Life in Germany – August 2024 (Month 125)

Planning for the UK move

This month has been very, very busy with planning for our move to the UK.

This has involved two trips to England in August – one planned, one last-minute.

It was also a very busy time for Klaus with his plans, mostly around his job.

But first the UK visits.

We received the Grant of Probate for my Mum’s Estate very quickly (I sent off the Probate documentation in early June) and so it was time for me to come to the UK with various Building Society Passbooks and for Anna and I to sign various things together. So we arranged for Klaus and I to come over on the Wednesday night ferry and Anna would also take two days off work so we could have time together to do our paperwork on Thursday and Friday. Klaus was going to have to work on the Friday (Home Office from England) so Anna and I arranged to do our bank visiting then.

For the Thursday I booked for us to view five properties, one in Great Bentley, 1 in Colne Engaine, 2 in Earls Colne and 1 in Halstead. This is all the general area around Colchester.

Klaus and I were about to set off on Wednesday afternoon at about 3pm (he had come home from work early so we could miss the traffic) and he suddenly realised he had left his laptop at work – he needed it for working at home on Friday. So we drove 40 minutes in the wrong direction to go to Mülheim and pick up the laptop, and straight from Mülheim to Hoek van Holland. We arrived with plenty of time (I always add a huge buffer for traffic nightmares), headed onto the ferry and settled down with our Stena Lounge food.

We had a good crossing and the next morning I enjoyed a Stena Lounge breakfast.

We disembarked and arrived at Mum’s house early on Thursday morning. Anna had come up the night before after work and had finished the jigsaw puzzle I had almost completed last visit. She started a new one!

This was to be the day of house viewings. The first was at 10:30am in Great Bentley and turned out to be a really lovely bungalow with good-sized rooms and great decor. The problem was, it was in a small close behind a car repair garage and Chinese take away and it didn’t have allocated parking, just a general area where the existing owners parked. Great Bentley wasn’t really where I wanted to settle anyway, but it was good to have a look around.

After that we went on to Colchester to pick up a few supplies from Boots and have some lunch.

Klaus also did the traditional look around JD Sports at sneakers.

The next place we were due to visit was a fairly expensive bungalow in Colne Engaine. The bungalow was nice but on the drive over there I realised the roads were too narrow for my liking – I don’t like single track roads and wouldn’t want to live somewhere with them! There was also only a post office/village store there, I felt I wanted to be in a larger town with lots of amenities.

Our next visit was to two houses in Earls Colne. We arrived a bit early so stopped at the local pub for a drink (and I had a Brownie).

We grilled the young pub server about Earls Colne and she said how much she liked it and was very positive about it.

The first house to view was very interesting and in an excellent location round the corner from the high street and 50 metres from a decent sized co-op. This house was a fair price but had some mystery stains/cracks in the rear wall which might be omens of something worse. We aren’t ready to buy anyway, we were just trying to get an idea of the market – but if the perfect place did pop up then we would indeed buy there and then.

The agent then showed us a much cheaper house in Earls Colne which had previously been rented out. This was way too basic for us – but helped us to confirm in our minds that we are willing to invest more in a house as we spend so much time there, plus Klaus will probably be working from home.

The final house for viewing was in Halstead, and this was a rather expensive bungalow but very nicely decorated. What was weird was we realised there was no table to eat your food on (and no space for one), and the second bedroom was too small to be a bedroom/office combined. We felt it was overpriced even through it was nice.

Halstead is where two of my friends from Lion Walk live, so we popped in to see Gwenllian and Mark and then headed off for a pub evening meal with them. It was really great to chat to them again, and Mark was giving us lots of useful information about running his own business.

Klaus had apple crumble and custard for his dessert. I didn’t have space for dessert after my brownie!

The next day, Friday, Klaus was working from home and Anna and I were out and about. We had to get our IDs verified to post off to various places, plus we took the building society passbooks in to one building society. Annoyingly I forgot to bring the Grant of Probate with us for the building society so we had to go back to Buckshorns to get it. Which meant we stopped for lunch and then waited a bit so Klaus could come with us for the afternoon visit back to Ipswich town centre.

Weirdly the building society couldn’t do an electronic transfer of the funds free of charge, and we didn’t want to pay £20 a pop for a CHAPS transfer (there would be six in total!) so they printed us cheques and we walked round the corner with them and paid them in at the NatWest Bank to the Executor Account. The whole procedure took absolutely ages (at least an hour) so we had definitely deserved some cake and a drink in the local Café Nero.

We had achieved what we needed to and went back to Buckshorns. Klaus and I wanted to go for a walk so we did a “follow your nose” version near the church but took a wrong turn and ended up in Henley Square, so it ended up as a 7km walk as we kept getting to closed roads/paths. We made it back eventually, but I had picked up a weird rash on my ankle from some vegetation which ended up quite painful and with weeping blisters. It took almost 3 weeks to completely clear up.

We had bought our evening meal so cooked for ourselves at Buckshorns and had an early night as Klaus and I were both tired.

The next morning we were up early and decided to go for another walk. We saw that the burnt out phone box has now been replaced – Maureen the neighbour told us that the local chap will build the shelves for the books soon.

We followed our noses and ended up discovering a missing bridge on a public footpath. Fortunately all was dry so we were able to get back onto the right path.

A bit further on Klaus took this photo – at least there was a bridge here!

We had a sort-of free day so Klaus and I decided to go and visit Bury St Edmunds as several people had said it was a great place to visit. Anna wanted to stay behind at Buckshorns as Roderic would be coming up later in the day.

So Klaus and I headed up the A14 for about 40 minutes until we reached Bury, parked in the multi storey and then followed the clear footpath into the town centre. Turns out Bury is twinned with Kevlar which is 40km from us.

And it turned out Bury is lovely! It had a big market on in the central square (called Buttermarket – the central square in Kempen is called Buttermarkt!) and lots of individual and quirky shops, as well as the important chains (Marks & Spencer!) We spent some time looking round and then as we were hungry stopped for a salad in a little café. It was tasty but pricey.

We walked around the Abbey Gardens which was lovely, and then went in to look around the Cathedral. The organist was practising which was lovely (although he was playing quite quietly – he could have turned up the volume a bit!)

It’s a beautiful cathedral.

We spent a long time sitting in there and enjoying the music and the surroundings. We were also surprised to see dogs there – it turns out Bury is very pro-dog and you can take your dog into lots of shops and cafes there too.

The cathedral had a tea room attached so we sampled the Cream Tea there – very good! And friendly service.

When I popped out to the loo I saw a notice board which showed all the events going on in Bury. There was Bury Bach Choir, another more modern choir, lots of other events listed and it showed Bury was a really vibrant place. There was clearly lots to do in the town.

We headed back to Buckshorns and Klaus started talking about Bury as a place to live. It’s too far from my family, I said, but over time we thought more about it – it’s such a great town, the journey to Anna would be an hour and a half which is manageable and I guess we wouldn’t be doing that journey more than once or twice a month.

So we started looking at possible places to rent or buy in Bury and used the knowledge we had gained from visiting the five houses around Colchester to refine what our requirements are in where we live.

The next day, Sunday, was the burial of ashes for my Mum which took place after the normal church service. It was lovely to see so many of Mum’s friends there after the service, too, and the lady undertaker had a little puppy with her who we all got to cuddle afterwards.

After the burial of ashes we went to The Shed for Afternoon Tea. There was plenty to eat!

In the end we needed a few doggie bags and we divvied up the top layer (the cakes) as no-one really had any room. Klaus and I took our pieces back to Germany that evening and I ate them over the next couple of days.

We arrived back home Sunday morning and then it was the start of a busy week for us both, after having had two days off (for me at least). We were also already booked for the next weekend in Mannheim with Klaus’s cousin Tony, his wife Jill and of course Lara and Klaus’s father.

Mannheim with the American Cousins

We met up with Klaus’s cousin Tony in New York in June. Tony and his wife Jill had planned a holiday in Europe for August and were going to spend a few days in Mannheim catching up with Onkel Werner, Klaus’s father. Klaus, Lara and I were also going along for a couple of days.

We set off for Mannheim on the Sunday morning after Lara had got back from 3 days at a festival. So she slept in the car on the journey to Mannheim!

We arrived about five minutes after Tony and Jill got to Mannheim on the train, so excellent synchronisation. Klaus’s father had rented two little apartments for us in the neighbourhood which have a special offer for friends of residents of the building he lives in. It turned out that two apartments for two nights each cost 100€ in total – mega bargain!

They were nice apartments but the shower head was impossibly high (maybe 2.5 metres) and the shower had the most complex controls ever which meant Klaus and I both wasted about 5 minutes trying to work out how to control the thing.

Anyway, after a bit of a freshening up we went to pick up Tony and Jill at their hotel near Mannheim station and brought them back to Klaus’s father’s apartment, where he had organised some cheesecake and snacks for us.

He showed Tony and Jill around where he lives (a sort of assisted living building, very nice) and then we went off for an early evening meal at the Karlstern pizzeria that Werner often goes to. Here we all are.

It was a tiring day for Klaus’s father who is used to a relatively quiet life and he had already decided he would not be with us on the next day as he would need to recharge. We planned a visit to Heidelberg.

The next morning Klaus and I woke up early again and so headed out for breakfast at a local café.

After a cuppa and croissant Lara had emerged from her apartment and she came to join us. We then collected Tony and Jill and off we went to Heidelberg.

We started off with having a proper breakfast in Heidelberg. Tony and Jill had already breakfasted properly at their hotel so they went off exploring the Panoramaweg the other side of the Neckar (we did this on a previous visit). Klaus, Lara and I then wandered around and I bought a pair of walking trainers to replace my Skechers that got drowned in Venice. I had tried to replace them several times but hadn’t found the right alternatives.

We met up with Tony and Jill and then walked up the 330 steps to Heidelberg castle.

We stopped for an ice cream, courtesy of Klaus’s father who had given us some spending money for food!

We had a good wander around the castle grounds, then returned back to the high street and needed a sit down and some cake. So we found some.

We had our evening meal planned up at the Königstuhl and the others wanted to get the Funicular railway up there. I offered to take the car up so rescued Murphy from the underground car park and drove up to the Königstuhl, parked and then found my way to the viewpoint.

Here is a nice big aerial!

And here is the view looking down from the Königstuhl. That’s the Neckar in the foreground and the Rhine is crossing at about 90 degrees further away in the photo.

The others soon joined me and we went in for our meal, which was traditional hearty German food. Tony had Bratwurst as that is proper German food. I went for a chicken meal which was nice, and then I had my favourite dessert Kaiserschmarrn. I was completely full after this!

We dropped Tony and Jill back at their hotel and finalised our arrangements for the next day which was a walk in the morning along the Rhein before a meal at the Rheinterasse.

Klaus and I went out the next morning for our coffee/tea and muffin, Lara was still asleep.

Eventually we were all ready and we collected Tony and Jill from their hotel and drove the short distance to the Rhein, where we started what ended up as a 7km walk beside the river and back.

Lunch options at the Rheinterasse are the usual traditional German items and Klaus recommended everyone have the Wurstsalat. I went for a burger as I am not a Wurstsalat fan.

And we had to try the cheesecake afterwards (notice two forks, I shared with Klaus).

This Almond Caramel cake was also good, according to Tony and Jill.

We took them back to Onkel Werner’s briefly to say hello to him and then they walked back to their hotel and Klaus, Lara and I made our way home to Nordrhein Westfalen.

It was lovely to see Tony again, and for me to meet Jill for the first time. We had a lovely few days and they were really good company.

An unexpected trip to the UK

As I wrote earlier, we had a weekend in the UK followed by a weekend in Mannheim. Very busy weekends, but then we saw a bungalow go onto RightMove in Bury St Edmunds which looked like a really great option. I wrote to get some more details about it and it looked good, but, as I said to Klaus, it’s way too early to buy (we wanted to rent first) and it was not cheap – I would have to borrow some money from my sister until the sale of Mum’s house had gone through. Anna was OK with this but it was suboptimal generally. But after a few hours Klaus said “we have to go and see it, otherwise we might be forever kicking ourselves that we didn’t.”

He was right, so I booked up with the estate agent to visit it on the next Saturday, told them we were coming over from Germany specially to view it, and booked our Friday overnight ferry and then the day ferry back on the Sunday (saves a bit of money, plus there was a special 20% discount for day crossings). This meant we didn’t have to take any time off work.

So we headed off straight after work on Friday, arriving a little early so we stopped in the Torpedo Lounge (Torpedoloods) for a cuppa. Klaus was rather suffering as his back had gone ping a couple of days before; he visited the Osteopath on Friday morning which improved matters but he had quite a lot of pain still and was not moving easily.

In the queue for the ferry we saw this car, which turned out to be an Ogle SX1000. There were only 69 of them built! Klaus had a chat to the driver.

Then we were on the ferry and stocking up on food. Klaus was also enjoying some wine as usual.

And of course cake!

We had a good crossing and slept well. As we were getting off the boat we were behind this MG-A. We spoke to the driver, a lady, who had done a trip to Nordkapp with her father in the MG (“MGA to the Arctic”) and she was telling us about the trip. They did it in under 3 weeks and the car was fine.

We went to Buckshorns to drop off our luggage and have a cup of tea and then we headed off to Bury St Edmunds. I had arranged for us to view 3 rental homes as well as the bungalow to buy, to make more use of the time. This would help us get an idea of the rental market.

The first rental we saw was OK but on a rather noisy road and the tenant told us the neighbour was awful which is why they were leaving. Not that we would have rented that place but good to know.

The second property was absolutely lovely inside, location was good in terms of distance from Bury town centre but was fairly near a busy roundabout and only had parking for one car and no bike storage options.

We then went to the bungalow which had caused this visit. Boy was it a disappointment. It was much smaller than expected (the Agents details said 101 square metres but the EPC said 75 square metres and that was probably accurate). The main bedroom was really small and the second bedroom was tiny. All the windows showed cracking of the black layer between the panes – it had crazed and cracked over the years. The kitchen, bathroom, loo and utility room all needed to be completely redone, as did all the floorings and also all the walls needed painting. We reckoned it needed at least £100,000 in renovation costs and so was an absolute no. Shame, but also a relief as our plan was to rent and not buy straight away, just in case it doesn’t work out in England.

After this we needed some lunch so parked at the multi storey and wandered into town, ending up at Pizza Express for a salad/dough ball lunch. We also bought some Voltarol gel for Klaus’s back, and some ibuprofen.

We decided to walk to the next rental place as it was only a 15 minute walk away and it gave us more of a view of distances in Bury.

This place was MUCH more expensive than the other two but was a huge converted barn, with a very posh couple showing us round (they lived in the big house, and probably many former generations in their family had too!) This was actually too big and although it had parking for many cars there was no bike storage option for velomobiles or trikes. It was also nice but not worth an extra £900 a month over the middle rental place we had visited. The location was perfect though.

We talked about our needs following these visits and concluded that we could manage with one car without any major issue, and that perhaps our cycling days were coming to an end anyway. If, when the time comes, we find the ideal place but it has only parking for 1 car or maybe no bike storage that doesn’t mean we will reject it.

We then walked back to town. We had wanted to go into the cathedral again but there was a beer and cider festival on so it was closed. So we stopped for a cream tea elsewhere in a very nice café.

We had originally planned to stay for our evening meal in Bury but we were both really tired and Klaus’s back was painful so we decided to go back to Buckshorns. We stopped at the Tesco in Bury to try it out (seemed fine) and to buy our evening soup and bread. We had an early night as we needed to leave Buckshorns by 7am the next morning for the ferry.

We both slept well again, were on the ferry with no problems and spent the day in the Stena Lounge, although we also booked a cabin for us to have a rest in (and we each had a shower too). It was nice to have somewhere else to go for a bit of peace and quiet and a break from eating all the free food.

We were back by 8 in the evening on the Sunday and then it was back to work the next day, with plenty to think about with regards to our future home in Bury St Edmunds. The main conclusion being we will rent somewhere first, we are willing to pay a bit more to get what we like, and we will stop looking at houses to buy in case one catches our eye!

Two days later was our third wedding anniversary.

Klaus’s Articles on our move to the UK

Klaus is a keen user of LinkedIn and has been doing lots on there for his company over many years. He had talked to several colleagues about the move to England and they were interested in what is involved in moving countries so he decided to start writing some articles which he publishes on LinkedIn about what is involved.

I include them here, with translations.

“Unsere Entscheidung: Warum wir nach England auswandern”❗

Einige meiner Kollegen sind bereits informiert, und heute möchte ich es auch offiziell verkünden: Meine Frau und ich haben gemeinsam beschlossen, im Juni nächsten Jahres nach England überzusiedeln.

Nun, für diejenigen, die uns vielleicht nicht so gut kennen, mag diese Wahl verwunderlich erscheinen. Warum gerade England? Warum nach dem Brexit? Was treibt uns dazu?

Lassen Sie mich einige Gründe erläutern. Außerdem plane ich, in unregelmäßigen Abständen hier auf LinkedIn Informationen über unseren Übersiedlungsprozess zu teilen. Vielleicht gibt es andere, die eine ähnliche Herausforderung bereits gemeistert haben oder dies in Zukunft planen.

Zunächst ein paar Worte zu meiner Frau und mir: Wir sind beide in den Fünfzigern. Meine Frau ist vor 10 Jahren für ein einjähriges Sabbatical von England nach Deutschland gezogen. Irgendwie ist sie hier hängengeblieben, und wir haben uns über unser gemeinsames Hobby gefunden. Seit 2021 sind wir verheiratet.

Ende letzten Jahres haben wir uns mit unserer weiteren Lebensplanung auseinandergesetzt und sind ziemlich schnell zu dem Ergebnis gekommen, dass wir einen Rückzug nach England in absehbarer Zeit anstreben. Bedingt durch veränderte Umstände konkretisierte sich der Plan Anfang dieses Jahres plötzlich.

Warum also die Entscheidung zur Übersiedlung und warum gerade England? Die Wahl des Landes liegt auf der Hand: Meine Frau ist Britin. Deutschland war für sie immer ein Wunschland (dort ist sie auch geboren), doch es gibt Umstände, die das Leben nach dem Brexit etwas komplizierter gestalten. Wir sehen Einschränkungen in unserer Flexibilität.

Für mich persönlich war es schon immer ein Ziel, im Ausland zu arbeiten. Zugegeben, es wäre vielleicht besser gewesen, das am Anfang meiner Karriere zu tun, aber jetzt bietet sich mir die Chance. Mein Ziel ist es, in einem fünfjährigen Projekt meine 40-jährige Erfahrung im Bereich industrielle Automation einzubringen.

Letzte Woche haben wir unser Projekt gestartet und bereits erste Kontakte geknüpft. Das erste Beratungsgespräch fand statt, und ich möchte Frau Siebrecht von der EV. AUSLANDSBERATUNG E.V. in Hamburg für das informative Gespräch danken. Ich kann diesen Kontakt nur empfehlen.

Wie gesagt, ich werde weiter über den Fortgang berichten. Wer Empfehlungen oder Fragen zu diesem Thema hat, kann uns gerne kontaktieren. Wir freuen uns auf einen regen Austausch.

And in English:  “Our decision: Why we are emigrating to England”

Some of my colleagues have already been informed, so today I would like to announce it officially: My wife and I have decided together to move to England in June next year.

For those who may not know us so well, this choice may seem surprising. Why England? Why after Brexit? What drives us to do this?

Let me explain some of the reasons. I also plan to share information about our relocation process here on LinkedIn at irregular intervals. Perhaps there are others who have already overcome a similar challenge or plan to do so in the future.

First of all, a few words about my wife and me: We are both in our fifties. My wife moved from England to Germany 10 years ago for a one-year sabbatical. Somehow she got stuck here, and we found each other through our common hobby. We have been married since 2021.
At the end of last year, we discussed our further life plans and came to the conclusion quite quickly that we would like to retire to England in the foreseeable future. Due to changed circumstances, the plan suddenly became concrete at the beginning of this year.

So why the decision to move and why England in particular? The choice of country is obvious: my wife is British. Germany has always been a dream country for her (she was born there), but there are circumstances that make life after Brexit a little more complicated. We see limitations in our flexibility.

For me personally, working abroad has always been a goal. Admittedly, it might have been better to do that at the beginning of my career, but now I have the chance. My goal is to contribute my 40 years of experience in the field of industrial automation to a five-year project.

Last week we started our moving project and have already made our first contacts. The first consultation took place, and I would like to thank Ms. Siebrecht from the PA. AUSLANDSBERATUNG E.V. in Hamburg for the informative interview. I can only recommend this contact.

As I said, I will continue to report on the progress. If you have any recommendations or questions on this topic, please feel free to contact us. We are looking forward to a lively exchange.

Auswandern nach UK – Es geht weiter – 2. Teil

Nochmals besten Dank an Alle für das positive Feedback zu meinem letzten Post. Das motiviert natürlich, um euch auf dem Laufenden zu halten.

Tja, die Katze ist aus dem Sack, aber der Prozess hat natürlich sehr viel früher gestartet. Irgendwann Ende letzten Jahres, haben meine Frau und ich die Köpfe zusammengesteckt und die weitere Lebensplanung besprochen. Relativ früh haben wir unsere jeweiligen Arbeitgeber über unser Vorhaben informiert. Für mich war dies ein wichtiger und selbstverständlicher Schritt, um allen Partnern eine ausreichend lange Vorlaufzeit zur Entscheidungsfindung zu gewähren. das ist jedenfalls mein Verständnis zum Thema Loyalität. Wir haben uns entschlossen in diesem Falle transparent zu agieren.

Dieses Projekt ist eine grandiose Herausforderung und es begleitet uns in unserem täglichen Arbeitsablauf. Tatsächlich fällt einem irgendwie und zu den unmöglichen Zeiten etwas ein, woran man unbedingt noch denken sollte. Damit man keine Idee vergisst, haben wir länger ein Tool gesucht, mit dem wir unsere Gedanken, Ideen, ToDo etc dokumentieren können.Wir sind bei der Suche auf #Trello gestoßen, das wunderbar in unser bestehendes Ökosystem passt.

Ich arbeite an einem Windows PC, Helen ist der absolute “Apfelfreund” (bei mir ist es nur das iPhone und ein iPad). Aber auf allen Plattformen läuft #Trello und wir können jederzeit unsere Gedanken und Ideen visualisieren (wir bekommen von Trello kein Geld für diesen Post).

Und by the way…die Velomobile gehen mit nach UK, aber wir werden uns von unserem privaten Spaßmobilen trennen. Mein BMW Z3 steht schon zu Verkauf 😢. Das fällt mir echt schwer, aber ein Umbau auf die UK Anforderungen ist nicht sinnvoll.

Im nächsten Post werde ich etwas über das Thema Visum berichten.

Stay tuned!!

Emigrating to the UK – It continues – Part 2

Thanks again to everyone for the positive feedback on my last post. This motivates me to keep you up to date.

Well, the cat is out of the bag, but of course the process started much earlier. At some point at the end of last year my wife and I put our heads together and discussed our future life plans. We informed our respective employers of our plans relatively early on. For me, this was an important and natural step in order to give all partners sufficient lead time to make a decision. That’s my understanding of loyalty. We have decided to act transparently in this case.

This project is a tremendous challenge and it accompanies us in our daily work. In fact, somehow and at the most inconceivable times, you think of something that you should definitely remember. To make sure we don’t forget any ideas, we’ve been looking for a tool to document our thoughts, ideas, to-dos, etc. We came across Trello, which fits perfectly into our existing ecosystem.

I work on a Windows PC, Helen is an absolute ‘apple lover’ (I only have an iPhone and an iPad). But Trello runs on all platforms and we can visualise our thoughts and ideas at any time (we don’t get any money from Trello for this post).

And by the way… the velomobiles are going to the UK with us, but we will be parting with our private fun mobile. My BMW Z3 is already up for sale 😢. It’s really hard for me, but it doesn’t make sense to convert it to meet UK requirements.

In the next post I’ll talk a bit about the visa issue.

Stay tuned!

Auswandern nach UK – Es geht weiter – 3. Teil

In meinem letzten Beitrag habe ich versprochen, die verschiedenen Möglichkeiten einer Arbeits- und Aufenthaltserlaubnis in Großbritannien zu beleuchten. Heute möchte ich aus meiner eigenen Perspektive darüber sprechen, wie ich vor dieser wichtigen Entscheidung stehe.

Die Wahl der Visa: Skilled-Worker oder Family/Spouse?

Für mich persönlich bieten sich zwei Hauptoptionen an: das Skilled-Worker-Visum und das Family/Spouse-Visum. Beide haben ihre Vor- und Nachteile, und die Wahl hängt von unserer zukünftigen Lebensplanung ab. Unsere Priorität ist klar: Wir möchten nach Großbritannien übersiedeln, um dort zu leben. Aber lassen Sie uns beide Alternativen genauer betrachten.

Das Skilled-Worker-Visum

Das Skilled-Worker-Visum ermöglicht es, in das Vereinigte Königreich zu kommen oder dort zu bleiben, um eine qualifizierte Arbeit bei einem zugelassenen Arbeitgeber auszuführen. Die Voraussetzungen sind:

• Arbeit für einen britischen Arbeitgeber, der vom Innenministerium zugelassen ist.
• Ein “Certificate of Sponsorship” (CoS) vom Arbeitgeber mit Informationen über die angebotene Stelle im Vereinigten Königreich.
• Ausübung einer Tätigkeit, die auf der Liste der zulässigen Berufe steht.
• Mindestgehalt, abhängig von der Art der Tätigkeit und dem Datum der CoS-Erteilung.

Das Skilled-Worker-Visum ist an ein bestehendes Beschäftigungsverhältnis gebunden und gilt nur in diesem Kontext. Bei Beendigung des Arbeitsverhältnisses muss ein neues Visum beantragt werden. Die Kosten belaufen sich auf ca. 6500 GBP für einen geplanten 5-jährigen Aufenthalt, einschließlich der Zahlung an den National Health Service (NHS). In der Regel wird das Visum innerhalb von 3 Wochen zugeteilt, sofern die Voraussetzungen erfüllt sind.

Das Family/Spouse-Visum

Das Family/Spouse-Visum hingegen ist nicht an eine Beschäftigung gebunden und bietet mehr Freiheit und Flexibilität. Es erfordert keine Sponsorenschaft durch ein Unternehmen und ermöglicht es, ohne Arbeitsverpflichtung im Vereinigten Königreich zu leben. Die Grundvoraussetzungen sind:

• Leben in einer im Vereinigten Königreich anerkannten Lebenspartnerschaft oder Ehe.
• Nachweis guter Englischkenntnisse.
• Erfüllung der finanziellen Voraussetzungen.

Das Visum ist zunächst für 2 Jahre und 9 Monate gültig, danach muss eine Verlängerung beantragt werden. Die Kosten betragen 1846 GBP für das Visum und zusätzlich 5175 GBP für den NHS. Für fünf Jahre Aufenthalt ergibt sich ein Gesamtbetrag von ca. 8500 GBP, einschließlich der Kosten für den Sprachnachweis.

Unsere Entscheidung

Obwohl das Family/Spouse-Visum vergleichbar teurer ist und längere Wartezeiten hat, haben wir uns dafür entschieden. Es gibt uns einfach mehr Flexibilität in unserem zukünftigen Leben, und wir können frei entscheiden und handeln. Als nächster Schritt steht der Nachweis der Sprachkenntnisse an. Der Test muss an einem anerkannten Institut abgelegt werden. Eigentlich reicht ein A1-Level aus, aber da ich nach 5 Jahren die britische Staatsbürgerschaft anstrebe (als doppelte Staatsbürgerschaft), wird ein B1-Level benötigt. Das sollte zu schaffen sein.

Ich halte Euch auf dem Laufenden!

Emigrating to the UK – It continues – Part 3

In my last post, I promised to shed light on the various options for obtaining a work and residence permit in the UK. Today I’d like to talk from my own perspective as I face this important decision.

The choice of visa: Skilled worker or family/spouse?

For me personally, there are two main options: the Skilled Worker visa and the Family/Spouse visa. Both have their advantages and disadvantages, and the choice depends on our future life plans. Our priority is clear: we want to move to the UK to live there. But let’s take a closer look at both alternatives.

The Skilled Worker Visa

The Skilled Worker visa allows you to come to or stay in the UK to carry out skilled work with an authorised employer. The requirements are:

• Working for a UK employer who is authorised by the Home Office.
• A Certificate of Sponsorship (CoS) from the employer with information about the job on offer in the UK.
• Carrying out a job that is on the list of authorised occupations.
• Minimum salary, depending on the type of job and the date the CoS was issued.

The Skilled Worker visa is linked to an existing employment relationship and is only valid in this context. If the employment relationship ends, a new visa must be applied for. The costs amount to approx. £6,500 for a planned 5-year stay, including payment to the National Health Service (NHS). The visa is usually issued within 3 weeks if the requirements are met.

The Family/Spouse Visa

The family/spouse visa, on the other hand, is not tied to employment and offers more freedom and flexibility. It does not require sponsorship by a company and allows you to live in the UK without a work obligation. The basic requirements are:

• Living in a civil partnership or marriage recognised in the UK.
• Proof of good English language skills.
• Fulfilment of the financial requirements.

The visa is initially valid for 2 years and 9 months, after which an extension must be applied for. The cost is £1,846 for the visa and an additional £5,175 for the NHS. For a five-year stay, the total amount is approx. 8,500 GBP, including the costs for the language certificate.

Our decision

Although the Family/Spouse visa is comparatively more expensive and has longer waiting times, we decided in favour of it. It gives us more flexibility in our future life and we can decide and act freely. The next step is to prove my language skills. The test must be taken at a recognised institute. An A1 level is actually sufficient, but as I am aiming for British citizenship after 5 years (as dual citizenship), a B1 level is required. That should be achievable.

I will keep you up to date!

Auswandern nach UK – es geht weiter – 4. Teil

Auf der Suche nach unserem perfekten Zuhause. Eine weiter wichtige Entscheidung steht an: Wo möchten wir uns niederlassen!Wir haben uns hierzu ein paar Leitplanken gesetzt:

1️⃣ Familienbande: Wir möchten nicht zu weit von unserer Familie entfernt sein. Die Nähe zu unseren Liebsten ist uns wichtig. ❤️

2️⃣ Verkehrsanbindung und Infrastruktur: Flughäfen, Häfen und andere Verkehrsmittel sind für uns entscheidend. In Chelmsford, Colchester und Halstead haben wir alles in greifbarer Nähe. 🚢✈️

3️⃣ Kleinstadt-Charme: Großstädte sind nicht unser Ding. Wir suchen das gemütliche Flair einer Kleinstadt, und genau das finden wir hier. 🏡

Wir haben einen großen Vorteil; meine Frau ist Britin und hat eine Lebenslange Erfahrung. Das ist schon mal ein sehr guter Startpunkt.

Letzte Woche haben wir die Chance genutzt, und uns vor Ort am Immobilienmarkt umzuschauen und wir denken, dass wir zu gegebener Zeit etwas passendes finden werden. Für die erste Zeit werden wir ein Wohnung oder ein Haus mieten, um das Umfeld besser kennen zu lernen. Danach planen wir aber eine Immobilie zu kaufen.

Völlig abseits der oben genannten Zielorte ist letzte Woche noch Bury St. Edmunds ins Zielraster geschlüpft. Ein tolles Städtchen, so recht nach unserem Geschmack, auch wenn nicht alle Parameter passen.

Habt ihr Tipps für uns? Kennt ihr tolle Gegenden oder habt Empfehlungen? Schreibt mir gerne! 📩

Wir halten euch auf dem Laufenden! 🚀

Part 4 – In search of our perfect home

Another important decision has to be made: Where do we want to settle down? We have set ourselves a few guidelines for this:

1️⃣ Family ties: We don’t want to be too far away from our family. Being close to our loved ones is important to us. ❤️

2️⃣ Transport links and infrastructure: Airports, harbours and other means of transport are crucial for us. We have everything within easy reach in Chelmsford, Colchester and Halstead. 🚢✈️

3️⃣ Small town charm: Big cities are not our thing. We’re looking for the cosy flair of a small town, and that’s exactly what we find here. 🏡

We have a big advantage; my wife is British and has a lifetime of experience. That’s a very good starting point.

Last week we took the opportunity to look around the local property market and we think we’ll find something suitable in due course. For the time being, we will rent a flat or a house to get to know the neighbourhood better. After that, however, we plan to buy a property.

Last week, Bury St Edmunds slipped into our list of destinations completely off the beaten track. It’s a great little town, very much to our taste, even if not all the parameters fit.

Do you have any tips for us? Do you know any great areas or have any recommendations? Feel free to write to me! 📩

We’ll keep you up to date! 🚀

Auswandern nach UK – es geht weiter – 5. Teil

“Countdown: noch 297 Tage!”

Die Uhr tickt unaufhörlich – nur noch 297 Tage, bis das große Abenteuer beginnt. Die Rede ist von unserer Entscheidung nach UK überzusiedeln, die nicht nur organisatorisch, sondern vor allem mental gut vorbereitet sein will.

Denn der Weg, den wir einschlagen, ist kein gewöhnlicher. Die Entscheidung so etwas zu tun ist relativ einfach und recht unspektakulär. Die mentale Einstellung, das Mindset zu definieren, ist ein etwas langwieriger Prozess.

Während unserer diesjährigen Atlantiküberquerung auf der Queen Mary 2 hatte ich Zeit, mich auf das Kommende einzustellen. Abseits des Alltags, umgeben von endlosen Weiten des Ozeans, konnte ich meine Gedanken sortieren. Wünsche und Ängste begleiteten mich auf 8-tägigen Überfahrt. Nach der Ankunft, war für mich/uns der definitive Zeitpunkt gekommen. Die Realisierung wird gestartet und jetzt geht es los. Wir haben den Zug auf die Schienen gesetzt.

Kommunikation ist ein zentraler Bestandteil meines privaten und beruflichen Lebens (wer mich kennt, kann das bestätigen). Meine Frau hatte bereits im Februar in ihrem Blog von unseren Plänen berichtet und nun war es an der Zeit für mich, meinem Netzwerk aus Kollegen und Freunden, die mich über die Jahre begleitet haben, auf der LinkedIn-Plattform über unsere Pläne zu unterrichten. Das Feedback war überwältigend – selbst von Menschen, zu denen ich lange keinen Kontakt mehr hatte. Danke an euch alle!

Ich nutzte diese Plattform meinem Netzwerk und den Interessenten von unseren Erfahrungen zu berichten. Ich freue mich auf einen regen Erfahrungsaustausch.

Vor zwei Wochen trafen wir uns mit unserer Familie in England, um uns unter anderem mit der Frage “Wo wollen wir leben?” auseinanderzusetzen. Fünf Häuser haben wir in der Gegend um Halstead, besichtigt, um ein Gefühl für die Orte zu bekommen. Und am nächsten Wochenende haben wir einen weiteren sehr kurzfristigen Besuch in England eingeplant. In Bury St. Edmunds steht aktuell ein kleines Häuschen zum Verkauf. Von der Beschreibung uns den Bildern entspricht es schon recht gut unsere Anforderungen. Also hinfahren, anschauen und dann schauen wir mal. Das kommt zwar ein wenig zu früh; geplant war für das erste Jahr irgendwo etwas zu mieten, aber wenn sich Möglichkeiten ergeben, dann werden wir diese auch ergreifen.

Die Stadt Bury St. Edmunds hat mich beim ersten Besuch sofort begeistert. Nicht zu groß, nicht zu klein – genau richtig. Eine lebendige Innenstadt, die persönlich und einladend wirkt. Die Infrastruktur stimmt, und wir sind gespannt, ob dieser Ort uns ein neues Zuhause bieten kann. Manchmal muss man sich einfach überraschen lassen.

Die Zeit verrinnt, aber die Vorfreude wächst. Noch 297 Tage – und dann beginnt unser neues Kapitel. 🌟

Part 5 – ‘Countdown: 297 days to go!’

The clock is ticking incessantly – just 297 days to go until the big adventure begins. We’re talking about our decision to move to the UK, which needs to be well prepared not only in terms of organisation, but above all mentally.

Because the path we are taking is not an ordinary one. The decision to do something like this is relatively simple and quite unspectacular. Defining the mental attitude, the mindset, is a somewhat lengthy process.

During our Atlantic crossing on the Queen Mary 2 this year, I had time to prepare myself for what was to come. Away from everyday life, surrounded by the endless expanse of the ocean, I was able to sort out my thoughts. Wishes and fears accompanied me on the 8-day crossing. After arriving, the definitive time had come for me/us. The realisation started and off we went. We put the train on the rails.

Communication is a central part of my private and professional life (anyone who knows me can confirm this). My wife had already reported on our plans in her blog in February and now it was time for me to inform my network of colleagues and friends who have accompanied me over the years about our plans on the LinkedIn platform. The feedback was overwhelming – even from people I hadn’t been in contact with for a long time. Thank you all!

I used this platform to tell my network and interested parties about our experiences. I look forward to a lively exchange of experiences.

A fortnight ago, we met up with our family in England to discuss the question ‘Where do we want to live?’, among other things. We visited five houses in the Halstead area to get a feel for the places. And the next weekend we planned another visit to England at very short notice. There is currently a small house for sale in Bury St Edmunds. From the description and the pictures, it meets our requirements quite well. So we’ll go there, have a look and then we’ll see. It’s a bit too early; the plan was to rent somewhere for the first year, but if opportunities arise, we’ll take them.

I was immediately impressed by the town of Bury St Edmunds on my first visit. Not too big, not too small – just right. A lively town centre that feels personal and welcoming. The infrastructure is right, and we are excited to see if this place can offer us a new home. Sometimes you just have to let yourself be surprised.

Time is running out, but the anticipation is growing. 297 days to go – and then our new chapter begins. 🌟

The Obligatory Cake Photos

No monthly blog report is complete without the obligatory cake photos.

So here are some pics of cakes this month.

Klaus and I cycled to Bauerncafé Jacobs in Straelen for a Sunday afternoon cake event.

A colleague at work had her birthday and bought in some cake she had made herself!

I went to Wingertsches Erb to visit friend Bella and have a good chinwag. It was a double-caker as we were there for nearly three hours.

We chose the same, Spaghetti Cake for the first course.

Bella went for this coconut, apple and caramel cake.

I went for rice cake as my second option.

I cycled there on the trike as it was really warm (31 degrees), and I rarely use the trike. It was fun again but I remember how much slower it is!

Looking back at August

So as you can see, August was busy with us away 3 weekends (and Klaus went to a concert with Lara on the 4th). It has been an important time with regard to our planning about where in England we will live (I think we have pretty much fixed on Bury St Edmunds in Suffolk). We have also put both cars up for sale (my SLK Priscilla, Klaus’s Z3 Zuzanna) and have started working out what UK-registered car we will buy to replace them – plus prepared the groundwork for insurance for a UK car which will be driven a fair bit in Germany.

Our diaries are getting busier for later in the year, but we have already booked for three days in England at the beginning of October when there is a public holiday in Germany and we will also then have Gwen and Harley come back to Germany with us for a visit. Once my car is sold then we will probably want to get the new family car for us both (we are looking at a Mercedes E Class) so that will involve another trip to the UK, but we are running out of free weekends (as Gudula and Frank are away quite a lot) so it is possible Poppy may have to come with us! That would be an experience for her again, she hasn’t been in the UK for over 7 years I think.

Anyway, things are moving on and we are well organised. The next major event is the language exam Klaus needs to take. Once he has the results for that we can make our application for the Spouse Visa which takes between 3 and 6 months usually. And then we will be heading across the channel back to England!