What is Germany like to live for a year ?

Sorry OP that someone (who probably has never been to Europe) has tried to hi-jack your thread.

As for the question, asking "What is it like to live in Germany?" is akin to asking "what's it like living in the United States," but just on a little bit of a smaller scale. As with anywhere, it would highly depend on what your job was, how much money you made, and where you lived. So a lot of it depends on what you make of it.

I do not live in Germany, but I do live in France. No, Europe does not smell. I have spent several weeks in Paris (not where I live), and the only time I smelled something was when I was on the metro. But you will get that in any big city metro, no matter the country. The train/transportation system in Europe is amazing. Definitely better than the United States. A lot of people ride bikes over here instead of cars. If you have the opportunity to go live in Germany for a year, or longer, definitely take it. You will learn a new language, get to travel a bit, and learn about different ways of life. As for the guy who said "people in Europe are secluded/reserved" or something to that effect, how on earth can you make such a sweeping generalization about 100million+ people?

There will be drawbacks of course. The biggest may be the Euro, and the cost of living. It is generally a little bit less expensive in Germany than in France. But the Euro has been on the downslide recently, losing some steem against the dollar so this would work in your favor obviously if the trend continues. Maybe you will miss your family/friends some, but that will vary greatly depending on the person. My biggest problem with Europe is the hours that stores close. I believe an earlier poster mentioned that in Germany many were closed on Sunday. It is the same in France, and can be very annoying/troublesome. But you will learn to adjust.

Biking is big in Europe, so there are usually some good (and flat!) bike trails you can run on.

Sorry I basically answered your "what's it like to live in Germany" question with "this is what it's like to live in France," but I thought I would try to point out some of the great things/opportunites about living over here (Europe) in general, since I saw that a troll has tried to derail the thread. Anyways, if the opportunity is given to you, take it. You will not be disappointed.

The more north you go in W. Eur the worse it gets when in comes to personal hygiene and general cleanliness. UK, Ger, FF are the worst. SP in the cleanest. Paris is a real dump.

ok try it wrote:

in europe people are reserved and non-exciting. if you like that sort of subdued culture then it's nice. but even small cities in the u.s. are exciting with people trying new things all of the time. europe is stagnant and the culture demands that people think of the group. the can't excel as individuals which makes the people bland they way they are. it's nice to see such harmony in the beginning but after a while it's depressing knowing that europeans spend their entire lives in blissful mediocity.

Yeah, countries like Norway and Albania really have a lot in common. Idiot!

im thinking of going on exchange for a year to berlin.

is it fairly easy to learn the language for those who have done a similar 1 year exchange or lived there for a year or two?

ok try it wrote:

americans are clean people. europeans are filthy. americans did not start out as hygienic people but during the impressionist era the u.s. copied france and started bathing, showering, washing clothes, brushing teeth, cleaning streets. after the fads of impressionist era waned, france reverted back to european ways, but americans kept cleaning themselves. even in the worst parts of town, americans are mostly clean.

A least young women in Western Europe shave their p#ssies unlike American women, who have furry animals between their legs.

Captain Tenneal wrote:

No, Europe does not smell. I have spent several weeks in Paris (not where I live), and the only time I smelled something was when I was on the metro. But you will get that in any big city metro, no matter the country.

Never been to Asia? I've spent a couple years riding the metro in Seoul, Singapore, Hong Kong, etc. and never any smell like you get in NYC (which can be horrid) or Paris and other European cities.

For an American, I think it's far more exciting to spend time in Asia (and I've lived in or traveled to over 10 countries in Europe, so I have some frame of reference). The dollar goes a lot further, there's a lot more cultural diversity, better food, and in almost any hub there's a decent anglophone expat community with people from all walks of life.

wsdf wrote:

im thinking of going on exchange for a year to berlin.

is it fairly easy to learn the language for those who have done a similar 1 year exchange or lived there for a year or two?

My German friend (from Berlin) says most Americans who spent a year there and put some effort into the language could speak very well. While it would seem that Romance languages should be easier for Americans, Germanic language speakers do tend to speak better English, so maybe it works the other way as well.

Body odors are subdued in the fall and winter months but come spring you better never take a long bus trip in Europe. Old ladies save money by not showering. Whew!Tterrible. The train rides in Europe are especially putrid. I once took the night train since I saw it in the movies and thought I'd try it. No showers. Three bunks high of ripe bodies with dried sweat from a whole summer day. Whew! After that experience I have never taken the train again when in Europe.

Old World wrote:

Mexico is similar to Serbia, Turkey, Italy, and Israel. Mexico is a 2nd World country. In 2nd World countries you can survive unscathed with common sense and a U.S Passport. Like don't parade around in drag, don't wear gold chains, don't show your Ipad, Ipad, and Iphone in public. Turkey and Israel are racist police states. Kurds in Turkey, and Arabs in Israel live in worse than Jim Crow conditions. Gov't police gangs and bands of citizens form posees that wander the night beating and raping minorities.

'and Israel are racist'

It is not racist to oppose those who have vowed to exterminate you.

You probably could have been named US ambassador to the Court of King James in the 1930's.

Correction; the Court of Saint James.

Occupiers have no rights.

Your Next Bold Move wrote:

Only real drawback for me- Peanut butter comes in very small containers and is very expensive

couldn't you buy PB on Amazon.com?

It is not racist to oppose those who have vowed to exterminate you.

Yeah let's rape all the Mexicans like Alberto Salazar and Marco Rubio !

To this product of modern ed. wrote:

[quote]Old World wrote:

Mexico is similar to Serbia, Turkey, Italy, and Israel. Mexico is a 2nd World country. In 2nd World countries you can survive unscathed with common sense and a U.S Passport. Like don't parade around in drag, don't wear gold chains, don't show your Ipad, Ipad, and Iphone in public. Turkey and Israel are racist police states. Kurds in Turkey, and Arabs in Israel live in worse than Jim Crow conditions. Gov't police gangs and bands of citizens form posees that wander the night beating and raping minorities.

'and Israel are racist'

It is not racist to oppose those who have vowed to exterminate you.

Nor is it racist to oppose those who steal your land, murder you in great numbers, and label your terrorist while they do both

You'll dig the high performance taxi cabs over there -

http://bobtheplainguy.blogspot.com/2010/08/taxis-in-munchen.html

kartelite wrote:

wsdf wrote:

im thinking of going on exchange for a year to berlin.

is it fairly easy to learn the language for those who have done a similar 1 year exchange or lived there for a year or two?

My German friend (from Berlin) says most Americans who spent a year there and put some effort into the language could speak very well. While it would seem that Romance languages should be easier for Americans, Germanic language speakers do tend to speak better English, so maybe it works the other way as well.

Yes, how strange.

Maybe it could be because of English being a Germanic language itself?

who would have thought wrote:

kartelite wrote:

My German friend (from Berlin) says most Americans who spent a year there and put some effort into the language could speak very well. While it would seem that Romance languages should be easier for Americans, Germanic language speakers do tend to speak better English, so maybe it works the other way as well.

Yes, how strange.

Maybe it could be because of English being a Germanic language itself?

What?? English and German are completely different languages. As far as I know, there is nothing in common between the two.

I found German much easier to learn on a practical level than French. There are some difficult things, like how they use the passive tense, but overall you should be able to communicate pretty easily. Plus most people in Germany speak decent English.

Graduate Student wrote:

What?? English and German are completely different languages. As far as I know, there is nothing in common between the two.

Really? Then you might have the think again.

Read at least first sentence here:

Then you can read this if you have further interests:

Nothing in common. jeez. Do you really think the languages in Europe evolved in a vacuum?