Germans in the UK – Marcus’ answers
Germans in the UK is a series in which some of my German friends and contacts tell us about their experience of living and working in the UK.
I had the idea for this series because a number of my customers want to know about life in the UK. Some of them want to live here. Whilst I can talk about some differences that I’ve noticed, I’m English, I’ve always lived here and I can’t comment on what it’s like to move to another country.
Therefore I decided to ask some people who can give a first-hand report on moving to the UK from Germany.
Marcus
1.How long have you been living in the UK?
4 months.
2. What are two important things that you did in terms of preparation before you left Germany?
– finding a flat share
– research about where to register on http://www.deutsche-in-london.net
3. How did you go about finding somewhere to live?
The easiest way for me was to write a post about myself and what exactly I’m looking for with a picture of me in several Facebook groups like London flatshare or Hackney Wick Spaces,….(there are many more) and then so many people wrote me and that’s how I found my flat share. I bribed them with free haircuts if they decided for me. So you could bribe with something you are good in (massage, cooking, whatever…)
4. How did you go about making new friends and meeting new people when you got here?
5. What would you say is different here in terms of applying for jobs. Is there anything that surprised you?
I already applied from Germany. Nothing surprised me…
6. Do you know any good websites, books or other resources for people who want to improve their English?:
englishwithkirsty lessons ;-) http://www.engvid.com Englische Grammatik by Ellen Henrichs-Kleinen
7. What or who has helped you most in terms of developing your language skills?
Kirsty
8. Have you noticed any big differences in terms of how people do business, what happens in business meetings or how colleagues relate to one another here?
They are much more kind and find more friendly ways of telling you if you do something wrong.
9. Is there anything that you wish someone had told you about life in the UK or anything that took time to get used to?
I thought it would be easier to build up a social life from the beginning, but it takes time and especially London as a city itself is very stressful ,for me it’s not a city where I want to spent the rest of my life (That’s what I think at the moment, it might change)
10. What food or drinks do you miss most? What are the first things that you buy when you go back to Germany?
Sushi it’s very expensive here and I’m going to have a massage.
Do you have a blog or a personal web page?
Instagram : Marcus Gröllich
Facebook: Hair by Marcus Gröllich
Further articles in this series
If you would like to answer these questions as well or to view the other articles in this series, go to the main Germans in the UK page.
More like this
If you don’t want to miss any updates to this series or you are generally interested in information about learning English, you can sign up for the English with Kirsty newsletter.
English with Kirsty News is sent out once a month and it contains articles and other information for learners of English as well as the latest news from English with Kirsty.