Seeking guidance from disabled expats who moved to Germany

1POSTS

7 hours ago

Hello, I鈥檓 a disabled person (power wheelchair user) in the U.S. (on SSDI and a small US-based self-employment income) preparing for a move to Germany. I have limited energy and need practical, lived鈥慹xperience answers from people who have already made this transition with significant mobility or medical needs. I鈥檓 hoping to learn from your real experiences rather than general links.

My main questions:

1. Housing & costs

How do rents work in practice (base rent + Nebenkosten)?

Are there building fees, community utilities, or required renter's insurance?

Are landlords allowed to charge pet fees for service dogs?

How did you handle kitchens (installed vs. self鈥慽nstalled)?

Were you ever required to clean common areas (stairs, hallways), and how did you manage this if you couldn鈥檛 physically do it?

Did your disability rating help you get priority for barrier鈥慺ree apartments?

2. Travel support from the U.S. to Germany

Did you hire a PCA or travel companion service?

Which company did you use, what did it cost, and was it worth it?

3. Temporary housing

How long did it take to find permanent housing?

How much did you need to budget for accessible temporary lodging?

4. Furniture & basics

How did you manage beds, kitchen setup, and essentials when arriving with no furniture (I have heard that ordering furniture or kitchens can take weeks or months)?

Did you ship belongings, and how did you handle customs pickup if you don鈥檛 drive or have limited mobility?

5. Healthcare access

How easy or difficult was it to find doctors, get prescriptions, and replace medical supplies/equipment?

Did you apply for a disability rating (GdB), and did it help?

6. Wheelchair logistics

If you use a power wheelchair, did you bring yours?

How did you handle voltage, repairs, or getting a German鈥慺unded equivalent through insurance?

7. Insurance

If you used PKV Basistarif or public insurance, what worked best for high medical needs?

8. Accessibility of public transport

How reliable were elevators in your city? I'm considering the NRW, maybe Dortmund.

How did you navigate broken elevators or inaccessible stations?

Any advice for someone who will need to travel between Berlin 鈫� NRW 鈫� government offices 鈫� U.S. embassy?

Thank you for any specifics you can share. I deeply appreciate any guidance from people who have lived this experience.

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beppi Germany/Singapore Expert

15659POSTS

3 hours ago

I am not disabled, so can only give some information from other sources. Please excuse me if this is just an incomplete attempt:

Rental housing is costly and difficult to find in most cities. Having special needs makes this even more so. This forum has lots of good advice on all aspects of renting, which you should read. For house requirements like cleaning duties,. you can hire service providers (at your cost). Guide dogs (certified) for the blind are allowed even in otherwise pet-free houses. Apartments reserved for disabled are rare and waiting lists long - do not count on this!
No idea, sorry!
For the house search, plan for a minimum of three months, realistically four to six months from arrival to move-in. Accessible hotels and short-term places can be booked for this period (at a cost).
All services around moving, pick-ups, deliveries, furniture assembly are available (for a price). Finding reliable providers might be a challenge, though.
As far as I know, German health insurance (see below) only provides the most basic, non-powered wheelchairs (or subsidises others to the cost of this).
Doctors (especially specialists) often have waitlists for new patients. No idea how to get a disability rating and how it helps. Having a private insurer (except Basistarif) helps to be accepted much faster.
Whether you must join the public or private health insurance scheme is not your choice, but determined by how you are insured in your home country now (or during your last stint in Germany, if any). Please note that above a certain age and with pre-existing conditions, the cost of private insurers (which are probably the only ones providing what you need) might make your plan to move here unfeasible. The public scheme costs a fixed amount of approx. 300鈧�/month for people without income. The PKV Basistarif around 1000鈧�/month (of which disabled an get half reimbursed under certain circumstances) and covers about as much as the public scheme. Other private tariffs are sure to cost more.
Most public buildings and facilities are disabled-friendly in principle, but elevators often break down and are not repaired speedily.

I hope this helps to give you a first orientation.

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