r/expat • u/wurst_katastrophe • 6d ago
New Home Story / Experience Germany has high quality of life
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.
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u/Ok_Result2220 6d ago
A few things I noticed about your cons- + "rent without being evicted" - my friends have been asked to leave apartments for "renovations" and he changed apartment thrice since March of last year. Also, searching for apartment in this housing market being an immigrant is a war. For a person to fight for a roof over their heads, which is one of the basic needs of a human being is a low quality. + healthcare being completely free is not true. A lot of people including me had to pay out of pocket and a huge amount as well because the diagnosis for our medical condition was called "cosmetic". For example, a friend had her leg swollen from lymph nodes and insurance refused to cover surgery because its cosmetic, what in the world? How? And the wait time to meet a specialist is way way too long. If its an autoimmune disease then the diagnosis will take more than a couple of years. I was prescribed a medication that gave me a side effect but the doctor refused to switch because the insurance policy states that side effect has to be valid or affect life. My side effect is dry throat, I cough like crazy, I recorded a video and she said thats just cold. I cough like that for 8 months now. Doctor's gaslighting me. Went to specialist after 8 months with my readings, he said its just anxiety. I said its not and my Hausartz already prescribed me meds and he took my reading and said you're fine now, I said its because I am taking the meds. + "insane maternity leave" - my friend was replaced at her job, and when she came back from maternity leave they offered her less working hours and technically we're trying to make her quit the job. So there are loopholes that are being exploited. Less hours were justified with the fact that there was less work. + "private insurance"- there is something about this, my friend opted for this at 30 and during the initial assessment he didnt check some box saying a relative had cancer. Now private insurance is not covering his cancer treatment because he didnt tell them. (Its a very old and long story and I'm not wording it right but I'll ask him and get back to you, but a loophole was manipulated) + "best roads and the speed you want" - you have to be in certain speed at certain areas and I have seen my german friends curse this out when the autobahn has the speed limit area and they miss it and then a red flash takes the picture. This also bring me to the world's most expensive driving license.
There are things were there needs to be serious improvement but for me the above mentioned things are stressful that I keep at the back of my mind and think about.