Essentials to live in Germany

I would suggest that before you come to Germany,  make a trip to China; Beijing or Shanghai to get a set or 2 of warm clothing like winter overcoats. As many European designers outsource there,  you can expect great quality & designs. You could go to the shopping centers specificly (Shanghai) for made-to-measure tailoring & wholesellers' complexes.  Due to favourable exchange rate, a good bargaining skill would give you get value for your money.

Chocolate Chips.

If you are moving temporarily, bring some of your holiday items...like Christmas ornaments and such.

Some of your appliances will work with the German outlets (different electrical) with a simple adapter (e.g., computers, etc) but other things require massive converters (e.g., mixers).

Some of this depends on who is paying for the move...is it better to buy stuff there or ship it?

bopper wrote:

If you are moving temporarily, bring some of your holiday items...like Christmas ornaments and such.

Sorry but that is just puzzling to me.  Germany is famous for its Christmas markets; many of the most beautiful and highest quality Christmas decorations I own, I've gotten in Germany.

Romaniac

Yes, you could buy all new decorations, but if you are doing a 3 year rotation to Germany, say, then having some of your memories from home is a good thing. You may think to pack them up and store them, but having a little bit of "home" with you is comforting.

bopper wrote:

Yes, you could buy all new decorations, but if you are doing a 3 year rotation to Germany, say, then having some of your memories from home is a good thing. You may think to pack them up and store them, but having a little bit of "home" with you is comforting.

Absolutely, and I agree!  Bringing a bit of "home" can apply to being an expat in any country, not only Germany

I interpreted your post (going along with the first post of the topic), as meaning that Christmas decorations were hard to come by in Germany, which definitely isn't that case


Romaniac

Is this a joke? Why would someone go all the way to China to buy cloths for Germany? There are plenty of cheap cloths available in Germany, so any potential savings are well out-weighed by the cost and trouble of such a strategy.

Basic appliances are rather cheap in Germany so it is unlikely the cost of transportiung such things would be cost effective. And Christmas ornaments? Best buy some in Germany since they sell tons of such stuff - often high quality, made in wood rather than just plastic junk. There are outdoor Christmas markets in many of the major cities where one can find such things, but they are usually expensive there. But in big department stores one can find, for example, sets of hand-painted, wooden tree ornaments for around a euro per piece or less. These are one of the things I have sent to America as gifts where they were appreciated for their classic old-world type appeal.

Here's my tip for Americans: Salsa and pumpkin pie spice. Decades ago one could hardly find Mexican food in Germany and although the situation has improved, it is still not good. One can now find a big bags of tortilla chips at many super markets; 300 grams for 99 euro cents. Avoid the brand name ones like Chio which are full of preservatives and other chemicals and can easily cost 3 euros for a 120 gram bag. Most brands of salsa sold in Germany are also full of sugar and vinegar and taste disgusting to anyone who knows salsa. The best one will find is small jars of standard stuff from labels like "Old Paso". Specialty salsa or chips (beyond plain, cheese and paprika flavors) are unheard of. And I have never seen a fresh corn tortilla in Europe yet. One can find some packaged flour tortillas, often marketed as "wraps" and sometimes even with 10% corn. But fresh, soft tortillas aren't to be found. So if you have space and weight allowance in your check in luggage or get something shipped, then go buy a gallon jug of salsa (like Pace). Pumpkin pie is also unknown in Germany but in the autumn Hakido pumpkins are readily available. In the last decade Germany have started to take up the idea of celebrating Halloween and sell the big jack-o-lantern pumpkins but these are not meant to be eaten! Making a pumpkin pie from scratch takes time but is not so complicated other than getting the crust right. One can find the individual spices needed but one will not find a specific pumpkin pie spice mix sold, so it is worth bringing it with you.

maurin wrote:

I would suggest that before you come to Germany,  make a trip to China; Beijing or Shanghai to get a set or 2 of warm clothing like winter overcoats. As many European designers outsource there,  you can expect great quality & designs. You could go to the shopping centers specificly (Shanghai) for made-to-measure tailoring & wholesellers' complexes.  Due to favourable exchange rate, a good bargaining skill would give you get value for your money.

If you can distinguish shoddy Chinese fakes from genuine quality, you might save a few hundred Euros that way (compared to shopfloor prices in Europe), but a flight to China certainly costs more - so from a purely financial standpoint this is a dumb idea in most cases! (Of course there might be other reasons for visiting China ...)

Canned pumpkin and cranberry sauce for thanksgiving

I like, appreciate and honor your efforts. Big thanks Buddies!!

Agreed. and the thermal underwear(for winter) you will find quite 
reasonable in the local Kaufhaus.  I have brought a big adapter to plug in US phone, computer etc.