TominStuttgart
American and German expat in Germany
Forum posts
2824
Contacts
5
About me
American and German
Lives in Stuttgart
Speaks English, German some Spanish and French
Registration: 19 March 2012
About
I'm a professional clown and juggler, born in Puerto Rico, grew up in Dayton, Ohio USA where I got a Bs in Finance. I left the States in 1983 to work mostly in Europe and travel the world. I live in Stuttgart, Germany, have had a long involvement with this city since 1984 and obtained German citizenship in 2019, making me a dual national. I am happy to give tips about Stuttgart or any of the other 900 or so cities in over 60 countries I have visited. I am happy to contribute my knowledge and experience to advise people here but I have to admit that I have little patience for scammers and overly general questions.
Education
University of Dayton
Bachelor of Science (BSc), Finance
1982
My expat journey
Germany
USA
Activity
Converting foreign driving license to German Class B Reality? by EuroPathUser
Hello everyone,I am in the process of planning my relocation to Germany and am currently sorting through the administrative tasks. One major point of concern for me is the conversion of my driving license (Führerscheinumschreibung für ...
Sounds like you need to research things before wasting lots of money because yes, getting a drivers license in Germany is expensive and always has been. If one has a license from another EU country, then they can drive with it for up to a couple of ... Read More
Chancenkarte from Egypt: still in preliminary review by Mosab Irwished
Hello everyone,I'm applying for a German Opportunity Card (Chancenkarte) from Egypt and would appreciate experiences with a status discrepancy between TLScontact and the Consular Services Portal (CSP).18 October 2026: I submitted my online ...
@Mosab Irwished Hi Mosab Irwished,Sorry but I don’t know the details of such a process or the organizations involved to be able to give a reliable answer. Unfortunately, from the lack of responses, it seems nobody active here has an answer ... Read More
Covid, flu vaccines available also at pharmacies
Don’t want to discuss the science behind or argue with anti-vaxxers but the seasonal flu and/or Covid vaccines are available. Neither is mandated but as one over 65 and having asthma I was happy to recently get mine. I got both at the same ... Read More
Applying for a German Student Visa: Need Some Advice by Sarahwilson441
Hi everyone,I’m currently researching the possibility of moving to Germany for higher education, and I’m trying to understand the whole process before making any decisions. I’m an international student from Pakistan, and Germany is ...
Some good answers provided here but for clarification German public universities generally allow non-Schengen/EU students to attend a bachelor program without paying tuition, except in Baden-Württemberg where they are charged 1500 ... Read More
Applying for a German Student Visa: Need Some Advice by Sarahwilson441
Hi everyone,I’m currently researching the possibility of moving to Germany for higher education, and I’m trying to understand the whole process before making any decisions. I’m an international student from Pakistan, and Germany is ...
@Sarahwilson441 Most of these questions have been asked and answered extensively on previous threads. I know because I''ve answered them myself. It is recommended one goes through the site and reads what has been covered already. Then if you have ... Read More
CDU proposal to change citizenship rules. by TominStuttgart
Followers of German politics have certainly heard of the latest election results in Saxon-Anhalt where the radical right-wing and science-denial AfD party got by far the most votes, although not an outright majority. In responce, the CDU party, ...
@TominStuttgart What is unclear is the possible exceptions to the no non-EU citizens being naturalized without renunciation of their previous citizenship. One of the arguements for having dropped this requirement was that there were so many ... Read More
CDU proposal to change citizenship rules.
Followers of German politics have certainly heard of the latest election results in Saxon-Anhalt where the radical right-wing and science-denial AfD party got by far the most votes, although not an outright majority. In responce, the CDU party, ... Read More
Seeking guidance from disabled expats who moved to Germany by Lune Arin
Hello, I’m a disabled person (power wheelchair user) in the U.S. (on SSDI and a small US-based self-employment income) preparing for a move to Germany. I have limited energy and need practical, lived‑experience answers from people who ...
@SimCityAT I don't see the responses as criticism but as clarification. Seems like a respectful dialog to me. And some of the things I've mentioned could be seen as failing to directly answer the OPs questions per se but this is a forum rather than ... Read More
Seeking guidance from disabled expats who moved to Germany by Lune Arin
Hello, I’m a disabled person (power wheelchair user) in the U.S. (on SSDI and a small US-based self-employment income) preparing for a move to Germany. I have limited energy and need practical, lived‑experience answers from people who ...
About the citizenship by ancestry issue I would point out that some citizenship laws were gendered biased and it is to Germany’s credit that they try to reverse past rules that were unfair. The thing is that going back prior to parents is ... Read More
Seeking guidance from disabled expats who moved to Germany by Lune Arin
Hello, I’m a disabled person (power wheelchair user) in the U.S. (on SSDI and a small US-based self-employment income) preparing for a move to Germany. I have limited energy and need practical, lived‑experience answers from people who ...
There is an app from the Deutschebahn that includes local system information as well as local tranportation system ones. They do give warnings of closed stops, elevators or esculators but how complete or up to date they might be is questionable. ... Read More
Seeking guidance from disabled expats who moved to Germany by Lune Arin
Hello, I’m a disabled person (power wheelchair user) in the U.S. (on SSDI and a small US-based self-employment income) preparing for a move to Germany. I have limited energy and need practical, lived‑experience answers from people who ...
@Lune Arin I didn’t want to suggest you are looking for handouts per se but to clarify the situation about how officials will look at one’s financial situation. Most people come with a work situation. Few foreigners retire to Germany in ... Read More
Seeking guidance from disabled expats who moved to Germany by Lune Arin
Hello, I’m a disabled person (power wheelchair user) in the U.S. (on SSDI and a small US-based self-employment income) preparing for a move to Germany. I have limited energy and need practical, lived‑experience answers from people who ...
An American has no given right to live in Germany. If not married to a German or other Schengen citizen then one has to be able to pay their way. The question would be if your income sources will be enough? One will not be allowed to just show up ... Read More
Navigating friendships as an expat in Germany by Cheryl
Hello everyone, Moving to Germany reshapes many aspects of life, and friendships are often one of the biggest changes. Whether you're maintaining lifelong bonds back home, building new local relationships, or forming connections with fellow ...
I’ve mentioned this on other threads but making friends in Germany one should understand a few things. Germans like most Europeans in fact are a bit slower and reserved when meeting people. They don’t just bump into someone on the street ... Read More
Workers in Europe : how do you deal with climate change ? by Asaël Häzaq
Hi,We're writing an article about the impact of climate change on expatriate workers in Europe. We'd like to hear about your experiences.Since last month, heatwaves are particulary high in Europe. How do you deal with that ? Do you have a "climate ...
Germany is known for not having air-conditioning because it was formerly never really needed. It also takes a lot of electricity, many older buildings don't have the capasity for. My apartment building is not extremely well insulted but not so bad. ... Read More
Health insurance for expats by resanders
My wife and I are presently applying for a long-stay visa in Germany. We have to provide quotes for that in support of our application. Any help as to where and with whom we can get these would be very very much appreciated.Thanks, Ron
@resanders What do you mean by a long term visa? Indefinite? How long is critical. The normal limit to come to Schengen for tourism is 90 days. Germany seems to have a agreement with a couple of countries allowing a longer time; like 6 months. To ... Read More