Comment by nicbou | Hacker News Reader

Comment by nicbou | Hacker News Reader

I built an English-speaking website that helps immigrants settle in Berlin.[0] It has been my full time job for a while. Most English speakers know about it, but it's nearly invisible to Germans, who would also benefit from the content and tools I have worked on.

I'm currently adding an automated AI translation feature to my custom static site generator, so that I can translate the website to multiple languages and reach more people. I'm trying to make the process as seamless and automated as possible, because I'm running this website solo, and there are only so many hours in a day.

It's a surprisingly tricky endeavour! As usual, the first 80% are easy. It's getting the last 20% right that requires a lot of work. There are so many small hurdles. For instance, translating the URL structure and translating the URLs within the content, getting the translations to be accurate, getting the SEO right, translating the templates and the JS tools I've built, keeping the costs low.

[0] https://allaboutberlin.com

I recently moved to Germany (not to Berlin, but seems like most of the content is still relevant) and your website was extremely helpful - thank you for working on it.

What were your motivations for moving here?

Thank you for building this! I’ve discovered it a while ago and has been showing it as an example of what a good government website should look like. It’s a joy to read and explore, even though I’m not considering moving to Berlin :-)

Any suggestions to anybody starting another website like this?

Man, it's an example of what a good website should look like, period.

It's clean, fast, readable, accessible, works without js. The information is presented directly and to the point.

A few things off the top of my head:

- Only add things that improve upon Reader View. A table of contents, better typography, and that's about it.

- Get to the point. I put a lot of effort into writing succinctly and unambiguously. I revise my content time and time again to get it just right. Information architecture is also important.

- Sweat the small stuff. Reduce friction for your users wherever you can. Something as simple as a letter template makes a big difference for readers that dread communicating in German.

I've been doing this for seven years, so I picked up quite a few tricks along the way. It all comes down to knowing my users, and working hard to reduce their pain.

Super awesome work btw, I was looking to move to Germany and my mind was blown with the weird notary monopoly when it comes to starting a business. I couldn't believe that is how it worked...

This is great! You mentioned this is your full time project. How do you make a living off it? I see mention of affiliate links and a call for donations. Is that how you monetize the site?

One of the first things I read on the site was about the "church tax"[0]. Very interesting.

> You declare your religion when you register your address. The church can also tax you if you were a member in another country. To stop paying the church tax, you must leave the church.

[0] https://allaboutberlin.com/guides/start-a-business-in-german...

Hi! This website is for me! I moved to Berlin about a week ago, and am staying for some months.

Fortunately, I have a native friend who has been explaining everything so far, but this is an amazing bridge so I won't have to ask a billion questions. (And this is written from an outsiders perspective, so basically no knowledge is assumed). I'm looking forward to reading it all

Thank you! This makes my life a lot easier.

I've moved to Berlin some time ago, and your website helped me very VERY much with navigating all this madness. keep it up!

(on an unrelated note): I tried to move to Berlin for summer but quickly discovered almost no apartments have AC, I mean strong South Asia-level AC. It was a major no for me as I cannot sleep with temp above 20C, 18C is perfect. Any idea how to find an AC apartment next summer on local estate apps? Any "checkbox" somewhere to tick?

Maybe a hotel will do? You can also rent an apt and buy a mobile AC yourself. Which i did this summer, for the few days it gets really hot.

A hotel is temporary, i wanted to stay May to September.. Yes mobile AC is the best plausible option but it's quite weak compared to split-AC and requires a partially open window.

There are mobile split-AC. I took one meant for camping. And the wiring between the units is small enough, so that an opened window is not a problem. Worked well enough for me.

This is wonderful, though I wouldnt want to move to Berlin I find this really useful to learn about Germany. I also find it funny because it epitomises how broken the EU is. It should not be this hard to move within the EU, alas, here we are. Thank you for putting this together for the folks that need it!

That is an entirely wrong takeaway. Mobility is much easier for EU citizens. They skip all the hardest part of the process, the ones that actually make people leave out of frustration or bureaucratic blockade. The problem firmly sits in German hands.

Very cool. I would love to see a writeup of your translation workflow eventually.

How long have you been working on this site?

7 years. The translation workflow will become surprisingly complex. Making it simple again will take some time. Usually ai mostly automate something, then let it run for a while before finishing the job. You don’t know how you will work with a tool until you do.

Thank you, Nic.

damn this is so underrated! u should do one for munich too :)))

very good site - DKB ATM is minimum 50 too I think.

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