List of things I like about Germany
After 9 years in Germany I complain about the country all the time, due to a mix of:
- Valid grievances about the culture, the weather, the politics;
- My own prejudices against any place I live in for too long (I've never lived 9 years in the same place before);
- And going native (all Germans complain about Germany all the time.)
In an effort to be less negative I wanted to list the things I like about living here, and do my best to avoid undermining them with qualifiers like “…even though” or “at least…”. My criterion for this is; if I picture myself back to Asia or South America, what would I probably miss?
Birch-woods in Spring or Autumn are almost supernaturally pretty when the Sun is shining gold through their uncannily bright leaves.
There is a calm melancholy to the North Sea that I appreciate, offset by the (contra stereotype) friendly and sociable demeanour of the coastal folk.
Years of nature gardening have bonded me to the traditional Western European herbs and wild flora. Parsley, sage, rosemary and thyme are part of my life now.
In summer when it's bright from 7 to 23 I feel like a superhero who can do anything and the day feels like it lasts forever and you can do all the hobbies you want.
Deep in winter when the sky is clear the stars shine with a sharpness that takes my breath away. Sirius is a monster, how does such a star exist, it look surreal. The asphalt under you, a pitch-black field in the darkest night, sparkles as you walk like so many stars, so it feels like you're surrounded by the boundless cosmos above and below.
I love all the different species of bumblebees who are all floofy and cute and all love me and come rest on my dress and nest in my balcony and let me pet them and when it's chilly seek out the warmth of my skin with the tenderness of a lover.
Vegan food paradise. Almost every animal product you can think of has multiple vegan alternatives, in any regular supermarket, including the Diskounters. In any medium-sized city you will find vegan options in regular, non-vegan restaurants. Yes I said options, in the plural. There is vegan trash food such as currywurst, döner (kebab/churrasquinho grego), greasy pastries etc. so trash food enjoyers don't need to starve, either. For some ethnic foods like Japanese or Chinese it's easier for me to find the vegan version of certain dishes here than it would be in their home countries.
Outside of carnism, animal rights are taken seriously to an unusual degree. There are no stray cats or dogs. A domestic animal alone on the streets is treated as an emergency and people will quickly get them to the shelter, where they are very well treated until adoption. Every dog you see has amazing shiny lustrous hair and the happy bark of a dog who has never been beaten or left tied out in the sun. Dogs are allowed matter-of-factly in public transport, stores, restaurants. It is against the law to destroy or remove a wasp's nest, you are required to call environmental services—wasps are protected animals, as are wild beings in general.
Work/life balance. You can call sick days with no bureaucracy whatsoever and bosses can't question it. If you need longer for recovery doctors will prescribe you a break easily. There is no culture of unpaid overtime, the moment the clock hits the time your work is over. There is no culture of socially pressuring you to socialise with the boss in the happy hour, your life outside the company is yours. There’s a decent number of vacation days. Walk in the city Sunday or late night and everything is closed—workers cannot be forced to work at ungodly hours unless you pay them really well.
High proportion of immigrants. In the area where I live some 1/5 of the population are immigrants. It is a common experience for me to catch some Chinese, Swahili, Arabic, Ukrainian, Kurdish in one weekend on public transport.
Fairly decent public healthcare system.
Trains. Trains exist. It's relatively simple to live without owning a car, even with a family.
Relatedly: decent air quality.
The absence of turnstiles is calming. You don't have to talk to anyone or pass by an electronic gate or do anything to get into a train, a bus, a platform or a station. It's all open and you just walk right into them.
There's also a decent amount of bike lanes and a strong enough bike culture that you can commute or travel by bike more or less anywhere. There are bike lockers, road guides, repair clubs, bike wagons on trains etc.
You can walk around with a laptop or a camera, take photos with an iPhone, withdraw a few hundred in cash at an ATM, and not be afraid.
Also it's comparatively safe to walk alone at night while being a girl. Even being openly gay, trans, or queer is fairly ok. Ever since coming here I forgot what it was like to be terrified of going out wearing the wrong scarf; I forgot what it was like to smile with sadness at someone you want to but cannot hold hands with; I forgot what it was like to stay with your girlfriend at the bus stop until the bus comes because she shouldn't be left alone in this street. When I ask new immigrants what do they like about Germany, the first answer is always the experience of safety.
Because everyone is used to safety, nazis are not ready for anyone actually willing to throw down, so I have endless fun bullying them around.
I love it that Schnecki (“little snail”) or Mäuschen (“little mouse”) are terms of endearment you can use with your lover. Where I come from this type of animal is considered to be inherently disgusting. While specieism exists in Germany as it does everywhere, I feel like, all things considered, little creatures get a bit more empathy here than in other cultures I've experienced.
Recycling is a lie but to the extent that recycling exists, it exists here. The Pfand system really gets people to return plastic bottles. There are containers to donate used clothes. Glass and paper see real recycling.
There's a lot of street art. On the political side of it, antifa tagging/stickers/graffiti always wins over fash stuff over time.
Unlike certain countries, credit cards aren't a tyranny. In fact when I moved here cash was the norm. Now plastic– and digital money have made inroads and I've even seen the first café that doesn't take cash. But to this day if you go out with nothing but a smartphone and credit cards, there's places you won't be able to pay for lack of cash.
The subculture of Naturgarten—organic wild gardening for nature support, directly against the high-control philosophy of traditional gardening. This is pretty popular. Many cities have began doing wildflower patches that support the bees, rather than cultivated roses or fucking geraniums. If I have problems with insect pests in my garden I can trivially order online biological controls such as predators or nematodes.
Beer and wine are really good. Not just fancy stuff for snobs, any regular beer or wine you get for less than 5€ at the supermarket will be great.
Germans do not care about white bread, but they're masters of dark bread. (N.b. a lot of mixed-flour breads that most people would consider “dark” still count as “white bread” for German sensibilities). There's a large variety of breads made with all sorts of different grains, topped or interspersed with all sorts of seeds and nuts etc., and they're so soft and tasty that you can just eat a bun with no spread or filling and it's a delicious snack that goes down easy.
A respect for herbal medicine. I can go into a regular pharmacy and buy ivy tincture or sage drops. Normal doctors (GP/Hausärzte) study evidence-based herbalism as part of their curriculum. Wikipedia German has more information about plants than even the English.
EU consumer protections are fairly good at keeping various types of poison out of your diet and surroundings. This matters actually.
Generally a sportsy culture and if you want to pursue fitness you'll find plenty of opportunity and support.
No one gives a fuck if you have piercings, tattoos, neon-coloured hair, a mohawk etc. You can go into a public bank and meet a bank teller who has facial piercings and tattoos and a lesbian pride pin. The idea of not getting a job due to body art is absurd here.
A sizeable and lively anarchist movement, by contrast with Latin America where the Left was coopted by Marxist entryism, or Japan where the Left as a whole has been marginalised. In particular the FAU, the anarchist union, is a gem; a fully decentralised worker's union with no so-called “reps” to poison it with realpolitik and sell out to bosses, with no electoral party bootlicking, with a rich and proud history, still organised and making a real difference for the most marginalised including the precariat, the unemployed, and students.
I have enjoyed my time with forest occupation squats, a widespread form of action that doubles as autonomous territory—as laboratories of a non-hierarchical, free and social way of living. Everyone who has been at Lützerath remembers it as not just a fight against coal but as living proof of what a good society could be like.
There is a lively t4t scene and a lively BDSM scene, both of which I have (to make a wild understatement) quite enjoyed.