Moving to Dusseldorf

a)    Quality of life and safety in Germany is one of the best in the world and Düsseldorf is one of its most livable larger cities.

b)    Henkel is a well-known company, one of the best in its market

c)    There are major differences in how private or public health insurance policies work – and who is even eligible for which one. This is a long, involved subject that cannot be mentioned in a few sentences but it has been addressed on many many other threads on this site. You can also simply google it and find sites that will explain it to you.

d)    True, furnished accommodation is rare and expensive. There are places like Ikea (and others) where one can get good cheap furniture. One can also find used furniture advertised on the internet or newspapers, at flea markets, secondhand shops  etc. Also, people throw out things like furniture that are too large for the normal garbage pickup. Different cities have different systems for what is known as Sperrmüll. The upshot is that one can often find relatively good furniture set out on the sidewalk for free. People simply have no place to store things and don’t want to be bothered trying to sell them.
 
e)    Public transportation is very extensive in German cities but one must judge by their personal usage if it is better to have a car. I sold my car a couple of years ago and am saving a lot of money and stress – no repairs, taxes, parking insurance etc. If one occasionally needs a car then one can rent or join a car sharing system like Stadtmobil. Where one might really need to own a car is if they live in a really out of the way place and need to commute. One should look into the public transportation connections when considering accommodation in relationship to where they will work. And it is not just a question of distance per se. It’s a matter of proximately to the lines and if one needs to change multiple times. Most public transportation in German is not really cheap but most cities have special monthly or yearly tickets, or other deals, which make sense if one is using it on a daily basis.

Thanks Tom, I really appreciate the answer. One question about the adverts - do you know any sites with used stuff? For apartments its immobilia, but I wasn't able to find anything for used stuff.

Cheers,

Tom alredy wrote an excellen reply above - I just want to add a few detils:

a. Basically everywhere in Germany is safe & secure, compared to almost anywhere else.
b. The website kununu.de has rankings of employers by employees. You can probably find yours there.
c. A very complicated topic - I suggest to seek professional advice on which avenue is best for you once you arrived here. (Make sure the adviser is impartial and does not just want to sell you PKV - as free, i.e. commission-based, ones will - there is no comission to be had from GKV, but for families that's usually the better option, especially in the long run).
d. Lots of used furniture and household stuff is available on various channels. Check quoka.de and kleinanzeigen.ebay.de. The disadvantages: You need time (until you find what you want), speak German and have a mode to transport the stuff by yourself. Most foreigners end up preferring IKEA.
e. Public transport in a major city is certainly easier and cheaper than having your own car. For the few instances where it isn't you can join one of the many car sharing schemes or rent a car.