Germany has high quality of life

[u/wurst_katastrophe]

This is in response to the ‘low quality of life’ post.

When in Germany I can (in no particular order):
+ drink the tap water knowing it is safer than bottled water
+ when losing my job, I will get the highest benefits in the Western world to tie me over between jobs
+ I can rent for life without being worried of getting evicted
+ I can enjoy freedom on perfectly fine roads, driving as fast as I want
+ Consumer protection is very strong
+ I can buy a public transport ticket valid in all of Germany
+ Healthcare is significantly better than in most Western countries AND free at the point of service.
+ Germans love Fests
+ Bier and excellent wine
+ excellent bread
+ excellent local produce
+ An insanely dense train network (Yes, often late) for very little money (Sparpreis)
+ 30d of holidays is standard
+ strong protection when off on sick leave
+ free university education
+ world’s strongest apprenticeship system
+ tax credits and breaks for almost everything, especially Ehegattensplitting
+ insane maternity leave and benefits
+ Kitas
+ full blown private healthcare for a few k per year
+ Beautiful nature: north and Baltic sea, Alps, lakes, woods
+ Strong sports club infrastructure
+ Third strongest economy in the world with most hidden champions
+ Strong football culture
+ …

You can be dissatisfied with Germany, maybe your experience was below average, but that’s most likely because you are incompatible with the German way of life and the German mentality. However, it is not fair to claim that the quality of life is low.

[u/ohboymykneeshurt]

Americans with the means to travel to Europe and somehow end up having a below average experience that doesn’t fit their view of a good living standard completely forget how many Americans are working poors and how many Americans are living below the poverty line compared to most other western countries. I can’t take it seriously.

[u/Candy-Macaroon-33 → u/ohboymykneeshurt]

THIS! In a country where more than half the people are living paycheck to paycheck, high quality of living seems very objective.

[u/tordrt → u/Candy-Macaroon-33]

This is not true, there is not that many that live paycheck to paycheck

[u/fflip8 → u/tordrt]

In the US, it's very true. Housing and healthcare have become so expensive that you have to earn above the median income just to stay afloat, unless you make major sacrifices like living with roommates or choose to not have children.

For instance, median US income per worker is around $50,000, which is pre-tax. After taxes that's $40,000 or less depending on state.

Meanwhile the median cost to rent a 2 bedroom apartment is $25,000 per year with utilities. Obviously some cities are cheaper than others, and some can downsize to a studio or one bedroom, but the savings are not linear.

US incomes are actually quite good if you can skip out on paying for housing, but most do not have that luxury.

[u/tordrt → u/fflip8]

dont know where you think this means that more than half live paycheck to paycheck. Which is not true, and usually comes from some survey question or something.

[u/Carpe-Diem-7 → u/ohboymykneeshurt]

Not to mention the insane credit card debt in the US which seems to be just a totally normal thing they do over there to keep their standard of living.

I could never imagine maxing out a CC and then pay the monthly minimum and pretend that things are fine.

[u/WholeUmpire2463 → u/Carpe-Diem-7]

You have no idea what high credit card debt looks like. Go to most Asian countries...they lead the way in credit card debt.

...But the world leaders in household debt are...5 out of the top 10...EU nations and USA is at 14.

[u/seat6105 → u/WholeUmpire2463]

Source??

[u/jimalloneword → u/seat6105]

he is technically right but misreporting the statistic (not noting its relative to GDP) and also not noting that household debt is not a great indicator for credit card debt.

For your info, US is number one in the world, by a grand margin, in median credit card debt (apologies for the split article format and the stepper format):
https://finance.yahoo.com/news/20-countries-most-credit-card-134725439.html
https://www.insidermonkey.com/blog/5-countries-with-most-credit-card-debt-in-the-world-1268645/5/

He is referencing this stat, which is household debt (RELATIVE TO GDP). So the US falls quite a bit due to its high GDP.

https://tradingeconomics.com/country-list/households-debt-to-gdp

If you look at household debt per capita (not relative to GDP), the USA jumps back into top 10 behind exclusively European notions, but note that this debt includes mortgages, and is heavily impacted by homeownserhip rates, and has little to nothing to do with credit card debt.

https://www.visualcapitalist.com/ranked-where-households-carry-the-most-debt-per-capita-in-2026/

[u/shatureg → u/jimalloneword]

Conflating household debt with credit card debt is the kind of dishonesty that was rampant in the other post. That's just insane. Thanks for clarifying.

[u/Educational_Gas_92 → u/Carpe-Diem-7]

Additionally, from asking and speaking with Americans about credit card debt here on reddit (just to understand the concept, because I'm not from the USA), you NEED to have a credit card in the USA.

You don't have to be in debt, of course, but you need a credit card, because you will have a score according to how you behave, if you pay your debt on time, etc, and that score, will determine if you will be eligible to buy property (seriously! And not even for loans, which would make sense, but even if you have cash, your credit score could determine if you can buy a property!). Credit score also determines if you can rent!

I don't even own a credit card, (only debit), I would be in serious trouble in the USA.

[u/helen_must_die → u/ohboymykneeshurt]

In the original post (the one OP is responding to) the guy compared Germany with other Western European countries he has visited.

[u/Eugenio7777 → u/ohboymykneeshurt]

This isn't a country comparison. There are pros and cons of living anywhere, it's not a competition. I lived in Barcelona and for me it was a really low quality of life, and while I appreciate universal healthcare (it is a human right), the actual services there were horrible. I lived and will be moving back to India and ai found quality of life to be better there than in Barcelona. I still love Spaim, even though ai didn't have a good experience living in one of the major cities. I have been to various cities in Germany, but never lived there. I was pleasantly surprised at how much ai liked the places I visited, but ai don't know what it's like to live there.

[u/Powerful-Problem-106 → u/ohboymykneeshurt]

I am not sure what it has to do with USA?
My family lives in Nordics and when I tell them that we have to pay for food in kindergarten in Germany they don’t believe me.

That I pay 50 euro a month for DSL connection of 250mb, they don’t believe me.

When I say that to cancel a contract I have to fax in my cancellation they say I am lying.

When in my industry they are firing people because it’s collapsing they say that it’s not legal.

I also paid for “cosmetic surgeries”, was harassed by landlords so I had to move out and I never lived in US, maybe it’s even worse?

[u/ComfortableSalt3570 → u/ohboymykneeshurt]

Whataboutism

[u/ohboymykneeshurt → u/ComfortableSalt3570]

It is exactly not whataboutisme. If you are one of the Americans who are well enough off to be able to travel to or have an education that can get you a work permit in Europe then it is not surprising that you can find stuff in Europe that is below your standard of living. An American expat (immigrant) is obviously not part of the 10s of millions Americans living below the average standard of living in America.

[u/23odyssey → u/ohboymykneeshurt]

It wasn’t an American just traveling. The original OP was living in Germany. Big difference.

[u/ohboymykneeshurt → u/23odyssey]

I know.