You'd be surprised at the lengths some will go to avoid learning a new language.
I've met people who have lived over 20y in a country while working, having and raising kids there and still can't have a half decent basic conversation in the local language.
There is always an excuse: too much work, too little time, too tired or you name it, but the end result is that they are inconveniencing themselves.
Not saying it is OP's case, just some anecdotal obserevations.
The thing that makes this illogical to me is that once you reach basic fluency, you stop needing to study since you will now be automatically improving your language skills every time you hold a conversation, read a newspaper, watch a television program, etc. It's genuinely just the relatively small initial hurdle towards ~B1 that is a slog, but after that, you never have to actively study again if you don't want to.
You don't magically get language skills by living in the country. You still have to put in the time and effort.
The utmost basics, A1, you could learn very quickly and those will get you through basic interactions (buying groceries, greeting neighbors, etc.)
At work, doctors, apartment search etc. you can use English.
For contracts you can use translate, since B1 wouldn't get you far there anyway.
But to get to B1, you would have to make language learning your hobby for at least a year... and that is not for everyone. Especially given that there aren't interesting media to immerse yourself into in German, compared to other languages like Japanese or Korean.
The only thing that I find puzzling is that OP didn't learn it, when they plan to stay in the country and obtain permanent residency. I would understand not learning the language if they planned to move out in 1 year.
> You don't magically get language skills by living in the country. You still have to put in the time and effort.
Did I say otherwise? How do you live 6 years in a country without putting in the effort to learn the language? You're there, watch TV, talk to people, read books, take a class here or there. Come on, how do you put yourself, for 6 years, in a situation where you don't learn the language?
I think some people just get an irrational block about learning particular things. Like maybe you struggle with a music class in school and just identify as being incapable of learning an instrument, for example, even if they're a skilled learner otherwise. Can't speak for OP, obviously.
I've met people who have lived over 20y in a country while working, having and raising kids there and still can't have a half decent basic conversation in the local language.
There is always an excuse: too much work, too little time, too tired or you name it, but the end result is that they are inconveniencing themselves.
Not saying it is OP's case, just some anecdotal obserevations.