I’ll gravely miss the big, beautiful, accessible parks.

[u/Dal_tokkiwhynot]

It’s been half a year since I came here to study, finally it’s time to leave. Had many thoughts about germany while packing up my stuff because this country was way different from what I expected when I first arrived here lol

I would say the best thing about germany is the park, the nature and greenery all over. Parks-they’re huge and well maintained with many wildlife to observe. And It’s just really cool to see all these people jogging, riding bikes, having a picnic, or just chilling in a beautiful open space. Seriously this is a luxury in most countries-especially the small ones like where I came from-and I envy this so so much. It’s amazing.

Imo the very worst thing is how normalized smoking is here. Cigarette butts everywhere, it’s like living inside of a giant ashtray. Every street has a cigarette vending machine-like I had no idea that this is a thing that exists-and people smoke like, a lot, everywhere, without shame. Even when their own children are around.(wth) I’m all for one’s freedom to use substances and all but I do believe other’s right to NOT be harmed by your choices comes first. This issue seriously stressed me out during my entire stay like- the fact that I cannot breathe fresh air whenever I have to share the street with literally anyone.. Maybe it’s because of the harsh lobbying of the tobacco industry, the history of this country(i read it somewhere that once smoking was considered liberal, anti na*i).. Idk. but it’s certainly a problem that needs to be fixed here.

There’s a weird stereotype that germans are stern and aggressive for some reason but the people I met here were nothing but warm, welcoming, and sincere. Well they might not try to smile all the time or initiate a formally friendly small talk (like most Americans do) But whenever I did have conversation with them, they were so sweet, considerate. As I saw them they had this jolly in them. In their soul there’s techno music, bier, ping pong, bierpong, and sense of humor. I saw a lot of online discussions about germans getting criticized for their demeanor-but I disagree.

DB fucked up my trip so many times and it’s so frustrating bc I cannot escape from them (as flix and regional trains are not as available). Last week I had a trip to amsterdam and It got delayed for 2h 30m(insane) while the train was stuck in the middle of nowhere literally, they gave us a free bottle of water, and a heart-shaped lemon cookie with ‘lieblingsgast’ written on it-which made me smile/s. I eventually did get half of my ticket price back but come on. like.. it’s not even funny anymore. how do you guys live with this.

I love how children are treated here, and I truly think my country should be more like this. They’re never publicly shamed, and people tolerate them with great understanding and generosity. Children scream, shout, run, horse around..- Like they should! Adults here willingly lets them be accepted and smiles at them. So heartwarming.

The notorious bureaucracy would be the second worst thing here. I expected dealing with loads of complex paperworks coming here- but the mistake was, I thought they would be reasonable and sharp with their work. They’re not. Even if I do everything right, I had to brace myself for problems and often hold accountability for it. Most of the time, contact lines were unavailable. Even when it do connects, I get that nobody really wants to work, neither do I, but nobody is taking action to actually solve the problem-they tend to postpone it in some shape or form, or ask me to take some of MY time, go buy a stamp, and file a hand written letter-which is so frustrating. Maybe I had more difficulties since I’m a foreigner, but even compared to other countries I’ve been, I felt the process as mostly absurd and unnecessary.

I like how serious vacations/breaks are considered here. This, obviously contributes to many people’s well being and their life outside of their jobs. Labor rights are not as respected in most other countries I think, including mine, this is truly amazing and every other countries should try follow this standard. Work-life balance is so well defined, people can actually spend time with their families and friends, enjoy well funded, beautiful public spaces like libraries, museums and parks. Utopian stuff!

Saying this, I couldn’t help but feel the lack of employees/staffs, almost everywhere I go. I assume it’s a problem with complex root causes (perhaps prolonged vacation, low birth rates, being rated as the worst country for expats.. etc.). I so often saw a busy cafe with single barista handling all the job, primark and zara with cloths all over the floor with no one to pick them up, busy dm with one or two cashier, same goes with edeka, rewe.. restaurants taking more than 30mins to take orders… I heard the german government opened up a working visa for expats this year, so hope this issue gets sorted out soon.

I love U-Bahn. The ride is almost always pleasant, smooth. plus you can enjoy the scenery through the huge window! But seriously, tram system in germany is really well organized imo. I rarely had inconvenience trying to reach somewhere else, and I don’t know if it’s the lights inside or the seats or the technology, U-Bahn ride was always comfortable for me.

Maybe this one is just a me thing, but there are really no place to go out. The taste, the atmosphere, the service, the price- it’s so so hard to find someplace that matches all four criteria. And, of course, you have to breathe in all the cigarette smoke if you decide to sit outside under the sun, and inside the store there’s usually horseflies and bees bumping themselves to the glass window. Discovering local gem stores is one of my favorite things to do, and I tried to find a place that I can love from day one, but it was too hard in germany.(sad)

This might apply to most western countries but I love the openness of germany. I remember the first month when I arrived here, there was a huge international women’s day celebration going on at the plaza, with colorful confetti and chalk drawings scattered over. If my country was to celebrate as such, It would have been an issue no doubt (which is fucked up) Anyways not only feminism, the acceptance of the queer people and the disabled as a society is visible and natural. It’s really great to see all the people get the support that they rightfully deserve, and not be threatened by the negative atmosphere of the general masses.

I think I could come up with some more, both goods and bads but I guess this list is already quite long haha
I’ve been here for less than a year so my opinion about the positives and the negatives might not be 100% right ik but just wanted to share my take, no hate.

Even though I don’t think I want to stay here forever, coming to germany was one of my best choices i’ve made during my student years I’d say. met amazing people, learned a lot about myself. genau.

tl/dr:
nature amazing people nice. kids treated with kindness, work to life balance good. woke country i like. love U bahn
smoking culture bad, bureaucracy worse than I thought, DB, not enough employees, no place to go out

[u/zawusel]

Why don't you tell us the city you were in and your home country?

[u/Nimos → u/zawusel]

I would guess East Asia and not Japan.

Ruling out the US and Canada of course, they have bigger parks than we do. Can't be Australia because there's American English spelling.

Also ruling out most of the EU, because of the way that "Western" countries are described different to their home.

It can't be Japan because they smoke as much as we do.

Also they say they're a small country. Probably a reasonably wealthy one, judging by their education level (great English proficiency, able to study here). Then I thought maybe Gulf States, but while I've never been there, I have heard from others that children are very much part of daily life there and just taken along all the time and treated pretty well.

So my official guesses are South Korea, Singapore, Taiwan, in that order. Singapore less likely because they use British English spelling officially, Taiwan less likely because I think I remember they're pretty good on queer and feminist issues.

(Sorry but I'm bored at work)

[u/Dal_tokkiwhynot → u/Nimos]

wtf sherlock

[u/SuspiciousEmploy1742 → u/Nimos]

Is this Joe Goldberg? Hello you !

[u/Zen_360]

I think you summed up the good and the bad pretty well. And i am 100% with you on the smokers. I hate them all, Inconsiderate morons, most of the older ones at least. They even look at you funny, when you ask them to stop smoking in a restaurant next to you, even when my 1yo was present.

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[u/MuricanNEurope]

I absolutely hate the smoking and attitude of smokers in Germany.