There was quite a bit of discussion on Tuesday after I shared my “what I don’t like about Hessen” post…and apparently I got a lot of people thinking that I absolutely detest living here and should leave as soon as possible.
Let me state for the record that although living over here has certainly had its ups and downs, I am happy living here and there are certainly some great perks to being in Germany. Yes, of course, I get homesick and I don’t know that I’d want to stay in Germany forever…partially because I want Mackenzie to experience other cultures as well. But after 10 years, we’ve certainly become more used to the German way of life.
What’s cool about living in Germany?
- Like they say in Eurotrip, Europe is practically the size of a postage stamp. I mean not literally but visiting various countries over here is a bit like driving to another state in the US. So any time you feel like escaping, you can just hop on a cheap flight to Spain, France, England or anywhere else you like and make a weekend of it.
- There’s a lot of nice day trips outside of Frankfurt…as well as cool places in the city to see and photograph. Palmengarten, Frankfurt Zoo, Opel Zoo and Hessenpark are some of our favorites. The Senckenberg Museum of Natural History is also high on the list after our first trip there last year. And when you drive outside of a city, you are generally in the forest or other types of pure nature within an hours drive. And of course Bavaria is a little slice of heaven!
- Curbside recycling is commonplace in most larger cities and you don’t even pay for pick up of paper, plastics or other packing wastes. Each town usually has a recycling center nearby and they will generally take your items without cost, as long as it’s not something too huge. There are also recycling trashcans at every gas station, airport, shopping center, etc. Special free collection days also exist for old furniture as well as chemicals or old paint, and most cities also have someone you can call to come pick up your old electronics for free.
- It’s really easy to be green here. Aside from the great recycling practices I mentioned earlier, there are all sorts of things in place here in Germany that make it easier to be kind to Mother Earth. They’ve been reusing shopping bags for decades because otherwise you have to pay for a new bag every time you go shopping.
- Stores are closed on Sunday. Yes, that is a real shock to the system at first…but I actually prefer it. After they extended the shopping hours to something normal (most stores are open until 8pm, some even until 10pm), there became no reason that we couldn’t get the shopping done, even while both working full time. Not being able to shop on Sunday is a great feeling because although you might discover you need something, you just can’t do a thing about it. So you learn to plan better as well as take a day exclusively for yourself and/or your family.
- Privatized healthcare is not only affordable but incredibly good. The public healthcare system here is alright…better for the consumer than the doctors. But it has serious faults. After recently switching to a private healthcare, I have to say that the service you receive is far above and beyond any other service you receive, and the costs are extremely reasonable…especially compared to the insanity one encounters for care in the US.
- Germans know how to party. If Oktoberfest, the largest, most popular, two-week long event to celebrate the royal wedding isn’t enough to convince you, go to just about any local Fest and you will also find a bunch of people living it up. Frühschoppen is a huge tradition around these fests, which basically means you get up in the morning and start drinking. I’m pretty sure it’s to curb the hangover you undoubtedly have from drinking late into the night the evening before…
- And their beer is the best in the world. Drinking beer in the US is and will never again be the same. Nothing compares to the hearty, full body beers of Germany — and the fact that every one of them from each brewery (large or small) has their own distinct flavors. Augustiner, Schneider Weisse & Altenmünster are some of our favs.
- Finding quality food is easier, and often local. In the US, it can be a real challenge to find a real butcher who can cut you a slab of beef just the way you want. But in Germany, they are around every corner. Our town of 2000 people has 2 butchers. Sometimes you might have to ask more questions but our small town guy will even give us US cuts if we order in advance…and he grows the cows himself. There are often little farmers’ markets in each city, although that doesn’t always equal organic or local produce — but at least you are supporting your local businesses.
- People are better at living within their own means. So many Americans have a complete dependency on their credit cards and have absolutely no clue how to live on a budget, nor why you’d want to. Germans by nature are very wary of credit debt and many places don’t accept credit cards — or even ATM cards for payments.
You know, it’s the same as anywhere in the world – even Florida. There are always going to be things you grow tired of dealing with (or not having), and there are going to be things that you love and would miss if you left. I keep telling myself that, whenever I feel like I’m going to go crazy if we stay where we are one.more.day. The grass isn’t really greener on the other side – it just looks that way sometimes. 🙂
I love the fact that you can jump from country to country as we can state to state. It doesn’t sound that exciting to say, “We spent the week-end in North Carolina”, like it would if we said, “We spent the week-end in France”. Oh la la! 😉
The grass isn’t greener, the grass isn’t greener, the grass isn’t greener…
I love hearing about what it’s like there. I know my hubs wants to go just to experience Oktoberfest. Being that he’s Swedish/German- the man likes his beer. He’s been to Sweden before we met- so now we need to make the trip to Germany one day.
As an American having lived 7 years in Mainz (working in Eschborn) and, currently, (following a stint in the UK)living in Garmisch-P for the better part of 6 years, I can relate to EVERYTHING on the site here. My personal favourites about Germany are the certainly the health care – have had 2 ops here and the care – even public – has been superb. The schools, while really tough and very stressful for the students (have a 14 year old daughter in Gymnasium) do offer a very broad and detailed educational basis for life. It´s no wonder German kids have so much general knowledge…they´d all do well on Jeopardy! I´m also learning lots which I never learned in high school, (or, admittedly, forgot!) A definite highlight in the MTK area is also the gorgeous Rhine Valley and the super bike paths there – and all the little wine booths along the way. Mainzer Markttag on Saturday is also something fantastic…especially around Spargelzeit. Love the site! Will be here more often!
Well, I’m sold. I’ll be moving in this week 🙂 Seriously, we are hoping to get an assignment in Germany sometime while my husband is in the Army. Fingers crossed!
Oh, thanks for this blog.
Have you been to the Saalburg yet? I’m writing a series of blogs on Pre- and Early Christian sites in Central Europe which I call “The Pagan Travel Guide to Central Europe”. It doesn’t really have anything to do with witchcraft; it focus on pre-Christian historic sites to see. The Saalburg might be a fun place to take your kids to this summer:
http://pagantravelcentraleurope.blogspot.com/2011/03/saalburg-roman-fort-that-survived.html
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I opted to keep public health insurance and augment it with private insurance (the so-called “icing on the cake” policy) because I have chronic asthma, and my husband is diabetic, and we wouldn’t get coverage for private insurance for pre-existing conditions. A German health insurance broker told me years ago:
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“Don’t get just private insurance. They don’t cover your kids; you take out extra policies for each one of them. If one of you loses their job, then you have to pay out of your unemployment funds, because there is no family coverage. Pregnancy is not covered – it’s not a disease. They don’t cover some pre-existing conditions, such as cancer if you are a smoker, or if you contract diabetes and are overweight. Worst of all the public health will never take you back, until you are a Hartz IV recipient. Then you will get stuck with AOK. It’s better to have public health + private extra”
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Since I had asthma at the time he told me this (in 1994), I took his word for it, and opted for public + very small private extra package, which is how it used to be here in the 1980’s on public.
Oh, I really agree with what you’ve said here–and I also relate to the things you mentioned in your other post that you don’t like! For us, it can be additionally difficult because none of us are German; we have no roots here and don’t know enough of the language. Anyway, I just wanted you to know that I understand your feelings! I have lived overseas for almost nine years (six of those in Japan), and I have come to realize that it is normal and okay to have longings for “home,” even if you’re basically happy with the place you’re currently living.
Thanks for your words of support. My husband actually lived in Japan for several years when he was 10-12ish…he really loved it there.
I think what is hard for us that both my husband and I feel like expats here. Yes, he lived here as a child, but he spent his teens in the US. And he already spoke the language but it was still pretty much a foreign country to him. At this point I think we don’t really know where “home” is. We have roots in the US and some here as well — but sometimes we think maybe we should just move onto a boat and drift for a while. 😉
I lived in germany 16 years ago when store closed at 6 – adn weren’t open on Sunday!
I totally get it! a hearty AMEN to your list!
Blessings
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