Moving to Düsseldorf soon? Or perhaps just relocated? We often use the internet and other social platforms to seek reassurance when making decisions. Your search engine might read “what is the best neighborhood to live in?” and other queries about removal services, visas, taxes, schools, shopping, foods, dos, and don’ts, etc.
As someone who has greatly benefitted from using Life in Düsseldorf and experienced moving from overseas to Germany, I have compiled a checklist, for our expatriates and new arrivals.
Below you’ll find a number of questions that I’m asking you. If your answer is no, please make sure you head to the appropriate resources/links for more help or continue your online research until you can answer “yes” to the question.
Housing in Düsseldorf
✅ Do you have a house? If not, here are some great resources
✅ Do you know how to set up your utilities and pay for your bills? Here’s how to find the best electricity provider in Düsseldorf
✅ Do you understand the rubbish system yet? Germany might uphold tighter rules and regulations around how they handle their trash. Take a good look at all the bins and what they mean. If you want to know when they come and collect your rubbish, you can refer to this link.
Legal Topics when moving to Düsseldorf
Once you’ve landed a visa and are in Germany, there are a number of questions you’re going to need to ask yourself.
✅ Are you registered in the city? This needs to be done within 14 days of finding your new living quarters.
Note: The Bürgerbüro is extremely difficult to book at the moment
Here are some tips:
- New appointments come up every day Monday – Friday (starting at 6:30 am), press refresh and even have someone else help you out.
- Be there early (but max 15 minutes)
- Prepare to take your documents, especially your ID and passport along with your rental/housing agreement (Wohnungsgeberbestätigung)
For a detailed step-by-step process on how to register in Düsseldorf, use this blog post.
✅ Have you set up your bank account yet? Life in Düsseldorf offers many posts about how to set up your account and the best accounts for internationals.
✅ Do you have all the insurance you need? Some are mandatory, some are not. Here are a number of posts about insurance in Germany and what you’ll really need.
✅ Do you know how to file your taxes in Germany? Life in Düsseldorf also has a number of posts regarding how to file your taxes, register as a freelancer, claim child expenses, etc. You can check it out here.
Your Well-being (mental & physical health)
✅ Do you have all the medication you require? Bring a few of your go-to from your home country and just as you’re about to run out, go visit your closest Apotheke (pharmacy) and ask for the equivalent.
Tip: More than 50% of Germans choose to buy their medication online because it can often be much cheaper and delivery is quite quick. Check out some of the best online pharmacies here.
✅ Do you have a family doctor (Hausarzt) yet? Make an appointment with your local GP, familiarize yourself and get to know them (in German, this is called an Erstgespräch). If you don’t have a family doctor yet, I’d recommend finding one on a comparison website like Doctolib or Jameda.
✅ Are you properly insured yet?
✅ Do you have a dentist yet? The same applies to dentists and other specialists you frequently visit. Here are 5 highly recommended English-speaking dentists in Düsseldorf, but you can also use Doctolib or Jameda to find a dentist as well.
Local Regularities
✅ Do you know where your local grocery store is yet? Find your favorite local grocery and bakery, pay a regular visit and practice your German. Win-win! If you’re missing foods from home, you might enjoy one of these 12 international grocery stores in Düsseldorf too!
Tip: Don’t forget, you also have alternative options like Gorillas or Flink grocery delivery services or Lieferando which delivers for restaurants.
✅ Do you have a phone plan yet? You’re going to need to set yourself up with one quite quickly. Luckily, there are many amazing and affordable phone plans out there and they take just minutes to set up.
✅ Do you know how you’re going to be getting around? Now is the time to figure out how you’ll be getting around here in Germany. You may need to freshen up on those German cycling rules, learn how to get your license/exchange your license, or figure out where the best/cheapest place might be to buy a car!
✅ Do you know the rules? There are many do’s and don’ts here in Germany. Here are just a few:
- Be quiet on Sundays
- Can’t shop on Sundays (here’s where you can shop though)
- Be polite
- Give up the seat when elderly hop on trains/buses etc
- Have CASH
Learning (German language, career & self-development)
✅ Have you made an effort to learn the language? You don’t have to become a German literature major, but it goes a long way when you try to respect German culture. Here are some of the best German language courses in the city to get you started.
✅ Do you need to register yourself or your kids for school? There are a number of Life in Düsseldorf resources that will help you with this too.
✅ Have you thought about volunteering? Give back to the community and surround yourself with people wanting to make a difference. Here’s a list of ways you can volunteer in English here in Düsseldorf.
Self-development Tip: Create a big goal, mid-term and short-term goal that you want to achieve. These can be broken down every one goal at a time
Social (sports, recreation, holidays & travel)
✅ Do you have a social network here? You can do this by attending various popular events, joining some of the best Facebook groups in the city, and starting conversations. Here are 5 great ways to meet other expats in Düsseldorf, plus a few of my own tips below:
- Leave a message in your neighbors’ mailboxes
- Drop them a hello and introduce yourself.
- Host a house-warming
- Join a park run
✅ Where is your closest park to wind down and get some fresh air? There are a lot of opportunities in/around the city to get some fresh air so make sure you do some research.
✅ Have you made some travel plans? There are many fantastic ways to get around here in Germany, so you should definitely be planning out a couple of trips to look forward to in the future. You can hire a car here in Düsseldorf to get around locally, or even rent it for the day. If you’re planning a longer trip, you can compare rental car prices or look for the cheapest bus/train/plane ticket to your next destination.
Inspiration: Here is the ultimate list of 25 of the best day trips just outside of Düsseldorf
In the first few weeks of being here, I have a few more transportation tips I’d like to mention as well:
- Make Google maps your best friend
- Make sure you understand the city and its routes
- Be mindful of Gleis (platform) changes at the train station (often they don’t announce changes so beware of these on the noticeboards)
- If you take a long-distance train, make sure you jump on the one that doesn’t take another direction to your final destination
And here are a few more walkaway tips from a beginner here in Düsseldorf:
- Don’t be apologetic if you don’t speak German fluently. It is okay to ask for help or for them to repeat themselves.
- Remember that you are actively deciding to live here and absorb what Düsseldorf has to offer. Look at it from multiple angles and don’t pigeonhole yourself with such a linear experience.
- If you sense hostility or frustration from another person, that is their problem. So chin up, you’re doing well.
- Remember to look back every now and then to see how much you have progressed.
- Celebrate the little wins and don’t wait for the world to change overnight.
