What's It Like Living in Germany as an American? 1 Year Review First Impressions
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- Опубликовано: 24 июл 2024
- After 1 year of living in Germany as Americans, we reflect on our first impressions of living in Germany and see whether or not they still hold true after living abroad in Germany for 1 year.
⏩ CHAPTERS
00:00 Intro
0:18 Ugly Buildings
1:11 Bike Infrastructure
1:56 Drinking in Public
2:36 Sundays
3:21 Red Lights
4:08 Recycling
4:56 Green Space
5:34 English
6:09 Meal Times
7:01 Beer
🎵Music: share.epidemicsound.com/2dyu06
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💻 Blog: www.mytravelbf.com
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We are Mike and Becca, two passionate travelers who love traveling deep and experiencing a place through its food, history, and culture.
#germany #expatlife #expat
Wow, the first time i see a video about living in Hannover. Did not expect that :-) My opinion is that Hannover is not a touristy city - but a city worth living in. Not much places where you stand in awe and make photographs, but overall a ton of positive places to just live. Eilenriede, Welfengärten (we grilled there for years every weekend in the summer, not a lot of cities where you can just go outside your house and in the park next to you in five minutes and do that) Herrenhäuser Gärten, Maschsee, a lot of museums, a lot of festivals. And i think it is beautiful as it is. I like to live here very much.
We absolutely agree that it is a wonderful city to live in, but it's not that touristy. Thank you for watching and commenting!
I enjoy that Hannover is your reference point. Most other vloggers live in Bavaria or Berlin. Hannover is much more of a „normal“ German city.
Thank you! You're right that most other vloggers do seem to be located in Berlin and Munich. while we want to visit those areas, it's nice to be able to experience and show other parts of Germany!
Schwäbisch Hall (NALF), Traunstein (the McFalls), Frankfurt (Brit in Germany), Kaiserslautern? (Trail Blazing Peppers), Stuttgart (TreyDaze), Leipzig (OnwardMJ), Passport Two (somewhere in the Pfalz), Grafenwöhr (Our Story to Tell), Freiburg (Black Forest Family) …
@@hape3862 Good point! Thanks for pointing all of these out too! There are so many wonderful places in Germany, from big to small, and it's great to see perople's perspectives on them!
Nordstadt ist Mordstadt (Das war, als ich 1991 dort lebte)
Haha! You just taught me, a native German, a new word: *Fußpils!* That's such a nice example for the beauty of the German language, isn't it? In German, athlete's foot (a fungus infection) means "Fußpilz" (with a "z" in German, literally: "foot fungus"). We have only one word for fungus and mushroom: "Pilz". Some witty German made a new word "Fuß-Pils" for "Pils(-ener) beer to go", which every German understands immediately and must laugh when hearing it the first time due to the instant association with similar sounding athlete's foot.
4:08 Did you know that there are no longer any (as in "zero"!) active landfills for household waste in Germany (and in most EU countries)? There are old landfills from the 20th century that are sealed; their foul gases are captured and used for heating and/or electricity. Then there are landfills for construction waste, but only for bricks, mortar, stone and concrete, because rebar, wood and other materials (plastic, glass, etc.) must first be sorted out and - you guessed it - recycled. Even stones, bricks, mortar and concrete are now recycled in ever-increasing quantities as a substitute for sand and gravel in new concrete.
I'm glad we were able to teach you about fußpils! We actually learned that from a friend in Hannover! As for the recycling, that's such a fascinating statistic! Thanks for commenting and watching!
Komm, lass uns Fußpils(z) holen.
It is nice to have a review on your first impressions. Not many revisit these. Thanks
Thank you! We had fun going back and reviewing what our first impressions of living in Germany were and how they’ve changed!
The traffic light thing is mainly to educate small children to use it savely. And we so used to it we just wait everytime^^
We wait for the light in Germany too! We even noticed that when traveling to other countries we wait too.Thanks for watching!
Trafic lights aren't optional. If you cross the street while it's red you can get punished with a fee (Bußgeld). I just happened to be stopped by police who controlled a certain area where people tend not to care wether it's green or red... so: not just for children but for everyone.
Danke für die Zusammenfassung 😊
Kein Problem! Danke fürs zuschauen!
Super nice to see somebody reviewing from my town, Hannover! And not - as usual - from Bavaria!
Thanks! We love seeing the Bavaria videos too because it's so different from Hannover.
As a former Hannover Citizen i enjoyed the video a lot ;-) BUT: I highly recommend the smaller towns and villages in the region (Region Hannover). For example the village of Rethmar where i come from. To make it even more convincing: we have a castle AND a beergarden/Restaurant :-) It`s beautiful for a daytrip!
We'll have to visit Rethmar! The castle and biergarten sound great, even if we didn't need convincing to visit somewhere new! Thank you!
Well done - Really like your post! Hope you continue to enjoy and explore Germany and Europe!
Thank you very much!
cool that you‘re staying in hannover 👌
Thanks! We really like it here!
Love these videos. Very nice to see an American in Germany living in Hannover (my town) and not berlin, Munich etc.
Thank you! We do love seeing the perspectives of other Americans in Germany living in Berlin, Munich, and other cities too!
The Kiosk is almost entirely a Hannover concept.
My sister visited me when I lived in Hannover and she asked me why people told her to "piss off" when she walked on a red light. I told her that the were saying "pass auf" which means "be careful"! Ha. We still laugh.
That's pretty cool that it's really a Hannvoer concept! They haven't been as popular in other cities we've visited. That's also pretty funny about your sister😂😂😂
Hi! I'm hoping to move to Munich soon. Any tips on how to find a furnished studio in Germany? Any popular sites?
ImmobilienScout24 was our best bet here, but we're not sure if there are other Munich-specific sites. Good luck!
My first posting in the British army was Hildesheim which is as you know just down the road from Hanover.
We just visited Hildesheim last week! It was gorgeous!
Im very glad that i learned english. It helps a lot. Many Germans speak english, too. We do start to learn it pretty early in school. Anyway. Welcome to Germany :D
The level of English is very high in Germany, especially compared to a lot of other countries. The school system must to a good job teaching it! Thanks for watching!
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Thank you very much! We appreciate it!
Hey, let me know where you „grabbed that Fußpils“. I am definitely going to avoid that place … 😂
😂😂😂 It seems you can get one at most kiosks 🍻
You might have just been joking but yeah its called a Wegbier @@MYTravelBF
@@yoda101 Wegbier and Fußpils are both fine and widely understood.
Latest Video of Architektur TV shows a lot of stunning beautiful old architecture still existing in Hanover
There is plenty of beautiful architecture in Hannover. You just have to find it in the neighborhoods. It was just a shock for us seeing the buildings here compared to Madrid where we lived before.
@@MYTravelBF I know Hannover has a bad reputation for the architectural sins done after it`s destruction. I wish you all the best and a great time anyway! The channel I recommended is sometimes painful to watch when you see all the beauty that is lost. But it`s also so much fun to see all the great places all over the country what still exists or was reconstructed.
Are you sure that in Spain is illegal to drink alcool on the streets? Been many times in Spain and never noticed...
There are definitely people who do it in Spain, but it's technically illegal. However, it's usually not enforced too much.
Hannover 🥰
Hannover has been a great place to live this past year!
Living in the area of Hannover for over 50 years, so I am a local. Drinking in public is allowed because this is a free country, well free doesnt mean that its normal to drink in public. No, its quite poor. Hannover is a bit ugly. Go to Braunschweig, just 30min east, very nice. Hannover is cheaper than all other major cities and we northern people are much friendlier than you think :-) Travel travel travel......see the world
We've never been to Braunschweig, but we hope to visit soon! If you every have any other recommendations as a local, please let us know!! Thanks for watching and commenting!
@@MYTravelBF Braunschweig is quite big, give it a try, many shops and old buildings in the centre. Celle (25min east along the B3) is very small, but thats how the old cities were 200 years ago with their half-timbered houses. Niedersachen (our region) is quite flat and unpopulated compared to other parts. Hamburg (170km north) is always worth a visit. Funny, you moved to Hannover and I always like to go somewhere else, going to France several times a year. Europe is great, travel work live anywhere without borders.
@@t.d.5804 Thank you! We’ve loved it here so far!
My man really used Ihme Zentrum as background 😩
It's such an eyesore! I had to! 😂
So interesting, Germans complain about bike infrastructure, as they compare to the Netherlands, not seeing, that we are really good in comparison to many other countries.
Yeah, stopping at red light! Very good, be a good idol!
Yes, even in speaking English, we compare to the Netherlands or Scandinavia, where people speak a really good English, not seeing our other neighbours, that are sometimes less good.
The German bike infrastructure is amazing! It might not be quite like the Netherlands, but it's nothing to be ashamed of. Thanks for watching!
Well, the ihme-Zentrum which you showed in the video is in fact one of the ugliest place in Hannover. 30 years ago it was a place full of live, but a lot went wrong there since than. And now it is what it is: ugly and nearly dead.
As someone who also knows Spain well, you can order _una jarra_ which is bigger than a _caña._
It would be wonderful to see the ihme-Zentrum full of life again! As for the jarras in Spain, we know they can be ordered but they’re as common as cañas
Are you Karl Rock´s Brother?
Nope 😂 I didn't even know who he was until you commented😂
haha im just joking but you Sound and Look simular too him. also as a German hope you enjoy our country!
@@sas8781 Thank you!!
I like how Germans take any - and i mean that: Any! - opportunity to have a 'Fest'. Pop up some tables and benches, have someone do the barbecuing, someone sells useless, but nice tat, and have a party🎉🎉🍻🕺
E Feschtle, as we say here in Baden😂❤
Yes! They have so many 'Fests' all the time! We find they're not always well-advertised, so you have to just find them!
Er macht einfach Review von Deutschland
Ja! Es ist unser Rückblick auf ein Jahr Leben in Deutschland. Danke fürs zuschauen!
Yes, the shops are closed on Sundays is very bad. Thousands of people in Germany are starving or begging for food because shops are closed for a day. Many starving people are waiting for help from the EU...ok, that was fun. Not being able to shop one day a week is it really that bad?
The people who work in the shops shouldn't even be allowed to spend a day with the family? Just spend a day with the family, friends or just sleep in. Just do something for yourself. think about it
It's not bad having them closed on Sundays and is fantastic for the workers! It's just a change in routine based on where we came from and how we grew up. Thanks for watching!
Well, try Hannover Hbf or a gas station for emergency Sunday shopping.
Recycling: As a German who has studied the subject for years, I'm sorry to say that most of the recycling hype is nonsense. It works for paper, glass and biological waste, and more recently for disposable beverage bottles returned to supermarkets. Except for a minimal amount, most of the old plastic is "thermally recycled" (= incinerated) or shipped to East Asia and dumped into the landscape (and then often ends up in the ocean)! So it is best to always throw plastic waste into the normal (=residual waste-) garbage can. It is burned also then, but thereby warmth and electric power are produced as well as the exhaust gases optimally filtered. The bottom line is that Germany is not better than most other countries, but only more mendacious!
Translation by deepl
Thank you for the information! We know Germany's recyling isn't perfect, but it seems better than where we are from in the US where all recycled material (paper, plastic, glass) all get thrown in one bin and mixed together. Plus, there are no pfands there. Thanks for watching!
Not false, not true either. I all depends on how the communal recycling pipeline is set up and what companies operate them. Plastic bottles can be recycled.
There is a LOT wrong with this German's post about recycling. Plastic CAN be sorted and recycled. And is.
@@nyaswed1520 Search for 'recycling luege' and have a look... 🤷
Fußpilz?!😂man...
We had to😂😂😂
. . . I'm drinking rn.
Prost!🍻
Really, not really talking about the economy of the country or your living conditions. Like how much did you pay to buy a home or much is your rent.
I guess your not paying on wages. These are important points. I guess you don't the german economy stalling out or some of the german population having to go to private food shelters to stay alive.
We're not sure we understand your comment, but we are able to live much more comfortably in Germany than in the US, even though inflation doesn't help.
@@MYTravelBF I guess you won't report the growing numbers of german citizens going to private food shelters to stay alive.
I guess you don't see the german economy stalling and falling way below the american economy.
Show us your home that you purchased. Oh, you are unable to afford a home in germany. A german youtuber maybe younger then you call Feli was able to purshase a home in america. Of course she did a video on germany and calling the german population renter's and not home owners.
This my third home in america on the west coast of america. Do you live close to the ocean in germany and enjoying year around warm weather I did most of my life. I'm guess that's a no.
If you cannot speak nor understand German, then, really your impression of Germany or at least of Germans is very limited. I lived there 7 years, and if I ever did a video like this I would focus a lot more on the people that live there.
Thanks for your input! What would your thoughts on the German people be?
@@MYTravelBF if I told you my complete impression of Germans, some of it would violate Community Guidelines, so, I won't start.
@@stevengruenke7120 😂😂😂 I take it you no longer live there
What's It Like Living in Germany as a WHITE American?
Do not skip the MOST crucial about your most important feature based on which you get treated in German society.
Surely our skin color plays a role in how we're treated, there's no denying that. What have your experiences been in Germany? It would be great to get another perspective because not everyone has the same experiences. Thanks for watching!
@@MYTravelBF Germany is basically an Apartheid society. Skin colour plays a role in everything. Starting with immigration system where Germany prefers unskilled (white) middle easterners over skilled migration with fair and well defined point based migration. Left liberal media portrays Germany as utopia simply because of high welfare disbursement. Basically left wing social state masking the arch conservative society, namely near 100% homogeneous corporate world and rampant housing discrimination.
we would rather drink in public than carry guns...
any English speaker can learn German easily if they want, after all both languages belong to the same family..
I'd rather have a 17-year-old with a beer in his hand than a 17-year-old with a gun in his hand.
We absolutely agree with you! The gun culture is one of top reasons we wanted to leave the US.
We totally agree with you! A beer in hand is way better than a gun. Overall safety is much better in Germany than the US.
You asked Germans if they spoke german, really?
Thanks for watching!
I live in Germany. I never met American who returned to USA after living in Germany.
We don't have plans to return to the US, so maybe you've found another one!
@@MYTravelBF Of course you dont, You are not stupid.
sorry but the eilenriede is not the Largest city Forest in europe by a Longshot. Thats a marketing stunt. it doesnt even make the top 38 in Germany. The cutoff sice is 3000 hectar. Eilenriede only has 650. The Heide in Dresden for instance hat 10 time that size. de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dresdner_Heide
de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stadtwald here is the list.
The Eilenriede is in the middle of the city, surrounded by densely populated districts. Dresden Heide just happens to be inside the city limits. It’s urban in name only.
@@TalasDD Hm, by that definition, Manaus surely has the largest city forest on this planet.
@@peter_meyer at 200 sqkm within city limits you might be right.
Thanks for the information! We read that the Eilenriede was the largest urban forest within a city. Others are bigger but not surrounded by city, so it might just be a technicality.
Not much of interest or insight here. So you have lived in Germany a year. They recycle! They drink beer! Whoopdedamndo. Some of us have been here for ten years. This is banal and boring.
We were just reflecting on a video we did when we first arrived in Germany and looking back at our first impressions, not necessarily diving deeper into our thoughts after a year of living here. Maybe that'll be for another video. Thanks for watching!