The downside of this city, as any foreigner who lives here knows, is German bureaucracy. Take Finland as a counter-example. I can take care of every bureaucratic issue online, the Finnish tax office sends me a pre-filled tax form each year (which I can ignore if there are no changes to be made), and when I move, I only need to inform one agency - which informs all other institutions, including the post and banks.
I have for the past two months been trying to find out how to renew my UK/EU drivers' license here. It ran out a while back, and I didn't notice (I don't drive, but would like to have a license in case I do). I can't renew it in the UK, because I don't live there, but when I called the German license agency, and went to the agency (in person), they were lost. A UK license for someone who has a Finnish passport, was born in Austria, and resides in Germany. I was told to come back later...and just try again with someone else.
I had a similar experience last year, when I was not allowed to take part in a practical sailing test, because my "exemption document" (German) on my driving license (UK) became invalid a few days before the test (and only the agency knew this, because they do not hand over the exemption document). My theoretical test (600 questions!) therefore became invalid.
Why do I live here? Because it's nice enough to bike and walk, and the public transportation is good enough... ;)
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