Würzburg Travel Forum

My wife and I have an opportunity to move towurzburg in October, it is our plan to move to Europe at some point and this is our first offer. I would like to get some of the people who live there to make an suggestions or advise that we should know before making this big decision. Thanks in advance.

Würzburg is a beautiful city. But if you think of moving there that's not enough, of course. There's a good book by an American living in Germany written for Americans coming to live in Germany: "Culture Shock Germany" by Richard Lord.Lots of good advice, some stereotypes and plenty of facts.

It depends on your long term goals for moving to Europe. Do you want to stay permanently (immigrate) or do you simply want to live as 'expats' for a few years. Also where do you want to end up? Germany? Italy? UK? Poland? In each of these cases you have to consider the culture and especially the language and how dedicated you are to learning it and how long it will take you. In order to be happy anywhere you have to come to terms with the people and culture and the language is the most important part of this.

If you are looking for a permanent move, then I would suggest you hold out until you find an opportunity in the country you want to end up in. If this is in fact Germany (and I have lots of experience with this!), you must be careful of some things:

1) Demand a german contract. Under no circumstances accept a foreign contract. By having a foreign contract it will take all your rights away as a worker in Germany and leave you earning less money, working more hours, having fewer holidays, and they can fire you at will at any time. Don't let the company give you any BS about giving you a foreign contract because you are a foreigner (and obviously dont know any better)....this is illegal! The only way they can give you a foreign contract legally is if you are there for a limited period as an exchange from a foreign office.

2) Make sure the company pays german taxes for you and not foreign taxes in your home country. Many companies try to do this because the taxes abroad are so much cheaper. This is also illegal. If you dont pay them in Germany you will have no health insurance, no pension, no unemployment insurance, etc.

Wuerzburg is a nice city and in a beautiful area, but it all depends on what you want. I find southern germany bad because it is more conservative and the cost of living is more expensive than the rest of the country. The dialects are also a bit dodgy in many areas of the south. However, it is where more white collar jobs are available, that may be your only choice at the moment.