Category: Guide Berlin
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Papers, please! — How I Turned a 90-Day Visa into a Home in Berlin
When you’re trying to set up your life in Berlin, visas are one of the first things you need to get in order. Unless you’re an EU citizen, you can’t live and work in Germany without one. Simple as that! But there are a whole bunch of different visa options. Should you try for the […]
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Berlin’s Rental Maze: What an American Learns When the Landlord Plays Games
If you moved to Berlin from another European country, then you probably already know how many protections renters have here. My German friends hate it when I go on about how awful the US is – especially the low-level injustice and exploitative chicanery – but as a renter, you have essentially no rights in the […]
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Berlin, Hold My Book: Why Physical Still Beats Digital
Ok. This is going to sound like a typical “back in my day” kind of old man rant. But hear me out, because I’m not talking about a world swallowed by time. Despite claims to the contrary, Berlin is still full of places that offer a key to a door that still stands today: a […]
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The Power of Ehrenamt: Finding Connection Through Volunteering in Berlin
The news is grim these days. Everywhere we look things are going off the rails. The cost of living, and the political maneuverings… everything seems like too much, too soon, and too fast. And it’s easy to give in to the atomization of 21st century life; we are millions of people living alone. Alone in […]
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Welcome to the Club: How Vereine Can Turn Berlin from a City of Strangers into a Home
In 2000 Robert D. Putnam published a book, “Bowling Alone”, in which he argued that Americans were becoming increasingly isolated and removed from community and social capital. He took the institution of the Bowling League as his prime example. I remember when the book came out – though, admittedly, I never got around to reading […]
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Bürgerbeteiligung: Participation or Paperwork?
Berlin invites its citizens to participate — but only after the decisions are made. A visit to the Bürgerbeteiligungsbüro: where good intentions meet German bureaucracy. I was so happy when I first discovered the Bürgerbeteiligungsbüro. Yes! Finally, a place for participation! It took me quite some time, though, to understand what this institution is actually […]
WahlheYmat Writes Newsletter
Our association’s own updates, including news about upcoming events, new initiatives, organizational news, and project developments from WahlheYmat e.V.
Address
Am Hamburger Bahnhof 3
10557 Berlin
Germany
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