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Six ways Germans could learn to deal with foreigners better

This may be a bitter pill to swallow, but many expats live in Germany despite the people, not because of them. So how do we change this?

Published: 24 March 2017 15:23 CET

Six ways Germans could learn to deal with foreigners better

Photo: Pexels.com

Expat surveys consistently show that Germany is a great place to move to. The education is first-class, it offers the ideal setting to raise children, and finding a well-paid job isn’t too difficult.

But when it comes to social life, expats always seem slightly miserable and isolated.

In the 2016 Expat Explorer Survey, one respondent said “In Germany, people are weirded out by too much friendliness too fast.”

Meanwhile in the InterNations Expat Insider Survey 2016, Germany came 55th out of 67 countries for overall friendliness.

Obviously integration is a two-way street and there are things expats can do better to fit in, as we discuss here.

But if Germany is going to become an immigrant nation, it too is going to have to adapt. We provide a few pointers to our stern but straightforward Teutonic companions.

1. Only switch to English if asked

We are only too aware of how frustrating it probably is. You have been speaking the language of Shakespeare almost as long as we have.

But it really doesn’t help if you start by assuming you should speak English to foreigners. Of course most Germans just want to make conversation as easy as possible, but sometimes you need to have patience. The worst offenders switch to English at the slightest hint of a foreign accent in German.

So here is the rule: only switch to English if you are asked, or if the person clearly speaks no German. If you make it seem natural that the conversation is going on in German, you will put us at ease much more quickly!

2. Try a bit of small talk

German directness is something you definitely come to appreciate with time. An ability to dispassionately analyse any situation is a sign of national maturity sorely lacking from certain neighbouring countries.

But when it comes to breaking the ice, this directness can sometimes backfire.

Not everyone feels comfortable starting up a new friendship by having an involved conversation about the inner workings of their country’s political system.

While we tend to agree that there are better ways to spend your time than discussing the weather for half an hour, sometimes you have to be prepared to lose a battle to win the war.

Try warming an Englishman up with a chat about the rainy weather before smoothly seguing into: “talking about dark clouds, that whole Brexit thing is causing a bit of storm, eh?”

Photo: Pexels.com

3. Invite people to things

Americans and Australians are almost psychopathically friendly people. They will invite you on a camping trip or to a barbecue almost before they know your name.

It's probably no coincidence that these two countries were built by immigrants and that the need to welcome new people into a community became ingrained in their behaviour.

Like Brits, Germans are rather sedentary folks who don’t tend to stray too far from the nest. This has engendered a cautiousness that is evident in the strict difference between a Bekannter (acquaintance) and a Freund (friend).

Once we make it from Bekannter to Freund, you're great, but does it have to take so long? There is probably no single thing that will change immigrant perceptions of Germans more than including them from the beginning.

4. Don’t over-correct

Maybe it is pedantic to point this out, and yes you are just trying to help – but being overly pedantic can be really annoying.

If you correct people while they are speaking your language, they will start to feel super self-conscious. It is probably best not to correct at all: foreigners are never going to learn German 100 percent perfectly, and you are just going to have to live with that.

So unless you really don’t understand what the person is trying to say, just let them speak their slightly garbled Denglisch.

5. Do ask to Duzen

Young Germans are much better at this anyway. But if you are not in a formal office setting that absolutely requires using “Sie” (the formal you), it is a good rule of thumb with foreigners from the Anglosphere to switch to “du” as soon as possible.

We do not have a formal way of addressing people, and we did away with calling people Mister a long time ago. The quicker you are on first name terms with us, the sooner we will feel relaxed around you.

6. Learn to flirt

Photo: Pexels.com

What better way is there to nail down those new immigrants you need so badly then to have them fall in love with you?

Well, being a bit more flirtatious might help. A common complaint among foreigners on the dating scene in Germany is that it is so hard to know if Germans are really into you. That’s because you guys seem to chat in such a normal way that you can never be sure if you just see the relationship as friendship.

So it’s time to start inviting foreigners to parties, practising your best one-liners (in German of course!), and meeting us with a bit of superficial small talk – and before you know it, Germany will be booming with a flotilla of smiley, out-going multilingual babies!

10 essential tips for avoiding rental scams in Germany

When it comes to settling in Germany, one of the most stressful and difficult tasks you’re likely to face is finding a place to live.

With the country in the grip of an ever-worsening housing shortage, there aren’t enough rental properties to meet the high demand – especially in big cities like Berlin, Munich and Frankfurt – and the flats that are available can often stretch even the most healthy of budgets.

With renters desperate to find affordable homes, crafty scammers have seized the chance to place fake ads on the market, often in dream locations with lower-than-average rents.

While some of these scams may be easy to spot, others can be highly sophisticated, with fraudsters setting up professional-looking websites and even allowing hopeful tenants to view their properties in person.

Recently The Local reported on a Polish couple who lost around €7,000 through a rental scam in Berlin. The scammers had sublet a beautiful Altbau apartment in the popular district of Neukölln and created an advert for it via a fake letting agent website, then arranged for people to use a key box to view the property while the real tenants were away.

Despite checking the contract over with legal experts from their local tenants’ association, nobody saw anything out of the ordinary – that is, until they tried to access the apartment and found a family already living there.

So, how do you protect your hard-earned savings and steer clear of scammers while looking for a new home?

Here are 10 important ways to protect yourself from rental scams.

1. Be alert to suspicious signs

The key to avoiding scammers in Germany is to be fully clued up on the warning signs. Was the listing for the property uploaded in the middle of the night, is the advert thin on details or written in bad German or English, and does the offer feel too good to be true?

Though it would be nice to believe there are still cheap flats to be found, finding an attractive property at an overly reasonable price is usually a red flag.

Hamburg

Modern apartments in Hamburg. Photo: picture alliance/dpa | Daniel Bockwoldt

If someone claiming to be a landlord contacts you out of the blue, that’s also your cue to run a mile. With so many people looking for housing, most letting agents and landlords will have more than people looking to rent their properties without needing to get in touch with people themselves. Anyone who does is more than likely to be a scammer.

2. Rule out landlords who say they live abroad

One of the major warning signs to look out for is a landlord who claims to be renting the property from abroad, or who says they are out of the country for other reasons, like a last-minute business trip.

That’s usually a scammer’s way of excusing the fact that they won’t be able to meet you personally or even show you the property before you rent it.

“When the country the landlord lives in appears then I would say there’s a really big chance this is a scam,” said Kuba Rudzinski, one of the victims of the Berlin-Neukölln rental fraud.

Even if the excuse seems plausible, your best bet is to ignore anyone who tries to sell you a story about living abroad and simply move on with your house hunt.

3. Do your research online

Before committing to anything, take time to do some thorough research to scope out the property, landlord and letting agent.

Running the pictures and text used in apartment listings through a search engine like Google will help you quickly identify stock photos and text stolen from other listings. For pictures, this is known as a reverse image search.

A laptop

Photo by 2H Media on Unsplash

It’s also worth checking that any websites you’re sent to are fully functional and not copies of other letting agent sites, and that any email addresses match the website domain.

4. Visit the property and ask around

Never agree to rent a property without seeing it in person first. Arrange a viewing and take the opportunity to ask questions about the property and the neighbourhood.

Kuba also recommends speaking with the neighbours in the building to check if the property is genuinely being rented.

“Go to the place before and ask the neighbours, is this flat really for rent? Because these people generally know,” he said. “You’ll need to convince yourself to do it of course, but just ask in the building, ask on the floor where the flat is.”

5. Don’t transfer the full deposit in advance

Advance payments for anything, whether it’s furniture, a deposit or getting a chance to view the property, should be considered a major red flag.

Under German law, you are usually only expected to pay the deposit by the start of the agreed rental contract – and certainly not several months in advance.

Euro notes lie next to some house keys on a table.

Euro notes lie next to some house keys on a table. Photo: picture alliance/dpa/dpa-tmn | Andrea Warnecke

You are also legally entitled to pay your three months’ deposit in three instalments on top of your first three months’ rent after moving in, so definitely be cautious of landlords that place pressure on you to transfer a large lump sum.

If you’re really concerned, look into alternatives for paying your deposit, such as Kautionversicherung (deposit insurance) or a Mietkautionssparbuch, where you open a bank account and pledge the amount to the landlord, rather than transferring the money directly.

6. Insist on meeting the landlord or letting agent in person

If a landlord or letting agent refuses to meet you in person or insists on conducting all communication online, they’re probably not who they say they are.

Insist on meeting face-to-face to verify their identity and ensure they have a legitimate connection to the property.

7. Avoid sending documents straight away

Not all rental scams are about getting money from you directly: many scammers are simply after your personal details for the purposes of identity theft.

Be wary of providing personal documents or sensitive information before you’ve verified the legitimacy of the rental agreement, especially when it comes to things like passport scans or other forms of ID.

8. Seek legal advice from experts

If you’re unsure about any aspect of the rental agreement or if something seems suspicious, seek advice from legal experts or tenants’ associations.

However, be aware that this isn’t always a cast-iron guarantee that a tenancy is legitmate. Over the past few years, fraudsters have become increasingly sophisticated, even down to producing water-tight rental contracts for would-be tenants.

An estate agent hands over keys to an apartment. Photo: picture alliance/dpa/dpa-tmn | Christin Klose

According to civil lawyer Emilia Tintelnot, becoming a member of a tenants’ association can be a good way to get affordable legal advice, and it can also be helpful to set up legal insurance to ensure you can access help when you need it without having to pay lawyers’ fees up front.

9. Be wary of stereotypes

Avoid making assumptions based on stereotypes or preconceived notions about someone’s gender or nationality, as this may cause you to overlook things you might otherwise see as warning signs.

In Kuba’s case, the fact that the fraudsters were German made them appear more legitimate in his eyes, as Polish people tend to see Germans as law-abiding and trustworthy.

Be aware that scammers can come from any cultural background and may use a variety of tactics to deceive unsuspecting renters.

10. Keep an extensive paper trail

Document all communication, agreements, and transactions related to the rental process, including phone numbers and any bank details provided.

According to the Berlin police, this type of evidence can be crucial for an investigation if you do suspect a scammer.

While evidence can differ across cases, “pictures, contact details used by the perpetrators, original documents, bank details with payment receipts” are particularly helpful for investigators, and could help the police stop the scammers for good.

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