# Another Cdn Wanting to Head to Berlin



## cdngrrleh (Mar 10, 2011)

I'm a Canadian planning to move to Berlin in July. I'll be coming there on a one year working holiday visa. 

I know English and some French but no German at all. I plan to enroll in a class as soon as I arrive.

I'm a senior project manager with 10 years experience working on IT (web development focused) projects. I'm pretty active in the social media sphere and local tech community in my city as well. As much as I hope to find related work, I'm also willing to work teaching English and/or slinging beers in a pub. Heck, I'd even work in the tourism industry doing something. 

Mostly, I'm coming for the experience to live abroad and travel Europe. 

Questions - 

1) What sites are best to use to find jobs? I want to start my job search now.
2) What sites are best to use to find flat rentals? Google searches yield a lot of various sites but I'd love to hear from people living in Berlin or Germany about which ones are legit.
3) Where is the best place to learn German? Are there schools or programs that come recommended?
4) Lastly, are my chances of finding work realistic considering my German is next to nil? My willingness to learn is very keen though!

Any help you could offer to this newbie would be very appreciated! I hope to be able to contribute more here as I become a seasoned resident of Germany.


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## James3214 (Jun 25, 2009)

Welcome 

Lucky you! Berlin's a great place!

Here we go (I know, I know...I should create a sticky with these common questions!)

1) What sites are best to use to find jobs? I want to start my job search now.

Plenty of them from an internet search but others which might help are:
Jobs in Berlin - Germany - for English Speaking Professionals
Official German employment site (in English): 
JOBBÖRSE - Meine erweiterte Suche nach Stellenangeboten


2) What sites are best to use to find flat rentals? Google searches yield a lot of various sites but I'd love to hear from people living in Berlin or Germany about which ones are legit.
Try Immobilien, Wohnungen und Häuser bei ImmobilienScout24 mieten, kaufen, inserieren
or Craigslist. Probably better to find a house or flat share if you want to save money. 


3) Where is the best place to learn German? Are there schools or programs that come recommended?
Volkshochschule - official German education authority which may not always be the best but probably the cheapest.
Die Berliner Volkshochschulen - Berlin.de


4) Lastly, are my chances of finding work realistic considering my German is next to nil? My willingness to learn is very keen though!

Yes, they are realistic but it limits your opportunities. There are always jobs for non native speakers, especially in a place like Berlin where English is spoken widely due to the big tourism market.
It also depends on your non language skills. If they are good enough, German might not always be necessary.

In the short term oYou could always apply to the Irish pubs or in the catering trade (and there are lots in Berlin). They sometimes look for 'meal runners' or have other jobs which don't require German and also try the language schools if you think you could teach English.


But start learning or improve your German now. You will need it at some stage, so you can hit the ground running when you get here!

I am sure you will have a great time. Let us all know how you get on!


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## cdngrrleh (Mar 10, 2011)

Thanks so much for your reply! Lots of great info. Very very appreciated. As I plan my move, I'm sure I'll have some more questions.  

Def will keep you posted as to how it goes. 

Cheryl


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