USEFUL FOR LIVING ABROAD: #1 TransferWise

This is the start of a series I wanna call 'Useful services for living abroad'.

Starting with TransferWise, which I unfortunately only discovered last year but pretty much changed the way I transfer money. FOR THE BETTER.

For the past four and a half years, I transferred money between Germany and the UK for at least once a month.  During my semester abroad in Texas, I did the same between Germany and the US. Sooooo many times I was frustrated by the amount I received and the fees I had to pay.

For every SEPA transfer that came in from my German account, my Scottish Bank RBS (Royal Bank of Scotland) charges me 7 freaking quid. Everytime, no matter how small of large the sum of money. Additionally, the exchange rate was horrible and I felt sad everytime I had to make this transfer. Let's not talk about transferring money from the UK to Germany, because apparently that would at least cost £35 in fees. Ridiculous, to say the least.

For my MA here in Birmingham I pay quite a lot of tuition, something that I didn't have to pay in Scotland. So not only was I looking at transferring money each month but also transferring a lot of money. I did not want to lose money to a horrible exchange rate and started googling for alternatives. I stumbled upon TransferWise. This project has been backed up by Richard Branson and was developed by the founders of Skype. After more research I conidered them safe to use and went ahead and transferred some money from my German account to my UK one. It is not only super fast (2 days, maximum!) but also safe and transparent. I can see the fees they charge me (about 1 or 2€, depending on the amount) and the exchange rate. Instead of an annoying bank transfer, I can use a kind of direct debit (Sofortüberweisung for the Germans) and it works perfectly.

This video explains how you do the transfer. When you have made the transfer, you can track the progress of it and you also receive status updates via email if you like. I wish I had known about this service before, it would have saved me sooo much money. Actually really depressing to think about it. That's why I have made it my mission to share this with everyone who transfers money abroad. 

If you like this service and might make us of it, sign up here: https://transferwise.com/

By signing up through this link you will receive a free first transfer (if it's under £$€3000). Signing up is obviously free. And for transparency, yes, for every three people that sign up through my link and make a transfer, I receive £100. But even if I didn't, I would still tell the whole world about it.

This is a company I have full faith in and I hope they will get much much bigger, so that eventually everyone will know about this.
Let me know if you have any questions :)

How I got into a UK university

I cannot believe that I started this blog when I got into university. Let's go back to that point. I technically took a second gap year after my Au Pair year, cause I was still confused about life and everything. I did apply to universities that year but the courses I got into were just not right and I did not want to study something random and not like it. It was quite a horrible year, all I wanted was to be back in America, and not be stuck at home with my parents. Back then, someone was urging me to just do another course that is similar...like culture or whatnot- so I wouldn't end up with a gap on my resumee.
Utter bullshit, let me tell you. Until now, no one has EVER looked at my CV and asked me what I have done that year. And I would rather have a little work experience than a dropped uni course on there. So just don't listen to anyone, if your gut tells you something else. Most of the time, you know what's good for you. And I am not a quitter. I probably would have complete that degree while hating it. And that what not have gotten me anywhere.

Just like every other person, I wanted to do something "with media". Getting into university in Germany seemed ridiculously complicated if you didn't graduate top of the class in high school. Then I looked in to studying film but that was either in film schools in Bavaria or impossible to get into grade-wise. Meeeeh!

Eventually I got into the idea of studying abroad. First I was obsessed with Ireland, but then the application process seemed random and complicated and then I found that the UK has an actually straightforward process. It's called UCAS and has pros and cons. What I LOVE about it is that the unis don't just look into your grades but at your motivational letter. This gives people a chance that really wanna do something but don't have the most amazing grades. The cons is that you can only apply to 5 unis, so you have to pick them carefully. I eventually applied to four English unis and one Scottish one. Can you guess which one accepted me?

Not gonna lie, the English unis all rejected me. I think the research I did on those unis was not the best. Honestly, I had no idea what kind of unis I applied to. I am so so glad that they did reject me though, because studying in Scotland is pretty much free and in England you have to pay a bijillion pounds a year. Biig factor that I somehow forgot to include in my thoughts? 

As you see, I got incredibly lucky with my application. I obviously did some things right but then some of them were not good enough. (I just wish I could have found a blog where someone told me what to do- haha)

This was my weird journey to university and I always tell people that it was fate that I ended up in Scotland. Random thing- when I was about 15 I bought a travel guide for Scotland. My friend asked me if I was planning to go to Scotland anytime soon, and I just said 'one day'- The travel bug only really hit me after my Au Pair year, but even though I wasn't specifically thinking that I wanted to move to Scotland. It was more a case of "I hate Germany and feel so out of place" and "I need to study in English cause I cannot deal with German". I consider myself really lucky that everything worked out the way it did, and my years in Scotland were just the best.

xxx

Why I am excited to move to Birmingham

Now that I got in to BCU and will actually seriously move to Birmingham in the fall, it is terrifying to think about all the things I need to do. Figure out storage over the summer, finding a new flat (!!!!!!), getting all my stuff there, settling down once again. Every new place obviously also has its perks, and here are some about Birmingham. First of all, the train to London only takes about two hours, so that is really exciting! Seeing some of my English friends on a more regular basis is something I really look forward to.

A big part is obviously discovering fun new restaurants, bars and pubs. Buzzfeed is a surprisingly good guide for new and exciting things, such as 18 Cocktails Every Brummie Must Try, 19 Birmingham Brunches You Must Try Before You Die and this one about street food.

How yummy does all of this look? I wanna eat everything.right.meow.

And as much as I will be missing the Highlands and the beautiful Scottish landscape, there are other pretty places in the UK. Birmingham is not really that close to a coast, but not too far away from beautiful Welsh beaches.

And one of my favorite areas that is quite close to Birmingham is the Cotswolds. I mean, look at this! Cannot wait to go and see this for myself.

How beautiful is this?

So yes, I am also a little excited to move there.

Why I don't plan on going back to Germany (at the moment)

At the moment, with Uni coming to a close and all of that, so many people ask me if I am going back home to Germany. Um, no.

I think people don't realise how much studying abroad changes you. And I don't mean just a semester abroad but a whole degree. I have been living here for four years- it has been the first place I have stayed for such a long time other than Germany and it feels like my home. The guy from the shop next door knows me too well, I don't even wanna mention my eyebrow lady, I know all the short cuts and bus routes, tourists think you are a local and ask you for directions, you always meet people you know on the street... it doesn't just feel like my home, it truly is.

Germany obviously still feels like home, too: My small home town is the place where I will always know people, where the bank employees recognize me, and I have made lifelong memories here. It feels good to be home once in a while, and it feels special. My mum makes a fuss, everyone I meet is asking me about my plans for my life and you have that weird status of being that cool kid back in town. But I guess that only works if you leave again at one point, and that is fine with me. I also don't have the urge to move to a bigger German city either, because.. there is no one that I fancy living in. I dislike Berlin, Hamburg and Munich are too posh and all the other places... meh, I am not convinced.

I feel out of synch with German culture at times, because I have learned to love Scottish and American culture so much. I love greeting everyone with 'how r u', having nice talks with shop assistants, making friends at the bus stop with random strangers and ordering tap water for free. In my mind, all of these things seem impossible in Germany. It probably really isn't that impossible, but my heart just wouldn't be all there if I moved back to Germany.

And if I have learned one thing, then it is that one: Wherever you go, go with all your heart.

So I guess that's what I'm doing. For now.

And maybe one day, my heart will lead me back to Germany.