Thank you! germans tend to complain about everything on a very high level 😴 Like "Yeh we have bike lines but not as good as in the NETHERLANDS!" We simply don't know how good we have it because many don't get out much, except for holidays. I have lived abroad and believed for years that Germany is boring and awful until I learned how things are done - or not done - elsewhere. Now I appreciate my home and know how lucky I am. So I love your insights especially since you come from a country that does have many awesome aspects. It's just not very safe...
You know whats ironic about the "we don't know how good we got it because we don't go out much, except for holidays"? Theoretically, going on holidays should make one more aware of the good things of your own country. Especially if you go abroad.
Well, yes and no. I lived abroad as well and experienced a different way of appreciation what you have. And for some things I agree with you but just because the current status is okay and worse in other countries, it doesn't mean that it has to stand still and we have to get used to it. The bike lanes aren't that nice everywhere. And I am bored of comparing a bad or average situation downwards. "Yes, but in XYZ it's way worse." - yes, maybe but in other places it's better and compared to street quality for cars bike lanes are way worse. And why not looking at places where things work out better than at home? That's what travelling should teach us as well, take the beneficial habits of others and make them your own. Cultural exchange...
You are right, but ... we must be able to look for the better. Otherwise we become national believers who think that we are the best in the world and every critical idea is anti-German and must be fought. That´s what happens in the US. If you say sth. critical many people tell you that you are not a patriot and call you a Communist etc. That´s one of the reasons why there is no positive progress in the US.
We have bike road at the side of the main roads, connecting villages, not on the side roads. But I always notice when cars and bikes mix, the drivers are attentive and careful. Because today he is a driver, tomorrow he might be on the bike. So we all know what it is like.
The WINE! Over two tours - about 8 years - I was stationed near the Mosel Valley. Always about an hours train ride to a truly large city. But in every little town I lived in there was someone's Oma or Opa who would sell a bottle of wine through a tiny door cut into a side door of their home... Oh! The best table wines ever... and only for 2 or 3 DM ($1.50 - $2.00 back then). And if I returned 4 bottles I was rewarded with another bottle of wine. I can't wait to visit again with some of my old friends!
@@HayleyAlexis I always have the "problem" in the USA (when I get a warm meal in the evening) to find a little snack in the noon. In Germany I would go to a bakery and buy a belegtes Brötchen or a Crossaint- the smallest thing you get in the USA as a snack is a Burger with fries... 😉The best solution still is to go to the supermarket and to buy a bag with bagels, they always help against the "little hunger".
I agree with the previous post. As a German who has lived abroad for 37 years and visits the family several times a year I truly appreciate and miss things about the German way of life: The bread, the choice of everything in the bakeries and cafés! The German love for the outdoors, the walking, the cycling, the ways Germans value their free time and holidays rather than living life in a mad rush and doing side hustles. The way they linger in cafés, beer gardens and restaurants for hours and give the small tips they choose, because waiters earn a wage already. Cheaper shopping, cheaper DIY supplies. Child friendliness. Belgium is also a lovely place to live, but so expensive, so much more rushed. Well I unrushed myself and live more like a German now. As much as I love my job, I love my unpaid days of and 3 months of vacation even more. I indulge in my hobbies, languages, DIY, travelling, supporting less fortunate people, hosting people, inviting friends and assuming that I will give them 4 or 5 hours of my time as I make no other plans on that day!
As i followed you since you moved to germany i can clearly see how you personally evolved and became really confident. So, when you're back in the US, do you get any response about that from your family and friends there?
I was in Germany last year. I definitely agree with you about the wine. We could get an excellent glass of wine for next to nothing compared to the US.
I miss the same things about Ukraine after living in the USA for 7 months. It's so frustrating when you walk alone on the street and everyone is suspicious about you because there are only privately owned houses there. And on top of that the sidewalk suddenly ends as you describe and you have no choice but to turn around and go back the same way 😂😂 also, where is tasty bread? The only decent bread I found is in Ralphs, but they only have a white one. Even though the US has a lot of good things, I feel nostalgic every single day and don't plan to stay in this country forever.
I know this sounds like a rather complicated thing but why don't you bake your own bread? It is not that difficult once you got a hang of it and it must feel very refreshing to have a nice fresh bread every once in a while :)
Btw. We haven't had checks in Denmark for the last 15 years. I received one after checks was out and it was crazy expensive so I called up the person and had them do a transfer instead but he was old and one of those types who never really understood digital living.
@@pietg.6249 in the section where she talks about bicycle lanes she mentions EUROPEAN bicycle lanes several times, not only German ones. Last time I checked Denmark and the Netherlands were part of that continent. If you only compare yourself to those who are worse than you, you‘re never gonna grow. That’s exactly why there’s barely any progress in the US.
In my city in the US there are only bike lanes in certain areas like downtown and they're in the street unlike how they're basically part of the sidewalk in Germany. I could definitely recommend Germany to bike riders but I am not one myself.
Haha I love how Wild you are about your cappuccino 😆 but totally relatable. Can't Imagine how people survive in the USA with those crazy prices. Great Video 👏
The Money Transfersystem you are referring to is called 'SEPA'. What i also Like about this: it is more of a 'prepaid' Version of Banking. You can only spend the Money you actually have. With Credit Cards you can spent all AND BEYOND of your monthly paycheck even before you got paid. Its right in the Name 'credit'. You only can make debts with a German Giro Card when you Set Up a 'Dispo (Dispositionskredit)' If you need to. But you can disable it or Set another Limit with a Bank employer.
I am 55 and havn´t ever seen - let alone written - a check in continental Europe. only when I worked in Ireland for a couple of months back in 2001 did I get a paycheck! my dad told me that they did away with literal paychecks in the early 60s...
Where I grew up and live in America everything is far from my home. There is 0 public transportation 0 taxi service 0 sidewalks bike lanes etc etc. So when I stayed in Germany and traveled Europe that is 1 of the main things I have missed so much is being able to walk or take public transportation to almost ANYWHERE even to the tops of some mountains or the base of them or to lakes parks etc. I was so much happier and healthier there. In usa I never leave the house bc I dont have the financial ability to take our very old unreliable car anywhere. I mean yeah I live on a dead end street in a quite little neighborhood and can walk but its on our road with no sidewalks and it gets boring walking in the same place you've lived your entire life would be nice to have access to parks and other things by walking. I miss being able to go to the city center like Konstablerwache and shop at the farmers market to get fresh produce and meats cheese and milk with healthy foods that are organic and you can trust. I really hope soon that I am able to shift somewhere in Europe preferably Germany as I LOVE it so much but also as I know Switzerland is much harder to get into and afford things but if I could choose anywhere Switzerland is top its just so freaking breathtakingly gorgeous and clean but at this point i'll take anywhere that has all the things I mentioned above in Europe thats got cool weather I probably wouldn't fair well with the Mediterranean heat lol
I sorely miss German bike lanes too after living there for many years. I still ride my bike here in Sydney although I’m often on a busy main road with cars whizzing past. I’m studying to be an urban planner now so hopefully……..
Very true. I can attest to all of what you said. Fun fact: I still had some traveller's cheques from American Express (denoted in US dollars). Imagine the effort to find a bank in the US that would accept them and give me cash! Another fun I had with money last year: I lost my credit card on my trip in the US. So I called Visa and had it cancelled. That was the easy part. But then I had no money (disregard the traveller's cheques) and asked for emergency cash. They promised to send it to a Western Union outfit. Now then the fun began. Find a store like Walgreens. But they couldn't do it because the sum was too large. Then I found a Walmart who was willing to supply cash. But customer service had to rummage through their instructions to get to know how to do it. It took me over two hours until they finally handed the money over.
Because of an exchange study I live in Iceland right now. Iceland always presents itself as a green country to the outside, but in all honesty: Regarding cars it's definetely not. They are more European when it comes to almost everything, but when it comes to cars, they are so Americanized. The big wide "American" streets with bad (and always late) public transport is one thing, but in many places here in Reykjavik there isn't even a sidewalk. I really miss the more pedestrian focused society and trains, but also the fact that you can go into a different country easily (which is obviously not true for Iceland).
Couple years ago I sawan American on a forum ask if someone had a certain vinyl disk. I actually had that and didn't need it - but the sale (I would have been OK with him just paying for shipping...) never happened because there was no way of paying for it useful for both of us.
I agree with you Hayley, in Germany you can eat very well even in smaller towns. International al cuisine is often offered , whether Italian, Greek, Chinese, German , etc. The food is usually of good quality and is not too expensive, unless you go to eat in star restaurant.☺💞
Ok, let's talk about the one of two things the Netherlands have that are better than the german counterpart: Weed and bike-lanes.🤣 Everything else....well, you know it. 😁
den ersten, letzten und einizgen scheck, den ich jemals in meinem leben ausgefüllt hab, war, als pierre brice das letzte mal als winnetou im schatz im silbersee in bad segeberg zu sehen war...... au weia! 🙂
That was interesting about the pace of life. I'm English but moved to a sparsely populated region of Scotland in 1997. I was glad to get away from the rat-race, traffic jams etc. At one point I looked at moving to Germany but realised it would be too much like England as it also has a high population density. I now live in a sparsely populated region of Croatia and that suits me fine.
Ich habe genau einen Scheck ausgestellt... Da war ich noch Azubi, die Banken hatten noch unmögliche Öffnungszeiten, Azubis hatten ein sehr enges Limit am Automaten (50DM in der Woche) und da ich gerade zu Hause ausgezogen war, brauchte ich noch eine Menge an Kleinsch****, den ein Haushalt nun mal so braucht.
@@jennyh4025 ich weiss noch bis Ende 80er gab's ein Heft Bankschecks. Damit in der Handtasche bin ich Shoppen gewesen. Diese American Bank Schecks gab's länger, für Urlaube nicht Europäisches Ausland. Musste man sich vorher bei der Bank bestellen
haha the money transfer thing! when i had to open a bank account in london in 2009, they gave me a check book. i asked what that is (bc i have never seen one before) and they proudly explained that this was a check book. i asked what i would need that for and they explained to me how to write a check, not with a little shock in their eyes. i never wrote a check there haha. but transferring money was insanely exhausting. i had to transfer my rent to russia every month and it was an afternoon´s activity. every month! back then i was already used to my online banking which we even back then already had for quite a while back in austria. i wasn´t used to being forced to go to the bank to do a transfer. in beijing in 2013, same game. check book and a little thing that looked like a calculator which you needed to do bank transfers. back in austria no one would believe me that the money transfer system would be so medieval over there. it´s really funny to learn that in the us it´s the same. they all think that they are so ahead of everyone else but in fact they are really not haha
It's been at least 2 decades since I had cheques (Austria). I've seen it in France some years ago where people paid by cheque in a supermarket and even at a fast food stall. The banking system is very similar all around Europe. Inside the EURO zone it is especially easy to transfer money.
So nice to see you again! I haven’t received notifications from you channel lately… Groceries here in South Florida (and everything in general) are indeed getting more expensive quickly, particularly compared to countries like Germany. Looking k forward to the big announcement you will make about why you are coming so frequently to the US 😃 Wishing you all the very very best in whatever you decide to do next!
Maybe you could describe US in one word - fast - ? If you are moving around physically and mentally so fast, you have less time for yourself and others as well as missing so much as you fly passed. Also, try butter churning its a relaxing traditional activity that accomplishes so much, don't dismiss the traditional activities as old hat, they still have a great deal of value in today's world. You know baking a cake always tastes better than one you buy in the shops.
In Germany we have checks, but they are so rare, that even my banker, in a bigger city (130k people lives here) see them maybe once a year. Checks are really old and it's super awkward that it is still used...
Hi Haley, happy easter! I've got a question for you: are there any german celebrities you like? I would love to hear about your perspective on celebrities and how they're seen in germany vs the united states. bye!
Hmmmm good question... I think for me since I did not grow up in Germany and many of the "German celebrities" that normal every day Germans know/love aren't that "interesting" to me. Which might sound a little harsh but I am also a person that doesn't get too starstruck- even with American celebrities.... I have seen a few German celebrities on the street before and I will probably give a long glance/stare but I try to leave people alone for the most part. It is however very interesting for me that I have seen more German celebrities walking around in Germany than American celebrities walking around the USA (I know it is bigger).
@@HayleyAlexis Interesting! I've seen, for example, kai pflaume several times in munich before but I do leave celebrities alone aswell, the deserve their privacy and off-time. I think worshipping celebrities is ridicolous for the most part and am under the impression that it's a bit more relaxed with german celebrities. thanks for sharing
... screw health care & education... just hand me an affordable, decent cappucino, yaw! 😄 I remember my stay in San Francisco in Jan. 1997. I had been there for a business trip to host our booth at the local Apple fair and an additional week of holidays after that. It was all nice (Golden Gate Park, museums, Red Woods, night life at underground clubs, etc.), but the lack of decent coffee was just hellish to me! 😅 The coffee offered at the average breakfast restaurant was literally a daily killing attempt! Even Starbucks' coffee was more like an insult (price wise) on top of the harm.
In Denmark we dont have checks any more. And hardly any cash. If I want to send my neighbor some money, I just use my app on the phone. And I dont normally carry any cash now. All transactions are on the phone or credit card. If for some reason I happen to pay with cash, I get a sneaky smile that says: "Oh, some undeclared work?" As for the bikes, most bikes sold in Denmark now are electric. Yes, electric. And the health benefits of biking are still almost as good as on a normal bike. It saves a lot of people from buying the second car.
Very interesting! I have received a check only once in 2014. The GEZ forced me to pay, although I could prove that I was exempt as a student and that I sent the application for exemption of fees by registered mail. The GEZ apologized in a letter and sent me a check. I couldn't cash it at my place of study because I had to go the Sparkasse where my account was and then it took five days to transfer the money. 😂
I had to deposit a check in Vienna once and every single bank worker came to look at the check because most had never seen one. And then the worker had to call the main branch to confirm how to deposit it.
I think that a lot of stress you might feel in the US is coming from driving. You lose time by driving from home to work, ´cause it doesn´t count as work time. And when you want to chill from work you can´t do it where you are, you have to drive there. And with every mile you go, you are further away from work and home. That means you have to drive from chill time back to work or back home and all the driving time - what is a stress time - doesn´t count as home time, work time, and can´t count as chill time. That´s one big point what makes the life in the US more stressful than in Europe, where the ways are shorter and you have a payable and working public transportation system. The other thing is sex! The lack of a good sex education leads to an unsatisfied sex life without fun and without relaxation. There´s not enough time for me to write down all my ideas to this topic ( and some things are not allowed on yt 😇). Thanks for your channel; I learned a lot of the US and its citizens.
Haley, just loved the video, thanks.....what a development during the years.... ruclips.net/video/lkC2uzFtViw/видео.html appreciate very much what you're doing especially cause you have the ability to change perspectives.....Man könnte fast sagen, Du hast schon fast zuuu viele typisch deutsche Eigenschaften, hehe....love it 🙂
I'm a little confused about the banking thing lol. Most banks in the US use Zelle now or have a different P2P ACH transfer system. Wire transfers tend to cost a fee in the US ranging from like 20-50 bucks depending on if it's domestic or international. But yeah a lot of places only take checks or money orders still when it comes to "serious" payments like tuition. ALso my city is pretty much completely walkable but yeah there are a lot of sketchy areas and the sidewalk does sometimes disappear but that is not the case for the overwhelming majority of streets.
Zelle is pretty safe but it is still a 3rd party app that has it's flaws (once you send the money you can't cancel it). The issue I have is that wire trasnfer (like you stated) is way too expensive- it should not be that expensive to do a simple wire transfer.
@@HayleyAlexis Gotcha. My bank actually doesn't even use zelle. I can send money by pretty much texting it over through my banking site and I assume the recipient receives a link leading to a site where they enter their banking info and they get the money. I don't really know why that is free but wire transfers have to cost so much when it seems like the same process at the end of the day. It's probably technically not the same but still lol money is getting moved at the end of the day.
I feel like your tips for dating American girls would be a lot more pragmatic these days - you lure them with good city planning, you keep them with great coffee. 😜
Ok about bike lanes, in Slovenia we have them, but they suck. As for checks, I have never used a check or received it in my 38 years, I had to ask my mother about that and she said the last time she used checks was around 1998, and after that they just weren't used because they went the way of the dinosaur.
As the "LebenUSA" channel said about food: In Germany you can go to any restaurant in a city you don't know. The food will, usually, be fine, and you won't get sick from it. USA: Nope, you don't go to a food stall randomly in a city you don't know, it is not good for your health.
I have to agree and disagree.... I have found some of the most delicious restaurants in the USA by randomly walking into a small shack on the side of the road in the middle of nowhere :) It honestly depends
Maybe in smaller cities.. In New York we as a group of students from Germany always went to restaurants spontaneously (except for one we planned and looked for ahead) We were fine. 😉
@@HayleyAlexis I hey! Happy Birthday to you! Hab einen schönen Geburtstag! Und das an einem Feiertag! Du bist ein Glückskeks! Liebe Grüße aus Hamburg nach München! Ben❤🎉
I received a cheque for the first time in years recently. A refund from an insurance company going bust. I didn't even know they still existed lol. Luckily I could scan it in over the bank app
Hi hayley, I am always curios about how Germans are seen when they visit or live in the US? And how or with what you can offened americans? Because we always hear These Things in regards of Germans so it would be cool to hear . Perhaps eine Idee for next Video 🙂
Haley I really love your videos I can’t tell you how important they are for people in America to hear. American’s quality of life can be greatly improved with some small simple changes. Keep doing what you’re doing.❤ I think our country can do better in taking care of its citizens.
Not sure what you meant by Germany being so behind in banking. Fancy apps like paypal are not needed here because you can make a wire transfer (Überweisung) to anybody as long as you know the recipients bank and account number. Also automatic withdrawals to pay utilities and rent are the norm. No need here to fill out cheques at the end of each month.
The hoops I had to jump through to be able to open a bank account was RIDICULOUS (Mike as well so it isn't just a foreigner issue). This was also within the last 3 years so it is relatively new. The amount of paperwork that you have to fill out and the apps you have to use to be able to sign-in/log in is abundant.
@@HayleyAlexis The inconvenience of online banking login and transaction confirmation is due to the Payment Services Directive of the European Union, introduced in 2018, which requires Multi-factor Authentication. So this is implemented not only in Germany but in all EU countries. I also do not like this complex new system.
African American male here...I have always hated how car centric America is...I believe we could benefit immensely from mass transit, more bike trails and lanes and so on; people here act like they own the road and have no problem almost hitting a bike rider or pedestrian. That needs to change.
It was quite pleasureful to walk through San Francisco. New York was quite nie too. However there are already quite deserted quarters. San Diego was not very pleasing to walk through. Without car you are lost. You are so cute and charming, Haley. I'd love to be your neighbour.
The banking system in the US is outdated. Even Germany's banking is compared to Switzerland of yesterdays. In Switzerland there is an QR code on your bill, you scan it and transfer the information to your bank's page. No typing, no hustle... Payment made under 20 second. The last time I used a cheque was in the early 90s.
@@HayleyAlexis One of the good reasons to learn a second language that has a substantial following, elsewhere in the world. If all you speak is English, you're stuck making due with what you can find in the US. To be honest, you can probably also find options in Canada, Dominica, Jamaica and such, but most Americans don't, and the fact is that, across the _rest_ of the English-speaking world, affordable rent and mortgage is _much_ easier to find, but this is an options most Americans are subconsciously conditioned to rule out. The world ends at our border as far as we're concerned. The rest of the world is where we send our troops or where we sometimes accept _immigrants_ from. But if you develop full fluency in German, this opens up the option to live in Germany or Austria which is, all other factors being equal, much more _affordable._ I would say Switzerland, but I'm given to understand that _Swiss_ German is different enough from _German_ German that Schwarzenegger, fluent in both, gets credit for fluency in two different languages. And if you develop fluency in Spanish, this opens up the whole of the _Spanish-speaking_ world. And if you want affordable places to live, they're _much_ easier to find, there.
The alligators 😭 I imagine riding my bike just enjoying the weather and then out of nowhere There’s a dinosaur on the bike lane 🤣 how am I supposed to deal with that ? 😭 a emergency helicopter ? Hermès leather storage? 😅 ( just kidding) but I would probably ride into one of the canals next to the bike lanes 🤣 you know the canals that are full of pythons 🐍
All too many years ago I had an American girlfriend. She told med that she was twenty years old befor she realized that you could buy the ingredients for a cake and make it from scratch.
You talk about cheap shopping and Cappucino in Germany - and now immagine: you live in the freaking Munich area! Even in the same state, up around Hof and Selb you already pay way less for stuff in restaurants ... simply because it's not Munich, Stuttgart or Düsseldorf or any of these cities that are so incredibly expensive. (just tu underline the cheapness of stuff - which is even cheaper than your day-to-day experience).
I am always a little bit shocked how high the price discrepancy is ... I live in Berchtesgaden, a very touristy area with nearly munich prices, and like 30 km away in the Bavarian countryside or Traunstein, a small city ...
Es freut mich, dass Du dich in Deutschland so wohl fühlst, dass Du es sogar vermisst, wenn Du in Florida bist. Du hast wieder einmal diese schreckliche Oma-Bluse an. 😂😂😂 (nicht böse gemeint)
Missing the bike lanes in Germany. To me that is utterly ridiculous because it isn't very good. But I'll grant you this caveat: The USA is atrocious with regards to bicycle infrastructure. That said, a few inroads are being made in Germany, in particular Rheinland-Pfalz, Ostfriesland, basically the places bordering the Netherlands.
It probably depends what you compare German bike lanes to. There are countries where things are far better (for example, probably in the Netherlands), no others where things are a bit, or fare, worse, than in Germany.
@@lilg2300 Well, it depends where you normally ride, doesn't it? Normally I ride in Noord-Brabant, NL. Though I rode in Paris in the last few weeks and it was a way better than what I had to content with in Düsseldorf, Bonn and Köln...
bike lines exist in germany. come to Atlanta. I live in gwinnett county, the most populous county in georgia, we do not even have sidewalks..... i can't walk to my grocery store 800m away. trying to ride a bicycle is a life and death kind of situation. I grew up in Schweinfurt. we had bike lanes everywhere back in the 70s. Still there. you can ride along the Main river without any issues. miles and miles....
Did you see or experienced the bike infrastructure in The Netherlands? Greetings from your neighbour in the west. Give back our grandfathers bicycles please? (sorry. old Dutch joke)
In ancient times (pre-computer) there where little blue pieces of paper that you get from your bank and you could fill them out and sign them and then they where something like borrower's note that will be paid by your bank. In Europe called Euro-Cheque (EC) and the analoge version of paying with debit card. But in Europe this "stone-age" payment system isn't in use since decades. Only some really-really-behind countries use them today.
@@dirkspatz3692 They still exist in France 🙈 I'm pretty sure we are the last dinosaurs in Europe who use them 😅 They are not accepted in a lot of stores anymore though, but it's still quite a common way to pay.
I'm from Denmark and I haven't seen a check in 20 years! America is now a fundamentally broken and a 3rd world country. Also, if you think inflation is high in South Florida right now then I have bad news for you. Nixon took America off the gold standard and now, because America weaponized the petrodollar, the rest of the world is agreeing to use their own currency to trade oil and goods. This means America is facing economic collapse because the dollar will have little to no value in this world in the future.
Unless you are from one of the developing countries,including Mexico and many other south american countries,America is a great country to have around to protect the world from the predator countries of the world like China and Russia...but to live there,I would not..
A Cappuccino for only 2 to 3 € ? Not around here (any small town about 50 km south of Stuttgart), if you don’t want one in a paper cup from the vending machine at Lidl or a gas station. You’re lucky if you can find one for less than 3.50 € at any Café or Restaurant. As regards checks, how archaic. I haven’t written any checks since leaving the US. In fact we still have those cute “Covid” checks which former Pres. Trump “issued” and then one since President Biden took office, couldn’t cash or deposit them here (a check by the Federal Reserve Bank, no account number, no Bank Code, no Swift Code, nothing with which my local Volksbank could deal with), of course they’ve become invalid after a year. But then, I never asked for that money from the States and find it utterly senseless that they were issued to all expats making below a certain threshold - after all they were meant to benefit the US economy, I believe, but in the case of expats this money (provided one could cash or deposit it) benefits another country, not the USA.
I really thought No. 1 would be customer service, this time. 🤥😅 Well, you can still fax a cheque in germany!! 🤷 🤣🤣 Think you can compair the speed of life in US and EU with a journey!😳 Yep, a journey by plane and a journey by train or car: You are faster and fly / moving higher, but everything gets more and more blurred the faster you go and you can hardly see the details and simple things anymore. To get up there it's necessary to lost grip, but also very easy to tumble and get lost. And you know things and places from different continents, but don't know the nearbys just around the corner. And sometimes not even yourself... Happy "Egg-fest" mit Rüblikuchen und Flüssigei 😉(Eierlikör)! 🍰🫗😋 So pros and cons in both....
@@HayleyAlexis I think mostly it's a question of expectations and what you're used to. But I don't want to get you started on that topic. 😊 But ... Fun fact: Sometimes being handled rude or inconsiderate is even *part of the experience* - examples that come to my mind are "Kneipen" in Düsseldorf (especially Altstadt) or visiting a "Kaffeehaus" in vienna. 😅
Thank you! germans tend to complain about everything on a very high level 😴 Like "Yeh we have bike lines but not as good as in the NETHERLANDS!" We simply don't know how good we have it because many don't get out much, except for holidays. I have lived abroad and believed for years that Germany is boring and awful until I learned how things are done - or not done - elsewhere. Now I appreciate my home and know how lucky I am. So I love your insights especially since you come from a country that does have many awesome aspects. It's just not very safe...
You know whats ironic about the "we don't know how good we got it because we don't go out much, except for holidays"?
Theoretically, going on holidays should make one more aware of the good things of your own country. Especially if you go abroad.
Well, yes and no. I lived abroad as well and experienced a different way of appreciation what you have. And for some things I agree with you but just because the current status is okay and worse in other countries, it doesn't mean that it has to stand still and we have to get used to it. The bike lanes aren't that nice everywhere. And I am bored of comparing a bad or average situation downwards. "Yes, but in XYZ it's way worse." - yes, maybe but in other places it's better and compared to street quality for cars bike lanes are way worse. And why not looking at places where things work out better than at home? That's what travelling should teach us as well, take the beneficial habits of others and make them your own. Cultural exchange...
You are right, but ...
we must be able to look for the better. Otherwise we become national believers who think that we are the best in the world and every critical idea is anti-German and must be fought. That´s what happens in the US. If you say sth. critical many people tell you that you are not a patriot and call you a Communist etc. That´s one of the reasons why there is no positive progress in the US.
The Netherlands are only as big as Berlin...you can easily afford something like that!
Well, I mean maybe. But don't stop complaining. Germans have it good _because_ you _complain._ In the US, things are crappy because we _don't._
We have bike road at the side of the main roads, connecting villages, not on the side roads. But I always notice when cars and bikes mix, the drivers are attentive and careful. Because today he is a driver, tomorrow he might be on the bike. So we all know what it is like.
The WINE! Over two tours - about 8 years - I was stationed near the Mosel Valley. Always about an hours train ride to a truly large city. But in every little town I lived in there was someone's Oma or Opa who would sell a bottle of wine through a tiny door cut into a side door of their home... Oh! The best table wines ever... and only for 2 or 3 DM ($1.50 - $2.00 back then). And if I returned 4 bottles I was rewarded with another bottle of wine.
I can't wait to visit again with some of my old friends!
my friends and I went on a wine tour last year I believe and we paid like 2€ for a big glass of wine :)
@@HayleyAlexis I always have the "problem" in the USA (when I get a warm meal in the evening) to find a little snack in the noon. In Germany I would go to a bakery and buy a belegtes Brötchen or a Crossaint- the smallest thing you get in the USA as a snack is a Burger with fries... 😉The best solution still is to go to the supermarket and to buy a bag with bagels, they always help against the "little hunger".
I agree with the previous post. As a German who has lived abroad for 37 years and visits the family several times a year I truly appreciate and miss things about the German way of life: The bread, the choice of everything in the bakeries and cafés! The German love for the outdoors, the walking, the cycling, the ways Germans value their free time and holidays rather than living life in a mad rush and doing side hustles. The way they linger in cafés, beer gardens and restaurants for hours and give the small tips they choose, because waiters earn a wage already. Cheaper shopping, cheaper DIY supplies. Child friendliness.
Belgium is also a lovely place to live, but so expensive, so much more rushed. Well I unrushed myself and live more like a German now. As much as I love my job, I love my unpaid days of and 3 months of vacation even more. I indulge in my hobbies, languages, DIY, travelling, supporting less fortunate people, hosting people, inviting friends and assuming that I will give them 4 or 5 hours of my time as I make no other plans on that day!
As i followed you since you moved to germany i can clearly see how you personally evolved and became really confident.
So, when you're back in the US, do you get any response about that from your family and friends there?
Hayley!!!! that personality...captivating to watch...weldone
Great video Hayley and I agree with you. Liebe Grüße aus Österreich 😎
I was in Germany last year. I definitely agree with you about the wine. We could get an excellent glass of wine for next to nothing compared to the US.
I miss the same things about Ukraine after living in the USA for 7 months. It's so frustrating when you walk alone on the street and everyone is suspicious about you because there are only privately owned houses there. And on top of that the sidewalk suddenly ends as you describe and you have no choice but to turn around and go back the same way 😂😂 also, where is tasty bread? The only decent bread I found is in Ralphs, but they only have a white one. Even though the US has a lot of good things, I feel nostalgic every single day and don't plan to stay in this country forever.
I know this sounds like a rather complicated thing but why don't you bake your own bread? It is not that difficult once you got a hang of it and it must feel very refreshing to have a nice fresh bread every once in a while :)
So just welcome home to the life you love the most ❤
Everyone deserves a life in dignity, with food on the table and healthcare.
Btw. We haven't had checks in Denmark for the last 15 years. I received one after checks was out and it was crazy expensive so I called up the person and had them do a transfer instead but he was old and one of those types who never really understood digital living.
I love it! I’m making my way overseas and look forward to it!
I love your energy! :-)
You're on point Haley...AGAIN! ❤💪🏻
Love the shirt!
Thank you!!
Try an extended weekend in Copenhagen and try out the food. Copenhagen has a very high status in the food world. Nordic kitchen has become famous.
Danke!
Danke Nicole 🥹❤️
Always interesting to hear your perspective. As a German I find our bike lanes tragic, compared to countries like Netherlands or Denmark 😂
her topic is Germany, not the Netherlands or Denmark!
@@pietg.6249 in the section where she talks about bicycle lanes she mentions EUROPEAN bicycle lanes several times, not only German ones. Last time I checked Denmark and the Netherlands were part of that continent. If you only compare yourself to those who are worse than you, you‘re never gonna grow. That’s exactly why there’s barely any progress in the US.
In my city in the US there are only bike lanes in certain areas like downtown and they're in the street unlike how they're basically part of the sidewalk in Germany. I could definitely recommend Germany to bike riders but I am not one myself.
@@pietg.6249 I was talking about how she as an American looks differently at German as I as a German do, which widens my perspective of Germany.
@@pietg.6249 funmap66 wrote GERMAN lanes are tragic. Objekt of his sentence were ‚German lakes‘
Haha I love how Wild you are about your cappuccino 😆 but totally relatable. Can't Imagine how people survive in the USA with those crazy prices. Great Video 👏
The Money Transfersystem you are referring to is called 'SEPA'.
What i also Like about this: it is more of a 'prepaid' Version of Banking. You can only spend the Money you actually have. With Credit Cards you can spent all AND BEYOND of your monthly paycheck even before you got paid. Its right in the Name 'credit'. You only can make debts with a German Giro Card when you Set Up a 'Dispo (Dispositionskredit)' If you need to. But you can disable it or Set another Limit with a Bank employer.
I am 55 and havn´t ever seen - let alone written - a check in continental Europe. only when I worked in Ireland for a couple of months back in 2001 did I get a paycheck! my dad told me that they did away with literal paychecks in the early 60s...
Where I grew up and live in America everything is far from my home. There is 0 public transportation 0 taxi service 0 sidewalks bike lanes etc etc. So when I stayed in Germany and traveled Europe that is 1 of the main things I have missed so much is being able to walk or take public transportation to almost ANYWHERE even to the tops of some mountains or the base of them or to lakes parks etc. I was so much happier and healthier there. In usa I never leave the house bc I dont have the financial ability to take our very old unreliable car anywhere. I mean yeah I live on a dead end street in a quite little neighborhood and can walk but its on our road with no sidewalks and it gets boring walking in the same place you've lived your entire life would be nice to have access to parks and other things by walking. I miss being able to go to the city center like Konstablerwache and shop at the farmers market to get fresh produce and meats cheese and milk with healthy foods that are organic and you can trust. I really hope soon that I am able to shift somewhere in Europe preferably Germany as I LOVE it so much but also as I know Switzerland is much harder to get into and afford things but if I could choose anywhere Switzerland is top its just so freaking breathtakingly gorgeous and clean but at this point i'll take anywhere that has all the things I mentioned above in Europe thats got cool weather I probably wouldn't fair well with the Mediterranean heat lol
I sorely miss German bike lanes too after living there for many years. I still ride my bike here in Sydney although I’m often on a busy main road with cars whizzing past. I’m studying to be an urban planner now so hopefully……..
Very true. I can attest to all of what you said.
Fun fact: I still had some traveller's cheques from American Express (denoted in US dollars). Imagine the effort to find a bank in the US that would accept them and give me cash!
Another fun I had with money last year: I lost my credit card on my trip in the US. So I called Visa and had it cancelled. That was the easy part. But then I had no money (disregard the traveller's cheques) and asked for emergency cash. They promised to send it to a Western Union outfit. Now then the fun began. Find a store like Walgreens. But they couldn't do it because the sum was too large. Then I found a Walmart who was willing to supply cash. But customer service had to rummage through their instructions to get to know how to do it. It took me over two hours until they finally handed the money over.
Because of an exchange study I live in Iceland right now. Iceland always presents itself as a green country to the outside, but in all honesty: Regarding cars it's definetely not. They are more European when it comes to almost everything, but when it comes to cars, they are so Americanized. The big wide "American" streets with bad (and always late) public transport is one thing, but in many places here in Reykjavik there isn't even a sidewalk. I really miss the more pedestrian focused society and trains, but also the fact that you can go into a different country easily (which is obviously not true for Iceland).
Couple years ago I sawan American on a forum ask if someone had a certain vinyl disk. I actually had that and didn't need it - but the sale (I would have been OK with him just paying for shipping...) never happened because there was no way of paying for it useful for both of us.
I agree with you Hayley, in Germany you can eat very well even in smaller towns. International al cuisine is often offered , whether Italian, Greek, Chinese, German , etc. The food is usually of good quality and is not too expensive, unless you go to eat in star restaurant.☺💞
Hayley next holyday for you a bike tour in the netherlands. Compere that with deutchland 😅😅😅
Ok, let's talk about the one of two things the Netherlands have that are better than the german counterpart: Weed and bike-lanes.🤣 Everything else....well, you know it. 😁
And then she learns about the Tikkie app 😁
den ersten, letzten und einizgen scheck, den ich jemals in meinem leben ausgefüllt hab, war, als pierre brice das letzte mal als winnetou im schatz im silbersee in bad segeberg zu sehen war...... au weia! 🙂
That was interesting about the pace of life. I'm English but moved to a sparsely populated region of Scotland in 1997. I was glad to get away from the rat-race, traffic jams etc. At one point I looked at moving to Germany but realised it would be too much like England as it also has a high population density. I now live in a sparsely populated region of Croatia and that suits me fine.
I am surprised that you are not missing German bakery & bread.
Ich habe wirklich angefangen zu überlegen, wann ich meinen letzten Scheck ausgestellt habe🤔
Ergebnis: Ich kann mich nicht erinnern.
Muss in den 80ern gewesen sein, da gabts die noch
Ich habe genau einen Scheck ausgestellt... Da war ich noch Azubi, die Banken hatten noch unmögliche Öffnungszeiten, Azubis hatten ein sehr enges Limit am Automaten (50DM in der Woche) und da ich gerade zu Hause ausgezogen war, brauchte ich noch eine Menge an Kleinsch****, den ein Haushalt nun mal so braucht.
@@MiristzuheissIch bin Ende 40 und hab noch nie einen ausgefüllt. Gibts sowas noch?
Ich bin über vierzig und habe noch nie einen geschrieben. 🤷♀️
@@jennyh4025 ich weiss noch bis Ende 80er gab's ein Heft Bankschecks. Damit in der Handtasche bin ich Shoppen gewesen. Diese American Bank Schecks gab's länger, für Urlaube nicht Europäisches Ausland. Musste man sich vorher bei der Bank bestellen
haha the money transfer thing! when i had to open a bank account in london in 2009, they gave me a check book. i asked what that is (bc i have never seen one before) and they proudly explained that this was a check book. i asked what i would need that for and they explained to me how to write a check, not with a little shock in their eyes. i never wrote a check there haha. but transferring money was insanely exhausting. i had to transfer my rent to russia every month and it was an afternoon´s activity. every month! back then i was already used to my online banking which we even back then already had for quite a while back in austria. i wasn´t used to being forced to go to the bank to do a transfer. in beijing in 2013, same game. check book and a little thing that looked like a calculator which you needed to do bank transfers. back in austria no one would believe me that the money transfer system would be so medieval over there. it´s really funny to learn that in the us it´s the same. they all think that they are so ahead of everyone else but in fact they are really not haha
oh and: you ARE entitled to good coffee! we all are! life is to short for bad coffee!
I opened an bank account in London 2004: nobody offered me a check book. Actually I didn’t see a check once innlondon
It's been at least 2 decades since I had cheques (Austria). I've seen it in France some years ago where people paid by cheque in a supermarket and even at a fast food stall. The banking system is very similar all around Europe. Inside the EURO zone it is especially easy to transfer money.
So nice to see you again! I haven’t received notifications from you channel lately… Groceries here in South Florida (and everything in general) are indeed getting more expensive quickly, particularly compared
to countries like Germany. Looking k forward to the big announcement you will make about why you are coming so frequently to the US 😃 Wishing you all the very very best in whatever you decide to do next!
Maybe you could describe US in one word - fast - ? If you are moving around physically and mentally so fast, you have less time for yourself and others as well as missing so much as you fly passed.
Also, try butter churning its a relaxing traditional activity that accomplishes so much, don't dismiss the traditional activities as old hat, they still have a great deal of value in today's world. You know baking a cake always tastes better than one you buy in the shops.
south florida is so expensive, i'm really trying to leave here... to be honest i skip a lot of meals
“Churn my own butter” 😂
fahr mal mit deinem Schatzi nach Usedom zum radeln...nicht so heiß wie in Florida aber verdammt geile Luft und Strände.😉
In Germany we have checks, but they are so rare, that even my banker, in a bigger city (130k people lives here) see them maybe once a year.
Checks are really old and it's super awkward that it is still used...
We do? The last time I saw a check was twenty years ago - when I visited my aunt in the USA. And even then I thought it was archaic.
The only time I ever filled in a check was in the first half of the 1990s, when we learned how to do this at school 😂. I NEVER used one.
Hi Haley, happy easter! I've got a question for you: are there any german celebrities you like? I would love to hear about your perspective on celebrities and how they're seen in germany vs the united states. bye!
Hmmmm good question... I think for me since I did not grow up in Germany and many of the "German celebrities" that normal every day Germans know/love aren't that "interesting" to me. Which might sound a little harsh but I am also a person that doesn't get too starstruck- even with American celebrities.... I have seen a few German celebrities on the street before and I will probably give a long glance/stare but I try to leave people alone for the most part. It is however very interesting for me that I have seen more German celebrities walking around in Germany than American celebrities walking around the USA (I know it is bigger).
@@HayleyAlexis Interesting! I've seen, for example, kai pflaume several times in munich before but I do leave celebrities alone aswell, the deserve their privacy and off-time. I think worshipping celebrities is ridicolous for the most part and am under the impression that it's a bit more relaxed with german celebrities. thanks for sharing
... screw health care & education... just hand me an affordable, decent cappucino, yaw! 😄
I remember my stay in San Francisco in Jan. 1997.
I had been there for a business trip to host our booth at the local Apple fair and an additional week of holidays after that.
It was all nice (Golden Gate Park, museums, Red Woods, night life at underground clubs, etc.), but the lack of decent coffee was just hellish to me! 😅
The coffee offered at the average breakfast restaurant was literally a daily killing attempt!
Even Starbucks' coffee was more like an insult (price wise) on top of the harm.
Via Homebanking of your bank in Europe/ Payconic you can transfer money
In Denmark we dont have checks any more. And hardly any cash. If I want to send my neighbor some money, I just use my app on the phone. And I dont normally carry any cash now. All transactions are on the phone or credit card. If for some reason I happen to pay with cash, I get a sneaky smile that says: "Oh, some undeclared work?" As for the bikes, most bikes sold in Denmark now are electric. Yes, electric. And the health benefits of biking are still almost as good as on a normal bike. It saves a lot of people from buying the second car.
Very interesting! I have received a check only once in 2014. The GEZ forced me to pay, although I could prove that I was exempt as a student and that I sent the application for exemption of fees by registered mail. The GEZ apologized in a letter and sent me a check. I couldn't cash it at my place of study because I had to go the Sparkasse where my account was and then it took five days to transfer the money. 😂
I had to deposit a check in Vienna once and every single bank worker came to look at the check because most had never seen one. And then the worker had to call the main branch to confirm how to deposit it.
Finally OF. You look great 😘
I think that a lot of stress you might feel in the US is coming from driving. You lose time by driving from home to work, ´cause it doesn´t count as work time. And when you want to chill from work you can´t do it where you are, you have to drive there. And with every mile you go, you are further away from work and home. That means you have to drive from chill time back to work or back home and all the driving time - what is a stress time - doesn´t count as home time, work time, and can´t count as chill time.
That´s one big point what makes the life in the US more stressful than in Europe, where the ways are shorter and you have a payable and working public transportation system.
The other thing is sex! The lack of a good sex education leads to an unsatisfied sex life without fun and without relaxation. There´s not enough time for me to write down all my ideas to this topic ( and some things are not allowed on yt 😇).
Thanks for your channel; I learned a lot of the US and its citizens.
"A bike for me equals freedom". How much can I emphasise that!!!!
Haley, just loved the video, thanks.....what a development during the years.... ruclips.net/video/lkC2uzFtViw/видео.html appreciate very much what you're doing especially cause you have the ability to change perspectives.....Man könnte fast sagen, Du hast schon fast zuuu viele typisch deutsche Eigenschaften, hehe....love it 🙂
I'm a little confused about the banking thing lol. Most banks in the US use Zelle now or have a different P2P ACH transfer system. Wire transfers tend to cost a fee in the US ranging from like 20-50 bucks depending on if it's domestic or international. But yeah a lot of places only take checks or money orders still when it comes to "serious" payments like tuition.
ALso my city is pretty much completely walkable but yeah there are a lot of sketchy areas and the sidewalk does sometimes disappear but that is not the case for the overwhelming majority of streets.
Zelle is pretty safe but it is still a 3rd party app that has it's flaws (once you send the money you can't cancel it).
The issue I have is that wire trasnfer (like you stated) is way too expensive- it should not be that expensive to do a simple wire transfer.
@@HayleyAlexis Gotcha. My bank actually doesn't even use zelle. I can send money by pretty much texting it over through my banking site and I assume the recipient receives a link leading to a site where they enter their banking info and they get the money. I don't really know why that is free but wire transfers have to cost so much when it seems like the same process at the end of the day. It's probably technically not the same but still lol money is getting moved at the end of the day.
I wonder if you ever have been to the Fraunhofer restaurant in München?
Hi Hayley
When did you move to Germany and what made you want to move there? It sounds great there.
I feel like your tips for dating American girls would be a lot more pragmatic these days - you lure them with good city planning, you keep them with great coffee. 😜
My children are in their thirties and have never written a cheque, never had a cheque book.(UK)
Ok about bike lanes, in Slovenia we have them, but they suck. As for checks, I have never used a check or received it in my 38 years, I had to ask my mother about that and she said the last time she used checks was around 1998, and after that they just weren't used because they went the way of the dinosaur.
I hope this is not TOO personal, but how come you and Mike didn't end up to moving to the US a couple of years back?
As the "LebenUSA" channel said about food: In Germany you can go to any restaurant in a city you don't know. The food will, usually, be fine, and you won't get sick from it. USA: Nope, you don't go to a food stall randomly in a city you don't know, it is not good for your health.
I have to agree and disagree.... I have found some of the most delicious restaurants in the USA by randomly walking into a small shack on the side of the road in the middle of nowhere :) It honestly depends
Maybe in smaller cities.. In New York we as a group of students from Germany always went to restaurants spontaneously (except for one we planned and looked for ahead) We were fine. 😉
@@HayleyAlexis I hey! Happy Birthday to you! Hab einen schönen Geburtstag! Und das an einem Feiertag! Du bist ein Glückskeks! Liebe Grüße aus Hamburg nach München! Ben❤🎉
I received a cheque for the first time in years recently. A refund from an insurance company going bust.
I didn't even know they still existed lol.
Luckily I could scan it in over the bank app
Hi hayley, I am always curios about how Germans are seen when they visit or live in the US? And how or with what you can offened americans? Because we always hear These Things in regards of Germans so it would be cool to hear . Perhaps eine Idee for next Video 🙂
Haley I really love your videos I can’t tell you how important they are for people in America to hear. American’s quality of life can be greatly improved with some small simple changes. Keep doing what you’re doing.❤ I think our country can do better in taking care of its citizens.
Wendy , you are so right
Not sure what you meant by Germany being so behind in banking. Fancy apps like paypal are not needed here because you can make a wire transfer (Überweisung) to anybody as long as you know the recipients bank and account number. Also automatic withdrawals to pay utilities and rent are the norm. No need here to fill out cheques at the end of each month.
The hoops I had to jump through to be able to open a bank account was RIDICULOUS (Mike as well so it isn't just a foreigner issue). This was also within the last 3 years so it is relatively new. The amount of paperwork that you have to fill out and the apps you have to use to be able to sign-in/log in is abundant.
@@HayleyAlexis The inconvenience of online banking login and transaction confirmation is due to the Payment Services Directive of the European Union, introduced in 2018, which requires Multi-factor Authentication. So this is implemented not only in Germany but in all EU countries.
I also do not like this complex new system.
That makes sense. I don't know too much about the rules/regulations but I assumed it had something to do with privacy/safety.
African American male here...I have always hated how car centric America is...I believe we could benefit immensely from mass transit, more bike trails and lanes and so on; people here act like they own the road and have no problem almost hitting a bike rider or pedestrian. That needs to change.
Hehehe churn your butter😂!!!
It was quite pleasureful to walk through San Francisco.
New York was quite nie too. However there are already quite deserted quarters. San Diego was not very pleasing to walk through. Without car you are lost.
You are so cute and charming, Haley. I'd love to be your neighbour.
The banking system in the US is outdated. Even Germany's banking is compared to Switzerland of yesterdays. In Switzerland there is an QR code on your bill, you scan it and transfer the information to your bank's page. No typing, no hustle... Payment made under 20 second.
The last time I used a cheque was in the early 90s.
I’m using QR codes to pay bills regularly in Germany.
Germany stopped using checks 20 years ago (2002) 😆
I only ever got one check. That was by my old landlady. And until then I thought checks don't exist in Germany and are just a USA thing
In my 30k town there is a McD that's it. That's good.
Frohe Ostern an den Bodensee! Hier scheint die Sonne, 21° draußen! Jedenfalls um diese Uhrzeit um sechs rum!
@@tasminoben686 Hi Ben dir auch. Wow 10° wärmer? Hier sind es 11° im Schatten.
Yes. Yahoo still exists. I have a Yahoo e-mail address as a matter of fact.
I'm in UK what is a cheque
I know. My cousin lives out in florida and they still pay their rent (among other things) by cheque. 🙄
I think it's safe to say, the people who've found _cheap_ real estate aren't _sharing_ it. That's why it's so cheap.
I wish they would. South west Florida is so expensive right now :(
@@HayleyAlexis One of the good reasons to learn a second language that has a substantial following, elsewhere in the world.
If all you speak is English, you're stuck making due with what you can find in the US. To be honest, you can probably also find options in Canada, Dominica, Jamaica and such, but most Americans don't, and the fact is that, across the _rest_ of the English-speaking world, affordable rent and mortgage is _much_ easier to find, but this is an options most Americans are subconsciously conditioned to rule out. The world ends at our border as far as we're concerned. The rest of the world is where we send our troops or where we sometimes accept _immigrants_ from.
But if you develop full fluency in German, this opens up the option to live in Germany or Austria which is, all other factors being equal, much more _affordable._ I would say Switzerland, but I'm given to understand that _Swiss_ German is different enough from _German_ German that Schwarzenegger, fluent in both, gets credit for fluency in two different languages.
And if you develop fluency in Spanish, this opens up the whole of the _Spanish-speaking_ world. And if you want affordable places to live, they're _much_ easier to find, there.
Venmo is not sketchy wtf you talking about, it’s reported to the IRS
help.venmo.com/hc/en-us/articles/360048404533-Common-Scams-on-Venmo
The alligators 😭 I imagine riding my bike just enjoying the weather and then out of nowhere There’s a dinosaur on the bike lane 🤣 how am I supposed to deal with that ? 😭 a emergency helicopter ? Hermès leather storage? 😅 ( just kidding) but I would probably ride into one of the canals next to the bike lanes 🤣 you know the canals that are full of pythons 🐍
I mean.............. I am not against an Hermes leather storage LMAO
Bike infrastructure? A matter of equal rights.
All too many years ago I had an American girlfriend. She told med that she was twenty years old befor she realized that you could buy the ingredients for a cake and make it from scratch.
Thanks to the USA, the fuel prices in Germany have become outrageous.
Hm, a check...is a person from the czek republic?
You talk about cheap shopping and Cappucino in Germany - and now immagine: you live in the freaking Munich area! Even in the same state, up around Hof and Selb you already pay way less for stuff in restaurants ... simply because it's not Munich, Stuttgart or Düsseldorf or any of these cities that are so incredibly expensive. (just tu underline the cheapness of stuff - which is even cheaper than your day-to-day experience).
Every time I visit my friend in Hannover I am shocked by the price discrepancy between Hannover and Munich- it is CRAZY
I am always a little bit shocked how high the price discrepancy is ... I live in Berchtesgaden, a very touristy area with nearly munich prices, and like 30 km away in the Bavarian countryside or Traunstein, a small city ...
Es freut mich, dass Du dich in Deutschland so wohl fühlst, dass Du es sogar vermisst, wenn Du in Florida bist.
Du hast wieder einmal diese schreckliche Oma-Bluse an. 😂😂😂 (nicht böse gemeint)
😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂 lass meine Oma-Bluse in RUH!!!
We Germans are never satisfied, if things are going well, well they could go even better! Always the same with us.😂😂😂😂😂😂😂
Missing the bike lanes in Germany. To me that is utterly ridiculous because it isn't very good. But I'll grant you this caveat: The USA is atrocious with regards to bicycle infrastructure.
That said, a few inroads are being made in Germany, in particular Rheinland-Pfalz, Ostfriesland, basically the places bordering the Netherlands.
bike lanes aren't good in germany?? ever been elsewhere?
It probably depends what you compare German bike lanes to. There are countries where things are far better (for example, probably in the Netherlands), no others where things are a bit, or fare, worse, than in Germany.
@@lilg2300 Well, it depends where you normally ride, doesn't it? Normally I ride in Noord-Brabant, NL. Though I rode in Paris in the last few weeks and it was a way better than what I had to content with in Düsseldorf, Bonn and Köln...
Good dutch influence 😉
bike lines exist in germany. come to Atlanta. I live in gwinnett county, the most populous county in georgia, we do not even have sidewalks..... i can't walk to my grocery store 800m away. trying to ride a bicycle is a life and death kind of situation. I grew up in Schweinfurt. we had bike lanes everywhere back in the 70s. Still there. you can ride along the Main river without any issues. miles and miles....
Did you see or experienced the bike infrastructure in The Netherlands? Greetings from your neighbour in the west.
Give back our grandfathers bicycles please? (sorry. old Dutch joke)
Do you miss Germany more than the US? Or do you miss the USA more than Germany? (Depending on where you are at the time, of course.)
Check's???? Whats that..
Reality checks. They come in from time to time and are mostly not expected. So just wait and see.
In ancient times (pre-computer) there where little blue pieces of paper that you get from your bank and you could fill them out and sign them and then they where something like borrower's note that will be paid by your bank.
In Europe called Euro-Cheque (EC) and the analoge version of paying with debit card.
But in Europe this "stone-age" payment system isn't in use since decades. Only some really-really-behind countries use them today.
@@V100-e5q xDD
@@dirkspatz3692 They still exist in France 🙈
I'm pretty sure we are the last dinosaurs in Europe who use them 😅 They are not accepted in a lot of stores anymore though, but it's still quite a common way to pay.
Zelle is in the bank apps
Yes but it is a little complicated and once you send a payment- you can't get the money back (only for very specific reasons- and that is pushing it).
I'm from Denmark and I haven't seen a check in 20 years! America is now a fundamentally broken and a 3rd world country. Also, if you think inflation is high in South Florida right now then I have bad news for you. Nixon took America off the gold standard and now, because America weaponized the petrodollar, the rest of the world is agreeing to use their own currency to trade oil and goods. This means America is facing economic collapse because the dollar will have little to no value in this world in the future.
For America, the german saying applies: "All that glitters is not gold"...😏
Unless you are from one of the developing countries,including Mexico and many other south american countries,America is a great country to have around to protect the world from the predator countries of the world like China and Russia...but to live there,I would not..
I really do not want to see an alligator or crocodile when its not in some sort of cage…
They don't belong in cages... they are free animals :P
@@HayleyAlexis Yes thats true but if i had to choose i would prefer a situation where nobody is in danger 😅
@@kv2315 they usually dont care about you 😆
A Cappuccino for only 2 to 3 € ?
Not around here (any small town about 50 km south of Stuttgart), if you don’t want one in a paper cup from the vending machine at Lidl or a gas station.
You’re lucky if you can find one for less than 3.50 € at any Café or Restaurant.
As regards checks, how archaic.
I haven’t written any checks since leaving the US.
In fact we still have those cute “Covid” checks which former Pres. Trump “issued” and then one since President Biden took office, couldn’t cash or deposit them here (a check by the Federal Reserve Bank, no account number, no Bank Code, no Swift Code, nothing with which my local Volksbank could deal with), of course they’ve become invalid after a year.
But then, I never asked for that money from the States and find it utterly senseless that they were issued to all expats making below a certain threshold - after all they were meant to benefit the US economy, I believe, but in the case of expats this money (provided one could cash or deposit it) benefits another country, not the USA.
One of my favorite cafe's in Munich still offers a 2€ cappuccino and the price has not changed since 2015
I really thought No. 1 would be customer service, this time. 🤥😅
Well, you can still fax a cheque in germany!! 🤷 🤣🤣
Think you can compair the speed of life in US and EU with a journey!😳
Yep, a journey by plane and a journey by train or car:
You are faster and fly / moving higher, but everything gets more and more blurred the faster you go and you can hardly see the details and simple things anymore. To get up there it's necessary to lost grip, but also very easy to tumble and get lost.
And you know things and places from different continents, but don't know the nearbys just around the corner. And sometimes not even yourself...
Happy "Egg-fest" mit Rüblikuchen und Flüssigei 😉(Eierlikör)! 🍰🫗😋
So pros and cons in both....
I am leaving customer service alone for the time being but please understand..... I DISLIKE IT
@@HayleyAlexis I think mostly it's a question of expectations and what you're used to. But I don't want to get you started on that topic. 😊
But ... Fun fact: Sometimes being handled rude or inconsiderate is even *part of the experience* - examples that come to my mind are "Kneipen" in Düsseldorf (especially Altstadt) or visiting a "Kaffeehaus" in vienna. 😅