GENERAL HOME SET UP

ELECTRIC

Your home relocation consultant will help you navigate electricity set up at Enercity and the world of utility set-up.

INTERNET / CABLE / CELL PHONE

Your home relocation consultant will help you navigate this. Most providers of landlines and internet ex. O2 and Vodafone will only give 12- or even 24-month contracts that will renew automatically if not cancelled in time. Easy Bell can be cancelled monthly if you give them 4 weeks of notice in advance.

If you make a lot of international calls, you could consider Deutsche Telekom or Vodafone for your landline and DSL connection. Both offer international flat rates.

In Germany a cell or mobile phone is usually called a “Handy” or “Mobiltelefon”.

Cellphone contracts also normally last 24 months and also renew automatically.

If you have a SIM card and an unlocked phone you can connect it easily through one of the providers on arrival and keep your device.

INSTALLING LIGHTING IN APARTMENTS (HUGE DISCLAIMER ON THIS!)

Apartments usually are not equipped with lighting. Always be sure to at least turn off the switch for the light and turn off the circuit breaker (fuse) for that circuit - possibly for the whole flat if you aren't sure. Remember that while Americans have 120V, which will hurt a lot but not kill you, the Germans like to live dangerously and have 220V, which can kill you. That said, just use common sense and flip off the (correct) circuit breaker, and nothing will happen. 

To attach the wires with the connector, it either uses small screws (hence the need for a small screwdriver) or some have a kind of pinch-and-release buttonhole for each wire on both ends. Brown wire to brown wire, blue to blue, and if there is one, striped to striped. Give each wire a tug to make sure it is in properly. Turn the circuit breaker back on and flip the switch.