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Day-to-day Living in Germany

Shopping and groceries

Germans like to shop. As with the UK, you might even say it's a national pastime. This makes finding anything you need relatively easy.

You can find a number of superstores in many city suburbs, and even in some city centres. There are also the hypermarkets such as Real, Kaufland and Globus Handelshof, which offer a wide range of products including groceries, household goods, beverages, pet supplies, clothing, etc. These hypermarkets are housed within shopping centres and often coupled with a few other large specialty stores.

There are also the (in)famous German discount supermarkets, such as Aldi and Lidl, which, as many UK shoppers already know, specialise in groceries, textiles, toys, office supplies. All at 'unbeatable' prices, of course.

Opening times are consistent with the UK.

Social Security

The German social security system can be divided into 5 parts:

• Pension insurance
• Unemployment insurance
• Health insurance
• Care insurance
• Companies accident insurance

The amount of health insurance contribution is dependent on the chosen health insurance company. Also, if the ceiling amounts are met, employees have the option of either being insured with a governmental health insurance company, a private health insurance company, or not being insured at all. If you are insured with a private company, the amount of contribution is dependent on your age, health and familial circumstance.

Crime

Violent crime is rare in Germany, although incidents may occur, especially in high risk areas in large cities, such as train station. Most incidents related to street crime involve unattended objects or pick-pocketing.

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