Coming from Greece, that was not so strange. Up until that point Greece was also an economy that depended heavily on cash -much less so today.
What was exhausting was how many things needed to be done on paper and not online or by phone. Similarly when I left. I am pretty sure I forgot to de-register from somewhere!
Of course, you already had a baptism of fire while living in Greece! Same, I think I am still registered for stuff somewhere, oops! I am also wondering about pensions for expats, it will be a complicated affair when it's time to cash in!
Yeah unfortunately pension is something we need to keep track of and depending on the country, it might be quite challenging. With Denmark everything is digital, so I hope that they will find me when I retire 😅
Haha if only it worked like that! You get your pension depending on when the retirement age on the country paying the pension is. In Denmark at the moment it is 69, which means that, regardless where I am and if that hasn't changed by that time, I will be getting pension from Denmark at age 69. If by that time I am in a country with a lower retirement age, I would have already started getting pension there.
Ok that is what I thought. The cycle is usually address->registration to municipality-> bank account. If you could get a bank account first, it would be a major breakthrough!
Also another thing to add on the salary nomenclature: the concept of extra months and holiday money. In the Netherlands it is mandatory to pay 8% of holiday money in may. Some employers also offer a 13th month in December or a bonus at the end of the year. I noticed the same concept in Italy. However it seems to be different in the Nordic countries. It can make quite an impact on your net salary so definitely something to take into account during negotiations!
I totally agree with watching out for scams, but sometimes you need to be a little bit … naive?
When I didn’t got into the dorms for my exchange in South Korea it was already too late to rent the best places. In total stress I found craigslist. The local version of marketplace no? OA 300 dollar room with poisonous green walls, 10 min walk from the university in the house of a Korean elderly couple. The lady in contact was her daughter living in the Canada helping her parents who didn’t speak English find new tenants for her and her sisters former rooms. Looking her and the apartment on Google maps. I kept having a little stone in my belly. Especially when my banked refused to send the deposit (with western Union). Only later I found out Craigslist is also used to sell kidneys and all other stuff lol, so I had booked a hostel for the first two days in case indeed it was a scam.
Two weeks later I arrived after dinner time (smth you advice against i see…😅) in Seoul. But my Dutch simcard had lost any type of service after the flight and I only had a data plan for 4g. Problematic since I couldn’t install the local chat app to tell them I was in the bus because the verification code of this app wouldn’t arrive. So I asked a Korean guy in the queu to text the number I was in the bus. Five minutes later he comes back holding up the phone to me: “hi Laura we are waiting for you at the bus station”. I immediately started to cry of happiness!
In the end, living with this old Korean couple was the best part of my time in South Korea!
It must be a bit of a culture shock moving to Germany,especially the fact that you have to carry cash because many shops don't accept cards.
Coming from Greece, that was not so strange. Up until that point Greece was also an economy that depended heavily on cash -much less so today.
What was exhausting was how many things needed to be done on paper and not online or by phone. Similarly when I left. I am pretty sure I forgot to de-register from somewhere!
Of course, you already had a baptism of fire while living in Greece! Same, I think I am still registered for stuff somewhere, oops! I am also wondering about pensions for expats, it will be a complicated affair when it's time to cash in!
Yeah unfortunately pension is something we need to keep track of and depending on the country, it might be quite challenging. With Denmark everything is digital, so I hope that they will find me when I retire 😅
Yes and also I am guessing retirement ages vary across the EU? We better all move to wherever you can retire early!!
Haha if only it worked like that! You get your pension depending on when the retirement age on the country paying the pension is. In Denmark at the moment it is 69, which means that, regardless where I am and if that hasn't changed by that time, I will be getting pension from Denmark at age 69. If by that time I am in a country with a lower retirement age, I would have already started getting pension there.
At least that is my understanding!
Ps it seems that Slovakia has the lowest retirement age 💪
I'd definitely say, for VISA purposes, open a bank account! that piece of proof will help a lot in getting identification documents etc.
You mean before moving? Can you do that?
possibly once you get there. Online banking might work but it's less of a 'proof of address' thing
Ok that is what I thought. The cycle is usually address->registration to municipality-> bank account. If you could get a bank account first, it would be a major breakthrough!
When I came to Australia I opened a bank account on day 3 without any other proof of residence. How did I do it??
Also another thing to add on the salary nomenclature: the concept of extra months and holiday money. In the Netherlands it is mandatory to pay 8% of holiday money in may. Some employers also offer a 13th month in December or a bonus at the end of the year. I noticed the same concept in Italy. However it seems to be different in the Nordic countries. It can make quite an impact on your net salary so definitely something to take into account during negotiations!
Good point! In some countries employees get 13 or even 14 salaries. Good thing is that, if you don't know, this can only be a pleasant surprise :)
I totally agree with watching out for scams, but sometimes you need to be a little bit … naive?
When I didn’t got into the dorms for my exchange in South Korea it was already too late to rent the best places. In total stress I found craigslist. The local version of marketplace no? OA 300 dollar room with poisonous green walls, 10 min walk from the university in the house of a Korean elderly couple. The lady in contact was her daughter living in the Canada helping her parents who didn’t speak English find new tenants for her and her sisters former rooms. Looking her and the apartment on Google maps. I kept having a little stone in my belly. Especially when my banked refused to send the deposit (with western Union). Only later I found out Craigslist is also used to sell kidneys and all other stuff lol, so I had booked a hostel for the first two days in case indeed it was a scam.
Two weeks later I arrived after dinner time (smth you advice against i see…😅) in Seoul. But my Dutch simcard had lost any type of service after the flight and I only had a data plan for 4g. Problematic since I couldn’t install the local chat app to tell them I was in the bus because the verification code of this app wouldn’t arrive. So I asked a Korean guy in the queu to text the number I was in the bus. Five minutes later he comes back holding up the phone to me: “hi Laura we are waiting for you at the bus station”. I immediately started to cry of happiness!
In the end, living with this old Korean couple was the best part of my time in South Korea!
That is a very nice story. And it is really nice that it worked out.
If a similar opportunity arose in the future, would you take such a risk again?