very happy with the level either (was a different VHS though).

Thanks for advice on language school. It looks good.

Does anyone have any experience of this language school: http://www.heidelberger-paedagogium.de ?

How about English speaking hairdressers in or around Heidelberg? I'm not looking for anything special, just a trim. I'm tired of looking like Shaggy from Scooby Doo.

Since no one else has responded...I went to a trial German language class at Heidelberger Paedagogium today and it was really good. It is a little more expensive than the VHS but the quality of instruction is much higher.

Hi Wren, I also went to a trial class. I have to say I was impressed with the instruction myself. I also found the staff very helpful (as you would expect but dont always get) I have registered for a beginners intensive course.

Hallo all,

I have been living and working in Heidelberg for 6 months now, and still things are new. I would like to get some suggestions and recommendations on the things listed above or on websites and databases that would help me find information on these topics:

Doctors: specifically to get wisdom teeth removed, dermatologists, and opthmalogists (eye doctor, or at least some way to find out if and how to get glasses)
Jobs: English speaking jobs around Heidelberg and Mannheim for my husband who is moving here. Also some suggestions to applying for SAP as an engineer.
Dance classes: looking for anything fun, social, but also a challenge and high level in samba, flamenco, hiphop, tap, belly dance, anything really (except ballet)
Food: international food stores. Where can I find Russian food stores and restaurants? Powdered citric acid (to make my gramma's Borscht)? And also Mexican food stores and restaurants?

Looking forward to some suggestions.

PS. My Germany is not so good, so websites and other suggestions in English would be best. However, please don't limit your suggestions based on language!

Topics merged by admin

There are a few Russian stores (one or two) in Rohrbach, down Heinrich-Fuchs-Straße from Rohrbach Markt station. Restaurants... wouldn't know any.

Doctors: There is an English speaking Augenartz Dr Gösele at Kurfurstenanlage 36, A dermatologist Dr Mücke Adenauerplatz 4, also just for glasses you can go to any optician, there are several on Haupstr.

Hi all,

This is my first post on here but am a regular forum user. I have a feeling I'll be using this site a lot!

Right, so my girlfriend is off back to Germany to study and it looks like she's going to Heidelberg.

I decided that i'd take the plunge so to speak and head over with her

Has anyone on here ever been? I've heard its a beautiful town.
Is it expensive to live there?

I'm a qualified engineer but have no German (started lessons last week!)
Will it be difficult for me to find a job?
The plan was to find any job (bar, restaurant ect.), improve my german and then find an engineering gig.

Any help would be much appreciated.

Thanks

Topics merged by admin

I go to school in Heidelberg. It is beautiful but expensive (but of course it always depends on what you compare the prices to, I think it's probably cheaper than Dublin, but more expensive than Berlin).
You should be able to find a job at a bar or something, there are many Americans in HD (through the US Army) so I imagine that English-speaking bar staff is in demand.
A cheaper option to live would be Mannheim, also a bigger city so it might be easier for you to find work there. It is 15-20 mins to Heidelberg by train and if your girlfriend is going to be a student at the uni in Heidelberg she can use her semester ticket for public transport between MA and HD. I personally wouldn't like the commute, but many people do it. Depends on your financial situation if it's worth it.

Thanks for the speedy reply.

Ive been told that i'd have better chances of securing work in mannheim alright.
i'm shocked to hear that Heidelberg is so expensive.
is it difficult/expensive to find accommodation there?

Heidelberg is a touristy/university town - it's pricey and pretty.

I always found a place to live there within a few days, but it depends on what you're looking for and how picky you are. As for how pricey it is, depends on your expectations... You could look at the ads here to get an idea: http://www.quoka.de/ (Or ask your girl to look at them if you don't speak German.)

What is expensive? You can get a pint of beer for less than 3€.
It is not difficult to find an expensive accommodation here.
Mannheim, however, is approx. 30% cheaper.
Look into www.rnz.de. You will find (on saturdays) the local ads.
Since your girlfriend is German it should not be a problem to get through.

What do you mean with qualified engineer?
Possibly you don't need any German to find a job.
Did you checked www.monster.de?

Ah yeah RNZ.de is good too. You can also see the ones from last Saturday now... if you are just wanting to get an idea of what prices are approximately it would still be helpful.

ah thats very good news.

i have an mechanical engineering degree.

at the moment i'm learing german and hope to have conversational german in a few weeks time, at least enough to get me a bar job or whatever.
then as my german improves i can get an engineering job hopefully.
by the sounds of things, i'd be better off heading to mannheim. its not too far right?

thanks for the great info so far! keep it coming!

No, as I said 15-20 mins commute by train and there is a train about every 20 minutes. Many people commute between the two towns. I had a job in Mannheim for a couple of months when I first moved to Heidelberg. Granted, didn't stay there very long but that wasn't because of the commute.

Spartak, try to get a job first. Mechanical engineers are sought after.
They will pay you for your work, not for talking German.
Forget learning German first. If in the first meeting the Germans find that
your German is not good enough, 10 Germans will switch to English
You will have no chance to learn German.
Forget about it and get a job first.