Guess what? Life in Germany isn't all unicorns and rainbows! 🦄 🌈

Guten tag Reader -

Let's give a big old welcome to our newest subscribers! I'm quite happy to say we've had quite a lot of newbies join our community recently. 🙌

What's up this week? Life in Germany isn't all unicorns and rainbows - it's hard for many people to succeed here, especially those coming from abroad. The German economy is in a "slowcession" and the country is receding back to the Middle Ages, and before we know it, we'll be dispatching GoT-styled ravens to send messages to one another.

We cover all of this and more in our August 6, 2023 edition of The Berlin Life newsletter.

Community News

🗣️ News from The Berlin Life:

I'm on vacation for all of August, so all services for The Berlin Life will be paused. You can still make bookings for September though.
It's still a WIP, but I'll be hosting a webinar this month about German job application basics for both CVs and cover letters. Continue to stay tuned, as you can attend and learn a lot, and best of all, it will be free. 💁‍♀️
Don't forget that we're having another meetup before summer disappears! Join us on Wed, Aug 16 @ 7 pm at Republic Berlin to meet others from The Berlin Life community. Register to get on the list and receive a private invite.
Get caught up and read last week's newsletter - Berlin is Friendly?! The Down Low on German Work Culture & Another Meetup.

Food For Thought

🤔 Interesting articles about the "art" of looking for work, as well as humourous gems floating around the web:

No lies, I spent several hours last week rewriting one of our most popular posts, The Reality Of Finding Work In Berlin In 2023. Many people paint a picture-perfect world in Germany, where it's easy to find a job, even without speaking the language. People can certainly succeed at building a life in Germany, but by no means can be it considered straightforward. In the article, I outline some of the challenges that people can expect when looking for work in Berlin, as well as provide some helpful resources.
Local Daniela Skeyki recently shared a brutally honest post on LinkedIn that resonated with a lot of people. She hits on many of the things that are real pain points for foreigners trying to establish a life for themselves in Germany. Give it a read and tell me how much you can relate.
Do you have a favorite content creator in Germany? My top pick is Uyen Ninh. She offers the unique perspective of a Vietnamese woman who came to Germany for love and best of all, she's absolutely hilarious. The internet loves her as well, and almost all of her content gets millions of views. If you don't follow her, definitely get on that follow train now!

Companies Hiring

🇩🇪 German companies hiring right now.

emnify (Berlin & Würzburg)
Flightright (Berlin)
Spendesk (Berlin)
Lion Studios (Berlin)
Too Good To Go (Berlin, Frankfurt, Cologne)
On (Berlin)
Roy Kombucha (Berlin)
Lano (Berlin)

Startup News

🚀 German startups that received funding recently, got acquired, built up staff, etc., and could be good places to look for jobs.

News in Germany

🗞️ Immigration and other general news in Germany.

Germany desperately needs tech-savvy migrants — but visa rules haven't caught up - "The government is taking steps to make moving to Germany smoother for migrants. But is it enough?" Short answer, not really.
German supermarket charges 'true cost' of foods - One German supermarket charged customers a whole lot of money for certain foods in order to demonstrate the impact of climate change.
Is Germany’s great economy sinking into ‘slowcession’? - Despite all of the economic woe and word of sooooo many people being laid off, the labor market has remained strong.
Germany slashes digitisation budget by 99 percent - In a move that baffles all of us, politicians are already breaking their promise to take Germany out of the dark ages by digitalizing certain things.
Did you know that 83% of Blue Card holders tend to stay in Germany and that 22% of those people are from India? Check out this post from Jörg Kleis on LinkedIn for more interesting stats - oh, and give him a follow!
Germany: Housing is almost unaffordable - I'd reword this title to just say, "Germany: Housing is unaffordable."
Missing Mexican woman Maria Fernanda Sanchez found dead in Germany - We shared the news last week of a missing Mexican woman who's since been found dead. 💔
Berlin district may adopt traffic lights showing queer couples - This is seriously the cutest thing ever! May it come to pass. 🤞
This Berlin house balances romance and strength in a scenic plot - Take a photo tour of a beautifully done up house in Berlin.
Recommended: This BBC documentary by local, Alex Eccleston. "A local legend of Kreuzberg, Osman Kahlin, a Turkish guestworker who built a treehouse on the Berlin Wall".

Useful Resources

😎 Good stuff from the Berlin Life.

Career Coaching - Get help creating a standout job application that will get you interviews in Germany. You can also work with us to learn how to ace German job interviews.
CV/Cover Letter Quick Review - A budget-friendly alternative to career coaching, have your job application reviewed by an experienced career coach.
Mentor Hour - Book an hour with Cheryl to get general advice about moving to Germany and finding work.
Join our Slack space or Facebook group to start chatting with locals and others from abroad who want to move to Germany.
Add yourself to our LinkedIn connect and exchange list to network with other community members.
Create a German CV (and cover letter) quickly & easily with resume.io.

Support Us

🙏 There are many little and kind ways you can help support us, as we support you.

Give us a follow on social media - LinkedIn, Facebook, & Twitter.
Tell people about us. Send them to our website and tell them to signup for our newsletter.
Buy us a beer. 🍺

Until next time, Reader. 💛

Founder - The Berlin Life