They look like freaking zombies. Did you see how they walk? Jesus.
My strength to all non germans having to spend the winter this year in berlin, its a long one and the german women if you have a neighbour for one will fouking complain about anything at any time of the day. Any noise that rises above a whisper for the next 5 months.
Are there any other cities in the world that conpare to Berlin? Making a list of places to avoid. Comments/suggestions welco e
Pretty much any small city in Russia or ex-URSS and Saint Petersburg & Moscow. Moscow specially it's worse than Berlin for sure, I had to spend there 7 months due to work. The city's expensive af and it has the feel that you will get murdered if you get lost. It has the worst drivers ever and junkies are everywhere, I calculate that there are around 10X-20X the amount of junkies in Berlin (and those will mug you). I also dislike Warsaw but there are some who think it's the best because it's so cheap but whatever, not more me either. Also many cities by the black sea that used to be the to-go summer party destination like Odessa but now they are crap due to the Ukranian - Russian war I wouldn't risk to go there.
don't get me wrong, two of my best friends are Russian and I even dated a girl from russia once but gosh, what an ugly place is Russia. Even the capital, small cities everything. Compared to those places Tijuana rocks (and I've been to Tijuana I'm not making this up)
I am half latin american, half german. I have lived in both places. And I also think to some germans. stop being proud of being 'honest', it's just rudeness oftentimes. Just my opinion.
Who invited you to come to Germany? You all don't sound pleasant,either.
fuck off cowards! everywhere there are ugly cold racists. at least germans have not tendency to fake smiles.open your eyes and you will see how foreigners here are disgusting racists,too. Band d'idiots.
Newcomer to the site here so I can only cast own biased opinion. Well no one invited me to Germany, I just wanted to travel, visit places and backpack over Europe (as well as other parts of the world) and I found out that Europe is less like Eurotrip and more schindler's list. And your comment kinda proves that point. You shouldn't be proud of not be faking smiles and having racists because others have 'em too. Truth be told nowadays it feels that Europeans but specially Germans and French are a little bit too much obsessed with turning your backs on "other" people if you know what I mean. And that is kind of alarming because I come from the country where Donald Trump is a thing and still it feels like Germany and France have taken it too far because that sentiment does not come from a single crazy lunatic but form many, many people (see FN in France and Pegida in Germany). And that comes from the perspective of a young traveller, I know there has to be more coming from foreign people who've lived there, God bless their souls.
dear jerk off.Nobody needs your permission to visit or live and work in any country.Work hard and pay your taxes.Fuck you if you think Germany is YOUR country.Crawl back into the cave from which you seemed to have crawled.Their are no cowards on this site.It is opinion and DEMOCRACY.If peoples genuine concerns upset you so much then clearly it is you who is the coward.You little nationalistic wanker.
It is so incredibly unfortunate that the genuine smiles and naturally friendly behaviour of other cultures is perceived as fake here - even worse is the fact that these disgusting xenophobic thought processes and behaviours are continually passed down and taught to the following generation in a never-ending cycle...
I really don't think it can be called racism, we're not treating, or advocating treating people differently based on any aspect of their race. We're simply sharing experiences of living amongst a people with a different culture. Differences in culture do exist between countries and even towns - if this suprises you, then I urge you to travel more.
Unless you are a foreigner in Germany with first hand experience trying to adapt and fit in with the xenophobic culture here you cannot comment on it. The fact that so many locals either close their eyes and ignore the abusive behaviour that happens here every single day or worse, actively participate in it with zero thought as to how their actions and words affect those around them shows just how ingrained xenophobia, egotism and rudeness are in this society. Of course, a leopard cannot changed its spots however, a human being can definitely learn, grow and change their attitudes and belief systems to improve not only their own lives but the lives of others as well.
To all the Berlin haters: Do you know a nice European city where to move? Where i do not need to put pictures in my CV to get some attentions, where i do not have to deal with depressed and racist people, where people are nice friendly and able to heal me from this feelings of loneliness and disgust.
I don't know, it certainly depends on how much you are willing to spend. If you have infinite amounts of money, then London is always the top destination (also top startup scene in Europe). If you want to experience the musical and art scene then Manchester and Barcelona. They have a blooming tech scene as well. I'd try to avoid France because, you know, right now it's a clusterfu-ck over there. Zurich and Bern if you like it quiet. Innsbruck, Hamburg and Munich are alright if you're still into German culture after Berlin. Prague is an awesome touristic destination but don't expect to make good money or get a good job there, just go there if you already have cash in your pocket. No idea about Scandinavia, maybe some other B-hater could answer that.
Unfortunately i do not have a big amounts of money so i would not choose London. I have been in Prague many times and i love it, and it was actually my first destination, but Berlin had more job opportunities and Czech it is more difficult than German. Maybe Ireland? Thnx for the reply btw
Job market is bad now, but if you have a desired skill, you might find a place in Madrid. It's highly liveable and there's an unknown but interestng startup scene. The downturn is that your life won't be as easy until you learn some Spanish, mainly because most of the people can't speak much English. In the other hand you'll get more sunny days than anywhere else, nightlife and a welcoming culture.
I just hate being bitched at here, either when riding my bike or just in general for no particular reason.
Hispanics and Latinos of the world, avoid Berlin at all costs. I'm a latino born in America and I experienced so much racism in this city you won't even imagine. It looks like here there are racists everywhere. You will be called filthy muslim, poor-muslim, nigger, you will be hollered at in streets, autistic drunk locals will lose their poop at you and I guarantee you that and you definitely won't be let inside clubs. Minor problems I've had in America regarding race seem so minuscule now. Luckily, I will leave this place soon. Seriously fornicate this city.
I hate all the ex pats who are living there and can't even speak German. Why go to a forgien country/ city when yo make no attempt to even be part of it, instead you turn it into what you want and push the real people out who have spent generations there. in my 3 times of being there I have NEVER met an actual Berliner, they are all social outcasts vying for attention in a dismal worn out town. Berlin is Borlin
If you want to meet "real" Berliners head to the areas in the East, past the expat-backpacker-filled F-hain, P.Berg, Kreuzberg, etc. I'm a Canadian who speaks German, lives in Koepenick with my German spouse & child and experiences the hateful xenophobia of real Berliners every single day. Leave your comfort zone & pop on down for some real Berliner unhospitality...
See, this is what it pis\ses me off about Germans in Berlin. Always whining about how foreigners "make no attempt" at integrating. That is utter bulls\hit. Go say that to millions of Turkish living in Germany. 70 years after their arrival and Germans still don't consider them Germans because they "don't try hard enough".
no attempt to be a part of it? I have experienced so many times humiliations when i tried to speak Deutsch with germans, they laugh and make fun of you or answer in English. Once a woman told me "Do not even try to speak my language if you are not able to"
-one tries to speak German, result: be ridiculed.
-one speaks in English, result: be ridiculed, "y u no attempt to speek ze German, see how I talk ze English language perfectly".
-one spends 25% of one's life mastering German. result: meet xenophobia in their native language and be ridiculed nonetheless.
BERLIN LOGIC.
Total failure or total mediocrity. Those are your choices in Berlin.
All of your museums are closed on Monday. And your art museum's plaza is ugly as hell, and the only mature tree nearby was trimmed to within an inch of death. And your ugly glass dome requires pre-registration. And your "central" bus station is at Westkreuz. And your train stations have such poor information design. And your canal walk is totally disjointed by a lack of pedestrian crossings, so you have to cross the road three times to continue walking along it. And everything is under construction. Even poop that is done has little bits of construction fencing left around like a bleak decoration.
I realized that this obsession with continual construction may come from the fact that you are perhaps still being rebuilt from being bombed so badly.
And your parks have no bathrooms. And your train station charges 1 Euro to use the toilet. And it's overcrowded. And your train station refugees didn't have anyone to help them.
All in all, everything I tried to do in Berlin failed, except the christmas market. 1/10 will not go back. I would never live in such a pooping city.
Despite the fact I now live in another country my male genitalia still detaches itself from my body and throws itself under the wheels of the nearest train whenever I hear the words "German Woman".Come back dear Penis,you are amongst friends now..I promise I will NEVER let a German Woman touch you again.P.T.S.D and a witness protection program for my male genitalia are now helping me regain my joy of life and love of women after my Berlin dating experiences.Peace.x
I've been here for 8 years and trapped in a loveless, sexless marriage to a German man for the last 5 (the Hague Convention means leaving the country with our child is impossible without his written consent)...will there ever be an escape and a healthy life after Berlin ever again???
this city is filled with attention whores who make me cringe all the time.
Is putting a picture in your CV so important even if you leave them personally? For Fuck's sake
oh that's because HR in Berlin is a joke. 80% of the times I dropped a resume at any office in Berlin females in HR looked for features that they'd want in a boyfriend instead of an employee (also total disregard of actual skills). I'm sure the same happens with male HR scanning for potential female employees.
Yes.. They want to see what colour you are. Why else would you require a photo for a job?God forbid you may even be third generation Turkish German with the best qualifications,the brightest star.the way forward with innovative thinking..FORGET IT..The job will go to some lame jerk...Please take your skills and intellect and go to a place that understands that these qualities are what makes the worl a better place. Honestly.These people will destroy you.
I'll start with some good points before the carnage.
-Low population density
-Excellent public transport
-Food: price/quality ratio is generally very good
-Infrastructure is great
-Green spaces in the summer are beautiful
I have stayed in cities made of chrome and glass, all the way down to places which have no plumbing/electricity. The one thing I can conclude from my travelling, no matter how nice everything is, if the people are terrible, everything is ruined. Berlin could be wonderful, it really could. We have a city where I never see traffic, where you never have to wait for public transport, where you can idle away whole days under trees and escape everything. This tranquility comes to an abrupt end, when dealing with most demographics in Berlin. Want to file your VAT? bam! you'll do it every month because they don't trust you. Want to go a house party? bam! prepare to enter a room with a set of chairs poisitioned in a horse shoe... yes, everyone will stare at you, upon entering. Want to go on a date (male version) prepare yourself for a heart of coal. Want to go on a date (female version) you must be a domanatrix. Those German boys are to meek.
We must look at ourselves as well and accept some of the blame. The majority of us expats are clueless humanities graduates, thick rimmed glasses, combined with superflous posturing and naval gazing. You'll walk the streets and see important issues reduced to selfie loving moments. Tinder profile snaps of some female hygene product climbing a pillar in the holocaust memorial site. Some chick in a Neokolln bar with second hand furniture, playing poop '80s electro, keeping the family who lives above the bar awake... forever. The terrible terrible art which would never cut it in any other major city. The 'startup bros' who learn't javascript off Codecademy and now think their 'social app' is unicorn status.
It may just be me, I may have grown old and bitter. I long to see a smile and talk about anything which is not related to social justice issues to raise one's social profile, that new LP on Hard Wax, the new art project made of semen or that new organic coffee place, which does vegan pastrami pananis. Berlin is the city of people who came last in their school's 100m. They had to adopt quirks to get attention.
I apologise to all the hard working Germans, people who are here out of family reasons or those who are genuinely stuck here. May God have mercy on all of your souls.
Right, I'm off to bed. No doubt I'll hear my neighbours having sex again.
perfectly written. I visit it avery 2 or 3 months now for a couple of days fortunately, full of correct points down to the very last one. Its a good place for those that can live transient lives, a few months here a few months there,but for life, jeezus what a dark thought.