Is Germany A Good Place to Live? An American Perspective

Wondering if you should move to Germany but feeling unsure? Check out this post that answers “Is Germany a good place to live?”.

As someone who lived in Germany for a whole year as an Au pair, I have a lot I can say about this topic. Germany is practically the only country I’ve lived in for the longest period of time and because of that I will say I miss it all so much everyday. But of course, like any other country, living there is not just sunshine and rainbows. In fact, realistically, I would say there are as much pros to living in Germany as there are cons.

So, if you’re looking to read an American perspective of the pros and cons to living in Germany, you’ve come to the right place. This post alone highlights what the pros and cons are to living in Germany as an American and how they affected me personally.

Pros to Living in Germany as an American

Here are some pros to living in Germany as an American! The pros listed include but are not limited to the following topics:

Cost of Living (is germany a good place to live)

When it comes to the cost of living in Germany in comparison to America, Germany is relatively lower than America’s. In fact, I didn’t notice this until I went to the supermarket for the first time since I came back to America and looked at the receipt. I was shocked at the total amount I had paid for just 5 food items, knowing very well that the total amount would have been 50% off if I had bought those items in Germany.

So, as a pro, living in Germany as an American can be great since you’re getting more bang for your buck. This however not only pertains to food but also to childcare, housing, and public transportation.

Work-Life Balance (is germany a good place to live)

Another pro that comes to mind when you live in Germany as an American is the work-life balance in comparison to the States. Germany typically has a better vacation policy when it comes to its employees, making it a better country to work in if you look at the days of leave. For example, in Germany, employees on average get at least 20 paid vacation days a year as well as paid public holidays whereas Americans just get an average of 11 paid vacation days a year.

In fact, even Germans themselves are aware of how generous their vacation days are to the point where they take advantage of all of them to the fullest. So, by this pro, not only does this make Germany a good place to live but also a great place to work.

Great Travel Hub (is germany a good place to live)

Another pro that comes to mind when you live in Germany as an American is the fact that Germany is a great country to travel from if you’re planning to explore the entire continent of Europe. For example, when I was in Germany, I got to visit Luxembourg, Switzerland, and Austria all with the Deutschland ticket. The Deutschland ticket is a ticket you can buy in Germany that lets you use the public transportation all around the country including the regional trains for 49 euros. However, what many people don’t know is that sometimes you can use regional train transport in Germany to travel to other nearby countries for free.

This was definitely a highlight for me during my stay in Germany since I didn’t need to spend as much unnecessary money on train tickets like people in the States. As a result, I got to see even more of Europe than I expected which made my stay in Germany even more worthwhile.

Healthcare (is germany a good place to live)

Another pro that comes to mind when you live in Germany as an American is how cheap the healthcare is in comparison to the States. For example, when I was in Germany, I had to go to the emergency room because I sliced my finger on an electric bread slicer. It was pretty traumatic, but of course going to the emergency room in another foreign country can be another trauma of itself.

They treated the wound with great care as soon as I arrived and they wrapped in a dressing. Afterwards, I was told I was going to receive the bill in a few days in the mail and to my surprise I received the following:

For clarification, the total amount I had to pay for my entire bill to the emergency room was 84 euros and 21 cents. I paid for it since I had private insurance and the insurance company refunded me. But, even if I didn’t have insurance, this bill is so CHEAP! I mean if you compare it to the average emergency bill in America, the U.S. can charge you anywhere between $2,400 to $2,600 for a visit.

So again, this is definitely a plus if you’re trying to figure out if Germany is a good place to live. With or without insurance, I believe the average American will be okay especially since Germany’s healthcare system isn’t trying to put people in debt.

Cons to Living in Germany as an American

Here are some cons to living in Germany as an American! The cons listed include but are not limited to the following topics:

The Language (is germany a good place to live)

When it comes to living in Germany, the language is always a con for very foreigner who chooses to reside there. I unfortunately had to learn A1 German so that I could get my visa but the learning didn’t stop there. In fact, as an Au pair in Germany, I made sure to download as many language apps as I could so that I could perfect German language skills. However, unlike Italian, there were a lot of unusual things about German that I had to learn.

For example, German is the first language I’ve studied where I had to memorize a case system to form grammatical sentences and phrases. The cases I know so far are the nominative, accusative and dative but it’s really easy to forget which one I’m supposed to use in certain cases.

So, if you’re not good at learning languages, learning German will definitely be a downside for you. You’ll struggle to fully integrate into the culture without the language which can be very isolating.

Cold and Unfriendly Culture (is germany a good place to live)

Another con to living in Germany is the cold and unfriendly culture Germans portray to foreigners. I for one have a lot to say about this since I lived with 3 German host families in the matter of a year.

From my experience, I definitely felt the coldness from my first host family upfront since the mom appeared to be very emotionally unavailable. It was hard to approach her about my feelings occasionally and whenever I did try to get close to her, it felt like she had a wall up. My second family were also unfriendly in their own way especially when I look back at what happened when I sliced off my fingertip (a story for later). The mom was so angry when I told her I didn’t want to use the bread slicer again and she and her husband didn’t even bother to take me to the emergency room.

Lastly, with my third family, I got the most unfriendliness/rudeness from the dad. He would ask me the most asinine questions at the dining table to the point where I decided to just stop eating with them at all.

So, if you’re coming from a country that’s generally friendly and outgoing, Germany will surprise you. The cold and unfriendly culture is something you’d have to get used to which will be an adjustment at first.

Air-Conditioning

Another con to living in Germany is the lack of air-conditioning that’s available during the summer. I unfortunately did have to suffer through this as an Au pair in Germany and it was not fun. In fact, I remember having to go through so many humid nights in Germany as I tried to sleep with the windows open in my room. My host family at the time had no fan I could use during the day so the windows were my only source of ventilation at night.

So, as you can expect, I was very sweaty. Therefore, if you’re trying to decide if Germany is a good place to live, keep the lack of air conditioning in mind. Living there means you’ll have to get used to sweaty summers when you’re out and about as well as the lack of air-conditioning in homes and buildings.

Poor Customer Service

Another con to living in Germany in comparison to America is the poor customer service Germany offers to its consumers. For example, when my host mom was trying to buy a SIM card for me through Vodafone, we were having trouble using it after we picked it up from the store. My host mom decided to call customer service to figure out how to fix it and it literally became a game of phone tag.

First, they would tell us to turn the phone off and try inserting the SIM again and then hang up but that didn’t work. My host mom would have to call them back again on another day and then again they would proceed to tell us that “it should be working now” and hang up. It wasn’t until I asked her to try an insert the SIM card into her own phone that she realized the SIM wasn’t even activated at all. So, when she called them again a third time, a customer service representative finally activated the SIM over the phone.

But, if I’m being honest, if this happened in America, all of this would have been resolved in one phone call. In fact, it’s typically not customary for the customer service representative to hang up before the issue has been resolved so that just says a lot about Germany.

Sundays

Lastly, another con to living in Germany as an American is the fact that Sundays are literally days where Germany becomes a ghost-town.

Like seriously…

On Sundays, pretty much all the supermarkets are closed as well as any malls for leisure shopping which can be hard to plan ahead for if you’re used to stores being open 7 days a week like in America.

In fact, I would even say it makes shopping on Saturday even worse because everyone knows they won’t have a chance to buy things again until the next two days. This leaves most shops and supermarkets crowded during the day with less items for one to choose from to purchase. So, if you’re trying to figure out if Germany is a good place to live, this is also something you need to consider. Some people work around this by doing their grocery shopping online for example or by having someone else like an Au pair do it for them.

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Overall, I really hope you enjoyed this post that answers “Is Germany A Good Place to Live? from an American perspective. Please let me know in the comments down below one thing that surprised you the most about living in Germany. I would love to hear from you! 🙂

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