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Thank you for this site. It’s been refreshing to read that I’m not the only one. For your information, I don’t even live in Berlin, but in some other region of Germany. And while I like the beautiful nature, I find that etwas stimmt nicht with the Germans. I look German, but that doesn’t mean they’re actually good to me; they treat me nicely only when they have to. They take every opportunity to speak bad about foreigners, even when I’m around. They just speak about any foreigners but me. I’m sure they talk about me as well when I’m not around. Strange, strange bunch. Been living here for 10 months, have zero friends. I respect Germans just like anyone else, but they’re weird.
You're definitely not alone. I had been to Germany before (holiday in 2015) and was fond of Germans...until I tried actually living there. I too could pass for a German and my language skills were slowly improving (A2 level) before I decided to leave but that didn't seem to count for much. I got sick of dealing with bureaucrats, having to fill out forms to get anything done, and constantly being surrounded by people who seem hate their lives. I also got sick of listening to Germans talk s##t about other countries and their politics whilst acting as if they were perfect themselves. I got sick of people who actually thought that they knew everything (whilst actually not knowing very much). I got sick of them behaving like spoiled children when I dared to disagree with what they were saying or did something that they saw as not in 'Ordnung'. In the end I realised that I didn't even like these people and that any interaction with these people would likely result in my being disappointed, angry and second-guessing myself. I too thought they were a bunch of uptight weirdos. I spent most of my final months here in my apartment eating s##tloads of ice cream and pizza and watching stuff on youtube in order to cope with the way I was feeling and the sheer amount of negative energy here. I did actually make some friends here but none of them were actually German. They mostly came from other places like Syria, Iran and the US/UK.
Germans are terrible communicators. I cannot count the times that poor communication here has wasted a lot of my time and money. I don't know if it is a result of the German language making them think using the fewest amount of words possible is a virtue, but it feels like people here think they have to pay for each syllable they utter. I remember many times when I wanted to do something completely normal like use a loyalty card, reserve a table or buy something and having the service person simply shake their head. No explanation, no apology, not even a clear description of what they are saying no to. And it's not because they assume I don't know German because each time I was speaking it to them just fine.
Even at jobs I have had here the managers have generally been horrible at communicating. Annual evaluations here seem to be the exception rather than the rule and, even if you have them, they're pretty much useless because people here are afraid of confrontation. The only intelligent, structured evalution I ever had here was in an American company (and even then my manager had literally saved ALL of his feedback from half a year to dump on me there - absolutely no ad hoc feedback).
When I visit home I am delighted that people understand the function of communication: to resolve information asymmetries. They will explain a situation to me and why it has occurred. In Germany they always offer no explanation or simply lie (problems here always seem to be caused by a new IT system that has been installed, a problem with Datenschutz or because someone is on vacation). Germans simply cannot operate outside of very specific and standardized processes.
If any German reads this, PLEASE for the love of God learn to communicate. Trust me, both sides are happier when problems are resolved.
But I aam pretty sure that they can communicate but they just don't want to.Because lack of empathy and too much ego they don't want to listen and just do whatever they want to do.It makes me wonder all the time that what happened to them.
Hi OC, I lived in Germany for some time and can understand where you are coming from. The lack of communication skills and the competence of those I was dealing with made my visa application process a nightmare, and far longer than really necessary. And that was just the beginning!
Berlin no-go crime zones: Gorlitzer park, Kotbusser tor. Go there ideally after 6pm (still day right ;) ) And spend there at least 10 minutes.
This country definitely killed my sex drive. The women are not even act or look feminine in this country. The majority of them have the same appearance
How they look is not so important..The thing what really sad is they dont know how to build friendship or relationship.Dispose anything like a plastic bag.Even for their own kids people abandon them so easily when they found a new partner.But even this relationship doea not have any empathy,trust or care.Not only sex drive it is hard to have the feeling of love.I think German men and women are good looking but once you talked to them you will realised that there is nothing inside.The self centered people want only casual sex partner for the time being until they find the nex sex parter.
For me this city is just plain ugly and boring without a shred of atmosphere or energy... but this seems obvious. My main confusion (and concern) is why so many people say it is amazing...how???? In what way is it amazing? Why do people say this?? I really just want to know! How is having graffiti and abandoned buildings enough to make it cool?
This is my third (and last) time to Berlin, I keep coming back after hearing people rave about it sure that I've missed something and Berlin's "awesomeness" will dawn on me...nope. It's still a piece of shit.
Before I die I just want to understand why people say it is amazing....
no worries, you are in the right place, you are not alone! Communist nostalgia, dirty and filthy premises, occupied buildings, fairly bad restaurants and lots, lots of trouble people who have been functional drug addicts or/and alcoholics for a while. I am temporarily in Berlin and miss Britain very much (as much as my native country - nothing to do with any ex-communist country). Can you imagine retiring in Berlin? ahah
Berlin definitely has a very different vibe in the summer than it does in the winter. And in the summer it does have something about it with everyone just drinking outside. There is quite a relaxed atmosphere with noone judging you for what you wear or where you live or what car you have etc. It is very multicultural and alternative lifestyles are not frowned upon. But the downside of the city is the long grey cold winter, the dirtyness, the bad attitude of the locals, the fact that most people who come here are not going to stay so its impossible to settle down with anyone, the fact that nothing feels stable or real and people are just interested in being cool and having a good time but not in actually connecting with you as a person.
I don't mean this as a snarky reply, but what is this "no one judges you in Berlin" business about? Where do people who consider this to be uniquely Berlin come from? I'm from a much, much more conservative part of the world than Berlin but the people there judge me much less. The only place in the entire world I have randomly been insulted on the street for something I was wearing was in Berlin. If you're talking about interacting with the people who live here then I must again disagree. A lot of Germans in Berlin treat foreigners like some kind of otherworldly species and will openly mock your accent and caricaturize your nationality - or they will simply ignore you completely. I don't find anything about Berliners to be accepting at all. I think people may be misinterpreting actual apathy and avoidance for lack of judgement. I honestly feel like Berlin causes autism.
I agree 100%.Here people judge you.But with another criterias.The Berliner must be Artist.Vegan(I myself am a vegetarian.But I hate these arrogant vegans and vegetarians in Berl)must be bisexual and in open relationship and not work hard because working hard and paying tax is something only stupid Capitalist do because they are idiot and greedy.You must have half broken bike and wear second hand clothing and not taking shower.These people in Berlin have even more strict rules how to live and behave.Only immature young people feel that this is a city of freedom.Neverland Berlin with full of Drug addicted,Alcohol addicted,Casual sex addicted angry fake Peterpans.
No these comments about berliners being apathetic and berlin causing autism are absolutely spot on. I was trying to point out what the positives may be but then in the second half where I talk about the downside I complained about the lack of connection with people here and the bad attitude they have. This includes what you say about xenophobia and a lack of openness for foreigners. I have never been insulted as many times in my life as in Berlin. But you can't take it personally and just have to see it as their loss and inability to see anything outside of their small restricted world.
"A lot of Germans in Berlin treat foreigners like some kind of otherworldly species and will openly mock your accent and caricaturize your nationality - or they will simply ignore you completely"
Germans all over Germany do that. Why do you think Germany has such a big problem integrating nationalities that have been living there for decades?
Yes while they also have very strong accent always mocking accents.Very funny..They act as if they are perfect.And when they travel to another countries they are really stingy and stay at very very cheap backpackers in a slum area and eat at cheap imbis.Then they think that is all of the country and said all those countries are underdeveloped and people are poor.And when they back to Germany they judge all Auslander as according to their own little little experiences.
Yesterday DIW put out a study based on data from the OECD showing that Berlin has the highest rate of attempted murder of any city in the EU. AfD put out press releases citing the research and demanding action. Instead of actually trying to support a solution for the problem, all other parties and every news agency simply claims (falsely) that the data (from the OECD) is incorrect because they consider it "implausible". No actual discussion of the statistics, no alternate explanation. The data is incorrect because the German media wants the data to be incorrect. Just like with the falling GDP figures over the last 3 quarters: there's no recession, there's no crime problem. People don't smoke crack at Moritzplatz every night. Blood stains and vomit aren't a common sight throughout the city. Cars (and now the homeless) aren't set on fire here every single night. In fact it's all such a non-problem that Berlin-brewed schnapps called Brandstifter is sold at the airport, the BVG openly jokes about drug overdoses and assault in their adverts. And really who cares about some Bulgarian scum that gets arrested for jerking off on some random girl and then immediately gets arrested again for kicking someone else down a flight of stairs. If you don't like grit then go back to Edinburgh or Sydney or Austin and leave Berlin to the meek and anxious locals who are afraid of answering their Gegensprechanlagen after 10pm because at least they won't complain - and even if they do then at least we can paint them all nazis for not embracing crime.
That's the real Berlin mindset - deny anything negative about this jerk of a city or trivialize if that doesn't work. That's probably the real reason holocaust denial had to be prohibited by law here - otherwise these dumb German genetic failures would refuse to admit they'd ever done anything wrong in the entire history of the world.
The DIW and OECD are not the far right party. Argue the facts and not the strawman (perceived) messenger or don't bother to comment at all. Also, we're not talking about the US here but that's a nice tactic you've picked up from all the miserable Stefans in this squalid country. Get raped.
What do you expect fro a city of lefty fascists, where anyone with white skin is deemed a racist, yet the attempted murder rate and murder rate went up after the lefties lobbied for open borders. So happy to be far away from that imbecilic city, full of brainwashed, SJW, virtue-signalling students who think they know everything. .
PC, feminazi, soy boy, leftard, capital of Europe. Being decent looking conservative self-confident man is the real rebel here.
Any time I make the mistake of speaking with my coworkers or other adults I meet here they always seem to drone on and on about the clubs here. And I'm not talking about 20 year olds, I am talking about people who are in their 30s and 40s. Even people in long term relationships seem to spend every weekend in clubs. Do people in other cities do that? I always had the impression that clubs were more for people in their early 20s while they're trying to figure out who they are, experiment a bit and whatnot. Here it seems to truly be a way of life for some people.
Berlin is a great place to be poor and that is all.
I hate the smug mediocrity of Berlin. Seems like everyone is under/unemployed, suspicious of another persons success, goes bat poop in FB groups when someone posts a sublet that isn’t €2 per sqm, hates anything convenient or “luxury” (Lieferando is truly the poop that Germany deserves), proudly “shops” trash bins and are willing to spend hours of their life going through the trouble of getting a half broken washing machine in Spandau and learning how to fix said washing machine because all of that was “free”. Cheap butt mindset here.
I totally agree what you said.At the beginning it made me feel ridiculous and annoying.But now it gives me sadness.Another 4 months..Then I am not in this miserable city anymore.
God damn, I'm wondering if I wrote this last night.
This was one of the saddest parts of Berlin for me. You can't have nice things in Berlin. The population views you with suspicion. Dare to drive around in anything better than a BMW and own an apartment in an area of Berlin not on fire... YOU MUST HAVE STOLEN IT!!!! F Berlin and its underachiever attitude. Moved back to London and aspiration isn't frowned upon, it's celebrated.
I got an anxiety disorder. I cannot sleep, my eating habits are completely sh!t. I am lethargic... I was happy, open and quite self confident before Berlin. This whole experience turned me upside down.
It’s the most depressing place I have ever experienced, and I think I need professional help to overcome the damage now.
2020 is the year I plot my exit. Fingers crossed!
I agree, it's like another plane in Poland, very friendly and courteous and great food. By the way, also much cheaper. For the original post here, try ReleaseEffect.com it saved my sanity.
Even other cities in Germany would be better than Berlin.Even "many normal Germans"can not stand this city anymore and move to other cities.Berlin is insane itself already and these sick minded people from all around Europe and other continents moved to Berlin and are making this city even crazier.I can't wait to get out of here ...not so long..
After spending 3 years in Berlin one thing made me feel really good is I am glad that I was not born in BERLIN AND NOT A GERMAN BERLINER.While the economy is very good compare to many poor country and having a good social welfare system people are just sick.Always complaining,0 torelance and emphasy.Having problem to have healthy relationship and be mature parents.
Why people think Germany is a wealthy country is beyond me. Taxes are high, salaries aren't that great and if a German family lives in a house, they usually share it with another family (that lives on another floor, of course).
By the way, why is social welfare a bonus? People should move to another country to WORK, not to live off social benefits.
What’s up with all the trashy people in this country? You know the type, “music” blasting from a JBL, cheap-ass Fred Durst looking motherfuckers and their filthy half-naked underage girlfriends. My husband and I have the misfortune of living in a small town between Berlin and Leipzig and these scumbags seem to be the only people we see on the streets. AND recently one of those moved into the apartment directly below ours and is blasting his techno 24/7 so loud that everything in the house is shaking. Tried communicating with him one night when he was going ape-ship at a drug-fueled party at 3am, but, of course, that animal was barely able to speak German, let alone English, and our little intervention only made him turn the volume up. I can’t stand those imbeciles anymore, thankfully our studies are soon over and we are gonna be OUT OF HERE. I can safely say that, I my experience, in no other country is this toxicity as prevalent as in Germany.
These people feel safe here in their poop country. They do and say things that would get you slapped across the face in another country. Don’t get angry with these retards in this place. I don’t respect these people or care about their country. I’m too the point now if a German ask me if I like living here I just say no. I don’t care if I offend them I just wanna leave before I hurt one of them. No joke. I hope their whole economic system crashes. These people and the weird foreigners who also live here deserved each other. If your retard neighbors continue with their loud music then just call the police. But I doubt the police would do anything...they too are useless motherfuckers.
I also can not stand these people.They belive Techno makes them superior than others.And all other music is trash and too capitalistic or too common compare they are unique and know what is art.Thier face "Oh I am enjoying this music".....I dont think the role of music is suppoesed to be making people rude and aggresive.And Hiphop...Yes of course Germany is not a paradise but compare to USA or Asia or Afrika people have so much more chances to go to Uni,having not a miserable life even though you have no job.Kindergeld etc.Not real soul for Hiphop just mocking the cliches "Oh this society and our anger"Made me laugh all the time.
My neighbours did this two years! I had to sleep bathroom! Ducking lame! Every weekend same ten people wasted at home when we lived near berghain! Idiots ! So redundant these people. I fled in corona. If I ever see a German outside of Germany I will tell him to speak English and go home and kick in balls! Who is programming them to all say the same poop do they have a chip planted in their head? Idiots!!!
Oh yeah you can try ordundsamt in daytime hours or call police later . Police would stop multiple times but guess what these idiot just kept going every weekend! And i talked to landlord did nothing. Bunch of inbreds. I would never fornicate someone same nationality as me. It’s gross. Idiots
I left Berlin a few years ago (I lived there for 4 years) and now I live in the Scotland and although the social justice warrior feminist lefty degenerate mentality is big here as well, it will never be as dangerous as in Berlin. People here are nice, kind, friendly and have manners. Everytime I see a German tourist I run away. Escape people, let those cunts rot in hell
They are already rotting in hell, Berlin.
The social justice warrior feminist lefty degenerate mentality is about to get blown out, by Brexit, Boris, Trump and Morrison in Australia. If some communist country takes them in, lets see how long the morons last :o))