'Why I'm Not Moving Back to the US After Living in Germany' American reaction
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- čas přidán 23. 06. 2024
- Thank you for watching me, a humble American, react to Why I'm Not Moving Back to the US After Living in Germany
Original video: • Why I'm Not Moving Bac...
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I'm german and this video just reminded of the fact, that our country isn't as bad as it sometimes seems.
Compared to worse places.
Germany is much better than many Germans realize. Germans just don't know how well they have it here.
@@tudrego compared to what? The thing is, people do realise it, but they aren't blinded by their patriotism so that they won't criticise anything ...
It used to be better and can be better...
look around,what frau Merkel did with immigrants..how now looks some Germany cities...immigrants wont be a part of yours country,they wont work,just live for social payments...watch out,how looks some streets,in gettos,where lives mostrly immigrants..dirty,full of trash,not safe to walk there...its not a true???how must feel hard working,almost pedantic germans?in that way,shame on you germans..
I’m from Germany and my friends mom once poetically said “you can’t protect children from everything, so you have to give them independence and confidence so they make it through life”
Diese Denkweise wäre pure Fahrlässigkeit in den USA
@@nuborn.studio leider wahr; und das ist unglaublich traurig.
Wise words from your mum
@@nuborn.studio Wieso soll man verbal Durchsetzungsfähig sein, wenn man auch einfach um sich schießen kann?
True
About walking alone:
As a norwegian I can't even imagine living in fear. Kids around here, just like I did when I was a kiddo, walk around freely, to schoo or jump on their bikes and cross the town to play football, all without adult supervision and needing to be guarded..
They are be guarded by the grandmas and grandpas FACT
That was how it used to be in the USA. But I can tell you, from my own experience, in 1975 two little girls went missing in Wheaton Maryland. They were the Lyons sisters. I was 10 years old at the time. They were both close to my age. These girls have never been found. Things in my neighborhood changed A LOT after that. I was just a kid playing soccer and free in those days. Now I live in fear of USA culture. It has gotten so much worse. I want out of the USA so badly. The plan is to move to South America in a few years. Try this "fun" exercise: Google: "Mass shootings Colombia" (or any country of your choice). USA ALWAYS COMES UP FIRST! Mainly because other countries are not as sick as the USA.
@@randymillhouse791 It's harder to do mass shootings in Europe with a ... knife. I've came in contact with an assault rifle (a Romanian copy of Kalashnikov) only in the time I served in the army for a 6 month mandatory tour. And even there we didn't have acces to the pistol and the assault rifle for more than one day a week to clean them. Only in the shooting range we were given ammunition (and also the guys that were standing watch over the compound. After we fired our weapons in the shooting range we were gathering and counting the shells so no one could keep a bullet not fired. So yeah, we are a bit more careful with the guns.
@@razvanlex Thank you for your reply / comment! It means a LOT to me. I plan to retire outside of the USA in 2027 and wonder if I will be able to survive until then. Death is random bullet in this country now. Can't wait to leave this place.
@@randymillhouse791 It's very sad to hear that. We grew up here in communist Romania, Eastern Europe, dreaming of the US. We consumed MTV, NBA, movies and a lot of american culture in the 90's after the fall of the communist regime, but in the present, unfortunately, not many dream of the U.S.
I was considering visiting US as a tourist but probably not very soon, if ever. Same with the Russia, we missed that train, we have some friends that visited Moscow and Sankt Petersburg a couple of years ago and they were impressed.
I moved to Bavaria 9 years ago and I was SO SHOCKED when my husband took me to eat some ice cream to Austria.. It took like 20 minutes on the train and i didn't believe I went to another country without my pass. Going to another country for a concert or cinema or stuff like this is so incredible easy here.
You can also live in Germany and work in Austria, and have the benefits of both countries - like I do. When I told that to my canadian friends they did not believe it.
@@jensdfi i
how do you cross states in the USA, do you need passports?, i dont think so
@@kimeggert3829 USA is one Country - Europe - lots of small countries. do you see the difference? :D
@@shiny.stardust yes, if that's the way it is, I also see some 50+statens in USA, like i see 27 statens in EU
my mom was german, but i was born, and lived my first 7 years in new york. i was NEVER allowed to leave my block-was basically only allowed to sit on the front stoop. when i turned 8 we moved to germany, and immediately my mom sent me off to school by myself, let me ride the streetcars and bus's and roam the city all alone. i guess she knew that she no longer had to worry, i was in a safe environment.
Funny, I grew up in the South and I walked to and from school starting at 6 years old in the first grade. When I arrived home in the afternoons my parents were still at work and I could feed myself. I don't think NYC is a good model for the entire USA.
@@brandonbp122 funny enough, New York has compareably a small crime rate these days, especcially violent crime. It is almost a modell city. But it is also not build around pedestrian traffic and very car heavy.
(and small crime rate means nothing if you happen to live next to the bar were people meat to start a fight, or were people consume drugs.)
@@hannajung7512 I think the parents these days are scared of "Stranger Danger" that perhaps isn't that prevalent. But if I lived in a big city in the US I still wouldn't want my kid walking to school. Too many druggies and crazies and also teen bullies and gangs. In a small town I'd be a lot more ok with letting my kid run free.
Turkish immigrants are the best. Good lads
What’s a stoop?
Her comment about the grandmas watching from the windows, looking after the kids walking home alone is truly a thing in Germany. To the point where the generation of my grandparents actually had somewhat turned this into a hobby/sport where they *literally* put a pillow on the windowsill so that they would have it comfortable for several hours a day... just to watch the people passing by. I expect, the lower crime rate is also partially because as a criminal you would have to expect a senior lurking behind every second curtain... possibly with a phone within reach... just in case :)
grandmas same here in Italy 😁, they are the safety system!
It is called 'Eyes on the street', something you see in Europe much more than in the US. Our houses are street orientated, windows look out on the street, square, playground, park. In the US it's far more their own backyard.
People will see what is happening, can interfere, call the police, or just shout out some nasty words from the window to stop bad things from happening. And people are involved with their community, less in the big cities, but in smaller towns or even neighborhoods of big cities, people know each other, each others family and kids.
This. I once got on the wrong end of this. I was just hanging around with some friends in some side road and suddenly multiple police cars pulled in on both ends and I got to experience an open air police raid first hand. There was suposedly some break ins close by not long ago and one of the old people called the police when seeing us there. I would say overreaction, but can understand why.
@@theexchipmunk Oh yeah, depending on where you are it can also turn weird to unpleasant like in your case. Hopefully, the police did not bother you too much. In my city, the districts are more like individual towns where everyone knows each other but I still remember conversation with my grandma where she pretty much spied on "people that she had never seen before, frequently showing up in her street, right across her house". We reassured here several times that it was probably nothing and turns out: It were new neighbors that were moving in the next week :D
In the little village I grew up in, everyone knew all the kids and the older villagers always watched them on their way home from the bus stop. They were involved to such an extent that they might even notice if one kid didn't walk by their house at the usual time. When my sister was in 11th grade and came home really late, our elderly neighbour suspected her to have a secret boyfriend "because it's impossible to have classes that late in the evening!!"🤣
Fun fact about broken streets in Germany: If you happen to damage your car because of a hole in the street and there were no obvious signs at the road that there is some damage at the street, you can literally sue the state and they have zu pay to repair your car.
i think that is the case in most european countries,
in belgium i knew off succesfull seeing of way to steep speed bump, in a zone 50, but you had to drive less then 30 km/h not to have a big schock...
seeing in that case is dangerous off course, cause it's cheaper for the gov to fix it be making that one street 30km/u too untill it is time to relay the asfalt.. so , if the road was in really good shape, of a decade? :-)
Also true in France and Spain
Then buy a Jeep
Not so true. You have to proove it so evidently, that it was no way to go around and no chance in seeing it early enough. Thats nearly impossible. But on paper you got the right
@@PonySlaystation1910 not in France. As long as the hole is there and the damage corresponds to that of a hole on the road your insurance will be paid by local government (if it’s a highway it’s the administration of the road who’ll pay though I’ve never seen a hike in a road in Europe thus far and I’ve been in France for the past 13 years and in Europe over 20 years
"Not nearly as many people walking around with guns in Germany" is the understatement of the year. We have cops and the occasional bodyguard with a gun. That's it.
You need an extremely good reason to get a carry permit. And that doesn't mean you just get it, you have to prove that you know how to use it, know the laws, pass the background check and so on.
Even the cops have radar guns more often than actual firearms.
So just stay where you are don't visit the US.
@@kato1224 Haha why so salty? No criticism allowed? Classic.
@@christiangeese8055 There is criticism about the US so is that allowed.
@@kato1224there is crime in the us so it is allowed?
You cant be this stupid.
I think it’s so sad that the kids in the US don’t really have much freedom, always dependent on parents to drive them around or be stuck at home until they’re 16. Kids need to roam around, play and explore the world to grow.
Same in Europe / also in Germany, it just depends where you live. There are good spots and there are bad spots.... I'm sure good spots also exist in the U.S.
@@mrechbreger I can’t speak for other countries, but I meant that the culture surrounding child safety (or paranoia) is just very different compared to Germany, not that the US as a whole is unsafe. In the US helicopter parenting seems to be the norm or at least much much more common. It’s generally frowned upon or even illegal for kids to be roaming around alone. That’s just foreign to me.
And kids wouldn’t be stuck at home here, because we have a pretty good public transport system and a big biking culture.
I agree, it would have been so sad if I had to be dependent on my parents to just get anywhere...
" always dependent on parents to drive them around or be stuck at home until they’re 16 "
THIS is literally every kid in germany nowadays. :D Especially if the parrents are kind of rich and tend to make the kid as incapable as possible.
@@juilescieg Huh, I always took public transportation to get to places alone and wasn't dependend on my parents to drive me around as a child in Germany?
Im from Germany, my family and I used to travel to the US a lot. When visiting friends with kids it always shocked me how little the kids (up to 18 years) were allowed to do.
No walking outside by yourself, no staying home alone, they wouldn't even be allowed to go to their own backyard pool alone (this was boston, but same for friends in Las Vegas and Chicago).
Even the parents were really scared of puplic transportation.
Here in germany I've been walking to school alone since first grade.
wow. is it realy that dangerous?
@@nutzeeer I think ppl are far more afraid than necessary. But I guess in some parts of for example Chicago it really might be that dangerous
@@Toffifay Yeah Chicago really is something else. It has had 696 murders in 2020. In comparison, Germany (yes, the entire country) only had 245 murders in 2020.
Same here. I've been walking home alone everyday with no incident here in Germany.
@@nutzeeer they are probably afraid because any psycho can buy guns
One of the biggest dangers for children walking to school in Germany are the so called "Elterntaxis" (parents who're driving their kids to school) since the parents are often in a rush and don't pay enough attention to their surroundings. So there's frequently local projects trying to make the way to school safer, e.g. by getting parents to let their kids walk or bike to school or to accompany their younger children, or by having special "drop off" zones near school or even by simply blocking off the street for certain times.
I like watching these videos, as a german for a very specific reason. For a long time ive wondered why videos about germany by foreigners are so popular amongst germans. I think its because usually we arent very patriotic and often we get somewhat cynical and pessimistic about the country we live in. Thats where people like Zoie-Marie and you come in, reminding us that, despite all the bad, there is a lot of good that comes from living here. Obviously there are some times where its worse and some times where its better, but in general i think we do live very well here.
So yeah, tldr: thanks for reminding us that we can consider us lucky for living here! :)
Well, and then you have the Czechs who believe that Germany is a paradise to live in, earning much more and paying much less for things in the shops. .-) I am not really sure it it would work like that but watching these videos, I feel like that Europeans (in EU) are all much better off than the Americans....
fun little story I like to share when talking about safety in germany, when I was 3 I ran off from my parents because they didn't want to buy me something I wanted. We were on a short trip in a big city where they didn't know their way around, they found me almost an hour later sitting in a Döner Kebab shop, chatting with turkish immigrants about my plushies, they gave me some fries and some water.
Mood 🤣 could be me
😊
"Ayo bro, watcha doin there?"
"My mom didnt want me to buy a new toy"
"WHHHAAAATTT? Broo.... wanna some fries?
Yeah, those damn Ausländer, how dare they?? :D
I hope the idiot commeting in another thread under this video, that things are changing because of the migrants reads this.
As if migrants do not care for children...
But tell us: did you get your toy, was your endeavor succesful in the end?
I have to say that we Germans are not very enthusiastic about our school system, as it is extremely outdated and hardly capable of change, yet access to education in Germany is much easier (more income-independent) than it might be in other countries outside Europe. But within Europe, unfortunately, there are many better alternatives.
Du bist wahrscheinlich ein Schulversager. Für intelligente, leistungsbereite Schüler funktioniert die Schule sehr gut.
@@ingevonschneider5100as bist du denn für einer😂
Ich bin auf einer Privatschule und die hat schon Probleme in allen Bereichen, schlecht funktionierendes Internet, Overheadprojektoren etc…
@@userhessenone1469 eine, wenn schon, denn schon. Du hast auch keine grammatikalische Grundbildung.
Zu sagen das die schulen veraltet sind ist eine Aussage die einfach nicht mehr stimmt. Fast jede Schule ist mit smartboards und manchmal auch mit Ipads ausgestattet.. wo ist das bitte veraltet
@@bossus926 wenn Lehrer diese Sachen nicht nutzen können oder sie nicht korrekt installiert wurde bringt es auch nichts. Und wenn die Inhalte die Unterrichtet werden alles andere als neu sind bringt diese Technik auch nichts
We lived in the US for five years and we went back to Germany when our daughter was almost three years old to be able to give her a great education, nature and freedom as a child because, yes, it is so much safer over here.
I was born and raised in the USA. Moved to Florida in 1991 to get a taste of different cultures and loved it. Now, can't wait to retire away from the USA MAYHEM! I really hate this place.
I like how your implying that children cant get a great education, nature, or freedom in the US. Even though you can get all of these things in pretty much every country (including the US).Just don't live in a poverty stricken/crime stricken neighborhood in the US and you wil have access to good education and safety. It's really not hard. Curious as to what state you were living in here.
The US is just like any other country in regards that it has safe areas and unsafe areas. Germany has plenty of unsafe areas too. Will I be safe walking alone at night in Bahnhofsviertel? Probably not
@@askinganime6023 Tell that to the 5 dead family members in the small town north of Houston that were gunned down by a neighbor earlier this week. Very rural area. Americans love death and suffering. The USA is ILL and I want nothing more to do with it.
@Randy Millhouse yes, Clevland, Texas. It is a rural area as you pointed out. Rural usually equals poor. Which Clevland Texas is. Average income is below national average at 42k. The shooter was also an illegal immigrant with a history of crime. An isolated incident. Of course, there are plenty of other isolated incidents such as this happening everyday. But typically happen in the middle of small-town nowhere. Where poverty, crime, and decay are prevalent.
"Americans love death and suffering" is definitely a factually incorrect statement and extremley hyperbolic that neglects the contributing factors of crime in the country
@@askinganime6023 Ok. So Americans are NOT death loving? You say they are not. Then, without the aid of Google, name the last 10 mass shooting locations in the USA in this calendar year? I cannot and bet you cannot. Why? Because we ARE NUMB TO IT. It a NORMAL, DAILY OCCURRENCE.
Me as a german have to say that I'm thankful for your video. Germany isn't the most wonderful place to be but we have a pretty good standing in comparison to other countries. So many people here are "crying" about everything that happens here... we have to remind us sometimes, how good our life in germany is
We have become used to living in paradise, but still keep complaining. We should appreciate this paradise and preserve it. Be it the nature as well as security. I also often complain about high taxes or duties or complicated regulations and bureaucracy. But work safety and nature conservation has a pretty high value in our country and if we hike in Bavaria we are always happy about an intact Homeland.
No i think we can still do much better but you are right in the sense that we should also notice what we achieved. But there is a lot of room for things we can make even better
Depends to whom you compare, compared to the US most countries seem better.. :-)
@@Jonasb0994dt you can look at almost any country in the world and germany is still superior to the most. Its just a fact in most topics. Social wellfare, security, human rights, worker rights, help for homeless and poor, clean cities, free health care and education(if not free its still possible for every person) etc. etc. Germany has a lot of benefits that no other country can offer on this level and we germany just dont realize it.
Der durchschnittliche Deutsche ist ein verwöhnter Esel mit Scheuklappen.
It's good to have standards though.
I think its kind of sad that , most Americans are surprised that a country actually optimises for its citizens not only for business
Well, there ist not much business without well feeling citizens.
@@barbara-xt6cc This. I am sick of people crticizing the expenses for our social systems, despite them being the main reason for our economic success and safety. You can see it in how Germans depite haviung some of the lowest working hours having one of the highest productivitys. Happy and well feeling people are more resitant to stress and have a higher productivity a work.
@@theexchipmunk 🎯👏👍
@@ilsekuper3045 Damn, I am better at speaking emoji than I though. Actually understand that „sentence“.
@@theexchipmunk I chuckle with you. Being an old fart, I'm always impressed when I "get it."
I live in the south west of Germany and I paid 150 - 165€ each semester. Had an american student over and he said although foreign students have to pay 600€ a semester, it still is way cheaper than back home. Dude was already 80.000$ in dept for his bachelors. If you are this young with that much dept, something in your life went terribly wrong.
Just wanna add to this, I'm from Vienna/Austria and I pay about 20-30€ per semester, although students of fachhochschulen (another type of uni here) pay about 300-400€ if I remember correctly.
If you are that young with this amount of debt i would probably expect you to have Inherited a house hasn't been fully paid back yet.
every state in Germany handels the fees differently! I have to pay about 400€ each semester...so it's not everywhere the same!
i studied in the middle of germany (thüringen) in the 2000s and I didn´t have to pay anything at the "Fachhochschule". As I needed some more semesters because i worked in parallel to pay for rent, car etc, at some point I had start paying 500€/Semester as "Langzeitstudiengebühren"(fees for students that take too much time and didn´t finish the studying in time)
Our young peoplle pay a little for university in UK but only pay it back after they earn a high salary which means most never pay it back. If the parents earn a good wage then they pay each year the child is at uni. Books etc are bought at a uni shop, second or third hand possibly very cheaply.
In my experience, in Germany and most of Europe, your parents drop you off at school in like 1st and 2nd grade and then you walk to school alone for the rest of primary school. Most kids do use public transport to get to the high/middle school equivalent (as those are usually a lot farther away)
Actually my daugther walked to school in Germany the second day of primary school. I only drop off my kids when its raining hard and I go past school to my office days anyhow.
I walked to kindergarten 😅
i was only driven to school on my very first day on first grade, from there on i needed to walk / bike / take a bus
I walked to school since I was about 6 or 7, in Ireland. And that was in both primary and secondary school. Primary school was within a 5 minute walking distance, and secondary school was within 10 minute walking distance.
As a Portuguese from Lisbon, i've walked alone all over my lovely city since i was 5. I remember going and returning home alone since my first day in primary school. I'm 55 now and I still love walking my dog at night. Never had any reason to be scared and feel very comfortable walking alone. My very best decisions were made while walking around the city on my own. ❤
As a German, I often forget how safe I am here. Nothing has ever happened to me and I'm always alone at night. I really should be thankful, especially when i see problems from different countries which I can't imagine happen here in Germany.
But Illerkirchberg shows that also Germany changes drastically and quickly since 2015 and this crazy immigration policy.
@Neutraler Beobachter Germany has made some mistakes with the refugee policy, but on the contrary that would even be necessary because there is an aging population in Germany. The refugees have filled many vacancies. just like the guest workers after the second world war. Foreign policy is always criticized, but without this policy Germany would not have been so progressively
i don't know if it has changed much since 2015. when i was a teenager in the early 2000s, there were already many other teenagers with a migration background like turks / russians. i got 2 times beaten up of a "gang" of these (one time just walking through the city and another time they came uninvited to a party of a friend and i told them to go).
maybe some of the "new" refugees from for example syria are even more worse (as seen at new years eve in berlin), but i think that has always been the case here.
@@TheMagicTunes I can only speak for myself, I've never had problems like this. But I don't hang out with people like that either
@@neutralerbeobachter2272 kind of a myth.
yah, there are cases. but these were blown up by others. watch at the statistics.
Not only the kids walk to school alone, but they spent most of their freetime outside, too - doing stuff, exploring the place or city and meeting their friends!
Yeah, I remember when I was a kid. I went outside with my sister and cousin and we just explored the neighborhood around us and all the little streets pretending to be elves and fairies and shit. I couldn't imagine not being able to just walk around and not being in danger. One time I got stuck at an Eis cafe in a snow storm where I just ordered an Eisbecher to wait it out. I was alone and in a safe location and went home after it let out. I miss the Süder markt. So many memories. It was a nice place in my childhood.
Ja, das stimmt besonders auf dem Land, da können wir als Freundesgruppe auch mal um 4:00 Uhr durch die Gegend laufen mitten irgendwo nirgendwo, ohne dass jemand sich Sorgen macht
"Be home when the street lights are on. This was the only rule. XD
@@samuelsamenstrang6069 true! i confirm!
Meeting their friends and their enemies too. 😀
And to think that we in the Netherlands make fun of how bad the German roads are... when I went to the US I was shook!
Wow, that video made me being proud of living in Germany
I grew up in a small village so I had to take the school bus too
But when I grew older I started to walk more and I never felt unsafe
Interesting and sad that you’re not able to do this in the US
Feels so alien to me
She’s talking about cities i guess, since she’s from New York. In Germany Young Kids Walk to school in cities and even take the public bus or train by themselves or just with a friend.
@@numivis7807 Its very much the same in the "country". I grew up in a small village and took the bike to ementary school from second class on. And the children from further away usually came by public transport.
i think it depends where you live, where i live the northern part of the city is nothing where you want to be seen outside.
It's not all places though, I'm from a village too and every new schoolterm we got a new warning of some "Kinderfänger" ("children-catcher" aka r*pist) roaming the streets. I hated it when there was no bus and I had to walk back home (bus came every 2h). I always started running when a transport car with blacked out windows approached (which was quite often cause the forest workers also use this type of car)
I think its a combination of the time and location. I grew up in the 80s in a small US town. I rode my bike to school from 4th grade on. In the 20 years that I lived there, the biggest crime we had, was someone spray painting the public gazebo. It was the kind of town where you didnt have to lock your doors. It was also the countryside, I had a mountain a forest and a lake in my backyard, and as kids we would play all day outside, swimming, climbing trees, totally unsupervised.
I always think it's so interesting to grow up in Germany and get used to being relatively safe compared to other countries. Usually you kind of forget how safe you are because it's the standard yk? Parents will still be worried if their child is alone in a big city although it's a lot more safe than in other countries.
Edit: yeah I grew up in a small city so it was always really safe there but in general you can feel safe in a lot of Germany. As I already said, bug cities are always more prone to dangers and usually no sane parent let's their kid run around there free but like that's not the majority of Germany.
I was thinking the same thing I couldn't imagine even the feeling of unsafety
I'd probably be a lot more worried for kids being alone in Germany than at home. But then, living in Finland ;)
Often safety is a personal attitude.
germany is way unsafer now, especially since 2015 it gets worse every year
Depends on how you see it.
Hi Ryan, I'm german and I was also surprized by the higher standard of living: yes, we pay higher taxes, the net income therefore is lower, the houses are smaller - apart from New York apartments of course. But health care is a huge thing and food is much cheaper, even if you buy organic.
Public transport also makes life easier, and the safety is such that we don't lock our doors when we are home. So all in all I would say there is more peace of mind.
We don't lock our doors because they have non turnable doorknobs, so you do need the key to open it.
Hi Ryan, thanks for the interesting content. I'm from Slovakia and I like that you don't hide your surprise about the infrastructure, or you have questions about the way of life in general. I definitely like the videos that show the differences in the quality of life between the US and Europe, mostly the western part. I have a few friends who had the opportunity to do an exchange stay for students. A friend of mine was in Seattle, he completed a whole school year there, and I was always amazed by the absurd questions he received from his peers. "Do you know wifi, or do you have microwaves at home?... Do you live in caves and castles? :-)" And yet he was the one who travel thousands of kilometers at age 17-18. Not everyone perceives it only through a temporary job, but we travel for experiences. We speak or learn all subjects in English (not our mother tongue).. It's a shame that American pride blinds their eyes and while they often haven't visited even a percentage of their own country, see others as stupid.
Watching reactions like yours about germany and usa make me happy to be born and raised in germany. Before i've started watching this reactions, i've never felt so proud about germany. I always thought, that it is bad here and other countries have at least the same standards. Now i know how happy i can be.
geht mir genauso - same for me 🫶
Yeah, same for me.
Das Gleiche hier
Ja man, ist aber auch das erste Mal, dass ich jemanden sehe, der positiv über unser Bildungssystem spricht.
If you want to achieve something Germany is the wrong country. If you want to live off state subsidies it's paradise (until it runs out of money to finance the muslim immigrants).
- Berlin is like its own planet within Germany
- You can also fly directly from Germany to NY, I don't know why she makes the detour via Paris or Amsterdam.
- Germany is indeed more family-friendly than the US or the UK, but there is still plenty of room for improvement. And, there are enough helicopter parents who drive their children to school.
- The mentioned university fees apply per semester, not per month.
- In a nutshell: As a single person you earn more in the US, as a family you earn more in Germany (incl. health care).
- Many Europeans don't leave their beloved Europe any more than US Americans leave their country for the same reasons: money. The difference is more that Europeans have more paid vacation days than Americans, and then you sometimes fly to the USA or to Australia on the other side of the world.
As a single person...
Until you get ill or lose your job.
It's easier to go abroad/leave your own country in Europe, though, than it is in the USA. Basically, over here in Europe, you can't turn around without accidentally stepping into another country. *lol* Even non-European countries (think North Africa, for example) are still pretty close, comparatively speaking.
She probably makes the detour because it might be cheaper. Thats the reason for most people not taking the direct route.
True. You *could* hop on a train and go to Paris for the weekend ... but in most cases, you don't, because there's life, and money, and most of the time you just want to spend your weekend on front of the TV after an exhausting week at work.
It's the same with living in the mountains, for example. People think you are spending your weekends hiking and skiing, and sure, there are people who do that (there always are some), but the average person doesn't go hiking and skiing more often than someone who lives somewhere else.
Why wouldn't you stop in Amsterdam?
Any reason for that is a good enough 👌
I grew up in Bavaria, with a beautiful landscape. When I started to work after school I moved to Dortmund (which is 250km away from where I grew up) and the landscape there is completely different to ours. I missed it so much that I moved back after several years. The next Forrest is a stone throw away and I m happy to be able to be in the Forrest whenever I feel the need for it.
It depends on the university, my university fees were 150-200 € once per Semester, but they included free public transpot in the region after 6 pm and on weekends. You did not need to buy books, at my uni there was a free library and for each course you could get like a transkript for ~ 2-5 €. I think highest costs students in germany have are living expenses.
I'm 35 and grew up in a village with a kindergarden and a elementary school. I would walk to the kindergarden by myself at the last year (5 years old). As an adult it's a walk of 5-10 minutes.
I would always be outside with a group of friends, playing and roaming the fields around the village. It was a very nice childhood 🙂
pretty much the same here , i live next to a kindergarden i can watch the kids every day. I was so proud being the only kid walking home alone
I'm from Serbia and here is the same, I was walking alone to the kindergarten and primary school ofc and I live in Belgrade, the capital of Serbia.
It always surprises me, that it surprises americans that our children walk around alone. When I grew up I walked to my elementary school at the other side of the city, every morning. At the age of 6. In the afternoons our parents let us play outside, and that doesn't mean in the yard. We took our bikes, skateboards, whatever we had and went to the city centre. All my mom told me was, to come back at 7 o'clock. I wasn't even able to read my watch yet, so I programmed an alarm. 😆
"Go play outside but be back home when the street lights are turned on!" We didn't even had a watch when i was a kid ;-)
@@cyberfux yes +1 so ture had this also
That was me as a child in the 60s in the USA
@@CabinFever52 And it was me in the 90ies. I guess a lot of things changed again, since then.
@Sara H. I have to say that my brother and I wandered all over our neighborhood when we were toddlers (1-3 yrs old)--on our own in the USA, but that was a city with population 55,000 and in the 60s. I accepted a ride to school from someone I used to go door-to-door selling my scribble pictures to use for ice cream money when I was 5 and my gym teacher saw him drop me off (the teacher knew my parents) and he sat me down for a little straight talk. Those were the days. My parents never thought much of it.
Started riding my bike to school when I was 7, first day my mother took her bicycle to accompany me. But after that I drove back and forth on my own, or with friends, about 2 miles each way. In rural Germany.
When I was a kid in Munich (Southern Germany), after three or four days we all went to school and back on foot without parental supervision. Today more and more mothers (and sometimes fathers) bring their kids by car. I can not understand that. Meanwhile, most accidents that happen on the way to school and home are from other parents turning their cars in front of the school building.
More and more parents bring their kids to school by car because it's becoming less safe as more and more parents bring their kids to school by car.
🧠
I am currently studying in North Rhine-Westphalia. At my university, the cost per semester is ~310€. But the money is not used for books. A big part is for a local transport ticket for all of North Rhine-Westphalia. And the rest of the money is used for example for the canteens, bicycle repair shop, the university kindergarten, university sports. You can buy textbooks, but you don't have to. In most cases, you can also borrow them if you do want to use them.
Most universities offer a refund of the transportation tickets in cases of extreme or undue financial burden, meaning you can get back about 60-70% of the bi-yearly payment.
To add to this, I have a bachelor and a masters degree and I would estimate that I paid less than 250€ for textbooks for my entire studies. At my university the library would have a bajillion copies of the books that professors like to use and there were also reserved shelves where professors could "block" books aka at least one copy of each book that's on the recommended reading list is on that shelf and cannot be checked out. So even if all the other copies are checked out, you can complete your recommended reading at the library for free.
at my uni you can get most books as free ebooks as well and since the cost include a credit for printing i print the needed pages to scibble on them and mark important stuff...
@@DisturbedFox137 Same here
@@zwergnase1989 Same for me. Most of our Universitys (Universitäten, Hochschulen usw.) have extensive subject specific libraries.
The "Black Forest Family" recently did a tax comparison between Germany and the US. Despite high taxes, German families do well because many things have already been paid for that American families have not yet paid for.
Families in Germany are subsidized in many places, including house building.
This. There is some other good calculations on it. Overall it either evens out, or Germans have actually less of a finacial burden put on them and more money left to spend how they want. People always look at just at the very obvious taxes and compare these, but there is just so many hidden costs in the US that drain you at any point. In Germany it´s very direct, what you have to pay is very openly declared and obvious. Like how our prices already include a general tax thats the same everywhere, but in the US it´s very varied and always added afterwards. Or how there is so much hidden costs in insurances and random clauses that make you pay instead of them.
czcams.com/video/DWJja2U7oCw/video.html
@@theexchipmunk Living in Germany we think that not have to worry about education, healthinsurancet etc. is so much more worth. I rather have to pay a little more taxes but knowing that mostly there is taken care of you.
@@JH-xo9sy I think the best answer of who is better off is to look at private bankrupcy rates. Those are way lower in Germany, with the biggest reason for them in the US (medical bills and education) usually not the issue in Germany
@@theexchipmunk , she also did this considering that the people all stayed healthy and only went for very basic medical care.
About the traveling, we had recently introduced the Deutschlandticket, which costs you around 55$ and you can basically ride 80% of all trains and 100% of busses and trams in germany for a whole month.
It's really interrsting when American people like you learn new stuff about Germany. Here in Germany, I think everyone knows America really well and we also learn it in English class.
I live in a relatively big German city (around 1.5 million) and I walk around at night by myself without much issues. Of course I wouldn't walk through a completely unlit park or something, but other than that I'm feeling just fine.
Children as young as 6/7 walk to school by themselves. Also they walk or take their scooters or bikes to friends' houses, playgrounds or after school activities (club sports etc.) alone. I live close to an elementary school and you can see hundreds of little kids walking to and from school.
About the standard of living: of course we are paying more taxes (and yeah it's frustrating sometimes when you look at your paycheck :) ). The interesting thing is though: less people are living paycheck to paycheck in Germany than in the US. That was especially true until about a year ago. Now with the energy crisis and inflation, numbers are rising. But it's still an interesting thing to think about. One would expect Americans to be able to save more, because they can keep a higher percentage of their wages, but that's not the case. And even if the numbers of people living paycheck to paycheck were the same: Even without any savings, people in Germany could still get good medical treatment, attend good schools/universities and for the most part wouldn't become homeless etc. because of social aid. So to me the American "hate" about paying higher taxes doesn't make much sense.
Whenever I look at how much of my pay is deducted for taxes, social security and retirement, I kinda-sorta wanna scream. Then I remind myself that, unlike some other countries, it also means that, should shit happen and I become unable to work tomorrow, those high taxes and stuff are the reason why I wouldn't become homeless and unable to afford medical treatment.
@@veladarney hard to find people with reason like you nowadays. It is always "Tax burden so high in Germany" "Try these legal tips to avoid taxes" "Get your tax refund" The first complaint even made it into the evening news oneday without putting it into perspective. You cannot judge tax burden without looking at the transfers. Germany belongs probably in the top 5 countries with respect to free education (not meaning best education but among free education, one of the best) and general healthcare.
I guess you are living in Munich? Tell me more about security issues apart from cocain using/dealing police offers :D
It is a difference like night and day to got to public swimming pools in Bavaria or in NRW... Can't keep your eyes from your belongins even a second :P
@@t3ss33 Believe it or not Munich is relatively safe,
I was on a train and all these school kids got on and an American tourist were talking and saying that they would never see this in the US..
As for the coke/weed dealing police, there’s always a few bad apples in the system..
@@t3ss33 I live in the Münsterland in a small city so my experience is limited to that but even here where ever we go one person always stays with the bags. Can’t have shit just laying around.
But I would assume in some bigger cities in NRW it would be even more stupid to let your stuff lay around unguarded.
Well. In the US the people want freedom, but my question always is, why is no healthcare and worry about getting sick etc. freedom? For me it’s more like a kingdom of fear sometimes.
The US healthcare structure is particularly insidious. It's touted as enabling freedom of choice but in practice it ties employees more tightly to employers, like modern-day serfs to landed gentry. And of course it costs twice as much overall, because the hospitals want to make a grotesque profit and the insurance companies demand their pound of flesh too.
@@RichWoods23 Very precise summary.
Europe has more freedom than America in its entirety
It's like with their right to bear arms. They think it's freedom, I think if I have to be afraid all the time (as atested to us Germans by our US student colleagues) then it's a prison.
@@RichWoods23 , with Obamacare (and already having health insurance through my retirement), our deductibles and out-of-pocket more than doubled and our coverage dropped greatly. Accommodating people who previously couldn't afford any health insurance to get bad insurance that they were required to get at the time, cost those of us who already had it greatly in regards to our coverage.
It seems sometimes we need others to make us aware in what a country we live and how differnt it can be in other countries. I'm happy to live in Germany. Thanks for the reminder 🙂
I’m also considering this. I went to visit a friend last year at Switzerland and I noticed his 7 year old walks to school alone and the culture expects them to do so. Not even a guardian. It’s optional, that and lots of other things extraordinarily different from my country that I feel safer! It would be the dream to achieve that safety and other circumstances that are better.
This is kinda sad. I"m from Czech Republic and when we were on trip abroad with school, like in Germany (Berlin, Frankfurt) or Austria(Wien), teacher were not afraid to leave us on our own. They told us "You have now 4 hr. free time, you can go anywhere you want, we will met again on this spot in 4 hrs.". And we have been in different state, were they have different language. Never happend anything bad. I assume this is not possible in US even if they are in the same state and everybody speak same language.
Funny, it was the same with my school trip to Praha (from Germany)! :D We even had a whole day to explore the city alone with public transportation. I have to say, you have a really beautiful country! :)
That was always my favorite art of school trips 🙂 "Go and find something to eat and explore the city. But be back here in three hours!" As an austrian we would go to Rome, Paris, Praha, Bratislava...and it was aways a great exprience. 😃
@@nijuchan1996 Yeah same for us too when we made our school trip to Praha. Only condition: not less then 2 people per exploring group :D
It was the same with our trip to Italia a year before that. We had day trips to Venezia, San Marino (for those who dont know: one of the tiny city countrys in europe, its surrounded by Italia) and Firenze. We could explore them by our hearts desire without the adults.
Lol, same thing happened with my class when we were at a Weihnachtsmark
Yep, same here. Trips to Amsterdam and London, you get free time and you are expected to return to the agreed spot. This was before mobile phones ('90's).
Me living in Berlin, once felt very confident on spend some time in San Francisco. My first Hotel was said to be "cheap, friendly and clean" but in a "rough neighbourhood". Well, no prob, I know big cities, I said.
After the first night, I came to know, what people mean by telling "Germany is so safe!!!". I switched to a nice AirBnB and had a good time, but I can tell: even in Berlins scariest places, safety is on another, better level. Didn't know this before.
Out of curiosity as a German: What do US-Citizens consider a "rough neighbourhood"? What did you experience? :o
@@nijuchan1996 guns.
Oh, I lived in Berlin for over 5 years and it was just a shithole. But I never had any problems with safety.
@@magmalin
Germany is normally very safe.
Berlin is our capital and naturally attracts everyone. Unfortunately not only the middle class, the students, the culturally interested but also the poor, mostly immigrants.
Too many poor immigrants leads to ghettoisation something that happens in every big city and there is always a critical point how many socially disadvantaged people should live in a city and Berlin passed that point years ago.
Berlin is a beautiful city but in some corners it is just dirty and unpleasant.
Rough naiborhood in usa means bring a gun and a bullet proof vest wich you wear even under the shower.
as you know now- im german^^- i live in a tiny village in the center of Germany - called the Harz area... its the only mountain area in 300 km range and im in the middle of it... i choosed this after living almost 20 years in London cus its sooo nicely quiete and stressless... everyone knows everyone here and my kids have the most uplifting time - they have manners no other child in a city would have ( saying "Hello" and "good morning "ect to everyone passing ) helping freeing the sidewalks from snow - they do the whole bloody street cus they know , something is coming back ..
my middle son is 17 now and one of our neighbors seriously fixed up a Moped for him to cruise arround on - he has plenty offroad tracks to go to school on it to not be caught by police ( wich anyway wouldnt happen ) - i mean - 10 year olds are riding massive landmachines here to harvest fields aso... my 6 year old daughter is riding her bike to kindergarden and back home and no one here would ask : how could you possoble allow her^^ - cus every child is doing so - and good for them ... as it teaches them from small on to be selfresponsible to be there in time ect ... with the schooling system - i sort of agree with the Lady in programm - but not fully - Germany supports students with something called Bafög - its a loan u have to pay back to the country - and Germany is real mindset in limits of teaching - i rather send my 6 year old to an international schoool - cus german teaching is too mindblocking - its not evolved to meet our standarts, lets say... i invite you- come to visit me in my house - and i promise- u cry going back home... cus u walk out my front door - and u stand in a forrest - with the most beautyful view of the big mountain called " Brocken" ( everyone here has a german sheppard - cus its free of tax to have in such a rural place ... we all have solar penals ... we all have sort of nothing to do with the immigration , war , country related problems like strikes in train, airplane, healthsystem... we have our steamengine if we dont use car ( car no one does anyway cus we walk or use a bike ) big meetings at the market daylie involved ( 8 am in the morning when it opens) i love my life here and would never exchange it
I loved your comment. Bless you!
From my experience's, I can totally agree with everything she says. I mean I wouldn't feel too safe walking around at night all alone (depends where you live ofc). But also the part where the old ladies keep an eye on the kids (although most of the time they are trying to sue them haha). Here in Austria it's basically the same. On my way to school, I always watch out for the small kids because, well you never know. That's just the general way of thinking around here - if you see someone more vulnerable, you watch out for them. And that's one thing I have always been grateful for, while growing up here.
For me the important sentence is: if you see someone more vulnerable, you watch out for them. Unfortunately this seems to be changing in the last years with the mindset that comes from adapting to global "values", an aggressive global economic and political system. But I live in one of the "international" cities, so it might still be different elsewhere.
As a german kid, I always saw these movies about america and thought "wow, what a cool place". I even visited Florida as a kid in the 90´s. Now as I am getting older and I learn more about the US and A.... America is probably the last place on earth where I wanna be. The more I learn about this place the less I want to be even near. The crime, the healthcare, the focus on cars, the "waaay too much" capitalism, the BIG gun problem, the gangs, the racism, the bad education, the nightmere of a political system, the gerrymandering (you are ok with that???), the unhealthy food, the bad tap water, the way they treat the enviroment, the "we are the best and the only good democracy" attitute of many even though you have probably the worst democracy. I see the news and the shenanigans of your parlament and I think "Hmm, USA is like rome in its last days. The greatest empire of them all on his way to total collapse".
America is a stunningly beautiful continent with amezing citys, the oldest democracy and lots of awesome and very smart people. But also with way too many really stupid people (with guns). And the most stupid of them all get all the power.
At least thats what it looks like from afar. Get your shit together USA, you can become cool again! Maybe. Hopefully
You can have good food if you want and the tap water is good in 99% of cities. You only hear the bad.
@@warriorxtman2 You can have good food throughout all of Europe .Drugs and weapons are not in every household.I lived in Chicago for 6 months doing research .Offered a career.I declined .Skid row alone was a nightmare ....
The fake news is what you hear, not the truth, btw, it's always the politics that screw a country up, not the people!
@@twowheelrider6656 So I am wrong? All these problems I listed are ... no problems? And what exactly is going on in europe? It must be worse than US "non-problems"
@@twowheelrider6656 Hey, why did you delete your answer? I would really love to hear you defend the land of the free
In Germany most people actually dont have a school bus and if they do its only for driving the students to the gym if the school doesn't have one. I personally have always used the public transportation bus for 8 years now and never really felt uncomfortable about it since that for me is just the norm so I'm really happy that I basically don't have to worry about getting attacked or creeped on.
In my area (rural) the busses from the villages are usually quite bad/not often so there were kind of school busses but I think some of those might also be public busses
If our school needed a bus (usually for getting to the pool for swimming lessons), they hired one from a local bus company. No official school bus in sight. And naturally once we got older, we went with public transport to a lot of outings unless they were too far away, in which case a nice Reisebus got organised.
Sometimes there are more buses on existing routes in the morning and after school ends, but it's still regular buses
@@swanpride Yeah until 9th grade we always drove to sports lessons with a bus but after that we had to get there on our own which I don't mind since it's in the afternoon anyway and I can just go home after school for an hour or so and then go out for the lesson.
I am using public transportation since i was 8 years old. I sometimes felt uncomfortable but that was only because of the bad air in the busses when a lot of people where packed in there haha. I love trains i always fall asleep because they don't take harsh turns and it mostly quiet.
I find her mentioning "safety" in Germany especially interesting. I 'm Polish and after I moved to Germany I noticed I no longer feel as safe as I did before. I'm not saying Germany is particularly dangerous country but in comparison to Poland the overall feeling of safety is significatly worse (I moved 9 years ago the situation might have changed since then, who knows). So I can only imagine how difficult it would be for me to live in US
Hello, I have a question: which city or town would you recommend to visit in Poland (preferably in late summer, early autumn)? Thank you in advance
@@Klassenfeind Depends what would you like to do. Are you interested in nature or prefer to spend more time in the city?
@@seraphie thank you for getting back to me! I'd prefer a medium sized town, city, with interesting architecture, and nice restaurants
@@Klassenfeind If you prefer medium cities that are not necessarily main tourist attraction but still have a lot to offer in terms of architecture you might want to considder: Sandomierz, Zamość, Łagów, Zwierzyniec, Trzebiatów, Kazimierz Dolny, Szydłów, Chełmno, Reszel, Toruń, Tarnów, Lanckorona, Sanok. I am positive you'll find there some decent restaurants too but I can't suggest you any. You might wish to use Google or TripAdvisor to find something with decent reviews depending on your preference. We have in Poland also some bigger cities that are definitely things of beauty like Kraków, Wrocław, Trójmiasto which are most definitely worth visiting despite them being busy and noisy
@@seraphie thank you very much! 🇭🇺❤️🇵🇱
Many American soldiers sent their families to the UK ("for safety") during the Vietnam war. I live in a city and used to play with the amrican kids, we were about 7/8/9. As it grew dark they would go in. When fully dark, I would set off on my own, not towards the lit streets but down the lanes along the river and up into the park. Where I would usually find other kids. The mums were horrified, and they felt afraid without guns too.
I could see even at that age, that they were in a prison of their own making. I explained to them that things were just the same in the dark, as in the light, (though the night shift animals were different). They just didn't get it.
My son is 9, we live in Prague. He goes to school and afterschool activities all by himself, taking two different metro lines and some trams. He's got his own bank card, mobile phone and public transportation card and that's it. When he wants to visit my parents, who live about 130 km from here, he takes the train and gets there. It is super safe here in the Czech Republic, I would say even a bit safer than in Germany. Not to mention that nobody would put you in jail for having your kids roam a city without adult supervision.
but for tourists its in Prague not save at all. 40.000 pickpocket thiefs mostly from Romania...
@@barfuss2007 This is BS. There are higher dozens of them in the city.
@@andrejruscak
Well, last time I was in Prague I saw a lot of (even older) cars with immobilizer claws on a wheel... In Rome there a also a lot of Romanian thiefs... I love Prague because it wasn´t destroyed during WWII. Like my hometown.
@@barfuss2007 When was that? This is not to be seen anymore, except for immobilizer claws that are used by the municipality police, who want to make sure you don't drive out while being fined for bad parking.
@@andrejruscak
about 1995. Bad policemen, lol. In Germny the car would be towed...
The 600€ she refers to for University are what you might end up paying for a whole year. I paid 250 for 1 semester and it comes with free transportation in a very large area, so I was able to go back to my family for free with that.
It highly depends where you study.
At my University you pay around 90€ for 1 semester, but you don't have any transportation. To be fair, you don't need it at my town, you can get everywhere with a bicycle.
Mainly depends where you study
For me when I went to a university, a whole year was 835€
You have to pay for transportation but they have student deals and everything
Max I've heard that foreigners have to pay (at least where i live) is 5k€ max but i don't remember things like student debt and whatnot here
I'm from Germany and would live to mention that security depends of whether you are living in a city or a rural area. The quality of the schools depends of the "Bundesland" where you live. It' good in Saxony or Bavaria and a catastrophy in Berlin or Bremen.
@@GigiGhiba-bd4ox yeah it's a MASSIVE exaggeration ngl
Und die Sicherheit läßt nach, vor allem für Frauen, leider.
Das ist schrecklich
Such a lovely, humble person! Please more of this kind come and chose to live in Germany... we need more nice people here! ;)
10:30 OK the costs of going to University in Germany requires a bit of explanation:
1) There are no tuition fees
2) You have to pay a Semesterbeitrag, an administration fee, which is usually around € 300; this might rise a bit in the future due to the current high inflation.
3) The Semesterbeitrag usually includes the Semesterticket which allows you to use public transportation in the area without any additional costs for the entire semester.
4) The real costs are the costs of living - rent an appartment (which can be quite expensive of course, especially in some of the more expenesive cities like Munich), food, electricity, internet, insurances etc. These costs can vary greatly depending on the location. In general large cities are more expensive than rural areas , the South tends to be more expensive than the North (except Hamburg) and the West tends to be more expensive than the East (these are only tendencies and by no means set in stone)
5) Because of the costs WGs (= Wohngemeinschaften, shared appartments) are very common. A WG is basically a few students banding together and renting an appartment for the purpose of sharing costs. I lived in a WG with three other students during my studies and it makes a huge difference if you have to pay the bills alone or can share them with others.
6) There are no regulations on how a WG has to be formed - this is just like everyone else renting an appartment.
7) Many books can be borrowed from the libraries, however you'll still need to buy some books. The costs can vary depending on how many books you need and the prices of the books required. It is usually a good option to look out for second-hand books; many older students sell some of their books when they don't need them anymore. I'd say that I had to spend maybe about € 200 per semester on books, however that was 20 years ago and that can be totally different today.
8) Universities do not have sports teams like in the USA and people do not identify themselves with their university like they do in the USA.
9) Even though international rankings for universities usually also includes German universities that doesn't really matter here in Germany. It should be mentioned that German Universities usually don't rank at the top spots of these lists, but that doesn't mean the education is less valuable, it has more to do with the ranking system. In the USA a lot of research is conducted at the universities and this is a very important part of the ranking system - that is not the case in Germany. While some research is done at universities they are first and foremost centers of learning, focusing on giving the students a good education and not on attracting corporate sponsors with research programs.
Because of that people should always take these rankings with a grain of salt and should not be taken on face value.
16:30 Well that obviously depends on where you live in the USA. In the large cities it might be harder to go hiking or stuff like that, however there are a ton of places where the people living there are surrounded by nature - think about Alaska for example, a state so large that it makes up 18 % of the entire land mass of the USA but only has a population of about 740,000 people. The largest city, Anchorage, has about 290,000 inhabitants. The second largest - Fairbanks - has about 33,000.
Finally someone mentioning the costs for living when studying!!!
I was about 7 years and my brother 10 years old when we went to school without our parents, it was only a 6 minute walk. I would say we were proud that our parents trusted us that we can do it ourselves. When it came to crossing the street, we joined other children or adults (usually other parents or grandparents that have to cross the street too).
It has nothing to do with your parents trust, the times are changing also in Germany. You can't be enough careful in this evil world.
It is so wholesome to hear you guys.. I am German and my sister lives in the US so I know what you guys mean.
I think the US has wonderful nature too.. But in germany nature is somewhat closer and easy acessible via 🦶🏼.
Im really greatful to live here in germany. I hope we don‘t fuck it up too much in the future..
Not feeling safe just walking to a from is just such a huge sign for problems in the society, I feel. I'm portuguese, born in 84. Honestly, my family was very protective, I was pretty much a "city kid", but even then there were everyday multiple hours in the day where I would walk around as a kid and ultimately there was no problem. I never knew there were crazy gunmen potentially about, nor child abusers, nor just thieves, etc. Lots of kids did some pretty dumb stuff, even potentially dangerous stuff, like going into abandoned construction sites. But it was always just natural for friends or just same aged kids to be about and we would for little groups and have kid dynamics going about. In retrospect I see that being able to do that kind of thing actually has meant for me that I learned a lot about exploring and the dangers of if and learning about the real world. And also it did provide the confrontation between kids more daring than me and also way more scared than me to exchange those communications and all would learn from it all. I mean, I was lower than average for the "daring" scale of things, my biggest fear was about that adventurous kid that always seemed way too reckless for me (meaning like not a church choir boy, to be honest) - not the potential of a gun or child kidnapper, etc.
Long story short: I believe that if you have a society where kids can walk around freely and there's little danger, it's a pretty big sign that things are good.
I love your podcast.. I’m an American who has been living in Berlin for 6.5 years… Seeing your reactions about Germany cracks me up and brightens my day! Keep up the hard work!!!
And? Is Berlin safer than America? XD
@@HanmacxI guess. Berlin just have crazy people
@@Hanmacx Ja
hast bestimmt schon das ein oder andere interessante in berlin gesehen hahahah
@@Hanmacx Except for new year's eve in well-known areas - czcams.com/video/w_CAM_Bi2PM/video.html - but somehow in Berlin that is both shocking and so cool at the same time.
The roads in Germany are more than twice as thick as in the US. Also in the US the cars and trucks are heavier than in Europe. So if the ground structure of a road isn't good and thick enough, the Asphalt has no chance to withstand the force the cars/trucks do to the ground. However in the northern most US countries you have also an issue with the extreme temperature differences during a year. In summer extremely hot an in winter it's the complete opposite. The salt does the rest to destroy the roads.
When i lived in Osnabrück the streets cracked because of very low temperature and a dutch company fixed them over night and even recycled the tarmac/asphalt with a huge all-in-one machine. The most fascinating street I have ever seen is in the italian alps near Udinese. It´s like bridge-tunnel-bridge-tunnel... between mountains and lakes and everything looks new and perfect. Even (sry) the croatian highways I rode on where amazing. That's what I saw and i did not travel that much threw europe. The best streets for bikes (even more challanging to be build save) are in Netherland and so on... So streets are really not a german thing only, and when you can manage streets in the alps, i think you can do it everywhere no matter the issues
Really just a comment for the algorithm. I've watched a lot of your stuff and as a German, i have to say: I really like your take on what you've found out about my country, Ryan.
Ryan.. Hi from England. I admire anyone looking at a critique of their own country and try to be objective over it. Well you did.. Kudos! It has been an eye opener for me to learn about other countries and their views after leaving them. No country is bereft of problems but seeing what others have to put up with can, if you are reasonable, make you appreciate what you have. You mentioned at the outset if the video you were going to watch would refer to health care and vacations. These shock me about the USA though I understand now why you have high productivity.. most people do the work of two over here. We're not immune to long hours though. My brother is 69 and runs his own business.. (as did I till I retired).. I do a few things for him even now but he asked me to do a report, bind and print it for a client he was visiting in Scotland... He picked it up at my home at 10pm drove back to his office to do another hour or so and was driving to Glasgow over night. Some see that as hard work.. I just see an idiot wasting what is left of his few years.. he looks ill 🙄🙄 Who knows when I will get a call to go to the hospital?
I'm from Germany and I find it really interesting how you react to things from Germany
It's really nice to listen to her. For an American she really speaks a pleasant, understandable English without these extreme "rrrrowrrow" sounds.
First time time watching the channel and the first time I found a fellow Indiana resident on the platform.
I am from Germany (14) and i walk alone every time a day. Even in the night (i photograph and i am walk often in the night). Its not 100% comfortable but its completely fine.
For me living in Hamburg (Germany), i can clearly say that traviling here is a lot mor saver than in the USA. I am 16 years old by now and traveled lonely to Munich multiple times alone. Even on a classtrip to Berlin, the teacher let us out until 22:00 or sometimes 23:00h. As i was in Miami, i clearly felt mor unsafe, just by seeing small sidestreeds.
I think that being brought up here in germany, in a safe environment also contributes strongly to growing into a responsible adult. People here are just not introduced to crime and violence in that extend. It definately has an impact.
And our social securety eliminates a large part of the crime related to bad living standards and being poor. You might be able to have a bit more money doing crime, but by doing nothing you still have a roof over your head, spending money to cover necessitys and some small luxuries and no risk of loosing any of that and your freedom.
@@theexchipmunk Yes, due to our social system crime luckily does not really pay off.
School fees are only 250-400€ per semester in Germany and you don't usually have to buy your own books, you can borrow them from the university library. It depends on the subject etc., but I had to buy only like 3-4 books for my whole degree in Germany.
It warms my heart how positively she speaks about my home country, because even now, I think, Germany does not have a very good reputation in the world. We are supposed to be correct, on time, environmentally friendly and have solid products😂- I think that's all. Regardless, but "all that glitters is not gold". (Do you express it the same way in English?) We've got issues as well. But make an impression on yourselves guys: visit Germany!!! It'll welcome you!!! ❤
I heard a politician claim a curious thing: Germany is the country that gets the most productivity out of a ton of CO2 🤯
There is a recent video from The Black Forest Family on the topic of Salaries and Taxes - comparison between USA and Germany. Very insightful.
On the "Standard of Living" I would comment that the Purchasing Power is very close, but the Work-Life balance is very much in Germany's favor. That alone moves the quality of life of a working-class citizen to a completely different place.
I don't know the definition of 'Standard of living', if there is one, but definitely just the amount of stress, long term, can make it or break it (for me). If someone is better withstanding stress US is great I guess, my US colleagues make significantly more money. They do routinely pull out their notebook early morning, orlate evening, or in weekend, or during their vacation, which is discouraged here at my workplace.
@@bencze465 I would not call it significantly more money. Most people get a bit more or equal pay for similar position.
Significantly more is if you spend all of it instead of save or invest in your future needs.
Watch The Black Forest Family's latest video, good dissection and example.
Some professions get more in the USA, some less - but the average is very similar, in terms of payment, but does not have the other benefits which in Germany and most European countries are guaranteed by state laws.
Sorry didn't see your comment. Posted that one too, but with a link to Ashton's video. 🙂
@@bencze465 on first sight they seem to get "simnifically more money" but they have to pay more for a lot more things that are covered by our taxes in Germany .
Vestigies of a old time. Germany will collapse (and already is collapsing) if they still in this Socialist Transitory Model.
Fun fact for you Ryan… if your tire gets destroyed by a pothole in Germany, the authority (town/city or on the Autobahn the one who’s in charge to keep it intact) who is responsible for the road has to pay for your tire and the destruction of your car. 😉
Loving the start where you just trying to get passed the commercials and introduction video.. just like the rest of us :D
My 16 years old daughter came last night home from holiday in Austria. She was with my oldest daughter but she was going to travel further to Italy and my 16 yrs old needs to be back home for her graduation ceremony. She traveled yesterday back home by train from 7.45 am till 1.15m. It is important to let children experience freedom and responsibilities. She met a lot of nice people and has seen many stations in Germany to take the different trains back home.
I like that Germany has a big learn/work option that is used by many people instead of going to college. You work at a company for 3 years to learn the job you want to do. You get paid for your work and you also have school classes that teaches you more about the theoretical part of the job. Both work and school combined is not more than a usual workday, so the company also kind of pays for your education.
The company is also responsible to not only let you work but to educate you in the practical parts of a job.
When you are done you get your job degree and have a realistic education on the job.
If you want to compare it, it would be like a paid internship that is combined with your school education. But an internship where the employer is actually required to educate you and not only use you as cheap labour.
And this is so common that i was shocked when i learned that in the states nearly everyone is allowed to do nearly every job!
@@leggy5294 Me, starting my second "Lehre" this year:
Wait.... others dont do that?
Its quite shameful to admit but i was an working adult when i realized many part of the world have no similar procedure.
You work or you go to Uni.
If thats the only decision is also would have choosen university. But bro... the trades are a goldmine. Nobody wants to do physical labour anymore everyone rather studies BWL (besides the fact that Justus just wouldnt cut it as handiman) when they have no other options. My "Job Interview" was 5 minutes long.
So why Wood work?
[Answer]
And you already have a finished degree as GTA (=Object and Product design)?
[Yes.]
You know as a apprentice you earn less than in your current position?
[Yes.]
You sure?
[Yes.]
Aight, see u monday.
PS: Yes im formally, officially educated by the goverment as GTA
It has never helped me not getting wrecked by a flying motorbike, still dope yo.
Is this different in america?
Oh, a practical and effective policy adopted a long time ago that benefits the individual, the company, and society. Clearly all the hallmarks of the radical left.
Old Tom Hanks/Shelley Long? Film The Money Pit. Hanks phones a plumber to do some work. Realises he is being vetted. What do you mean how much do I earn a year? How much do YOU earn a year…we don’t hear the answer but Hanks’ facial expression says it all.
About the condition of our roads: If there is a pothole and there is no 'road damages ahead' -sign and you damage your car from that pothole the city/state (depending on which is responsible for that road) has to pay the cost of repair.
Well done! You’ve started with a perfect pronounciation off the Dutch “Hallo”❤
Since my first school days I walked or used my bicycle, my mom was driving me (on her way to work) only when the weather was bad (rain/snow).
I'm happy this made me independent and fit, sports was easy for me due my daily 2x20 minutes bicycle tour over the mountain 💪😎
Man, i was born 84 in germany and lived in the suburbans. I started to run around the whole places at around age of 6-7 until i had to be home for dinner without feeling unsafe even once. Even my mom never was worried for something. Good old times. You wanted to meet a friend? You just started a trip to his house. He wasnt there? No problem, lets go to the next friend. Pretty organic sports to be honest :P
Du bist zu Hause wenns dunkel wird! / you have to be at home when is getting dark outside ;)
@@saschaw.9672 haha ,,, genau so 🤩
@@saschaw.9672 Oder in den "Neubauvierteln" im Osten: Punkt 18 Uhr geht ein Fenster nach dem anderen auf, "xyz, komm Abendessen" schallt es durch den ganzen Hof. Viele Eltern haben sich sogar den Namen gespart. Und wenn man gerade außer Hörweite war? Egal, die anderen Familien aßen ja auch alle so das die "Kleinen" nach dem Sandmann ins Bett kamen, also war klar: wenn's Gerufe los geht, muss man heim.
I remember this very well. :D
And even when your friend is at home you just pick him up and go to the next one together.
Really loved this roaming around the city/town until the group of all friends is complete.
I was born in 2003 and experienced the same. Nowadays kids don't know what an amazing feeling this is, they are always in front if their phone screens, it's sad.
Living in a German City i walked home from kindergarten being 4 years old, it was just like 1 mile, but it gave me time to be alone and explore everything on the way. Took me 30 minutes sometimes because I stopped to look at every butterfly ;D
So did I in France:-) I wasn’t into butterflies but was always reading a book while walking to or from home. Got me to be hit by a car twice over a few years, the last time pretty badly. Books are so much more dangerous than butterflies 🤣😂
@@tixien well that must have been a great book xD
I walked back alone too at that age. Though that was basically only half a street and around a school, so I only had to cross one street and half of the rest was footpath only.
Bei mir war der Weg nicht so weit, aber im letzten Kindergartenjahr hatte ich immer meine kleine Schwester dabei, die drei Jahre alt war
(I am 18 year old German girl) when it comes to our school system it seems great, ofc it's almost free but also many many students get depression and other mental health issues because of school and our digitalization isn't really existing in schools, we still use stuff that's like idk 30/50 years old because the state isn't putting money into digitalization of schools. We have also way too less teachers then students. My boyfriend for example hadn't had Bio lessons for like 5 years while being in Mittelschule 🤝🏼💀
I'm glad tho that I live in Germany haha
Nice , someone mentions my country. We are like the the smallest sibling everybody forgets about. Greetings from Austria 😁
I've been following your channel for a while now and always find your posts funny and very interesting. I am Austrian and have lived in Berlin for 12 years. Before that I spent 10 years in Switzerland in a small village near Basel. There, kindergarten is compulsory and the children (from 4 years old) go to the kindergarten on their own. When our son was 7 years old, we moved to Berlin. I was worried about letting him go to school alone and accompanied him on the way. When I went to pick him up from school on the second day, he wasn't there. When I asked where he was, the teacher said he had gone home. Alone. I was in a panic. I rushed home as fast as I could...and there was the little boy standing at our front door and when he sees me he says:" Where were you?" I was perplexed and reminded him that I was going to pick him up and walk him home. "Why?" he asks. He had found his way home after all, and on the way he had gotten hungry and they had given him a pretzel at the bakery. Today our son is 20 and lives a self-confident and independent life and that's what matters, that's what we prepared him for. That's what I learned that day. From that day on, he walked alone through the streets of Berlin.
Walking to school yourself in germany is absolutely norma. I started walking to school in first grade (age 7) 18 years ago. Same with my nephew (8 years ago). Its safe enough in most parts here and it builds independence from a young age.
One thing I’d like to add to the German school system:
You can change in between the highschools if you want to
It’s just a little paperwork and usually you do it either in summer break or in January/February after the half year where you get a "Zeugnis"
In Finland, first grade school kids take a bus, tram or a train to go to school and back home, ALONE! (if the school is near home, they walk).
I never reflected on the aspect of having an easy access to travel to other european countries but now you mentioned it... It's really common to see a lot of germans on the highway that just drive to Italy, Austria, Czech, France, Denmark (and some more) during the holidays. It was indeed nothing unusual.
So, are you already planning your trip to Germany? 😁 Your reaction on Germany in real life would be really interesting :) I'm from Germany myself btw and I've never been to the US. So many people here complain about so many things and obviously there is a lot of shit going on here as well 😅 But it's always kind of mind opening to appreciate everything that is so normal for us :D Be thankful for what you have guys, there is sooooo much!! 🥰
I‘m from Switzerland and here its the same, when i was a kid i walked around completly freely. I‘d walk to school or i hop on the bike and drove to a friend. Its realy safe here.
It is an interesting point of view from a German to hear that 👍. Thanks for that video 💜
My son has been going to school by bike or tram since 2nd grade (now 5th grade). Every day I suffer from worries, but I have to let go so that he can learn independence and self-confidence.
I am a representative of the opinion that knowledge should have no price and should generally be free. The more people have knowledge the more solutions to problems there are.
1:47 that sounds like "tja", our favourite word 😂 Perfectly used!
When I was a kid, we had an old abandoned park at 100 meters from our house, great for building huts. There were 2 ponds ideal for fishing and ice-skating in the winter. We did build our own soccer field in that abandoned park, by equalizing the ground and using wooden poles for the goals. At Eastern my area in the Netherlands had an old Germanic habit of building a large fire at Eastern to welcome summer. As kid of ~12 to 16 years we did build the large woodpile of 2 to 3 meters high, supplemented with car tires. The police on bike made sure, we did build it on a safe place and not more than 3 meters high. Great period :).
Now that area is used for a college, two schools and the remainder is a small very well maintained park with one pond, less suited for kids more for the elderly.
I think a lot of why I must pay so much taxes , but thank to your channel, I see what we get. Education, healthcare, safety, and a high Standart. If you lost your Job, you can hold your appartement and feed your family. And for every child you get money extra to raise them well. You can travel with them in different countrys in 1 or 5 hours you are in a complet different cultur. My Patents came in the 1950 to germany as orphants with nothing, and now they live a good live. They work hard but you must work hard all around the world to live. But in Germany you get samething back. Thank you for your mindopening channel. Peace🙏
You do get taxed more in Germany, and generally you will also make less money, but you will also pay very different amounts of money for things such as rent, groceries and healthcare.
So because the living costs tend to be lower, you can have a higher standard of living even when you are making less money overall.
Just don't move to big cities like Munich where rent costs a fortune.
I was in sweden 4 years ago and i saw big machinery in a highway doing one lane at a time and the first one heats the road, the second removes a layer,the third pours the asphalt the fourth compacts it and they would do a few miles a day that way. So i think thats a good way to keep the roads good
Hi Ryan,
I answered some of your comments and questions, hope it is useful:
Indiana to Germany depends a bit on the route but it is about 7-9 hours. Best flight is Indy-paris-(germany) in my opinion.
University costs a registration fee of about 80 EUR per semester if I recall right.
As for taxes: Income taxes in Germany are actually lower than in the US (depending on the state). It is the social security payments that make your net income lower than in the US, but you get health insurance, unemployment insurance, state funded pension, accident insurance and care insurance.