It's been 2 years since moving out of Berlin. It's great. I got a great job, a huge pay increase, much better health care, my coworkers respect me, and people in the street or in the stores are respectful, sincere, and they smile.
I look back at my 2 years in Berlin and I'm in awe that I didn't go crazy, that my wife didn't go crazy, and that we somehow survived. Looking at some photos from then, I can't believe how pale, thin, and depressed we looked.
The crazy thing is, when I tell anyone about these 2 years, no one believes me! Stuff like people bumping into you, passive aggressive neighbors, freaky bureaucrats, piss EVERYWHERE, the blatant racism, everything falling apart - no, they're like "oh, it's such a nice city, I spent a week there in the summer". FFS, they've never gone through a winter, they never had to get a job there, never had to deal with various -amts.
When I'm having a particularly bad day, I think about places like Karl Marx Allee, Friedrischein, Marzahn, Prenzlauerberg, all in the winter, and realize how effing lucky I am to be alive and out of there.
To all the poor souls still stuck in Berlin - there is another life! Another world! Gather resources, make connections, and get the fornicate out as soon as you can and go back to enjoying life.
Tourists and short-term visitors misinterpret a lot of the negatives of Berlin as positives. They look at the green patches scattered across the city and think to themselves that easy access to nature, however minuscule it may be, is great. They don't for a second consider that German parks are basically just public toilets and marketplaces for those in search of drugs or gay sex. They look at women here in dresses and skirts in the summer and think to themselves that German women really must be classy but will never interact with the locals long enough to have one confide that, deep down, they only wear that garb so they can urinate in public more easily. They'll comment on how reliable and cheap the public transport here is but won't notice that car ownership is a pipe dream for most here and that Berlin transit is full of junkies, aggressive teenagers and exhibitionists.
www.berlin.de/polizei/polizeimeldungen/pressemitteilung.822043.php
I finally figured out what was the issue. It's just the same thing when somebody bumps into you but doesn't apologize and instead acts as if you were in their way. And I think it is fear what is behind it, fear to be blamed or something. When I say to a clerk Idk the word what I want and then he shud be asking. He maybe shud say Excuse me, I didn't hear you. But they are doing the exact same thing as when they bump into you. They pressure you, as if you carelessly didn't say it. These fearbrainfarts they do, always have a logical imbalance, but it's not easy to express about it. I let you know something that came up what I feel to reply to it. Especially they lie! They say they didn't understand but if you don't understand something then you ask and IF you didn't hear it ! the n you do not just presuppose the other one carelessly didn't let you know. But they don't do any of that, they might actually just be afraid to be blamed or then enjoy the confused reactions. So again, here are some thing that came up to reply to that:
If you didn't hear it, then you cannot just right away assume that I didn't say it. (right to her question, I felt like replying it)
You know the crazy thing is, if you reply to them, that you already told them, they take it critically. They dumb you down. You are just saying that they can't act like that and they stupidly go critical. When you just let them know that you told them already. This irritated the heck out of me and I remember in my irritation and anger I replied to her: You're stupid! I know you don't realize it but you're f.ucking stupid! .. I didn't even know why but that's how it felt. Another thing I would say is. Then you need to ask and not apply pressure (idk if there's a word). or...If you didn't hear it, you gotto ask, something like Entschuldigung, I didn't understand it, but you cannot apply pressure.
You know I'm sorry I was lost about this, I was trying to give tipps, I couldn't get to it.
I give you another situation. It was an empty checkout, I didn't put the Trennstab (the thing that seperates the things you bought from things other people bought. I sense someone behind me and I turn around for a moment and then I didn't put it. He! angrily puts it. I felt, I didn't ignore him but I didn't know how to express how I feel. I didn't even know why I looked back. It was because I wanted to see if it is more than 1 person, if there's a need to put it. Instead he was bringing his stuff close to mine, when the whole thing was empty. Now I would something like: Maybe I didn't ignore you. Maybe I just felt it wasn't needed. Maybe I just checked behind me to see how many it is. or...How can you assume that I was ignoring you?..You know how stupid it is also. Whoever takes a quick look to then decide to ignore someone!!? I already know there was someone and I wanted to ignore him, I wouldn't even turned around. Their perception is off, it''s unreal. It doesn't make any sense.
To be exact, I would merely assert the truth and it always come out the same way, not too angry bc he didn't see it right, but not too timid either, it just is what it is: If I wanted to ignore you, I wouldn't even turned around. I wanted to see how many it is. ...I mention this because we often feel fear to not say the wrong things, that we don't want to say. It only makes sense to get really angry if you were lost and you feel the injustice but you would be afraid to do so also bc you actually want to say the above. You would also be afraid to engage in a discussion halfdizzyly because he takes that as something else.
It doesn't mean though that feeling really angry was wrong or so, it's how it can feel. It's just that he would misunderstand it potentially: That you were angry, that he got angry because you ignored him, which is also stupid but he might see it like that.
Hey, I'm the one who wrote quite a few posts. I just want to let you know, that I was in fact lost about something fundamentally. So, it's not a good idea to read it. The initial things I wrote are pretty helpful. Things like asking Wolln Sie mich auf den Arm nehmen? It's like you see the image the other one is seeing you as. It's like saying "yeah, but..." People who do that, do not really think you are a child. They think it's a button for you. It is not a defence, nor a counter, nor a bite back. Because you are not angry. It's all very low you know, what people are doing. So you ask them: Wolln Sie mich auf den Arm nehmen?
It's the same thing, when you clearly say what you want to order ..some store. And the person asks you back. But you know that they heard you. It's not about that they already know. It's not about that they are aggressive with it. And you are not defending. Because when you say it again: I'd like to have 1...please. That to them (and they are kinda nuts here) looks as if you were defending or as if you were about to explode if they would keep asking. They dumbly assume it's a button. But this is exactly what is contrasting. You would say it kind of slower. It's as if you were saying: I am not defending. Do you understand this?!
The natural response to someone asking you back after they heard you is: What should that mean? It's not that you would always say that 3 or 4 times but what I was trying to get at is that you could in fact do that and if you do it your reality (as in: if you do it your way) then it will sink through to them. Now Idk if anyone struggles with that, but I assume in this city, probably. It's a calm tone, just for the record, to describe it. You would even laugh after the 3rd time because he thinks you were about to explode but you are merely just saying what you are saying. You don't really assert it, other than your reality, but it doesn't take much. Things like: "I was just saying that to you" come really easy then. There is no focus on how to say it, Idk some people struggle with that too. It's not about that it's not about how you say it. And I had a few ideas what I would actually say. For example, after you said what you want and I really mean the case where someone heard you, in fact where he almost asks because he heard you which to me is like..I mean I've seen younger turks actually paraphrasing but at some point they kinda ask back. And I would say: You think I'm not sure?" Or I would ask him: Are you not sure or? I want to know why he is actually asking. At the same time, it really doesn't fit in and just feels like something you would dismiss but not ignore. Some people ignore in this spot, but it already doesn't make any sense.
Or when somebody doesn't say hello to you at the checkout, it feels reasonable to see it like a self checkout then. Because that's kind of what you wanted anyway. You don't really need that person to check out. So before you feel disrespected, just take it as a selfcheckout. But if you would make it about somethint biting back, then it's really low and you don't actually want that. I hope that makes a bit more sense, maybe it's helpful for someone. I'm not sure if you got what I meant but that's what I wanted to say.
Start accepting card payments and give that bloody receit! Should not be such a problem in modern times.
Berlin is just sick! Read the article!
m.focus.de/wissen/mensch/geschichte/wir-werden-nie-wiederkommen-rosinenbomber-fliegen-aus-den-usa-bis-berlin-aber-bekommen-keine-landegenehmigung_id_10832229.html
Has anyone ever lived in France? If so, how was it with people, work, paper work, etc. etc. And I mean not just Paris but anywhere else in France. Feedback would be helpful and appreciated.
Don't go live in Paris...People are rude, arrogant, bureaucracy is a nightmare in general, everything is slow, french are very bad at logistic and efficiency...you can find work in Paris, but concurrence is really hard and the cost of living is really expensive, the city is dirty as hell, noisy, subway is smelly full of piss, and it's also dangerous for women. It was not like that 15 years ago....Paris is just now a pooping place full of tourists, expensive restaurants with not worthy food, and Parisians don't speak english properly...The everyday routine is a nightmare, public transports are a mess now and are busy as hell, everyone is like in 1984, full of stress, all dressed in black, with zombie faces...So avoid Paris at all cost, this is not a nice place to live anymore. Regarding the rest of france, if you put aside the pooping bureaucracy from everywhere, some "nice" cities to live in with a decent job, appartment, way of life: Nice & Bordeaux. Lyon: people are worse than Parisians. Biarritz is nice but dead in winter. Lille is quite nice as a student. People from each of these cities are pretty snob about people who are not from the area...French are snob in generals...but i will say that in the south of france, people are more "light", Marseille is also nice but quite dangerous tho...so i would say Nice! Quite nice size, cultural, clean city, you have Monaco and italy on one side, can go skiing in the mountains behind, or go to provence, or to Toulon/marseille on the other. Or if you prefer inside, there is Toulouse (but quite full of holigans, or Aix en Provence (but a little bling bling), so i would say Nice. (BTW i'm Parisian, and spent a lot of time in all of these cities)
The thing is French think we are still in the golden era of 1900. But we are 15years late on everything, french are so snob and think they are better than everyone else because we have the past and the culture...but yet we are unable to make a move forward. And the politics are turning into a chaos too. BUT! we have wonderful mountains, seasides, countrysides, and the food and wine is and always be amazing! (basically we just live for eating and drinking). I hope it helped. :D
What the fornicate is wrong with these German employers. Always looking for poop to start where there isn’t. Always talking behind your back. What culture is this when your manager share information to other colleagues about you. poop that should be between you and the manager not everybody else. These people are just difficult to work with as a foreigner here. Germans take all this poop but I think we Americans and Brits are like WTF is this shit.
Berliners: stand on your foot in the U-Bahn then look (stare) at you like your foot was in the way. No sorry, no Entschuldigung... just a perplexed stare in amazement that they aren’t the only creature on *public* transport
This is it, D-Day (depart). The day I depart Berlin. I never want to set foot back in this city. What a waste of precious years. Good luck everyone, I hope you manage to keep your sanity here, and please, don't let anyone cajole you into taking drugs, they won't help in the long run or the short run. Keep away from the cheap alcohol as well, you don't need it to have fun, it's a big con-job to get your miney by playing on your insecurities.
Thanks to the people/person who put this site together, you saved many people, from the lunatic asylum, by helping them realize they were not going crazy, it was Berlin all along.
Adios, Auf Wiedersehn, Tcheuss, Sayonara, Arrivederci. Bye bye. Toodle loo.
Oh, and one last thing, to Berlin: FFUCK YOU.
(with regards to the post below) It turned out that he was saying that because he felt not respected when I didn't return his overly serious Alles bei Ihnen? because it can't be returned respectfully when somebody is talking at you. I replied my way which he took as disrespectful so he then said that, but he didn't think he would have to let me know. And then he looked at me as stupid for thinking he was stupid to tell me where to put the card -_-I feel it would served him right if I just kept it up naturally, taking somebody direct. But no wonder you can't find much soulfulness here. Just unreal the logic of these people
Here is something which can light up your day :) You know, it's another one of these meaningless situations :) I was just getting some stuff at a gasstation and I payed with a card, ok? And I put it in, using my whole knowledge and experience or actually I was about to. And he went like: Karte kann..., unten rein genau. To scientifically lable that: that is patronizing (apparently kind or helpful but betraying a feeling of superiority; condescending)And I looked at him and I just had to laugh because he must been kidding. He went like hm? I replied hm :) (nevermind) And then it appeared to me once he says that - and yes his point was I don't care, I just do my job, he was really hiding behind it, while friendly - I really felt like trying to put it oben rein and then go like It doesn't work hahaha It doesn't work! hahahahaha :)
Or when they tell to put the pin and confirm with green in this overserious way, I just wanna push random buttons. The only way to say f.uck you there, it's got smth very light, because just because it's f.uck you doesn't mean it's heavy. Being afraid if it doesn't work, all this tension, what's the use of it. Someone framed the normal way of doing what one does as if one does what he says. So dojsfkljdfsdfsklj
It might be kind, it differs because some are patronizing, some don't mean bad, then it's something to flirt with it. She might laugh because she hates it too... "Oh :) I guess that didn't work." It's a way to keep your dignity. Bit different than turning the other cheek which is also good. You could see it serious too.
You only see what you want to to see. I bet you read that as if I corrected myself but I was saying how I meant it. So come one tell me, why would I need help? I promise you, you will not get away with it without feeling like you're the one who needs help. Tell me
I take everything back that I wrote. If you do any of this it's your own responsibility. Use your own head. In my opinion it is not good, maybe there is something to it Idk, I take it back. And thank you for the great tipp to keep my posts short when I am expressing bigger pictures. You my friend are a true help. But again Idk if it's good so as I said Idk about these pictures. I will not bother to figure if it's good or not.
Reading some of the comments and people who respond to themselves I can't help but wonder... is it really the place or is it you being looneys??
Obviously a retoric question.
I might have discovered hot water but I think I've figured the reason for the hype in this place... corporate landlords! How would they entice buyers if not by creating a fake reputation so that the place gets popular and the wealthy see it as worth their investment...
Gotta love the Berlin lefty morons.
On Saturday, they held a demonstration to get more cars off the street.
One problem.
They held the demonstration on streets with trams, so all the trams were cancelled, which then, you guessed it, foced people into their cars, or at the least made them think about buying a car because the public transport is unreliable.
My guess is half a milion people were put out by these selfish idiots. One old lady was on crutches and couldn't walk to the sho[ps to do her shopping, she relies on trams. The main problems with Belrin are the lefties, alcoholics, drug addcits, public urinators, public defcators, just like their dogs. Spitters. Deranged mental cases. Beggars who stink everyone ut of the U-Bahn. Stupid young peope straight out of school who think they knpw everything because they attend university, like sheep, but have so far had no life experience and follow each other like the blinnd leading the blind. But the worst of all are the hypocritical, sexist-Feminists and white people who hate white people, especially if those white people are hetero-sexual males. Don't get me started om the expensive 2 hour train ticket you can't even double back on within the two hours. They need a half day or 5 hour ticket for €4.00 that takes you ANYWHERE, in any direction.
Public defecators are getting worse here. Walking around central Berlin I see plenty of places where you can clearly see someone has leaned up against a wall and sh!t down it. Even relatively busy parts of the city. What the hell is wrong with this place?