r/Leipzig • u/Dry_Promise7327 • 1d ago
Frage/Diskussion Plan on moving to Leipzig
I plan on moving to Leipzig mid next year- if all goes well around April/June any tips?
Example where can I look for retail jobs online (LinkedIn is like corporate stuff) that I can’t do. :c
Where can I find some apartments that are for rent? What areas should I try to avoid?
Is there card shops for like TCG Locals?
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u/lilalindenau Ich bin ein Leipziger! 1d ago
Do you speak reasonably good German? Then the job hunt will be tough, but somehow you might end up finding something. If not, it will be nearly impossible.
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u/Dry_Promise7327 1d ago
I am taking some duo lingo courses but nothing more than that. I speak English & Italian super fluent.
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u/lilalindenau Ich bin ein Leipziger! 1d ago
For anything where you deal with people like retail you need good German skills.
English skills without German are only helpful if you work remote or you're a kind of specialist like a researcher or a specialized engineer.
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u/Eckerlenforda zugezogen ([30 Jahre]) 1d ago
https://youtu.be/3IgMa8496p8?is=XIwtEuKA6s_AYmy9
Auf keinen Fall bei denen mieten habe ich mir sagen lassen. Soll wohl schon "ein paar" negative Bewertungen geben...
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u/LorianArks 1d ago
Leipzig is the fastet growing city in germany which results in really high rents compared to the rest of east Germany. The wages on the other hand haven‘t caught up and probably won‘t this decade. TCG has a large scene here with some shops and the Buchmesse. I heard getting employed in retail is hard at the moment but I don‘t work in retail.
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u/Dry_Promise7327 1d ago
Do you have other cities you would suggest over it? That are growing, have good rent in comparison to wage? A place that maybe finding a job for English/italian speaker could be a bit easier? (Learning German but very basics)
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u/LorianArks 1d ago
Very basic is not enough anymore with the competition. I recommend getting at least B1 better b2 certified before thinking about moving.
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u/OccultNoir89 22h ago
I just moved here 3 days ago from Michigan. So I want to share some realities, some good and some bad. This is a very German language heavy area. So I signed up for intensive language courses since I want to immigrate and assimilate. You can get a language visa and stay here for up to a year. It is however very costly to do so. I'd say realistically you want to put aside $20k. I haven't begun to look for jobs yet, but I can tell you there are lots of industrial jobs, and also there are many small "mini jobs". I definitely recommend achieving at a bare minimum B1 proficiency. Before I came over I hired a private tutor for about a year. That and Duo Lingo as well as self study is just barely enough for me to get by. I am currently below B1.
Also, as a suburban American, I can tell you there is a bit of culture shock. I was kind of shocked to see how run down large parts of the city are, and the significant amount of homeless and mentally ill. Not a violent or dangerous place but its something to keep in mind.
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u/ChillyDinosaur 1d ago
My main advice would be to not to go to Leipzig, awful place, specially if you don’t speak German.
Better to go south or west; Munich, Köln, Düsseldorf, Münster, Frankfurt all of them better options.
Cleaner, safer, friendlier, and overall more money flowing.
Köln can be a little bit uglier and Frankfurt has its weird areas, but even like that it’s way way better
The only good thing about Leipzig is that is cheap, both for housing and groceries
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u/Dry_Promise7327 1d ago
Why would you say it’s awful?
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u/ChillyDinosaur 1d ago
It’s not a great city, there’s not a lot to do. If you come from a big city the standard is just not there.
The mentality feels very like a small town, plus the east of the country is really against foreigners, that translates into being rude, racist and micro aggressions in your daily life.
Don’t believe them when they say Leipzig is very open and welcoming. They are woke for sure, but only for performance. This is a very right wing close minded city
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u/Independent_Clue_965 1d ago edited 1d ago
Those citys are als super expensive compared to Leipzig, rent is here still much lower, also less flats in big citys to find and much more difficult. Cleaner and safer?? Have u been to Frankfurt? T😅 it might be u find a job easier in big cities but the costs of living are much higher than Leipzig… also it is very difficult to find a job without German, unless maybe in DHL, Amazon or so but not in ur branch or academic field. I came here to volounteere in Kindergarden learned German in 1-2 years working with kids- in 4 years i was a lecturer in University. Its possible, especially if ur degree is recognised here (wich may also vary from Bundesland, I had to do one year weiterbildung to get my Diploma fully recognised altaught im from EU) and I strongly reccomend to check that first, but all that will not help without speaking German…
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u/Dry_Promise7327 1d ago
Okay so it’s time I take German classes before I move there. To learn at least the basics. I have like 6-7 months roughly
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u/Independent_Clue_965 1d ago
Start learning it, but ull learn the most once ur here, maybe start working jobst that are not in your branch and than evolve slowly- ull learn quickest around others who speak German
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u/ChillyDinosaur 1d ago
Every place in the world is expensive this days.. but I would prefer to pay more to live in an actual cool nice place… Madrid, Lisbon, most French and Spanish cities are the same if not expensier this days than most German cities…
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u/Independent_Clue_965 1d ago
The question is not if u would but can you pay that flat or if u even find a place as there are dosends of people applying for it as soon as its out in cities like Frankfurt or Munich. With a nice job sure, but that is unlikely without language knowledge etc. In Leipzig it will be double less the price and still possible to find something much easier. I would also love to live in London or Madrid but i could only afford myself maybe as much as one room with flatmates outside of city center wheres here i now have a big flat for myself. Im also 30 and I really need my privacy and cant imagine living with others now if hes up for and ist more important than a flat he has, than that changes perspective.
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u/Puddelmuddel 1d ago
No apartments, no jobs. Don't come.