How is life in Germany different than the US.?

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KlÃ¤nkÃ¼

Hi there from DÃ¼sseldorf, Germany,

I am German and live here in Germany (like most of us Germans do...lol) and I must say that I am really astonished about what the 2 persons already said about Germany - very interesting to see what Americans or Canadians think about us. A lot of things are true and there is not very much more to say, but maybe you are also interested in a German opinion.

First of all I must say that we make a big difference between Bavaria and Germany. Bavaria is a part of Germany, yes, right, but there are so very different to the rest of our country. It's very interesting to see that most people from abroad still think everybody in Germany wears leather pants, drink a heck lot of beer and always eats Bratwurst and Sauerkraut - this is nonsense. These are old traditions coming from Bavaria, which is a very conservative State, and they consider themselves as the so called "Freistaat Bayern", which mean "Free State of Bavaria". They still consider themselves as independent, and even the political party CSU is unique, only in Bavaria the CSU exists, nowhere else. Anyway, I may say that the rest of Germany smile about Bavarians, because they have a very strange accent and are very country-like people. Munich is very different though. Munich is an expensive city, open minded and the so called "Schickeria" lives there - prominent people like you find them in Beverly Hills for example. Nuremberg itself is a small and I would say boring city, nothing special there but the Christmas-market (Christkindlmarkt) which is famous all over the country. Because your questions is about GERMANY and not only Bavaria, I will give you some more impressions of our country:

Americans know Bavaria very well, because - as you will know - Germany has been divided into 4 different sections after the 2nd World War, that is the American sector (including Bavaria and parts of Southern Germany like Frankfurt etc. - that's why Americans know and like these parts very well). Then there is the Russion sector including East Berlin, Saxonia and all Eastern Germany - which became the German Democratic Republic later on. The British sector includes the Rugr-area, North Rhine Westphalia (The part where I am living), which is the biggest industrial area in Europe, and Nothern Germany, and there is the French sector (Saarland).

If you take East Germany now, you will find many unsatisfactory people, because life has been changed after the Wall falling down. A lot of workless people, some areas are not the very best ones for people from abroad, because you will find so called Neo-Nazis - stupid people that still adore Hitler and the 3rd Reich. There is no week where you don't read something about people from abroad, that were beaten or something like that. Also there are a lot of "old connections", meaning there are people who still hold on the banner of socialism. Anyway - I myself do not like this part very much.

If you go to Nothern Germany, you will find people that do not say much, but once you have a friend there, you have a friend for ever. Very reliable people and most wonderful cities like Hamburg or Bremen. I am sure, life is much more better in Hamburg as it is in Munich. Hamburg is an extraordinary city, very best Night-Life in Germany, a lot of money and good jobst there, indeed!

The Western part of Germany is the industrial part, where once you found plenty of coal-mines and steel-companies. People there have their heart on their tongue like we say here, meaning they are very open minded and always say what they think. The industrial part has been changing during the past 10 years into a part, where you now find many software-companies, advertising agencies and service-companies. More and more money there and excellent job opportunities.

2 more things to say: It is not true that you really have to speak German here...(though it's an advantage of course), but huge companies like Henkel here in DÃ¼sseldorf with 10,000 workers here and 45,000 workers world-wide have English as their official company-language. Also most of the Germans speak a bit english because we learn it in school very early.

And--- the service. Well, I would not say that the service is slow here, I would say that the american service is fast. You do not have to hurry in restaurants here and they give you as many time as you want, and that's good! :-)

Okay, I hope I could give you an impression, the other points of the 2 persons before me are right.

(Sorry for my bad english, I hope you understood me)

Bye from DÃ¼sseldorf, Germany

Ebie

I think Tipper has covered most of the issues pretty well!

However, you asked specifically about Bavaria - Munich and Nuremberg.

Munich is THE most expensive city in Germany, in terms of rent. There are large and small condos here, but by American standards even what the Germans consider to be a large condo may seem small. To put it in perspective, I live in a larger than average condo (2 bedrooms, 1 bathroom, living room, combined family room / kitchen) on the top floor with a rooftop balcony, in the center of Munich. I paid more for it than my sister paid for her average by US-standards house (4 bedroom, 3 bath, great room, living room, dining room, play room, etc.) on quarter acre lot in Houston, Texas.

BUT - salaries are high in Munich, as there are a lot of IT and biotech companies, as well as automotive, finance, consulting, etc. It's because there are so many well-paying jobs here that the rents are so high!

Nuremberg is much less expensive than Munich, but also much smaller. It has less of a world-class city feel to it (Munich has internationally renowned opera, philharmonic, galleries, etc. - which Nuremberg doesn't have), and Munich has LOT more high-end shopping than Nuremberg.

Regarding if it's hard to get a good job - a lot of jobs are really in demand here; jobs for people who are highly skilled in specific areas. But - in a lot of areas, you have to speak German! If you speak German, you'll have a better chance, otherwise you'll most likely have to work for an international company whose corporate language is English.

The average salary is really hard to say... pay here is higher than in the US, but the taxes are also a lot higher. I know a few people who have moved over, and stayed in similar jobs, and said that their take-home pay was less here than in the US. But, as said above, the cost of living is less here, as you aren't always driving around, public transport is great, etc.

The culture is fantastic - I can only agree with what is said above. Except restaurants! Yes, service is slower than in the US. But I think it's because people are a lot more relaxed about eating here. People go out for an evening, and spend all evening at the table - it's not a race to eat and be done. I appreciate that servers here leave you alone to eat in peace, or sit at the table and relax until you want to leave... and if you make yourself known to the servers, they will usually come take care of you!

Another big difference between Germany and the US is work - here work is work and private is private. It's rare to go out and socialize with work colleagues, and it's also rare to talk about work once you're home. Because of this relatively clear divide, people are less willing to work from home, take work home, or work in the evenings or weekends from home. They prefer to stay later in the office, finish up, close down, and go home - and then not work from home.

Of course, though, these are all generalizations!! There are a lot of "international" social circles here now, so you can move over here and hang out with Americans, Brits, French, etc... and experience culture differently than if you were to hang out with Germans.

If you're thinking about coming -- all I can say is do it! I moved here 10 years ago, and haven't looked back. I've known a lot of other people who have moved here from other countries, and whether they loved it or weren't that thrilled, most agree it was a worthwhile experience.

Good luck!
:) Ebie

Baconator

I lived and worked in Stuttgart.

Here is a link to browse rentals and sales for condos and houses.
http://www.immobilienscout24.de/de/finden/wohnen/index.jsp;jsessionid=6D5051BB2B7462CC1204B8BEC97D1F16.worker2

My general impression was tha the pay is generally less, but the lifestyle - if you live like a German - is cheaper. Cheaper food, less driving. Good public transportation, not as much or a consumer-driven society.

The traditional culture is about hard work, home, family and ties to the land. Pop culture is about as retarded as US pop culture - more techno music. Fashion is generally a year or two ahead of here - and the TV trends seem to be ahead of us too - they were much more into reality TV before it became so big here. Partly because productions there have to be cheaper because of lower ad revenue and fewer viewers as compared to the US (their Wheel of Fortune has a very small wheel, for example) - and reality shows were easier to produce.

Lifestyle - they like to sit and chat for longer at restaurants and bars. It is further north than most places in the US - so the sun stays up longer in the summertime, and people walk around outside, go to cafes and such. Service is interminably slow - so don't be in a hurry. I never decided if Germans like sitting at dinner for so long because they enjoy spending the time - or whether they were forced to tolerate sitting for a long time because of the slow service.

Service is slow because of a cultural reason - Germany is much more of a socialist economy than the US - so it is difficult to hire part-time wait staff because they owe them too many benefits - so the restaurants and bars are understaffed and it takes forever to get served - and the servers' jobs are more secure - and they hustle less.

Girls are girls - like anywhere, I suppose. German women tend to be less prudish than American girls - and more straightforward about such matters. However, by their mannerisms, they may seem aloof and less outgoing than Americans - at least on the surface. That is just an act - or their national character or something. Americans are much more outgoing and open and smiling - Germans are fine, but they don't wear it on their sleeves like Americans.

Moonrise

life in germany is absolutely different from life in the States.
it is ordered, disciplined , neat like a hospital.
the people are straight like military persons.

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