# Planning to head to Germany in July 2012



## panama (Nov 24, 2011)

Hi everyone, I´m a citizen of Panama but I lived in California, US for 15 years. I´m now in Panama but I had my eyes on Germany for a long time. 

I´d like to know how much money you think I need to settle for a about 1 year in Germany. I´ll be traveling with my wife and 5 year old boy. Please recommend a place where I can learn both the language and that is not as expensive. Please note, I´m saying not as expensive (I don´t mean cheap)
Give it your best shot, knowing what you know now about the place where you live.

A little bit about me:

It took me about 1 year to learn english fluently.

I hold a BS in Management Information Systems. I speak both English and Spanish extremly well (I don´t know if this matters anyways)

After that year, I hope to learn the language and find work. 

Thanks in advance

Alx


----------



## James3214 (Jun 25, 2009)

Basically, it depends on your lifestyle but with a wife and kid I would probably guess that you would need at least 20-30k to survive and probably in the eastern states (old DDR) nearer the Polish or Czech border. I don't really understand why you chose Germany but you probably won't get a visa to stay for more than 90 days anyway without a job? Why don't you come on a 90 day holiday visa and check things out? I think you might be in for a shock about how hard it can be to live in Germany without speaking German and without a job!


----------



## panama (Nov 24, 2011)

James3214 said:


> Basically, it depends on your lifestyle but with a wife and kid I would probably guess that you would need at least 20-30k to survive and probably in the eastern states (old DDR) nearer the Polish or Czech border. I don't really understand why you chose Germany but you probably won't get a visa to stay for more than 90 days anyway without a job? Why don't you come on a 90 day holiday visa and check things out? I think you might be in for a shock about how hard it can be to live in Germany without speaking German and without a job!


Thank you James3214

We can´t all go back to the STates (strong reason behind this). So I´m looking for a First World Country. Not third world like where I am. I love my country don´t get me wrong. However, rent in a good place (near parks and good family life) is $1,200 - $2,500 Salary for I.T. Managers is about 3,000 per month. So, I bearly make ends meet. I do have good savings (40k) So I´m looking for a place where my child would have a good education, nice parks and not so much smog (like in Panama city) The rent has been going up and up like crazy. Not even in California. For example, I would pay $850 for a 2 bedroom apartment in the nice area of Sacramento, CA. Great schools, parks in every community and a pretty decent public transportation system. I would earn $5k per month as an I.T. manager. 

I don´t want to go on and on comparing places because then it would seems as I´m complaning and I´m not. I´m just trying to find out the facts about a place where I want to live for the next several years (Germany) or any other that offers what I´m looking for.

To be more specific on the visa time line, I want to possibly enroll in a Master´s degree to further my education (Student visa). But first I want to learn the language very well. 

I do plan to make a short 30 day trip to find things out but I´m doing some research at the moment and asking some questions in different forums.

Thank you once again for replying and providing your input.

Alx


----------



## Seb* (Mar 22, 2009)

panama said:


> To be more specific on the visa time line, I want to possibly enroll in a Master´s degree to further my education (Student visa). But first I want to learn the language very well.
> 
> I do plan to make a short 30 day trip to find things out but I´m doing some research at the moment and asking some questions in different forums.


But you are aware, that the possibilities to work and earn money under a student visa are very limited - and likely not sufficent to support a family (in all EU states!), right? And what happens after your student visa runs out? It's not easy to get a a full visa. You would need to be sponsored by a company, which has to prove it can't fill the spot with an EU citizen. IT managers are not very rare here ...


----------



## panama (Nov 24, 2011)

Seb* said:


> But you are aware, that the possibilities to work and earn money under a student visa are very limited - and likely not sufficent to support a family (in all EU states!), right? And what happens after your student visa runs out? It's not easy to get a a full visa. You would need to be sponsored by a company, which has to prove it can't fill the spot with an EU citizen. IT managers are not very rare here ...


Love this forum. Much faster responses than others. Both my wife and I have TEFL certificate for teaching English. I don´t mind working for other industries as well. I´ve worked in construction before, doing electrical wiring and even work in retail. I will have some income coming in from my small business in the US (about $2,500 per month). I´d like to know more about the cost of rent, food, school fees for my kid, insurance and so forth. 

I know one needs a job to survive but I´m thinking more about the first year costs to get an idea of how much more I would need in the long run. As I did in California when I moved there. Once I knew the language it was a lot easier to get a decent job and further my education and get a higher paying job.

Thanks again for getting back so quick.

Alx


----------

