Sigrid
Today I’m sitting with two amazing women – power women, I’d say. One of them is a Latina, which always makes me extra happy, and the other one is a German Kartoffel… in the best possible sense.

Both of them are not only funny, they also run a fantastic platform called Simple Germany.
With us today: Jen and Yvonne.

Jen
Thank you so much for having us.

Yvonne
Yes, I don’t know, are we supposed to cheer? Woo! Thank you very much for having us. I love the intro.

Yvonne
“The Deutsche Kartoffel”… I don’t often get called that, but I’ll take it.

Jen
I always tell her she’s a Deutsche Kartoffel with sazón – with spices.

Yvonne
I’ve also been called a sweet potato.

Sigrid
That is the sweetest. Okay, so: Kartoffel with sazón, and also a sweet potato. We’re definitely using that.

Let’s get into it: what is Simple Germany?

What is Simple Germany?

Jen
Simple Germany started in 2020. Yvonne and I launched it with one main goal:

To empower internationals who’ve recently moved to Germany – or are planning to move – to settle into life here more smoothly.

Our mission is to talk about all the unspoken rules in Germany. When you arrive, so many things are new of course – it’s a new country – but the cultural stuff is what really trips people up. How things are done, what’s normal, what’s rude, what’s expected.

Especially if you come from a part of the world where things work in a completely different way.

So Simple Germany is there to:

-guide newcomers,

-give them information in plain language,

-help them understand their rights,

-find good service providers, and

-feel confident navigating the jungle of their first months and years here.

We don’t even try to define a fixed “adjustment period” because everyone lands at their own speed.

Sigrid
That’s so important. Everyone adjusts differently, and people also arrive with different levels of support.

And then there’s German bureaucracy – that lovely word Bürokratie that somehow manages to be even heavier in German than in English.

A lot of people arrive without speaking German, and they really don’t know where to start. Is it the Anmeldung first? Or the bank? Or insurance? Or the apartment? Or the tax ID?

Honestly, even many of us who’ve been here a while still feel that confusion.

So, staying in the spirit of “Simple Germany” – what would you say are the very first steps, in an ideal scenario?

Where do you even start in Germany?

Yvonne
Let’s stay with the ideal world, because like you said, reality always has exceptions – but the ideal helps to orient yourself.

In the ideal case:

You know why you’re coming. A job is the most common reason, but it could also be studies, family, or something else. Either way, there’s a purpose.

You land with a temporary place to live. Ideally a short-term furnished rental that already includes: internet, electricity, and allows you to do your Anmeldung (registration).

That way you don’t get overwhelmed with ten contracts at once.

You do your Anmeldung. With that, a lot of other things unlock automatically, like your tax ID.

You start work and find your rhythm.

You learn your neighborhood, figure out public transport, where to buy groceries, how recycling works – all the little things of daily life.

Once you’ve survived that first wave, then you can: start looking for a long-term apartment, settle into routines, and finally ask yourself: “Okay. What does this new world have to offer me?”

Sigrid
A “new world” is a good way to put it.
Let’s take a short music break here – and then we’ll come back with more questions for you both.

Typical “mistakes” and learning curves

Sigrid
We’re back with Jen and Yvonne from Simple Germany.

Over the past four years, you’ve been in touch with so many internationals. What are some patterns you see again and again – the things people almost always struggle with?

Jen
I wouldn’t call it a mistake exactly, but there is one big recurring learning curve: the language.

In my first years in Germany, I was lucky. My company outsourced a lot of the bureaucratic processes to a relocation service, so I didn’t really have to deal with German forms or offices myself.

Once that support stopped, I suddenly had to handle everything on my own – and everything was in German.

At the same time, my whole social circle was international. I surrounded myself with people who spoke English or Spanish, so I didn’t need German in my daily life.

The result?

I neglected learning German for a long time.

I waited for my German to be “good enough” before using it.

I stayed in this limbo of understanding a bit, but never really speaking.

Fast forward a few years: many of my international friends moved away, and I realised I wanted to stay in Germany long-term.

Suddenly, not speaking the language became a real problem: I had to make new friends, I had to deal with bureaucracy alone, I wanted to feel at home but I was always standing outside the language. Meeting Yvonne’s family was a turning point. Her grandparents and her dad basically only speak German. I had no choice – I had to try.

So I started speaking German, even though it was far from perfect. And that’s when something clicked.

I realised: I understand so much more about how people think.

I begin to catch the tone: is this serious or is it a joke?

I get more of the humour, the nuance, the subtext.

I’ll never have the full cultural context – I didn’t grow up here – but speaking the language unlocked a completely new layer of life in Germany.

And I often think: “If I had allowed myself to speak imperfect German earlier, this would have unlocked much sooner.”

Sigrid
That’s such an important point.

We wait to be perfect, and in that waiting, we lose years. The key really is:

Just start talking. Make mistakes. Be weird. You’ll survive.

Okay – before we lose ourselves in language philosophy again, let’s jump to something practical.

What you’ll find on Simple Germany

Sigrid
For everyone listening who has no idea what Simple Germany is, but likes what you’re saying so far:

Go to simplegermany.com.

What will people find there?

Yvonne
We see the website as our hub.

On the site, you’ll find articles and guides on pretty much every question someone might have when they: are about to move to Germany, have just arrived, or have been here for a while but keep running into “Why is this like this?” moments.

We write about topics like: Anmeldung, health insurance, mobile contracts and internet, taxes, electricity and utilities, renting an apartment, banking and many more day-to-day questions.

The website is: very “how-to”, very step-by-step, and very concrete.

From there, you can also jump to our other channels:

YouTube – where we explain things in more detail and share stories

Instagram – where we’re more personal, spontaneous, emotional

That’s where we also share our own life experiences: challenges, losses, wins and all the messy bits in between.

Sigrid
You also have some very personal videos. Which ones are closest to your heart?

Yvonne
There are many.

One thing I love about Simple Germany is the variety of topics. We can go from something extremely unsexy from the outside – like electricity contracts or taxes – to something deeply personal in the next video.

For some reason, I genuinely enjoy breaking down complex topics into simple terms. I get quite excited about that, which I know sounds a bit nerdy.

But then there are videos where Jen shares very vulnerable parts of her story – about identity, belonging, burnout, migration.

And I’m incredibly proud of her for that, because those are the stories that really connect with people. They give others courage to build their own lives here on their own terms.

Sigrid
We didn’t have enough time today to go into all of those stories, but we definitely hope to have you back.

There’s so much more we can explore together – not just your paths, but also the paths of people who are just arriving in Berlin or anywhere in Germany.

Why are we here? How do we make this place feel like home? That’s what this is really about.

Thank you both so much for being here – and to everyone listening: go check out their content. Their videos and reels are not only extremely useful, they’re also genuinely funny and very human.

Jen
Thank you so much for having us.

Yvonne
Yes, and for this very warm welcome. It’s been a pleasure.