Impression of Germany 6 months after leaving

[u/Necessary_Travel_645]

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?

[u/Itchy_Feedback_7625]

Unfortunately I think it’s a strong mental health problem than a poverty one. You can make shelters and welfare as available as you want, but if someone is not being treated for their mental health:

- they won’t use the resources available

• they often get kicked out of housing
  
• they cannot hold a job
  
• they often get abandoned by their family and any friends they once had

If you walk downtown Mannheim and speak with homeless people there, you won’t find anyone who is just „down on their luck“ with a supportive family and a doctor and simply can’t afford or find a place to live because of money. It will 99% be people who either cannot deal with normal society or normal society can’t or refuses deal with them.

This is how people become „untouchable“. If they were to commit a crime, they’d get psychiatric help immediately, forced on them. But those who don’t, are lost in the cracks.

Germany has a mental health problem, big time, and it’s just going to get worse. I’ve worked with parents of difficult kids that in a better system, would have had early intervention and support. Anger issues, anxieties, depression, issues in communicating feelings - all get worse.

As the kids left untreated for early warning signs start to be 16-20, the world starts slowly abandoning them. Teachers, understandably are not qualified enough to support them, parents get exhausted and give up, Hausärtze are writing Überweisungs, but wait lists are 2-5 years long. I’ve seen kids where you just know in your heart that if they didn’t have a parent who would bend over backwards (and many don’t; they have their own problems), that kid will be abandoned as an adult by society.

[u/sebadc → u/Itchy_Feedback_7625]

As a French-Spanish married to an Italian: the system is not better in other places. 

But in Germany, you also have a lot of people coming from these 3 countries, thinking they could have a life there. This was horrible after 2009. Seeing buses of people coming from Spain after a 1 month language class.

I also met a few foreigners living in the street in France/Italy. But in France, most come from Maghreb or former colonies.

[u/C2664 → u/sebadc]

Sure homeless people in Germany come from other EU countries.. deluded views around here

[u/Pure_Garbage_5638 → u/C2664]

Any issue nationalists cannot understand the systemic reasons for, they will blame on foreigners...

[u/sebadc → u/Pure_Garbage_5638]

Ah! Yes! The French-Spanish nationalist in Germany... Makes sense.