extemporanea

It appears that the FCO have a lots of information relating to moving and living overseas, including a handy leaflet in pdf format that gives you things to think about. It's all mostly common sense (like the fact that you will need somewhere to live and it's a good idea to check out rental or purchase prices in your chosen destination) but it gives you a list of common sense things to consider and check off. I like lists. And given how much there will be to do in the next few months, I think a list is a rather good idea to make sure that nothing gets forgotten, even if it is all stuff I should know already!

One of the most important pieces of information for an EEA citizen (that's me) moving to another country within the EEA (that would be Germany) is that I don't need a visa to live there. I have a right to live anywhere in the EEA that I choose. So a visa is one thing I don't have to bother with. Hurrah! I will need to register with local authorities when I arrive and get a residence permit, but no visa is required.

There's an FCO page especially for Brits in Germany, which looks quite handy (though hopefully parts like "registering a birth" will be unnecessary for me!)

They also provide a facilty called LOCATE for Brits travelling or living abroad. It means that they know where you are should they need to contact you or should any natural (or otherwise) disasters happen wherever you're travelling to, and they also have emergency contact information for you. Of course, I'm not expecting to run into too many problems in Heidelberg, but the idea is sound enough. They also advise to register with the nearest embassy/high commission/consulate (which as far as I can tell is in Frankfurt for me), but I think signing up with LOCATE takes care of that anyway.

Finally, Brits abroad can register to vote - very important!