The decision to return to England, our home country, after three years in Germany took us a while to make. From the time we made the decision, it took seven months before we landed on home turf with our remaining belongings spread across eight suitcases. Although we had quite a long time to plan the move, it all came down to the last few weeks. They say moving house is stressful, but moving countries took it to a new level on the ‘stress-o-meter’.

When we first moved to Bremen, we took a few pieces of furniture and several boxes with us. We were very lucky because the company that my partner was due to begin working for in Germany, and the reason for our move, offered us a relocation package that took care of much of the removals process, from packing up our belongings and shipping through to eventually delivering the goods to us once we found a permanent place to live. As my partner is now switching jobs and no longer working for this company, we needed to organise all of the removals and shipping to the UK without the support we had on the outbound journey to Germany. Expats who move away for employment but return home or move elsewhere due to a change in employment circumstances will face a similar situation. This time it was our responsibility to arrange the transferring of our belongings but as we accrued much more furniture over the past three years, we were going to need a larger shipping container, which meant a significant expenditure.

Arranging removals 

There are many removals companies that can help with shipping items from Germany to another place in Europe or beyond, which you can find simply by running a Google search. Make sure to check these are reputable companies that offer insurance. If your prized possessions are travelling hundreds of miles, you want to make sure they’re well looked after. After receiving several quotes that ran into thousands of euros, we decided to take the DIY route and hatched a plan with our family. My partner’s father and sister hired a van in the UK, took a ferry to the Hook of Holland and drove onwards to Bremen. After eight hours of driving in mainland Europe and a one-night stopover, they were on their way back to the UK with a van stacked to the roof with our belongings. Back in the UK, they were put in a storage container near to our new home in Manchester until we arrived in the country and could find them a new home.

A Flohmarkt at home PHOTO: Sarah E

Selling your household items

For the remaining few weeks we were living in an empty flat with the minimal things we needed to live a relatively normal day to day existence. Even so, there were still many items that we needed to dispose of by the time we departed so we decided to try to sell them. Up until this point, I’d only ever bought things in Germany, not sold them. By using websites like eBay Kleinanzeigen and Schwarzesbrett as well as local Facebook groups, I sold many items from ironing boards through to sofas. These sites are free to advertise as many items as you like and very easy to use. I was surprised that people will take the trouble to come to your home to pick up the smallest items such as lampshades or plant pots for a few Euros but pleased the item would be re-used. I was also surprised that I quite enjoyed my new full-time role as a used goods salesperson.

As well as selling items, in the final week, we gave a lot away for free by leaving them on the street outside our apartment. I also held a mini Flohmarkt (flea market) at home. I wouldn’t have considered doing this whilst living in the UK, but it is normal practice in Germany as it is much less of a throwaway society and people are interested in picking up a freebie. As soon as I put items such as crockery, pans or towels outside, they would disappear so I wasn’t worried about them cluttering the street. To help things move even quicker, I advertised on eBay Kleinanzeigan that I had left a selection of free items outside the apartment block and provided the address. I was inundated by messages of people letting me know they were on their way to come and pick items up.

Geschenk for passersby to take PHOTO: Sarah E

Officially ending your residency 

Once you arrive to live in Germany, you must register for residency. Without this, you cannot rent an apartment, set up utility bills or open a bank account. In preparation for repatriation, you must reverse this and let the local authorities know you wish to de-register as you are returning home or moving to another country. In Bremen, seven days before you leave, you can visit the Bürgeramt (citizens service centre) to complete the paperwork or post the completed forms. They don’t require you to let them know any earlier than seven days before you depart. As part of our early preparation, we found and completed the forms with the help of the website www.deregistration.de and then posted them to the Bürgeramt. We preferred this method, even though it cost us 14.90€, as queuing at the Bürgeramt three years ago to register for residency took us a long time and involved arriving at 5am to get ahead of the crowds.

Once it has been processed by the centre, you will receive a confirmation letter, which you will need in order to cancel everything from internet contracts to electricity suppliers to gym memberships. Online you’ll be able to find template letters that you can alter and use to cancel most accounts you have set up whilst living in Germany. You will need the de-registration letter from the Bürgeramt as proof alongside the termination letter. Frustratingly for us, my partner’s de-registration letter got lost en route to us, which means although we’re back in the UK now, we’re unable to cancel the utilities that are registered in his name. All the planning in the world can’t account for postal and admin slip-ups that are out of our control. We have been reassured the letter, when it arrives, will have the originally requested de-registration date so the utility companies will refund any direct debit payments taken since we left despite the country and have not been using electricity or watching German TV.

It has to be said that moving to Bremen was much easier and less stressful than the logistics of leaving, however, I’d do it all again as I’ve had the best three years of my life in Germany.

– Sarah E