Setting Up Your New Home

It can be intimidating to move to a new country, especially when your native language is not commonly spoken. Plan to take one thing at a time and realize that the time it takes to do things in your home country will be dramatically reduced as you learn the ropes for transportation and shopping. Try to focus on one thing a day and as you get more comfortable in your new city you will be able to accomplish more.

Always keep your passport with you since many things will require identification. It is also handy to have your address and phone number written on a card to show the person helping you.

This section will help you in finding a home, setting up your appliances & electronics, and choosing a telephone, cell phone and internet service.

Finding a Home

Chances are, your company will have a system in place to help you find a place to live. If that is not the case, here are some websites & contacts that can help with your research.

	Articles about relocation and finding a home in Germany. Expatica Housing website has a database of available listings.
	Relocation stories and advice with links to relocation services.

Search the online database of the Housing Cooperative Society in Dresden - WOBA
The website is in German, but by following the instructions below you can find some basic information about properties available to rent or buy. It is easy to find a list of places to rent but the database for homes for sale is not very helpful. If you would like to read more information on the site, you can copy and paste text into a translation website or use your German / English dictionary to translate individual words.

Appliances and Electronics

Voltage for Germany and the European Union is 220 - 240 volts / 50 Hz. Voltage for the U.S. is 110 volts / 60 Hz. This means that American appliances and electronics will not work in Germany without some adaptation.

Tips for getting "plugged in"!

• Buy converters for small appliances like hair dryers & curling irons in your home country before you leave. Radio Shack or larger electronic stores will have a small supply. These converters CANNOT be used for larger appliances and electronics.

• Large appliances and electronics must use transformers. These are fairly large and VERY heavy, so consider whether it is worth the additional weight to bring them.

• German outlets are shaped differently than U.S. outlets and U.K. sockets, so you will need to buy outlet adapters before you leave your country as well. This will allow you to plug your appliance cord into the adapter, then plug the adapter into the converter. If you plug your small appliance into the wall outlet without a converter, it will usually blow up the motor and ruin the appliance.
  
  
• Laptops and many video cameras have converters built into their electrical cords, that will be evident by a large rectangular box attached to the cord. In this case, you only need an outlet adapter to plug your cord into the outlet.
  
  
• American, British and French T.V.s are not compatible with German frequencies. You will need to buy a television and DVD player in Germany. American DVD's are Region 1, so buy an All Region DVD player so that you can play American DVDs and German DVDs. Many German DVDs come with multiple languages, including English on the DVD.
  
  
• You can shop for appliances in Dresden at Saturn in the Altmarkt Gallery downtown and at Walmart south of Dresden in Heidenau. Saturn will have everything you need in the appliance and electronic area in a range of prices. Walmart Supercenter has a smaller but much cheaper variety

Telephone, Cell Phones & Internet

Telephones

You have two choices when setting up your phone: Analog or ISDN. It is likely that the apartment or home you are living in already has a phone system in place.

If you need to set up service yourself, you will need to visit a Deutsche Telekom office or a Deutsche Post retail store to set up the service you want. While Deutsche Post is the postal company, it is privately owned and has a variety of services.

Deutsche Telekom
Is partnered with T-Com which can provide all of your telephone, internet and cell phone needs. They do not have an English language website, so you can find out more information about their services at the Deutsche Post website.

Deutsche Post - English language website
Certain retail outlets can set up your telephone, internet and cell phone service using Deutsche Telecom. Most of the services are explained on their website.

To find a location near you, go to the telecommunications section of their website.
1. Click the button for Retail Outlet Services.
2. Choose the Retail Outlet Search button on the right.
3. The search form is in German, but you only need to put in your postal code in the field that says "Postleitzahl" and the city in the "Ort" field.
4. Click the Weiter button to perform the search.
5. This will give you a list of branches near you and a map where they are located.
6. Click on the street name to find out when they are open.

Codes:
BA > Automatic stamp machine
SB > Self service center
Post-Service Filiale > Post Office Service Branch

Cell Phones - "Handys"

The two most popular companies are T-Mobile which can be set up through their retail outlets, Deutsche Telecom and Deutsche Post and Vodafone which has retail outlets all over the city. It is more cost effective to make calls to people using the same company, so if you plan to talk to certain people a lot, it would be a good idea to find out what service they use. You will only be charged for the calls you make, not the calls you receive.

You must have a physical German address to purchase a cell phone and you will need to show a different passport for each phone purchased. You can choose between a fixed monthly plan or purchase prepaid cards and pay as you go. Prepaid cards can be purchased at Saturn or at any of the cell phone retail outlets in the city.

If you would like more cell phone options and a higher possibility of finding an English speaker, buy your phone at Saturn in the Altmarkt Galerie. The cell phone department is on the second floor. There is usually someone in the department that can speak English. Just don't expect them to be very helpful...

Vodafone - English language website
While there are many Vodafone locations all over the city, do not expect to find anyone who speaks English. To learn about your options, explore the website first and decide on the features you want. Use your German / English dictionary or translation website and print out your request before visiting a Vodafone store.

The website covers all the features offered for your phone and information about how to use your phone in other countries.

Internet

You have three choices for internet service, dial up, ISDN and DSL. Dresden does not have DSL capability in every neighborhood so you will need to ask your landlord or Deutsche Telekom if your neighborhood is wired for DSL.

If you plan to be on the internet a lot, it can be VERY expensive to simply use dial up or ISDN. You need to explore options for set monthly fees or you could be very shocked at the bill.

If you use ISDN you will need to install a Fritz card in an empty slot on the back of your computer and load the software. You can buy these at Saturn or any computer shop and it will cost about €75 and they are very simple to install. The software will come with T-Mobile software, but it is not in English and will be difficult to understand.

If you use DSL, you will need to get a modem from Deutsche Telekom when you set up your service.