LUA Landau
Contract
ECDC employment rules for EPIET-fellows tend to change yearly, so check early with the EPIET secretariat. You will probably need your university certificates and passport sized photos.
Flat
Landau has a small university, so there is a market for flatshare. Some websites to help you with your search for your own flat or with WGs in Landau (“Wohngemeinschaft”=flatshares):
http://www.immobilienscout24.de/de/finden/wohnen/wohnung_miete/index.jsp
http://www.wg-gesucht.de/ (i recommend this one for flatshares)
http://www.studenten-wg.de/
The LUA can support you finding a suitable flat. Once you signed your flat contract, make a copy of it for registration (below).
Registration
In Germany, residents need to get registered. This is usually done at the “Bürgeramt” (citizen’s office) at the town hall. Do not forget your passport. If possible, have a copy of the flat-contract with you. Make sure to state that your address shall not be shared, otherwise you risk getting lots of junk-mail.
The registration-form can be downloaded at:
http://www.landau.de/index.phtml?La=1&sNavID=343.47&mNavID=343.26&object=tx|343.111.1
(www.landau.de > Bürgerservice > Formulare > Anmeldung)
Contact details are: Bürgerbüro Landau, ++49 6341 133 266, buergerbuero@landau.de
The Bürgerbüro gives you your “Anmeldung” (residents certificate) and has a welcome package for new residents.
Banks
There are lots of banks to choose from: Sparkasse, Postbank, Deutsche Bank, etc. I find Postbank online banking very convenient. As long as you earn over 1,300 euros/month you don’t get charged to open the account and you can use your card to draw out money from 3 other banks free of charge. These are: Deutsche Bank, Commerzbank and HypoVereinsbank. However, www.ing-diba.de is an alternative that offers you a visa credit card without ATM-fees, as long as the ATM (anywhere in the world) carries the VISA logo.
Internet
Landau has a couple of internet cafés, your office has internet and if you want internet in your flat, go to http://www.heise.de/tarifrechner/ and enter on field “Vorwahl” 06341 to get a list of cheap broadband offers. On the other hand, broadband penetration in Germany is high so chances are also high that your flatshare already has internet connectivity.
How to get to the institute on the 1st day
Ask for the zoo and look for the monkeys. Seriously, the institute is indeed very close to the zoo. Bus 523 from the train station (exit "Krankenhaus") takes you almost to its front door. Its address (institute’s not zoo’s) is Bodelschwinghstraße 19, 76829 Landau. Any major internet mapping service will show you the way.
Health insurance
Health insurance is mandatory in Germany. Half of the contributions are deducted from your wage and your employer pays the other half. There are lots of companies to select from, I chose Techniker Krankenkasse (http:www.tk-online.de). You eventually get a small card (like a credit card) which is your insurance card and should be signed and carried around with you. However, the ECDC grant system might make things more difficult, check details with your site-coordinator.
Public transport
Landau can be wonderfully explored on foot and by bike. The regional train ticket is obtained from www.vrn.de.
Tax
From 2010 on, the “Lohnsteuerkarte” (tax card) has to be collected from the local “Finanzamt” (http://www.finanzamt-landau.de/). Unless you state that you have “no religion”, church tax will be automatically deducted from your wage. You might get a virtual tax card or even no tax card depending on the new ECDC grant system, check details with your site coordinator.
You will have the opportunity to claim back some taxes at the end of the calendar year and so for this reason it might be important to keep receipts for things that you may be able to claim on. You can claim on all things that are related to you living and working in Landau. For example travel, moving costs, books etc. Make sure you read:
http://www.epietalum.net/content/rkiberlingermany#comment-23
German classes
The Volkshochschule has many courses on offer: http://www.volkshochschule-landau.de/1/kurse/sprache1.htm
The local university may have German classes for their Erasmus program (http://www.uni-koblenz-landau.de/international/from-abroad/exchange-stud...) where you can participate.
Climbing and Hiking
Landau is located in hikers’, mountain and racing bikers’ and climbers’ heaven. Check out Pfälzer Waldverein for hiking: http://www.pwv.de/ and for mountain biking http://www.bikemap.net/regional/Germany/Rhineland-Palatinate/Landau For climbing, google “klettern landau”.
