I'm a simple emigrant and I'm looking for a cool Ferien

If you have lived in Germany for at least a couple of months, you’ve surely already heard the word Verein. And if you haven’t heard it, that means you’re still too busy with documents and bureaucracy, and you haven’t had time for social life. Because it’s literally the heart of German socialization. Verein — simply put, it’s an interest club. For any interest, whether macramé, paragliders, or marijuana enthusiasts. If you want to do something in the company of like-minded people, you definitely need to look for a Verein. In my view, it’s the best way for an immigrant to find friends in Germany and feel like part of society if you don’t have the opportunity to build a social circle naturally. I also recommend the same to parents who are looking for how to sign their child up for a section. And often this is the only or easiest way to gain access to infrastructure: fields, pools, studios. Because everything that’s familiar to us as extracurricular activities, clubs, sections, groups, village clubs, professional communities—in Germany it’s all Vereine. To find a Verein that suits you you can either Google “Verein + city + interest” or search on sites auskunft.de, stadtverband.de, in Facebook communities, or ask at your school/university/work or even from your neighbors. Next you need to look at the specific site to see how they offer enrollment. Often you can simply fill out a form or send an email. In this case be sure to write in German, even if you don’t speak it well. Don’t worry: if you show interest, people will be interested in you too. Usually, Vereine have membership fees, but usually it’s cheap, sometimes almost free. For comparison, a standard commercial gym costs about €45 per month, and a sports Verein about €15. And if you can’t find a suitable Verein, you can always create one. I haven’t created one myself, so I can’t say how this works in practice, but I know that even an immigrant can register such a club by gathering seven people and paying only €75 in dues. Hessian residents can start learning about this topic here. And are you already a member of a Verein? #useful #emigrant_happiness