To Live in Germany or to Live in the US/Canada
I am currently travelling in Europe including Germany, Austria and Italy. I am spending most of my time in Germany (due to being fluent in German). I am living in the North East (Mecklenburg-Vorpommern) as well as the South (Bayern and Baden-Wuerttenberg). This gives me a good average of the entire country in terms of living styles. Having spend 23 years in North America has nearly made me forget how good people in Germany really have it compared to the US and Canada. Where would I rather live?
Germany, of course, hands-down. And here is why.
Smarts – Intelligence – Speed of Mind
The very first thing I noticed is the response time of Germans vs North Americans. Germans are just lightning fast in answering your questions, driving, ringing your items through at the grocery store, making appointments at the dentist, etc. You name it – wherever you look, you see an urgency that North America does not have. Americans are really rather dull and slow. Sounds harsh but it certainly is true. I am waiting 3 times longer in America till I have paid my stuff at the grocery store. I hear kids talking in Germany and from what I can gather a 10 year old child in Germany thinks and talks like a 13 year old in America. I think especially the American/Canadian elementary school system leaves kids slower-minded than they could be. The overall feeling is one of aliveness (if there is such a word) in Germany and slow-poke attitudes in NA (North America). I really appreciate the speed and awareness in Germany – it makes so many thing so much simpler.
Driving Competency
Well, Driving, that is not a new issue. But here the Germans shine. People on the roads know what they doing. The reason might be because you actually have to through rigorous training here before you get your license. And I can also see that the Germans can be trusted to obey the rules of the road whereas North Americans are always a little self-serving. I have yet to drive behind a single slow driver here in Germany whereas in America you hit a selfish slow-poke driver routinely. NA seems to have this non-spoken attitude that everyone should just do as they please on the road (and in other places), no matter what is right and what is wrong. I really appreciate that I can depend on the German people not to take the right-of-way from me or choose to drive 30 km/h in a 50 km/h zone.
Grocery Store Selection and Prices
The average North American has probably no idea of how little selection they have when it comes to Groceries. If you leave out all the imported European Items in a North American Grocery Store, you have a very limited amount of foods left in NA. I can buy 50 types of cheese here in Germany in a regular run-of-the-mill store. How many can you buy in Walmart or Safe-Way in NA? I can tell you what North American cheeses you can buy: Mild Cheddar, Medium Cheddar, Aged Cheddar and then you got your Havarti and Monterrey Jack. That is pretty much it – pretty sad.
But Cheese is just one example. Take sausages or bread or yogurt or wine or beer or water or pop or chocolates. Especially bread is something that you have an endless choices of here in Germany. And I am not talking about toast – actual real bread and buns and prezels. All different shapes and sizes and with different baking methods. All of them delicious.
Why is the North American selection so terrible? And why is nobody saying anything? Do US and Canadian residents like to eat sub-standard things? Is a Kraft Processes Cheese Slice on a toasted White Wonderbread really all that people can think off?
All that being said, I appreciate to have a choices of a wide variety of different, good tasting foods in Germany. I am not looking forward to have to go back to NA, believe me.
Enjoyment of Life (not Work)
North Americans are notorious for working to much – or I should say focusing on work too much. To achieve great things in your own economy does not require to over-focus on work. ‘You work to live’ and ‘you don’t live to work’ is the attitude in Germany. I can see that people here are relaxed and do not think of work after they come home at 3-4pm. People get at least 5 weeks paid vacation and also take the time off. They do not have to pre-work or catch up with the work that accumulated during their time-off. I see that problem in NA all the time. Yes you have 2 weeks paid vacation (2 WHOLE weeks, believe it or not)) but probably have to do some added catch-up work when you get back. I know I have been there.
Germans have hobbies and enjoy a coffee and cake in the afternoon. And the work attitude does not suffer from it. If anything people WANT to do a good job at work because of all the good things their employers give to them. I suffer greatly from the suffocating work-environment in NA. There is a lot of blah-blah-blah and not much efficiency in the company environment in the US or Canada.
A quick example will demonstrate the schedule difference between Germany and NA:
School starts at around 7:30am and ends at around 12:30pm. Many companies work from 6:00am to 2:30pm. and many more companies offer part-time jobs so mothers can be home with their kids around lunch time. As you can see, a smart kid in Germany can have his chores done by 1:30pm (incl. homework). An adult is ready for coffee or tea at 4pm. In NA you have a system that leaves people with no time for anything but eating and sleeping apart from work. When I went to High-School in NA I came home from school at 3:30pm and had my home-work done by 4:30pm if I was fast. Adults generally come home between 5:00-6:00pm leaving only time to buy groceries, cook and have maybe 2 hours of free time in the evening.
The NA lifestyle is a breeding ground for unhappiness that Americans are trying to combat by buying, buying and buying even more things nobody needs. I appreciate the views on how to handle work (and school) in Germany.
Final Thoughts
There are many more things that could be discussed but for now I will leave it at that. Maybe some people in the US or Canada will think about it. The world certainly does not start and end in America or Canada.
Author: Jony Hubert (a Frameless Interior Door lover)