“Our First Weeks in Germany: From Berlin Struggles to Finding a Home in Nuremberg”

Before settling in Germany, I already had experience living abroad in Europe, including several years in Ireland through an exchange program and later as the spouse of an EU citizen with a residence permit. However, my long-term integration journey truly started when I moved to Germany.

We arrived in Germany in March 2019.

One of our first mistakes was assuming that Germany, like Ireland, would be simple in terms of bureaucracy as EU countries. We thought that as a spouse of a European citizen, I would simply go to immigration, receive a residence permit, start working using English, and slowly learn German.

In reality, that moment marked the beginning of understanding German bureaucracy.

Very quickly, we learned about the registration , one of the most important registrations in Germany, required for almost everything. To get it, we first needed a place to live, and to rent a place, you usually need to be registered as a tenant.

So as soon as we arrived, we started searching for housing.

As English speakers, we chose Berlin, thinking it would be easier because it is the capital and a diverse international city. We believed it wouldn't take long to find a place.

We booked an Airbnb for four days, then extended it for three more days—one week in total. However, all we could find were temporary shared rooms, which did not allow us to register our address, something we urgently needed to start our life in Germany.

During our search, we found many rental websites. However, most affordable options were still too expensive for us at that moment. Platforms like HousingAnywhere and Spotahome appeared as possible solutions.

The biggest challenge was that we still did not have jobs, which made landlords less willing to trust us. Because of that, we were even willing to accept a room in a shared apartment just to get started—but even that was difficult to find.

Eventually, we visited one studio apartment. It wasn't in the best area, but at that point, it felt like our only chance. The agent asked for several documents, a deposit of three months, and even a bank account in our names with at least €3,000 to prove financial stability.

We followed all the requirements, but in the end, the apartment was given to someone else. That was our first real disappointment in Germany.

We went back to the Airbnb, still sharing a temporary room, exhausted and stressed. At this point, we started deep research again online, searching for alternatives.

We decided to try Spotahome again ( https://www.spotahome.com/de/s/berlin), especially because we learned that unlike Ireland, where apartments are usually fully furnished, many apartments in Germany come completely empty—even without a kitchen.

Spotahome offered furnished apartments, which seemed like the perfect solution: you could move in directly and start living.

After a long search, we found an apartment that fit our budget. The process was fully online. The platform held the deposit on a credit card, and you could meet the landlord and decide whether to proceed.

The platform supports multiple languages, but when we contacted the landlord, communication was difficult. His English was very limited, but we still managed to communicate.

However, what felt strange was his behavior. When we asked for an English copy of the contract, he refused multiple times. He often said he didn't know certain answers, and it felt like he was more confused than we were.

By the end of the conversation, we felt uncomfortable and even slightly threatened by the way he said, “You will pay for that.”

At that point, we were already extremely stressed from not finding a place to live. We didn't sleep properly during that week and often woke up during the night due to anxiety.

After this experience, we immediately contacted Spotahome support. They listened to our case, investigated the situation with the landlord, and later confirmed that we should not continue any communication outside the platform.

They also guaranteed that our money would be refunded.

After this experience, we decided to leave Berlin. Through family connections in Bavaria, we decided to try Nuremberg instead.

In the middle of this transition, we also attended a baptism of a family member outside Germany, which gave us a short break from the stress.

A few days later, we headed to Nuremberg. Even while traveling, we continued researching constantly. We also bought a SIM card immediately so we could have internet for navigation and communication.

Thanks to that, during the journey to Nuremberg, we found an available double room for one month. Someone was going on holiday and wanted to rent out their room temporarily.

We also booked another Airbnb nearby for three days so we could explore the city before moving in.

When we arrived in Nuremberg, we went to drink coffee for the first time in days and tried to relax after everything we had been through.

At least now we had a place for one month—but what would come after that, we still didn't know.

We visited the temporary room, met the German girl living in the flat, made arrangements, paid the rent, and received the keys—but we would only move in one week later.

At least now, we had something we didn’t have a few days before:

Time.

One month. One room. One small window to figure everything out.

It wasn’t stability — but it was a start.

We still didn’t have registration.
We still didn’t have jobs.
We still didn’t know how the system really worked.

But for the first time since arriving in Germany, we could finally breathe.

What we didn’t realize yet…
was that this was only the beginning of understanding how life in Germany really works.

Because finding a place to stay is just step one.

The next challenge?

Turning that temporary situation into something official.

And that’s where things get even more real.

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👉 Next post: Anmeldung, bureaucracy, and the reality of becoming “official” in Germany.

See you on the next post.