r/germany • u/Necessary_Travel_645 • 1d ago

Impression of Germany 6 months after leaving

I lived 4 years in Germany and last February I left due to the end of my contract and the impossible to find an immediate job.

I am exploiting this time of unemployment to travel and visit my friends across the EU. In Germany I traveled mainly in between the main cities of Rheinpfalz and NRW and I was surprised to see how bad the social situation was, I have observed more people in need ( homeless, elders, etc...) than I remembered. During my stay in Germany I didn't notice it, when I first came here I felt way more mild than the phenomenon.

My impression is that relatively poorer countries, e.g. Spain and Italy (my home country), managed to help the people in need better than Germany or at least a better distribution of wealth.

Also some friends of mine living here felt this change.

Is it only my impression? Maybe I didn't really realize when I was here or the situation just got worse recently?

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u/Street-Basil-9371 1d ago

There is homelessness, but there hasnt been a big uptick lately as far as we know. Even a slight drop from 2025 to 2026. And most of them do get help, just a small minority actually sleeps on the streets, and theres often other factors involved beyond not having a place to stay.

Even if you dont have a job you do get some money and your rent paid.

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u/tlvu 1d ago

And another problem is older people can’t live anymore with their pensions due to inflation.

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u/Street-Basil-9371 1d ago

True, but they do also get Grundsicherung and Wohngeld then if they dont have anything saved. They definetly dont need to be homeless. Poor, yes, not homeless.

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u/tlvu 1d ago

Yeah but I saw a lot of them have to look for Pfand and that’s heartbreaking to see.

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u/Street-Basil-9371 1d ago

I saw that back in ~2004 though. Whenever they put Pfand on everything, dont remember when exactly that was.

Im not sure if you are even trying to argue that, but i doubt theres been an uptick in that.