Who is Yamini?
Last updated on July 10th, 2024 at 09:16 am
and what’s going on here?
But first, Hello and thank you for visiting my corner of the Internet! 🙂
I’m delighted that you want to know more about me!
My name is Yamini, but I also respond to Yam, Yami, Miss von Gotham. I’m a 30-something expat living in Franconia, currently on a journey to ‘make it in Germany’ as a solopreneur.
If you are interested in moving to Germany and setting up a freelance or solopreneur career, then you’re at the right place. On this blog, you will find helpful resources such as
How to apply for a German freelance visa when you live outside EU
How to convert your existing German residence permit into a freelance permit
Basically, I have basically covered every possible FAQ about freelancing in Germany here.
There’s even a dummy’s guide to dating a German
And of course, how to get married in Germany (or in Denmark)
In the past couple of years, I have made a small Franconian town my home with my German-French boyfriend and the world’s most beautiful kitty. Don’t believe me? Here is the proof.
Every immigrant has a story to tell. Here is mine.
My journey started in 2005 as a young adult. But even as a child, I had always dreamt of experiencing life abroad, going somewhere away from the country of my birth. I moved to the UK for higher studies. After a few years of living there, I thought maybe my dream of living abroad was now fulfilled.
Little did I know a massive reverse culture shock was awaiting me in India.
Home sweet home? I don’t think so. Back in India, I felt like a fish out of water. Each day was disorienting. You see, the traditional concept of “home” is tied to the place of birth. After living abroad, I learnt that home is more than just a physical place in which we live. Home is associated with all of the people, actions, experiences, emotions and personal identity that make us feel “at home.’
I had expected to return home to India but with every fibre of my being, I knew this was not it.
That is when I knew that expat life was for me.
Within the next few years, I moved to Germany to learn German, lived and worked remotely in Thailand for a few months, and then committed to Germany for a long-term move. In April 2014, I came back to Germany. Since then I have completed my (second) master’s degree, set up my freelancing business, moved to the beautiful Franconia with my boyfriend fiance and husband, and became a cat mom.
In retrospect, I moved continents away to pursue a better life for myself and to find happiness. I immigrated to Germany to pursue the life of my dreams.
Did I find the dream life, you ask?
My current happy low-stress life means the answer to that question is a resounding yes. As a freelancer, I can take home an adult-sized paycheck doing what I enjoy. I work 100% remotely and have the luxury to live a flexible day-to-day life. With all this freedom I can even find time to work as I travel, run side businesses and invest time on this blog.
It is not all so rosy though.
Everything comes at a cost. With all the adventures that the expat life brings along, it can also be at times a very isolating, overwhelming and downright messy experience. At times it gets hard to do this alone. That is why I started this expat blog.
If you are free, you need to free somebody else. If you have some power, then your job is to empower somebody else. – Toni Morrison
Mad in De is two things:
It is my personal ranting space for whenever the expat life gets a bit too much to bear or too exciting to not share. I share my German expat life experiences and in the process connect with other expats here.
It is also a resource for fellow expats in Germany.
I have had more experience with the infamous German bureaucracy than I would like to admit. By sharing my knowledge about working remotely in Germany, German freelance visas, taxes for expats in Germany, health insurance, homeownership processes
I hope to help others who are confused about the German expat life – just like I was once (truthfully, still am 😉 ).
Speaking of which…
Maybe you stumbled upon it here because…
You are planning to move to Germany and looking for formal info
In that case, I have created some helpful resources that will offer you guidance about everything from preparing for your visa application, qualifying for a work permit, mentally preparing for ridiculously high health insurance or even how to set up your own business in Germany as a non-EU national. Heck, I have even prepared a guide on how to cautiously tiptoe around the infamous German bureaucracy and beamters so consider yourself fully prepped for your next ABH visit.
Read my full guide for Indian citizens or Indian passport holders on how to move to Germany.
You are a newbie expat in Germany and don’t know what to expect from daily Deutsch life.
Then be prepared to read some of my ‘Nur in Deutschland’ moments. You can learn about the ever-glorious Verein culture of Deutschland, or how to get around in Deutsche Bahn without losing your cool, or understand the riddle that is ‘Du Kannst mir duzen’ or why ‘Tatort’ ist ze coolest show in der Welt!
You have been living in Germany for a long time and just want to connect with another fellow expat
Because let’s face it, only we understand what it is like to be a long-term expat in Germany. You can join me in my musings about some peculiar German things – why do they knock on the tables after a lecture/presentation or leave the clapping for when planes land safely? And what’s up with all those gazillion bottles of mineral water in the supermarkets? And, while we are at it, we can take some time to appreciate the remarkable beers that Germany offers, or what is it like to live in some of the cutest Disney look-alike cities.
Go ahead and get in touch with me for a chat on Twitter or Instagram.
A warning though, I’m not super active on social media. 🙂
9 Comments
Ben Qeini
Hi Yamini,
I just read your Crete run-down and found it wonderful. Thank you. I am well-traveled poet and novelist who has lived in China, India, and El Salvador, among other curious haunts. I found your thoughts quite relatable to me personally and relevant to my planned first visit to Crete. In days of yore, I used to literally unicycle through countries alone (many thousands of kilometres). However, now a married man, I must opt for more tame holidays, as it were.
In my langauge your name happens to mean “right”—as in the direction. If I get lost in Neo-Minoa, I will sure to keep that as my go-to back-up direction.
All the best and keep at it,
Sincerely
Ben Qenny
בן קיני
Yamini
Hey Ben, Thank you so much. 🙂 Wow, I didn’t know this about my own name! In old Sanskrit, it means ‘night’. I kinda prefer the Hebrew (?) version. 🙂
I hope you’d have fun in Crete. So far it’s the only place that I wanted to go back to for a much longer stay, and not just a holiday. Oh, and it’s an awesome place to bike as well.
Enjoy your summer! Yamini
Ben Qeini
Hi Yamini,
Thanks for responding! I think both the Sanskrit and the Hebrew have their charms. Good to have both meanings up one’s sleeve, I suspect.
So, we went to Crete. It was spectacular. Your tips were quite helpful while we were actually traveling, so thanks again!
Yes, bike-wise, it is a wonderful destination. It is an amazing island full of visitors’ treaures.
Sincerely,
your fellow traveler,
Ben Qeini
בן קיני
Yamini
Hey Ben, That’s awesome! 🙂 I miss Crete even more now. Such a lovely place. I’m happy that you had a great time there. Wishing you more exciting travels for the future 🙂 Yamini
Manish
” “Home sweet home? I don’t think so. Back in India, I felt like a fish out of water. Each day was disorienting. ”
You have no idea how much I relate to this every second I stay here in India. I’m so glad i found someone that I can relate my situation with. And I really don’t want to get caught in the so called “Get married by your late 20s or society will judge you” life.
And it’s gotten even worse now thanks to the mighty corona.
I’m successful in India but am I happy? It’s definitely a “no”. I really want to see what’s on the other side and live the expat life. Hoping that by reading your blogs, it would help me set myself on the right path.
Thanks again! 🙂
Angie
Hi Yamini,
Just to stay thank you for your blog. I am French but came here for my SO who is German. Everything is so new for me and I am struggling a lot to learn this difficult but interesting language.
Your words are a real comfort for me today 🙂
Take care.
Yamini
Hi Angie, Thank you so much for your sweet comment, means a lot. 🙂 I understand how you must be feeling. German is definitely tough, but fortunately, it gets better after a while. Feel free to get in touch with me if you ever need to speak to a fellow foreigner in Germany. 😀
Shoshanna Ahart
Just stumbled across your blog because I am a cat lover and am thinking of getting a Maine Coon cat…and I am an expat living in Germany…in Bavaria…with my German husband. When I moved to Bavaria in 2003, we were engaged. Anyway, your blog was very refreshing and although I have been here a long time now, I often just shake my head in wonder at the Germans. My husband and I are both artists. Please take a look at our website if you are interested. It could be that we are not that far away from you. All the best! –Shoshanna
Yamini
Hey Shoshanna, Thank you! So lovely to hear from you. Yes, indeed we live in Mittlefranken as well. 🙂 I totally get you, nearing a decade in Germany and still keep finding new things to adapt to 😀 We got our Maine coon from Nürnberg based family btw, I can send you some recommendations if you wish. Best, Yamini