Henk & Gerda(64)

Gerda and I had both just retired. Our house in Groningen was paid off, the children lived in Amsterdam and Berlin. We had always said: when we retire, we'll do something crazy. Hamburg was our crazy. We had once spent a long weekend there and fallen in love with the Elbphilharmonie, the Speicherstadt and the harbors. Now we had the time and freedom to actually live there.

The first concern was our pension. The AOW state pension is simply transferred when you live in Germany — the SVB handles that. Our supplementary pension from ABP was also transferred without issues. Important: you must deregister from the BRP in the Netherlands and register through the Anmeldung in Germany. Then you notify the SVB and your pension fund of your new address. The entire process cost us three phone calls and two forms.

The Krankenversicherung was more complex. In Germany, as a retiree you have the choice between gesetzliche Krankenversicherung (GKV) and private Krankenversicherung (PKV). Because we have no German employment history, we didn't automatically qualify for GKV. We enrolled through a voluntary insurance with AOK — that cost €380 per person per month, including Pflegeversicherung (long-term care). More expensive than Dutch basic insurance, but the coverage is comprehensive.

Healthcare in Hamburg is excellent. We found a Hausarzt (GP) who also speaks English — useful in the beginning when our German was still limited. Specialists are directly accessible without referral, though you sometimes have to wait weeks for an appointment. Gerda needed a knee operation and was treated within two months at UKE (Universitätsklinikum Hamburg-Eppendorf). The quality was comparable to a Dutch academic hospital.

Financially, Hamburg is surprisingly affordable for a big city. We rent a spacious apartment in Eimsbüttel for €1,100 warm — in Amsterdam this would cost double. Groceries are cheaper than in the Netherlands, especially at Aldi and Lidl. Public transport is excellent: with the Deutschlandticket we travel all over Germany by train and bus for €49 per month. We sold our car and don't miss it.

What we didn't expect: German bureaucracy is more thorough than Dutch, but also more reliable. Once you've arranged everything — Anmeldung, Krankenversicherung, Finanzamt — it runs like clockwork. The Finanzamt sends you a neat letter when something needs to happen. My tip for retirees: don't be put off by the paperwork. It's a push through, but then you enjoy it. Hamburg is a wonderful city for seniors — culture, walking areas along the Elbe and a warm social life through the Kirchengemeinde.