> You need to get private healthcare No you don't, you can stay in the public system. > you need to save up for retirement and so on You can still contribute

> You need to get private healthcare No you don't, you can stay in the public system. > you need to save up for retirement and so on You can still contribute voluntarily to the public pension if you want to but the majority of self-employed people here don't as this is seen as a feature not a bug. Part of the concept of being self-employed in Germany is that you're opting out of the welfare state and are responsible for taking care of yourself. With the potential upside of better raw earning potential.