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I am German (although an immigrant - not born here), and I have to agree with most of what has been written here. However, I got to say that all those things apply to Germany in general. I would even go so far to say that Berlin is actually BETTER in many respects than other parts of Germany. For instance, I find the service personal here on average friendlier than in the area that I am from. Also, I find that men here are a bit nicer to women than in other parts. As a woman I had experienced open hostile behavior from German men in the past for no reason. Every time I traveled I was always pleasantly surprised how positively men reacted towards me. After coming back from abroad I saw how weak and pathetic most German men actually are.
In general, I would argue that German society is degenerate. There seems to be a focus of trying to cause as much pain as possible to other people just to feel better. If you are a normal, decent person people will try to break you for no reason.
But I think this will change. Germans don't procreate anymore - German men don't seem to like women or children very much. They put most of their energy into beer drinking, watching football and being active in extremist political parties. Let's hope that more immigrants from nicer societies (and with modern values) will come here and change the country for the better.
On some level, I think they know this about themselves, because the young people are always saying how they love having a multi-kulti society, but I'm never sure if that's just because they feel they have to say that because of their Nazi past or because they are sick of their own ultra-conservative closed culture. The latter could be a result of so many Germans traveling these days and seeing people actually chilling out and being friendly instead of suspicious and untrusting, in case your neighbour belongs to the Stasi undercover force.
"sick of their own ultra-conservative closed culture"
Yeah, a country that has gay politicians, lessons on homosexuality at school, a low birthrate, and little to no religious culture sure sounds ultra-conservative.
Don't mistake Germany with Poland, bro. And by bro I mean never my bro, you f*cking fagg0t.
Yes, closed off to anything resembling balance, everything is an extreme in Berlin.How long before it's illegal here, to be heterosexual. Anyone who uses the term "bro", is worse than a fagg0t by the way, e,g. a rapper, they are the lowest of the lowest mentality on this earth. I'd rather a homosexual for a neighbour than a rapper, any day. RapCrap morons still using the word "bro" :o)))))
I lived in Berlin 10 years... I have only one friend from that entire time that I have anything more than superficial facebook with. Other places I have lived as little as 4 months and made friends for life.
Little experiment. Next time you're walking the streets because, let's face it, no one in Berlin drives a car because we are all held captive as perpetual children, glance up at the windows to the apartments around you. 90% of the windows won't have shades, blinds, curtains or any other coverings. But what's more telling is the huge percentage of people who light their rooms with single, uncovered lightbulbs. Indeed this is a transient city (or full of absolute poverty - or both).
The weird energy in the city left by all the innocent people killed here... has anyone else felt it ?
Why it is so hard to rent an apartment as a foreigner in Berlin?
I hate that everyone's idea of fun in this city is drugs and techno "sex clubs" or just drugs and sex in general. It's like everybody only talks about this - but for me it is hellishly boring. I'm pastridden, romantic and latin. To me clubbing is dancing to music that has lyrics. I never enjoyed drugs, just drinks. This city makes me feel incredibly old, as if I were in highschool again with a bunch of pretentious pricks who are struggling to be cool and blaming you for not being like them...
Techno is now the schlager music from the 80's, what a joke that people are still listening to music without real musicians playing real instruments, I suppose that says something about the Berliners, caught in a time-warp because of the Wall. And what's all this glorification of DJ's, they are guys spinning records, WTF. Techno-junkies are braindead imbeciles. Oh, did I mention the soul-less indiscriminate sex, totally devoid of love. Berlin is the Zombie capitol of the world. No soul and no heart. And for F sake, take those ugly studs and ear-hoops out, they make you look like a moron and stop getting tattoos just because everyone else has them, you are a human being god-dammit, not a sheep. Shout out with me now - "I'm mad as hell and I won't take this anymore".
What the hell is with every single contractual obligation in this country being subject to a termination period of at least three months? Why are security deposits so ridiculously expensive? Why do I have to repaint my entire apartment white before moving out? Why are houses in this country unjustifiably and prohibitively expensive? What bonzo concocted the idiotic Pfand system, fully expecting people to maintain piles of trash in their shoe box-sized apartments so that they can routinely return it to shops in the hope that a machine costing more than 10k EUR will accept it so the empty, worthless bottles can be picked up by large trucks so that they can be recycled when another infrastructure for this already exists and works just fine (recycling trucks). Why are traffic lights not in the center of intersections so you can actually see them when you are the first car? Why are 80-90% of the restaurants in Berlin incapable of creating an inviting ambiance? Why are Germany unable to create any kind of enjoyable experiences and traditions that extend beyond Einschulung? Why are people twice as likely in Germany to die of an alcohol-related death than in the United States? Why are you more likely to live below the poverty level in Germany than you would be in the US? Why has the percentage of people here living below the poverty line increased by 10 percentage points in the last two decades? Why are you more likely to die of cancer in Germany than in the US? Why is the gross death rate in Germany much, much higher than in the US? Why are Germans so passive aggressive with anything relating to nudity, nature and health? Why is every single job in this city as bland as the landscape, weather and colorscape here? Why do middle-aged men still ride their bikes to work? Why do I encounter public urination every single time I spend more than half an hour outside of my apartment? Why does this city claim to be open and tolerant while being home to more than half of all reported crimes against homosexuals? Why does the city spend money on marketing campaigns with slogans like "Berlin is when you wear your Rolex 'down there'"? Why do all spas in this city/country require co-ed nudity? Why are Germans so vehemently opposed to any form of accountability, protesting any time video surveillance is set up? Why are the police so reluctant to do anything about antifa and the thugs in Rigaerstrasse? Why does every job here require three years of training? Why is a median German income 20% lower than an American median income? Why are fewer Germans in possession of a (free) college degree compared to Americans? How can an entire nation be incapable of small talk? Why are people here so bossy?
Why doesn't anyone here ever smile?
Great post. Let's all help this warrior continue this excellent comment concept:
Why do Germans avoid showering daily? Why does the German music scene seems to be dominated by pooping carbon copies of American gangsta rap? Why is Berlin so full of tattooed up, pierced subhumans? Why are Germans unable to speak without references to feces? How can it be that most Germans don't own the place they live in? Why doesn't anybody drive huge-ass cars like Americans do? Why are Germans so butthurt about Americans being better than them in every single regard? Why do left-wing Germans pretend to be open-minded and tolerant but never so much as have one single foreign friend? Why can't Germans survive without weed, coke, heroin or pooping alcohol? Why are German women so adamant about looking as ugly as possible? Why do they think they live in a democracy if they aren't even allowed to choose their own chancellor?
German Nazi Scum from Hennigsdorf and Brandenburg should all Burn in hell.I hope the muslims beat the poop out of all German Nazi Scum.
Let me educate you.
When the Muslims take over and start telling your wife what she will wear and what times of day you will go to the mosque and cutting out your daughter's c-litoris, you will be praying for some Neo-nazis to come to save you from these Muslim zealots. Stop being a sheep and going along with the CAPITALIST, neo-nazis in disguise, ordering you to think what they want you to think and to accept as many cheap labour migrants as they want you to accept. Wake the F up.
It's been 6 months since I left Berlin.
People - you can't imagine how good it is be out. I still think of Berlin from time to time and think "How could I have spent 3 years there? Why did I waste 3 years? What's WRONG with those people?"
It's easy to start to think that you're crazy, crazy for expecting help, kindness, or a smile from a stranger. It's easy to become a berliner.
But then you leave and people smile to you, help you out, hug you, shake your hand, pat you on the back, encourage you, give you feedback or advice or hints, invite you over for birthdays or other celebrations, drop by with some good beer and hell, just have a good time.
Then you know you were right all along.
Also, it's funny, but a friend came to Berlin just as I was leaving. He thought I was too negative etc. Now, 7 months later, he's escaping that place because he's had enough of the scowling, bitching, complaining, criticizing, besserweiser, etc.
Only one way to survive in Berlin, NEVER, EVER, expect anything from anyone, and I mean ANYTHING..
To all newcomers, you will think everyone here is crazy and that Berlin is the best place on the planet, while you're on holidays :o) we'll see you here within a year :o( First you'll think you're imagining things, and then later you'll think "it must be me, it couldn't possibly be then whole city". When this happens, get out, straight away, don't try to get things into balance, it will only drive you more around the bend.
I often feel like I dreamt the last 5 years, 7 weeks to go and I'm free. I have GOOD friends all over the world, but in 5 years here, but I've only met one person I can rely on, maybe.
I have stayed in Berlin 5 years as well,, totally agreed the above opinions.
But How makes people so cold in Berlin ? its the vibes ? or Germans?
I still cannot find why.. after 5 years , no friends stays contact with me, actually even I could not make real friends there .
Strangers yelling at children for unforgivable sins like not being on the bikepath, or sitting quietly at a bus stop. fornicate these guys and their desire to stamp the joy out of all they see
Arab Migrant ghetto kids,they are a Bunch of Filthy Bastards and son of a bitches.
This City is a freaking Horrorshow.
This webpage is shit.
Whenever I post here, I have gotten used to copying my poisonous prose first, because it almost certainly will say"Oops! Sorry, that didn't work, please try again!" at the first two attempts.
Apologies, occasionally this does happen as we have rather complex spam filters working in the background. The plus side is we operate an open forum and it is not inundated with spam which we feel is worth the occasional frustration.
However, we are always interested in improving so if you could write a detailed account of the process you use when it fails and send it to us, we can see about making it less frustrating for you.
Thanks
Stealing, thieving and robbing.
Some do it by combing the streets looking for bits of your bike they can break off and sell for scrap.
Others do it using small print to rob you through automatic subscription renewals.
By the only way to get by in Berlin is to rob steal, cheat and lie.
Thank you to this website. Thank you to all the contributors. And a very special thank you to whomever posted the following simple but telling comment:
"I won't do my child raising here."
This simple post made me realize that in the long term I have no future in Berlin. I would not want to raise a child here for obvious reasons.
Thank you from us to all the contributors too! We built this site as we felt so alone as BerlinHaters, it's nice to see there are others who can see Berlin for what it really is!
If you are seen as foreign in any way, skin color, accent, German grammar mistakes etc. you will not be respected. In that case, even the ticket taker or the dishwasher or the tattooed and pierced punk in the U-Bahn is considered higher in the caste system than you.
That is the way of it.
"If you are seen as foreign in any way, skin color, accent, German grammar mistakes etc. you will not be respected. In that case, even the ticket taker or the dishwasher or the tattooed and pierced punk in the U-Bahn is considered higher in the caste system than you.
That is the way of it."
This isnt entirely true.
They respect shows of strength.
Therefore, if you end every statement by going up high at the end, turning it into a question, they will see you as weak.
Even if your german is poor, and you arent quite sure if you are saying the right thing, if you bark it out with certainty and conviction, basically as an order, they will skip to it with a doff of their cap.
I honestly don't understand how you people can claim there are no native Berliners here. Walk the streets during the day in any spot that isn't Unter den Linden or Kudamm and 80-90% of the people you see were either born here or are at least German. Go to any non-hipster bar or club and you'll find tons of embarrassingly German people.
It depends on the neighbourhood. When I lived in Pankow (not Prenzlauer B, more northly) I met a lot of native Berliners. For example one of my neighbours open admitted to me that she hates Ausländer, she was old and had a slightly form of dementia, so she was uninhibited in displaying her views : )).