17 Things About Germany That May Leave Foreigners in Awe

Official data show that the countries with the best life quality are Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Denmark, Oman, and Switzerland, among many others. Germany is also in the top 15, and people are sharing what they love the most about living there. Would you consider moving to another country?

• In many German cities you can do a lot just by foot (and almost everything by bike and public transport), and many districts are so “organized” that parents don’t need a car because kindergarten, elementary school, playgrounds, and supermarkets are often nearby. I noticed a bunch of YouTubers talking about the subject of “walkable cities” in the last years. @Unknown author / Reddit
• All about people. I came from Turkey as a software developer. Most of the people know that they are not going to starve. But everybody is doing their job and obeying the rules.
  It’s like everything flows perfectly, thanks to people. For me, Germany is another European country, but Germans add value to society, and as a whole, it creates something bigger. @shokkul / Reddit
• It really depends on how open you are to pseudo-friendliness and shallow small talk. I prefer an honest “not-interested” German attitude to the shallow pseudo-friendly “Hey, how are you?” @RichardXV / Reddit

• I just had a baby and was so, so impressed at the holistic support I received. I had a midwife, a birth preparation class, and amazing prenatal and postnatal medical care, all covered by insurance. I was signed off from work from the 4th month onward, and nobody batted an eye. Then there’s Kindergeld, Elterngeld, and long maternity/parental leave. @whysweetpea / Reddit
• The taxes are included in the prices. It sounds so little, but it’s such a big life quality improvement to be able to easily calculate how much things cost. Add to that the little to no tipping culture, and it’s just great. @Jicko1560 / Reddit
• I’ve just moved to Föhr and the gorgeous beaches, countryside scenery and people just cycling everywhere is amazing. It’s more common to cycle instead of jumping in the car. It’s like a holiday every day. @Relevant-Passenger19 / Reddit
• Festivals and the music scene. There are literally hundreds of festivals for any kind of music. There are tons of free festivals: single day, multi day, and with or without camping. There are tons of paid festivals as well. They range from a single day to multiple weeks.
  And it doesn’t matter whether you like metal, punk, electronic music, hip hop or jazz, there is a festival for you. And festivals happen year round. There are indoor and outdoor festivals. And if there isn’t a festival, there will be some kind of concert in the next bigger city. @GuKoBoat / Reddit

• When it’s someone’s birthday, it’s actually customary for THEM to treat everyone ELSE to stuff. Like bringing cake into the office or treating your friends to a night out.
  Also, most Germans, at minimum, react by feeling really, really weird if you give them birthday wishes before their actual birthday. To many, there’s even a superstition that doing so will bring them very bad luck for some time to come. @Voidcatsaregreat / Reddit
• Bread. The life/work balance is pretty good here, although if we ever get the 4-day workweek, it’ll be perfect. Nice outdoors. Walkable cities. @Backwardspellcaster / Reddit
• The food culture here is absolutely amazing. I am such a foodie and love trying different bakeries and restaurants. I love the availability of fresh baked goods here. The people keep to themselves in public but are friendly in the event of an encounter, and I really like this.
  The taxation here is not as high as people think it is. The actual “income tax” is lower here than in other places, but the added taxes such as pension and health insurance make it seem really high. But in reality, you would be paying these things after the fact anyway, in other countries. @ZLGStarr / Reddit
• The fact that I don’t need a car. Workers’ rights. Education is taken more seriously here. I find that they give much better advice in clothing shops, and they seem to genuinely want to help you.
  The quality of certain produce when you buy it within season. Never had a red-all-the-way-through strawberry until I moved to Germany. @n***mtree13 / Reddit

• To be honest, I love how “most” people mind their own business. Everyone’s busy with what they do in life, and no one bothers you for being who you are. I am now on the train with my AirPods listening to “Shake It Off” by Taylor Swift, dancing with my hands and mouthing the lyrics because I feel happy today, while 3 young men, apparently university students minding their own business and reading books.
  One of them was reading a book about empathy and humanity; they’re showing signs of being bothered, and two of them smiled when we made eye contact. Coming from a country with lousy people who don’t mind their business and will always put their nose in your stuff, I feel safe and free to do whatever I want. I can’t say everyone in Germany is like that, but most of the people here are, so I’m happy with that! @yourdailydoseofd*** / Reddit
• Work time flexibility is a thing, not just a word, and it leads my boss to give me a very wide freedom in how to accomplish my goals and provide high-quality output. @frac_tal_tunes / Reddit
• School system/starting out in a job as a young person. All public schools are free, no exceptions. German schools give you diverse options for the type of person you are. We have 3 main different school forms and all of them are made for different types of situations.
  If you hate school and really don’t want to go through all the classes till 13th grade and do your Abitur (Abitur is better than high school graduate, but not a college degree just yet) you can already do an Ausbildung (apprenticeship) in any sector you want to work in starting class 9 or 10. You get minimum wage and learn all the things to learn.
  After 3–5 years, you get hired, with some exceptions, full time after the apprenticeship is over. I could get into studying and more, but my points are it’s free or mainly very cheap, and you have more of a structured path that can help guide you to get a job, especially with work from home now more and more available. @Ken_Brz / Reddit

• My husband is currently in the ER with our one-year-old and his crushed fingertip. I don’t know what’s going on, what they’re gonna do to fix it, etc. But I do know one thing: the bill will be 0€. I really appreciate this about our Healthcare system. @Batmom222 / Reddit
• Definitely the fact that I can buy more than two or three sorts of bread in even the smallest supermarket, especially whole grain bread. Also, fresh, full-grain bread rolls. @CrimsonNorseman / Reddit
• The chill vibe. I used to live in San Francisco. There, I was always “on”, meaning there’s this constant huzzle and buzzle that keeps you on your feet 24/7. In Germany, weekends are weekends, and vacation is vacation. Much better work-life balance overall. @frango2408 / Reddit

We have even more interesting facts about how people live in Germany. You might feel like you need that, too, in your country!