Wondering about standard of living in Germany?
Is Germany expensive? How much monthly income is optimal to enjoy a good work-life balance? How much does it cost to care for a pet or to have a hobby in Germany?


Fancy Freelancing in Germany?
Read about how to apply for German freelance visa from your home country or prepare for your German freelance permit in Germany. Learn about German freelance taxes, creating correct VAT invoices and more.
Preparing to move to Germany?
Learn about launching into your brand new German expat life: How to find a rental in Germany, your tenant rights, health insurance, German garbage disposal system and everything in between. Find out the best German beer cities and more!


So you want to maxx your social life in Germany
Despite what you may have been told, it's not impossible to make German friends. It’s just a less spontaneous emotional connection, and more like a project with quarterly milestones. Here's my tongue-in-cheek but practical step-by-step guide to making friends in Germany.
If you're struggling with your German skills
Let’s face it, learning German isn’t exactly a walk in the Englischer Garten. Between tricky grammar, tongue-twisting compound words, it can feel like climbing the Alps in flip-flops. Luckily, we now live in an age where you can learn German online, on your sofa, in your pyjamas, with a cuppa in hand.

Free Resources to Start Freelancing in Germany
Register your freelance business with tax office
Download line by line English guide to ‘Fragebogen zur Steuerlichen Erfassung‘
Create a German client freelancer contract
Learn all about German freelance contract and download a free editable template.
Learn how to create a German VAT invoice
Learn how to create a legal German VAT invoice and download the free invoice templates.
How to start a Dunning process in Germany
Download friendly payment reminders and 'Mahnung' for your late-paying clients in Germany.
Hi there, I'm Yamini!
Welcome to my blog about expat life in Germany.
I live in the lovely Franken (or Franggn as it should be properly called), a region that's in Bavaria, but is NOT Bavaria. (just don't tell the locals that Guinness is my fav. beer! 😉 )
I've been living, working as a freelancer in Germany for nearly a decade. My project, Mad in DE, is stuffed with all the info you wish the German government would just explain clearly: from national visas, freelance taxes, health insurance, to all the other grown-up stuff.
Feel free to look around and say hi! 😊


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A step by step guide to prepare you SIX months ahead for your big move to Germany
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