Always wanted to work in Berlin. How did you manage the language barrier? I know that most gigs use English as the first language but how about the daily life like doing groceries or calling the phone company for a bad bill?
It's tough to find people willing to talk with an adult like they're a toddler.
So, I don't think the question is as flippant as you made it out to be. Someone might have some real advice about how to manage the juggling act of learning a new language and culture as a working adult.
Groceries are basically not a problem, even if you don’t speak a single word of German and don’t want to rely on Google Translate on your phone: almost all of the products in packaging have pictures of the food on the outside, the tills show you the total at the same time the cashier tells you, most of the shops accept contactless payment (even discount chains), and half the cashiers probably want to practice their English on you.
On the other hand: at some point in the next month, I need to officially register that I’m living here to get an ID card. I’m not looking forward to that, because I’m told the people in charge of that really insists on speaking German, even in Berlin where about 20% the population is Ausländer.
I don't quite get the phrasing "insist[s] on speaking German" - of course they are going to do that, German being the official language and only official language (unlike e.g. Switzerland with four, although unsurprisingly, English still doesn't make the list). Also, if they did allow another language, surely it would be Turkish, not English.
My advice would be to take a friend or colleague. Way easier than trying to do stuff with a translator, or misunderstanding something.
> My advice would be to take a friend or colleague.
That’s the plan :)
oh, here the knowledge of German doesn't matter - an individual consumer is a pariah with obligatory 2 years contract. One should certainly avoid English speaking landlords in Berlin though.
Would you care to elaborate on that?
But if you want to life in Germany for more than a year or two you really should learn the language. Getting to a basic level of German if you're an English speaker is not that hard.