Real stories, no filter

Share your real Germany story

The best parts of living here, and the struggles nobody warns you about. Answer any of the questions below, skip the rest, or just write your whole story in one box. We turn it into a clean, mature article and show it to you before anything is published. No promotion, your honest words.

About you

Your name *

Email *

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Home country

City in Germany

University / programme (optional)

How should we credit you?

First name only Full name Keep me anonymous

Your links (optional)

Want a credit link back to your profile in the published story? Add it here.

Instagram

Portfolio / website

Yes, include a link back to my profile in the published story.

Your photos (up to 4, optional) See an example ⓘ Example collage: a student's life in Germany

Example only. Send your own real photos, we combine them like this.

Share real photos from your life in Germany, your university, a trip, a city you love, a moment with friends. Smiling, natural ones are perfect. We may combine them into a small collage for your story.

Only used if you allow publishing below. Max 8 MB each. If you add more than 4, we keep the first 4.

Arriving in Germany

Answer the ones that speak to you. Skip the rest.

1. What is the very first thing that surprised you about Germany when you arrived, good or bad?

2. Describe your first week. Where did you stay, and how did it feel?

3. What did you expect Germany to be like before coming, and how was the reality different?

The language

Answer the ones that speak to you. Skip the rest.

4. What is your funniest or most awkward story with the German language?

5. Was there a moment the language barrier made you feel small or stuck? What happened?

Practical life

Answer the ones that speak to you. Skip the rest.

6. Tell us about your Anmeldung, visa, or bank account experience. Nightmare or smooth?

7. What is one piece of German bureaucracy nobody warned you about?

8. How did you find your apartment, and what was the housing search really like?

Money and work

Answer the ones that speak to you. Skip the rest.

9. How do you manage money here? Was there a month you nearly ran out?

10. If you work a part-time or Werkstudent job, what is it and how do people treat you there?

Studying here

Answer the ones that speak to you. Skip the rest.

11. What is genuinely better about studying in Germany than back home?

12. What is harder about the German university system than you expected?

The lows (be honest)

Answer the ones that speak to you. Skip the rest.

13. What is the loneliest or lowest moment you have had in Germany? Be honest.

14. Have you faced discrimination or been made to feel like an outsider? What happened?

15. What do you miss most from home that Germany just cannot replace?

16. Was there a moment you thought about giving up and going home?

17. How do you deal with the weather and the dark winters?

The highs (be honest)

Answer the ones that speak to you. Skip the rest.

18. What is a moment here that made you think "this was all worth it"?

19. What is the best thing about your life in Germany right now?

20. Who is one person here who changed your experience, and how?

21. What can you do or afford here that you never could at home?

Culture and people

Answer the ones that speak to you. Skip the rest.

22. What is one German habit or value you have started to admire, or even adopt?

23. What is the strangest cultural difference you are still not used to?

24. How is making friends here compared to your home country?

Growth and advice

Answer the ones that speak to you. Skip the rest.

25. How are you different now compared to the person who first landed?

26. What is one honest piece of advice you would give someone about to move here?

27. If you could tell your first-week self one thing, what would it be?

Or just tell your whole story

Prefer to write freely instead of answering questions? Do it here. As much or as little as you like.

This is my honest experience. I allow GradGermany to edit it into an article and publish an edited version, with my photo and the credit I chose above. I understand I will be shown the final article and nothing is published without my approval. I can ask to remove it later. *

We email you a link to confirm. Nothing is published without your approval.