Saturday, May 29, 2010

Update!

Six months later, since running (I mean stepping) out of Germany, I can look back and cry (I mean reminisce) about my hard times in that shithole (I mean Germany). I can't believe it's been 6 months and we are now living in Vienna, Austria which seems like night and day from Germany. I can't tell you how traumatized I still am and I have tried to block out the experiences I've had and reading the old posts, just remind me of how bad it was. Sometimes I wonder, if I was too sensitive and took it too hard and why other expats, actually like that god-forsaken place?! Every time someone says, "Oh I want to live in Germany," I literally cringe. Other people that I meet that say they are from Germany, I start to feel the hairs on my back (I'm Asian, I have no hair there) feel like they're standing straight up and I have to wonder, HOW MUCH trauma did I go through there? Why was this such a life-changing experience? Other people go through much more difficult times in life, but why did I take it soooo hard?

Then I wonder about the basic necessities of life. Hmm let's discuss:

AIR- it was freaking freezing at all times, near frost bite in extremities, so f@(@!%in cold that you dream of heaters and sunshine.
WATER- no free water anywhere. Even at a restaurant while you are eating there you must pay for bottled water and it's more expensive than beer. Only hard water in your house, that means bad clothes washing, dry skin, coffee deposits, chapped lips, constipation, buying bottle water etc..
BATHROOMS- pay as you go bathrooms, even at a restaurant. I'm serious, pay your meal then pay to use the facilities
FOOD-only German crappy, unhealthy, greasy, no variety food everywhere. Get used to schnitzel, bretzel or beer and nothing else. No fresh seafood, no ingredients, no cravings that can be fulfilled, no international, ordering Korean food online from 6 hrs away, paying 10 times the price and having this food mailed to your house in a big box by DHL, seriously. And be prepared to get a muffin-top (if you don't know what that is, look it up)
CLOTHING-can't afford it, that's why we have to travel to America or any surrounding country to buy anything. Imagine paying 250 euros for a pair of boots, non-designer, I'm serious.
TECHNOLOGY-your internet (which is your lifeline to anything modern and society) will be down and they will charge you to call customer service (2 euros a minute, A MINUTE!!!) and they will not fix it or have someone speak english to help you. Let alone problems with your cel phone. 6 months later, we are still paying our German cel phone bill, don't ask.
SUN-lack of it, for 8 months, living in cloud of grey. Think about it, no stars, moon, sunsets or sun, think about it...depression is very common in Germany
WEATHER-snow, rain, cloudy, hail, below freezing temperature for months (more than half a year), extreme temperatures and everything that goes along with it-traffic, coats, kleenex, gloves, umbrellas, dry skin, chapped lips, constipation, snowing out, snow tires/summer tires, driving in a snow storm so that you can't see out the window..
ENTERTAINMENT-none, no English movie theaters, tv, radio, friends, sometimes no internet. Think about it
FAMILY-none
FRIENDS-none and hard to make any at all
TIME-everything closing at 5:30 mon-fri and closed on Sundays, you figure out how to shop in 4 markets, do all your errands, dry cleaning/alterations and some stores even close by noon on SAT!, think about how you get everything done (taking the tram, carrying heavy bags) in ONE SATURDAY!
TRANSPORTATION-as we all know, I was not able to drive after my license rights were taken away. Funny, I got my drivers license in one day in Austria..
Public transportation is always such a pleasant experience (stinky, dirty, fart-smelling trams)
CLOTHING-I don't think I wore my California shorts or flip flops once in Augsburg, Germany, I am not kidding. I did however, wear many coats, sweaters, fur, gloves, hats, scarves covering every inch of my body to keep warm from the freezing cold!
HOUSING-hmm well if you've read the blog, you will know about our super kind German neighbors and how friendly they are. How our heating bill is exhorbitant, how for 3 years I had to turn on the heater at my in-laws house and only one single day, the heater was off and we actually sat outside in the entire 3 years. THREE YEARS! No garbage disposals, 7 recycling bins, no 100 watt bulbs only flourescent energy saving bulbs, BYOC (bring your own closet, washer, no dryers, refrigerator, and sometimes the kitchen and the kitchen sink) the list goes on and on...
MOVING- I think we spent over 30k US DOLLARS in the last 2 years moving from US to Baden-Baden, Germany to Augsburg to Vienna.
TAXES-50% income, 20% VAT --you figure it out
CURRENCY- lose half of what you bring over
LANGUAGE-only German, all the time, everything online, menus, internet, instructions, ingredients, directions, metric system, celsius, asking for help, customer service, labels, ALL in German, NO ENGLISH anywhere at any time.
TRAVEL-I think we spent most of our paycheck on travel, to get the heck out of Germany, every weekend as much as we could. I think I spent thousands of dollars and a lot of sweat at the airport, lugging around huge, oversized luggage across the countries, filled to the rim with clothes, shoes, vanilla, sheets, cake pans, stationary, electronics and things we couldn't buy in Germany.

I think that about covers it, interesting and still so not funny yet. I am not over it, let's see in a few years, if I can laugh about it.

Vienna is a dream compared to Germany, people are open, international, not as prejudiced, there are international restaurants, we made great friends (with personalities), Korean restaurants, a few international markets, we even found a great Mexican restaurant. The weather is still cool but there are days with actual sunshine and blue skies (unbelievable). There are beautiful buildings, culture, places to see, do and something to do on a Sat night (english movie theaters, parties, clubs, museums, etc). Many speak English, and there are tons of tourists so plenty of Asians, Blacks, Jews, you know non-Aryan races that actually make you feel at home and not like a FOB foreigner.

I am so grateful for America, for being AMERICAN, for the country and all that it has to offer and after being all over the world and living in Europe, I can honestly say I LOVE LA!!!!
Los Angeles with it's weather, sun, beaches, nightlife, entertainment, convertibles, restaurants, and flaky people is the best city in the whole world!!!!! Cost of living, sun, surf sand, eating anything even at midnight, flying to Vegas, cruising in a convertible, Target, Ross and Marshalls and malls, it's LIKE TOTALLY AWESOME! Can't wait to move back there in a year and I vow to appreciate everything I took for granted there! You don't miss it, till it's gone. It helps you admire the blue blue sky and the beautiful, orange sunsets, or the warm, summer nights and the twinkling stars and the city lights, the blue (kinda brown) oceans, and even the traffic is not so bad anymore! (I would rather drive in my own car through 2 hrs of traffic then in a crowded tram with people who have bad B.O. or farting) Listening to my music, in a convertible, take a coast ride up to San Francisco, eat Dim Sum when I crave it without paying a fortune, buying as much as I want in a market or a store and not having to weigh it to see if I can carry the bag home, not paying 8 dollars a gallon for gas! and loving loving my hometown, Hollyweird or Hollywood with it's Reality Stars, Rodeo Drive, dress to impress, posers and all, I LOVE IT!
OOOXXX

59 comments:

  1. Oh come on...you can't compare Vienna (which I dislike by the way...have been there - horrible) and LA to Bavaria, the worst federal state here. You should've come to the North where the real Germans live. I hate the Southern part of Germany, they can't even speak German properly lol And we actually do have much support for Non-English speaking people here, signs etc included. And for me, a strange German kind of, doesn't like the typical German food, but I can eat something else, such as Asian and I'm not fat yet. Really depends on the location and Bavaria is the worst you can go as a foreigner...they even think Non-Bavarian are foreigner kind of. Just saying ;)

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    1. Agree schwabish/Bavaria is a totally different world. Thanks for understanding and knowing that. A lot of people just have no idea how different that area is yo the rest of Germany. I learned later about it wish I had known then.

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  2. Not sure if you still follow comments here, but I just wanted to let you know that I loved reading your Blogs, I read every single article on both the "Hate" and "Love" Blog, and actually can understand (almost) every single gripe you mentioned.

    I'm actually a native German, but been to many other countries and surfing almost exclusively on non-German places on the Internet, so, I kind of have a little bit of the "Big picture" ;)

    Actually, LA is a place I would love to work and live in. Hope I'll have the guts to apply for a Job there sometime soon :)

    Thanks again for your entertaining stuff.

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    1. Thank you for reading every single post that's awesome that you as a native German can relate to most of it. That's exactly true there is a big picture of it all and a lot of people have no clue not being from there or living in a place like Augsburg. Appreciate your support and like I said hope I can give some insight to others. Not hate.

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  3. I am reading your blog as a way to keep my sanity at times, I think that I might be crazy for hating here so much but reading about other foreigners' bad experiences in Germany reminds me that I am not crazy and Germany is a shithole. The extremely rude and racist people, the total lack of logic ( and arbitrary ways) on how they do things drives me insane. Thank you for your posts they have been helpful.

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    1. I'm sorry you had or are having such a hard time. This blog is a forum of people that have a hard time living in Germany or experienced such nightmares as I did. I thought I was crazy many times as I couldn't believe all those things actually happened to me. And boy was it not fun enough for me to write so much about it. Sharing it on a blog kept me sane as I had to let it out. To one day be able to laugh about it and also document on what I really went through. It's been many years but I still remember. I just don't dwell on the negative anymore thank god but that's because I'm not living there any more. I wish you luck and happy times wherever you are.

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  4. Hope you are in a better place, now,-)

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    1. Thank you I am in a much better place now living back in LA full of smog, traffic and flaky people but I looooooove it. I appreciate it all I really do. I almost kissed the ground when I came back. Blue skies, sunshine, stars and sun, great weather, great food, interesting diverse culture and people and all the Korean food or any type of food whenever the freak I want. Even Sundays. Really love LA and America. Very grateful to be back here!

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  5. I stumbled on your blog. I am an American living in Germany for seven years now, and all I can say is I am often ashamed my family was of German descent. Now I know why they gave up everything to come to America. I hope you're enjoying Vienna and would be delighted to know in what field you found a job. As a journalist and editor, I have only been able to find work as a native speaker. Of course they argue with me over my own language. Sigh...

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    1. Sorry. I hope you are not ashamed for being German. Not all Germans are bad or as awful as the ones I mentioned. I really feel bad that I had some bad luck in my time in germany I wished it never happened that way. But those terrible experiences did happen with some very nasty people and THEY and their actions made me feel that horrible about it. Unfortunately in that terrible town of Augsburg many of them were just plain awful people doesn't matter if they were Germans or not. I hope maybe some of them would read this blog and maybe change their actions and their hatred. Maybe be a little more welcoming to people especially foreigners. I had an impossible time getting work without speaking or knowing the language there. But on a side note my husband had the nicest German bosses from Augsburg and they were truly the nicest people. They even came to our wedding. So not all Germans are terrible just the ones I encountered sometimes. Forgive me if I sounded racist myself I just had a really hard time there and I was hurt and angry. There was a very dark energy there for sure.

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  6. You still in Austria?wow I got to admit I just about agree in everything you say about Germany,I live here for just about 4 yrs and I feel like I'm dying little by little this freaken weather and everything else I'm also from California ans boy do I miss it.

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    1. Good luck Mario I feel for you. We moved to Vienna then finally back to LA. We moved 7 times in 5 years it was crazy, a big pain and very expensive. I am so glad to be settled finally back in the US. Hopefully you can find your way back to LA someday.

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  7. Where are you now? Back in the states? I would love to talk to you because I am moving back to Germany again after having to come back home to apply for my residency. You made me laugh and you almost made me cry (because I was remembering the extremely difficult time I had there within the 3 months).
    You confirmed to me that I wasn't crazy for thinking all of things you talked about. Thank you for that.
    Maybe I can get some more pointers from you to be able to survive there. I don't think I will ever expect a beautiful life there. Ever. Just for the meantime till I try to convince my husband that Germany will no longer do it for me. I would greatly appreciate it.

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    1. Hi not sure if you're living there now but good luck and really depends what city as well. Thanks for your comments really means a lot. It's nice to share and not feel you are alone with your feelings. Your husband Shute read the blog and hopefully you won't need to move there. The biggest pointer to survive is to not move there period. But if you must it would be to try to live in a bigger city like Berlin or Düsseldorf, there are some cities that are a little more international and open to other cultures. Unlike the schwabish Bavaria region where I lived.

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  8. Lol. I just came across this because your blog is the first result on google if you search "i hate germany". Did you even know that? You're like the most famous person to hate germany since...IDK Simon Weisenthal or something. It's all that much better to read it because I'm from LA too, and I'm stuck in Munich right now. I just wanted to see if anyone else had the same sense of loathing about this country that I do at the moment. Not that I can get with you on the whole Marshalls/Ross/LA bla bla thing but, after living in france for the last two years, this country is completely barbaric. You forgot to mention that men here measure each other by how many antlers they can hang on a wall. But I haven't read your whole blog yet.

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    1. Thanks, hope you're still not stuck in Munich anymore. Not sure if I'm the most famous person to hate Germany nor do I want to be known as that. But yes this blog has been popular on Google. Like I said I hope it is informative, educational and helpful to some people that might be having a hard time there. I'm glad some can relate. I'm glad some feel better about their situation and not think they're crazy or the only ones feeling that way. I'm glad some people have a outlet or a voice or a forum to discuss their hard times living in a country that they're not used to or are having a hard time. The crazy thing is every thing really did happen the way I wrote about it. And my feelings as exxagerated as it seemed were very real to me at the time I went though it. I'm over all the anger and hurt now 6 years later so it's out of my system but I hope it helped in some way to you guys. Thanks again for making it one of the most popular blogs in the world.

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  9. This is a great great blog! Hope you are somewhere much warmer. We are in Germany right now.....and not enjoying also.

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    1. Hi Mike, Nicki and the boys! Hope you're not hating it too much or perhaps have moved from there? Thanks for your support I'm glad you enjoyed it. As I said read it as tongue in cheek, don't take it all too personal people. It's just a blog. To entertain and to inform. ;)

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  10. Hey, id din't know how to contact you in any other way so i'm leaving a omment. I live in germany for 7 months now and it is TERRIBLE, i'm from greece and i'm 13 years old, i wish i could leave this country once and for all and go live in Korea. Well that's what i'm doing after i turn 18. I just love this blog, seriously...

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    1. HI George so glad you love the blog. Wow you must be a little older now. I hope the last few years haven't been too terrible for you there. I can only imagine how it must be fir a teenager to struggle living there. I hope you meet some nice friends and try to enjoy your time there. Let me know if you move to korea. Seoul is absolutely amazing and they are very welcome of other cultures there and the food, shopping and culture is great! Quite a different place than Germany! Take care!

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  11. Great stuff. I live in germany and agree. I am from NY. I got to Wien all the time. its so much better.
    www.kevinanglim.com

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  12. Hello,
    I understand what you must have gone thru as I am facing the same situation right now. My name is AJ and I am from Bombay, India not a very great place to come from as people say but way better than Germany I suppose. I am an IT Manager by profession and moved here since my wife is a German and was not ready to settle down in India. I have 10 Plus years of work experience and thought that it would be so difficult to get a job here as I informed that Germany is seeing a lot of people from the IT back ground. It's sad that it wasn't entirely true - in all their job posting they require German and English. I moved to Germany in June 2011 and from August 2011 till May 2012 completed my German Language Level B1 after which I went back to Bombay for 4 months to get a few Technical Microsoft and Cisco Certifications as it is very expensive here plus its all in German only. The reason for doing so is that these Companies out here need Certifications so I went back and got 4 of them. When i got back here in November i must have applied to at least 70 Companies and continue doing so. Although I meet 99% of their requirement they don't seem pleased. I cannot figure out if its me being an Indian or cause they expect me to speak fluent German or what the hell is the problem cause no one even bothers to give you a feedback even if you ask for one. For e.g there was a position as a Technical Support Supervisor with McAfee and I applied for it, even had a telephonic interview after which they said they are sorry and haven't given me a feedback as to why they are sorry or where do I lack cause I fit the bill 100%. The best part is that its been 4 months and they are still searching for someone. This place really suck as you mentioned I too think this place is filled with uptight weirdos. Everything super expensive and people are very unfriendly. While I was in Bombay I played a lotta music Rock and Funk to be precise so thought would join some music course and make friends there at least but was so wrong they looked at me as if I am some alien from a different planet. I really am so frustrated at this point but still sticking thru only cause I love my wife and returning back to India would be a hassle as she wouldn't want to move out. I am so damn stuck in this shithole I really hate it here. I have always been a fun guy, very positive and optimistic but this country has changed me so much to the extent that I feel suicidal at times which is something I haven't experienced before. Not that I am gonna do something stupid but the feeling of being in such a rut make me feel where the hell have I landed and got myself into. I really don't know what more to say. I came across your blog and then realized I ain't the only foreigner who is experiencing it. If an American can call this place a shit hole then me as an Indian cannot disagree on that view. Have a nice day and really happy you are out of this place. Hope I make it too someday soon.

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    1. Hi AJ I'm so sorry to read what you've gone through there. Not sure if you're still struggling in germany but I wish you well. I am sad to hear you were suicidal at times and all the struggles and racism you experienced looking for work. I feel your pain in your words and am glad you were able to express them here. These feelings we've experienced are real, the hurt and anger we feel are real and unfortunately we had to experience them from some really bad people in germany. I too felt very much alone and confused and wondering why I was so depressed and unhappy but it was because of all the negativity and things I went through there. I too am a positive happy person that loves great music, but when I lived there I was miserable. Every day somebody harassed me or made me feel bad or hurt my feelings or I experienced difficult struggles in day to day things. Struggling to find work was difficult too if you're living in a smaller town where they don't speak English. I wish you luck and happiness and peace wherever you are. I hope these bad feelings and experiences are part of your past. I hope you find joy somewhere in your life and true happiness to you and your wife.

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  13. hey, i found your blog and it is very therapeutic for me.i realized this post is three years ago but i still want to share my feelings.i never been to Germany,but my job once revolved around backpackers and Germans were among them.Not to sound racist,but I found it less charming in how they were behaving.also had a bad memory with one of them.Then I met my Canadian fiancee who was travelling as well.He just got back from Australia working holiday and fyi Australia is filled with young travelling Germans.My fiancee back then was so keen on visiting Germany,has close German friends but one thing bugged me the most was he had this one month fling with a young German girl.It drives me nuts.Until now,anything German pissed me off.I am sorry but it has conditioning me and i feel helpless.I am a woman who only reacted to my fiancee then irresponsible act.I was told by a travelling German that everyone there was cheating with their bf/gf back home(he was referring to working holiday Germans in Australia).He made it sounds like every young Germans there just want to have irresponsible fun.Because of this,I hate the fact that my fiancee then was so keen on Germans and Germany.This tore our relationship so much.I hate the fact that he just jumped in to a willing vagina as soon as he could.He told me they were both realized the fling will not get to a more stable stage (relationship) but they still continue sleeping with each other.I was so disturbed on how low he put intimacy in his life.He told me at the same hostel,there was two english folks who got together,switch to a double room hence making it clear to everyone they are committed to each other .but he and the girl,they keep on going for a month in a freaking tv room.i felt so helpless.i know it is okay for some people to do that but i found it demeaning.I was so depressed.I have no one to talk to because my family and friends are traditional asians. Talking to them about this matter will only lead to somewhere worse.I am very glad I found your blog.Somehow it helps me.I am trying to make our relationship works and I need all the help available.Thank you very much.

    Nadia

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    1. Hi Nadia sorry to hear about your experience that sounds terrible. Anyone that's been cheated on knows how that feels. I hope you've moved on from your cheating boyfriend and have moved on from that bad experience. With time your heart will heal. But a cheating boyfriend? Well a cheetah doesn't change their stripes so I would move on from him! Good luck and hope you're doing well now!

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  14. My God do I agree with you in just about everything its 2013 and like you i hate it here and iam slso from Cali.but Iam stuck i have a 5 yr old boy and a wife with Ms.iwas happy to read you left and live in Austria I wonder if you now live in LA if u do my best wishes to you!

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    1. Hi glad you agree. It's funny because some of the haters wrote that I made things up and that lots of things were lies. So interesting that people could think I could make this stuff up I wish it were so. But it all painfully really happened. Hope it helped in any way to you. Hope you're still not stuck there and wish you and your family well.

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  15. Wow... Haha this is pretty extreme :O Well I'm an Asian from Singapore (hope you know where that is :)) and I was planning to study my university degree in either Germany or US. I was pretty much considering Germany due to its cheaper education already, but I visited the country and I'm still rather unsure :/

    Haha anw thanks for your whole account and interesting tales it helped a lot!

    grusse

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    1. Oh man Jolene I hope you chose the US! It's worth the extra tuition! Hope this gave you some clarity of what life might be if you move to a small town in germany. I wouldn't risk it if I were you! Lol

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  16. Dear Fellow Sufferer,
    I don't know your status now, but I hope you are thousands of miles away from Germany and enjoying our BEAUTIFUL U.S. of A which I will never, ever diss on ever again after being in Germany.
    I am stuck here for three months..only three, I know, but each day is a certain kind of hell. Reading your blog has really comforted me, as no one else gets it, and even other Europeans can't sympathize (brain-washed or afraid to lose their jobs??!)
    All I can say is, even if this country was the last great economy in the world, I will die a POOR MAN eating dirt sandwiches in the U.S. before emigrating here.

    "Tschuss"
    -Counting down the days like a prisoner scratching on the cell walls

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    1. Dear fellow sufferer
      I hope you've lasted through those 3 months. It was death to live there for 3 years! I am not eating dirt sandwiches but fine good ol American BBQ ribs something you can never find in Germany ;)
      I too am so proud and lucky to be an American and have never felt more grateful to be back. It ain't perfect but it's home and God Bless the US of A! Land of the free baby land of the free!!

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  17. Agree 100%! After USA, it's sucks in Germany.

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  18. I've read everything and ohh daarrling I cannot agree with you more. Sadly I was born in this shithole of a country, I'm a 17 year old turkish girl and I never felt happy in here, maybe til I was 10. My mother and I are thinking about leaving this country and going back to our roots, to our home country Turkey, our beautiful, warm, sunny, free country, but all this goddamn paperwork abd lack of time is killing us. Hopefully we will be able to go in a year or two, I cannot stand this place anymore... turkey may be full of trash and more violence but those are the only problems..

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    1. Good luck to you hopefully things have improved or you've moved back to Turkey? I've visited Antalya and it was a beautiful place with the best Mediterranean cuisine. Loved the grilled peppers and the fresh bread!

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  19. I totally agree with you. I am stuck in Germany since a year now and I am only looking forward to get out of this country. To add to the list the majority of people will correct you if they can if you make any small "mistake". Also germans not all but the majority inside themselves hate foreigners and the fact that you don't speak correctly german for them is an insult. Not everyone is like that but around 80% of the people.. Also you missed the part of the terrible burocracy and the thousands of different forms that you must fill out (all in german) in order to do taxes, take your kids to the kindergarden, have insurance, etc.. and the list goes on..
    Not to mention that for me germans the majority have no table manners or understand the concept of being polite or I will say better being less selfish.

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  20. totally agree with you.. I think you should add to the list:

    - The majority of germans dislike foreigners and will take pleasure on correcting you when you don´t speak 100% german.
    -Customer service is non-existence so be aware that you can be shouted at by the cashier.
    -Old german people like to critize others and will do that to you even in the supermarket.
    -The burocracy here is unbelievable meaning if you go to the immigration office, job office, etc.. expect to fill out A LOT of different forms and to present every single piece of document they can think of..
    -People are like robots, meaning they only follow the rules and never question themselves out of the system.
    And the list goes on..

    I am not from the US, but I have lived in different countries and I must say Germany is a nice country to visit and then go back home..

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    1. OH yes Alejandra I agree with you on the bureaucracy and the millions of forms and rules of this country. It was so bad we had to drive to Denmark to get married just to avoid all the paperwork. It should be in one of my blog posts not fun at all.

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  21. I share your pain... I have just finally been freed after nine years of exile and back in California breathing the clean Pacific air and appreciating the systems that makes sense, work and were not designed just to make your life difficult.

    My contribution is here:
    berlinhater.de

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  22. Haha, hey, I live in Germany, my family is half Russian, though. I tell you something: you´re absolutely right.. I hate Germany as well... ! Can´t wait to get out of here.

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  23. I absolutely hate it in Germany as well, although I was born and raised here, I can no longer live here. Daily, I find myself in the same situations you have blogged about. This country prides itself in being technology leaders and having quality everything. I wanna know where, and at what cost. This country is simply behind us about 20 years in so many ways, starting with customer service and ending with rude rude rude and dumb, emotionally stunted, and wanna be rich but only have 3 sets of outfits to change into, so they wear it for 5 days before they wash it, people. Arrrgggghhh. You know, it's one thing when a millionaire wears Armani to show off he has money, but it seems that everyone does it here just to be socially accepted, so when I wear my comfy VS sweat suit, looking cute, I get these stairs, like ..... what the hell is she wearing ... and let me remind you, these stare come from people that make no more than 30000 euros a year and have 3 garments of high end label clothing. ARRRGGGGGHHHH. So when I meet so called new friends and they see my closet, the first thing that come out of their mouth is, “when do you wear all these clothes and shoes?”, instead of oh great you don’t have to wear the same stinky clothes 3x a week. I don’t even know where to start here, but I must say that your blog is very amusing and true. I am American and proud. Even though I speak Germany like a native, I refuse to do so, but rather bug the crap out of Germans that refuse to even try to speak the language of the World, ENGLISH, by making them and continually forcing them to do so. There is a lot ignorance and lack of knowledge here, trying to close this gap could take another 20 years, if the stars allign.

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    1. Oh I feel your pain! It's too bad that we can't understand each others cultures and yes we are spoiled from America with affordable nice clothing, but they seem very closed minded about so many things. They don't seem to understand that that is a good thing but their closets are so small I don't know where all the extra clothes will go? I did get many looks, comments and judgement on my clothes from America they're just jealous about your VS sweat suit ;)

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  24. Girl, in which city in Germany have you lived? I agree Vienna is awesome. But there are plenty of German cities comparable to Vienna. Of course if you have lived in a small town, then the comparison is not valid. It would be comparing a nowhere little town in US with NY.
    Most of the things sound so exaggerated. I grew up in Germany and am an expat now myself. I also lived in Chicago and I found life there quite disappointing actually. All the places I have been so far were either comparable price wise or higher. Germany is expensive but not as much as US cities or parts Asia, where I live now.
    I am sorry you have had such a bad experience. But Germany s really a perfect place to live, meaning especially in one of the bigger cities.

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  25. Yes, it's true, being an American is such a dream.
    Especially nowadays when driving through the suburbs of Detroit.

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  26. Too bad your Germany experience was so traumatizing. It is not for everybody, but I got to say that people need to have a open mind about things. Just because Germany with it's customs doesn't serve a lifestyle that you are used to means only to me that you are unable to adapt and is just plain and simply whiny. You seem like a person that gets around a lot, and seems to have seen many things here and there. And, while I agree with some of the things you have stated about your Germany experience, for the most part it is simply childish bitching about mundane things like "my coffee doesn't taste nutty enough I HATE GERMANY". Try to spend 2 years Afghanistan for NATO operations, and then bitch about it being too cold, too warm, or that stores aren't open till after 5pm. I know this is for you, and it helped you deal with the horribleness of Germany, but maybe you need to be a little less ignorant and more accepting about things in other cultures and countries.

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  27. Pt. 1
    I feel your pain. I can't say I 'hate' Germany after my expat experience there so much as intrigued by it and think it probably has the best PR campaign going on in the world.

    We see 'top of the line engineering' coming out of the place as evidenced by their automakers and certain professional niche tools. The Germans undoubtedly make good stuff, but living there felt like a throwback. One feels poor and desperate due to the lack of everything and no one seems happy about it, but why would they?

    Your point about the lack of free drinking water and discount stores (Target, TJ Max/Marshalls, etc.) says it all. Americans can’t understand what it's like to have two options when buying a pair of pants: a 'regular' priced pair that make Walmart duds look like Neiman Marcus or a 'designer' pair that will cost designer prices plus, and the 'plus' is always staring you in the face as a bad exchange rate. I don't know how the locals can afford to live there without generational support from large, extended families.

    The living is small and uncomfortable; no big homes, no big anything. It's confusing too, especially if you don't understand the language. You're on Mars and the locals don't give a crap if you starve, which you might unless you cave in to food that can best be described as 'edible' but really not much more.

    When I was there I traveled. I told myself it was to see as much of Europe as I could, but really it was to get the hell away from such a sad little country that smells and feels like crap for the most part.

    One might think that under such repression there would be outlets for fun everywhere but, I had no idea where or what they were. If everything is closed on the days you might want to enjoy them (weekends) then what the hell do you do? What does anyone do? And that's a hard thing to penetrate. Something is going on but foreigners are rarely let in on it. I recall getting the rare drunken invite to an unannounced party by a river from a headbanger I met in a bar. In the midst of a cold foggy dead of night were perhaps a hundred or more headbangers in black leather, crouched down, smoking, drinking, chatting. That was their party. It was very strange but you could tell it was that kind of hidden social outlet most visitors never see. How many gatherings like that are there? I suspect there are many; nothing sinister, but nothing they care to share with foreigners- and that's completely understandable, though it can make visitors feel completely excluded and mostly bored in an uptight country. There IS repression in Germany- it's everywhere, and it manifests itself in extremism (e.g. be careful browsing the sex industry) and extremism that's hidden from plain sight because EVERYTHING is verbotten.

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  28. Pt. 2
    That they manage to live with those conditions and create all that they do seems slightly miraculous. Germany reminds me of a parent who endlessly tells you to do 'the right thing'- the right things sucks balls but you KNOW it's the right thing so you suck it up or rebel. By comparison, we Americans take our excesses for granted. If we were responsible we WOULD put things into seven different recycle bins, we wouldn't make people work on Sundays, we wouldn't waste a drop of water and we'd punish people who do. We wouldn't be able to buy so many clothes we can no longer walk into our closets and we wouldn't have closets, much less walk in ones. As gas prices rise over here I wonder if we're becoming obsolete and whether our standard of living will turn into a German one. I mean, after we've exhausted China's will to give us cheep goods for slave labor and all. Troubling, right?

    Germans make it work. They take crap and turn it into gold. They knuckle down and bare a very inhospitable life with strength, though not always grace. It is impressive. Because of all this Germany that fascinates me, but not enough to make me want to live there.

    By the way, I think BMW's are overpriced and overrated. That's after owning two. :-L

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  29. you are so right. I hate germany too, and i just stumbled upon this blog by typing, ''i hate germany'' in google.

    this country is a prison. If you are an ethnic german, its more like a gilded prison, but a prison nontheless. If you are a foreigner who is obviously not an ethic german or even a european much less, welcome to hell on earth! complete with grey skies, shitty weather all around, crass, barbaric natives who are made to feel entitled by their government, and the possibility of getting sued for the slightest thing...


    Its a burden i would not wish on my worst enemy.

    I cant wait to get the hell out of here and move to Oahu, where everything and everyone will be much warmer to someone like myself and my children..

    The only thing that has kept me in germany is my children, The mother of my children is german, and i have been through the whole familiengericht charade, complete with a file opened up on me by the Jugendamt!

    If you want to know what fighting an uphill battle is like, try being a foreigner in germany and being sued by a german and taken to court before a 100% ethnic german audience (the german court shitstem/government.)

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    1. Wow sounds terrible sorry I can totally imagine how difficult that must be to deal w the Jugendamt. Hope everything works out for you and you can one day live in my favorite place Oahu with your children. Freedom and blue skies and beaches!

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  30. right on for you for making it out of this place!

    closing all of your open affairs can be a drag, i.e. your 6 month drag of a nightmare german cellphone contract.

    The only thing that keeps me motivated is the fact that i know that every day I am one day closwer to leaving this shithole! And when I leave, I am leaving with my family, so Germany loses again. They already don't have enough children as is with the natives not reproducing and all. so the country has to resort to shipping in immigrants who they dont want anyways and will never accept if their lives depended on it! i am veering off topic,

    but germany is a country on a tangent. totally long winded and redundant if you ask me..more like a festering, unsightly sore on the face of planet earth...i am so freaking done with this god forsaken country!

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    1. Glad you can vent your frustrations here. Being out of there I am finally over the pain after 6 years away from there. This blog helped me a lot I really did feel that bad and experienced all those things. I don't feel as much hate anymore but I really have no desire to ever set foot in that country again.

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  31. Hi asian american girl, I was in California 14 years ago, in Fresco & LA, and it was a great time, I was pleasant surprised. My sister lived in California LA for several years, since she is back in Germany she is very unhappy, ... So it is interesting that life was so hard for you in Germany Bavaria/Schwabenland, but beliefe me Hessen or Franken is not a better place in Germany. Maybe it has to do (the mentality of the u..y Germans a lot with the shity weather, the German history ( and slo the conditioning) and the old-germanian Gens in this rough Germania..., After joining 40 years Germany ( and I believed in it) I am dissapointed by myself from Germany, the system, politics, most people and the nosocial economics.........! where are the correct german people ????? have all died ? heve they ever been correct? maybe it was a myth,a lie or Illusion the good old Germany. it maybe never existed ? ... a so I can understand you a little !
    good luck, Pete

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    1. Thanks Pete! Hope your sister is having a better time and can find some happiness there. I'm really loving being back in sunny California. ;)))

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  32. Actually, I think Germany (and many countries in Western Europe , but UK and Holland) is more less quite similar to many Southern States in US where racism does still exist, if you're non white. To make it worse, as someone who had lived in Germany for 8 years, it doesn't matter whether you live in the south, north or east of Germany. The people are more less with that shitty attitude. Trump could have won there too as the leader of the Nazi. F**k the Nazis !

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  33. This comment has been removed by the author.

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    1. Yikes I agree to certain degree just depends on the people and the regions on their prejudices. Hope those 8 years weren't too bad for you.

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  34. Hi , i was bored and curious when i googled both , "i love germany " and " i hate germany " and it turned out that " i hate germany " comes up with endless reaults . Well i m a syrian refugee , i came here cus i m alawite from lattakia and i asked for asylum , german goverment gives too much help to refugees especially syrians altho i dont like many syrian refugees for reasons that take long to explain and i feel that i cant talk about germany as a refugee , because what germany gives to refugees is too much and that calls for respect . but i just wanna say that i hope the situation gets better in Syria or i find another place to go . i m seriously not happy and depressed in bavaria , i wonder if staying in syria was any how better than comming to here ?! Well its not , and thats my problem , you are so lucky you have home to go back to . happy for you !

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    1. Hi Anas
      I am so sorry about what you are going through. I cannot even imagine. And when I think about the suffering and hardships of what refugees are going through right now, I feel terrible to complain about those many trivial things I complained about. Although those posts for me were many years ago and I am over alot of the hate and anger I felt then. Because time and space finally healed those feelings. I really hope that you and your family do find a safe home that you love or that you can return safely to Syria one day. My heart goes out to you - love from across the world. Take care and keep in touch.

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  35. Hi thanks for your candid & very interesting account. I can only imagine ....

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