Moving to Germany as an Australian (2016) • Hacker News Board

Re: Moving to Germany as an Australian (2016)

#211

Post by djrobstep » Mon, Dec 16, 2019, 12:09 AM UTC

overkalix wrote: post #209

djrobstep wrote: post #118

Earlier quoted context omitted.

People often say this, but I'm skeptical the raw distances are the problem at all. I think it's simply a lack of vision. Melbourne-Sydney is not much longer than Barcelona-Madrid, Which is served by a very successful high speed train route.

Very successful? AVE routes, including the BCN-MAD one, are not financially sustainable. Spanish and European taxpayer money devoted to the comfort of businessmen and bureaucrats and the profits of contractors while metropolitan lines fall apart and receive little to no investment.

Most infrastructure like this is not "financially sustainable" in a narrow sense because most of the positive externalities aren't capturable. It's nonetheless a good idea (although we certainly need to figure out how to do these things cheaper and less corruptly).

The environmental benefits alone must be considerable as the route has replaced more than half of the air traffic iirc.

Re: Moving to Germany as an Australian (2016)

#212

Post by usr1106 » Mon, Dec 16, 2019, 12:19 AM UTC

ben_w wrote: post #165

usr1106 wrote: post #94

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Actually it's quite easy to get a residence/work permit in the EU EU has nothing to do with your residence/work permit. That is a national process and the rules differ (If you have a residence permit in EU you free to travel, but not to work in the whole EU.) We just discussed the issue at work (Finland) the other day. We get a lot of applicants from outside of EU and not many local ones. The official duration to h…

The EU blue card scheme doesn’t fully replace local immigration rules (and AFIK isn’t even fully deployed yet), it’s just an easy route for high-paid roles. I’m expecting to apply for one post-Brexit, and the only reason I don’t already have one is that EU citizens aren’t allowed to apply.

Oh, I wasn't aware of the Blue Card scheme. That has not gained a lot of public attention here in Finland I'd say. It's not relevant for our company. No software engineer here earns the required 4732 € / mo.

Both schemes exist. Handling time for Blue card is 1 month, for the national permit it is 4 months.

Re: Moving to Germany as an Australian (2016)

#213

Post by cookie_monsta » Mon, Dec 16, 2019, 1:56 AM UTC

zizee wrote: post #149

friendlybus wrote: post #81

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>In the EU if you cross the road in a safe manner, cars will back off the accelerator. In Australia, it's a case you shouldn't be on the road, so they speed up intentionally to hit you. Which is a questionable behaviour because the car driver is usually found to be at fault in most cases whenever a pedestrian is struck. The law favours the pedestrians over the car.

> Which is a questionable behaviour... It's a questionable statement. I haven't ever had this happen to me in Australia.

No. As well as insulation we have vehicular manslaughter.

Re: Moving to Germany as an Australian (2016)

#214

Post by HorstG » Mon, Dec 16, 2019, 7:47 AM UTC

Symbiote wrote: post #199

HorstG wrote: post #173

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Another possibly related factor in univerity cafeterias: The kitchen personell are public employees, underpaid but unfireable. As our cafeterias head chef told me, this causes them to not caring one tiny shred about anything. The chef can't discipline or fire them, first because of the protections as public employees and second because he can't find replacements. Therefore, even simple stuff like properly cooking noo…

Don't you have food hygiene requirements? In Denmark the university cafeterias are outsourced to private companies, and subject to the same quality standards as any restaurant or other place that prepares food.

We do. But the bureacracy responsible for enforcement is toothless, understaffed, intransparent and sometimes maybe even corrupt: https://de.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bayern-Ei-Skandal

https://m.faz.net/aktuell/rhein-main/wursthersteller-wilke-h...

Re: Moving to Germany as an Australian (2016)

#215

Post by onreact » Mon, Dec 16, 2019, 1:24 PM UTC

chki wrote: post #14

onreact wrote: post #2

Some fun albeit superficial information. You forgot to mention that Australians are not simply allowed to move here. Having a job or at least money to support yourself is a prerequisite. A friend of my wife is from Australia and she had a hard time to prove she's not a burden to Germany even though she basically lives off renting her house in Australia and selling her art so that she is quite well off. Also Germany l…

>People from Africa or Asia routinely get held at extraterritorial prisons indefinitely. In case you have mixed ancestry and look like "people of color" be cautious. Not regarding anything else you are claiming this is quite an outrageous claim and I have no recollection of such things going on in Germany for the last few years. It would also be a severe violation of the German constitution if this would be happening…

Every German airport with international flights has a "detention centre".

Even though the new airport in Berlin is still not ready the prison has been finished in 2012: https://www.morgenpost.de/flughafen-BER/article108749351/Flu...

Re: Moving to Germany as an Australian (2016)

#216

Post by onreact » Mon, Dec 16, 2019, 1:24 PM UTC

lucb1e wrote: post #29

onreact wrote: post #2

Some fun albeit superficial information. You forgot to mention that Australians are not simply allowed to move here. Having a job or at least money to support yourself is a prerequisite. A friend of my wife is from Australia and she had a hard time to prove she's not a burden to Germany even though she basically lives off renting her house in Australia and selling her art so that she is quite well off. Also Germany l…

> People from Africa or Asia routinely get held at extraterritorial prisons indefinitely. I'm going to need a source on that. As someone living in Germany (am Dutch), I've never heard of this. Either the government is good at controlling the media, the media don't care, or it's not happening, and the latter seems most likely to me but if you have (a) reliable source(s) I'm fully prepared to learn something new and be…

Every German airport with international flights has a "detention centre".

Even though the new airport in Berlin is still not ready the prison has been finished in 2012: https://www.morgenpost.de/flughafen-BER/article108749351/Flu...

Re: Moving to Germany as an Australian (2016)

#217

Post by onreact » Mon, Dec 16, 2019, 1:26 PM UTC

fefe23 wrote: post #44

chki wrote: post #14

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>People from Africa or Asia routinely get held at extraterritorial prisons indefinitely. In case you have mixed ancestry and look like "people of color" be cautious. Not regarding anything else you are claiming this is quite an outrageous claim and I have no recollection of such things going on in Germany for the last few years. It would also be a severe violation of the German constitution if this would be happening…

Germany does not have extraterritorial prison colonies. I think this is a combination of hyperbole and choosing the wrong word. Germany does have housing for refugees and asylum seekers while they wait for asylum to be granted or denied, and the conditions there might be construed as prison-like depending on your political point of view. Technically it's not a prison. Asylum seekers are not permitted to do paid work,…

Every German airport with international flights has a "detention centre".

Even though the new airport in Berlin is still not ready the prison has been finished in 2012: https://www.morgenpost.de/flughafen-BER/article108749351/Flu...

Re: Moving to Germany as an Australian (2016)

#218

Post by chki » Mon, Dec 16, 2019, 9:16 PM UTC

onreact wrote: post #215

chki wrote: post #14

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>People from Africa or Asia routinely get held at extraterritorial prisons indefinitely. In case you have mixed ancestry and look like "people of color" be cautious. Not regarding anything else you are claiming this is quite an outrageous claim and I have no recollection of such things going on in Germany for the last few years. It would also be a severe violation of the German constitution if this would be happening…

Every German airport with international flights has a "detention centre". Even though the new airport in Berlin is still not ready the prison has been finished in 2012: https://www.morgenpost.de/flughafen-BER/article108749351/Flu...

Yes that makes sense, but that's something completely different than targeting people because of their race and keeping them there "indefinitely".

Re: Moving to Germany as an Australian (2016)

#219

Post by shakermakr » Wed, Dec 18, 2019, 8:34 PM UTC

tannhaeuser wrote: post #134

shakermakr wrote: post #107

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The problem is often cultural food (ie non German) quickly changes to the German palate. There was an incredible Indian restaurant opening here recently. We visited a few months later and it was half as good. Asked the owner: “yeah well, Germans like it not hot, salty, and fatty”. Same with Italian: it’s quantity over quality. And the supermarkets are woeful. It’s hard even to get an “exotic” herb like cilantro often…

Food lovers in Germany don't buy at supermarkets, they go to proper bakeries, butchers, shops for vegetables (many of which are owned by Germans of Turkish descendant) and fish, or specialty shops (Asian, Oriental, bio, etc.), or to the "market" - a place where regional and quality food sellers come once or twice a week with trailers. Discounters are only visited for buying really cheap stuff (Aldi, Lidl, Netto), or…

Sorry but just compare to an Auchan in France, or a normal Waitrose in the UK. Edeka is the closest but e.g. my Rewe doesn’t do Cilantro but Edeka does. Rewe does fresh chilled soup, Edeka doesn’t.

And market food is ridiculously over priced. A zucchini flower costs 2 EUR. anything rare or slightly pimp costs a fortune in Germany. And normally isn’t fresh.

And yes, sausages and cheese are great and the best in Germany. But not every night. And I don’t want to “from scratch” cook everything.

Oh and if I forgot some tomatoes and realized on a Sunday? Tough. Nothing is open.

A friend of mine worked in retail and said of Germany...they tried to introduce “exotic” potato types rather than just “for mash”, “for fries”. No one would pay 1 EUR more for a nuttier tasting potato. That’s the German market. Gut und Günstig.

Sucks.