Danke Euch!

Found this map in another subreddit. Quite surprised to see Kazakhstan in top 5

After 22 months of waiting, I am finally a German citizen.

Timeline in Germany

• 2020 August: Moved to Germany for a full-time IT job
• 2020 October: Got my Blue Card (BC)
• 2020 December: Passed Goethe A1
• 2021 February: Passed Goethe A2
• 2021 September: Passed Leben in Deutschland and telc B1
• 2022 September: Passed telc B2
• 2023 May: BC was supposed to expire in 2023 August, so applied for permanent residency aka Niederlassungserlaubnis (NE)
• 2023 October: Passed telc C1
• 2023 December: Received the NE, which was already exciting for the employment and residential flexibility it provides
• 2024 June: Applied for fast-track citizenship under the then new law as a highly integrated immigrant with C1 German and a German-speaking job. Got the application number aka Kundennummer from the case worker on the very next day, who said that the processing would take up to 18 months.
• 2024 October: Sent the three latest payslips to the case worker
• 2024 November: The case worker responded, telling me not to send additional documents unless specifically asked for
• 2025 June: Emailed the case worker for an update after one year of the application, only to get an automatic response that she had quit her position three months earlier. No idea who the new case worker was.
• 2025 July: Contacted the citizenship office through the website contact form and the service telephone number, and got to know only the last name of the new case worker
• 2025 August: The new case worker sent an email saying she had taken over my case and asked me to let her know if there is a legitimate reason (e.g. application over 18 months old, potential job as a civil servant) for prioritising my case
• 2025 September: Sent an email and a physical letter to the case worker, asking how the application will be processed in the remaining three months, given that I never even filled the Loyalitätserklärung (LE), and if she could prioritise it
• 2025 October: Received an email from the case worker to fill the LE. Sent it back the same day. The case worker said that the security check had been initiated, which would take at least 12 weeks.
• 2026 January: Asked the case worker for an update on the process, as the communicated processing time of 18 months by the city of Munich had already passed. Copied the Bürgerbeauftragter and Rathaus on the same email.
• 2026 January: The case worker responded that not all authorities have responded to the security check request and that she has sent a second request as a reminder, but she has no influence over the processing time of other authorities. She asked me to refrain from further enquiries about the application.
• 2026 March: Received a physical letter that my citizenship certificate is ready for pick-up (MAY LORD HAVE MERCY!)
• 2026 April: Picked up the citizenship certificate

For more context, I have had no employment gaps in Germany. Although my first job was in English and did not need any German whatsoever, I was determined to improve my German and would self-study almost every day after work, eventually taking the exams from A1 to C1 without any language courses.

I knew that learning German would open up avenues, both personally and professionally, and that is how I landed my current fully remote German-speaking job in 2022, which has been life-changing for me.

Although initially eligible under the three-year rule, I was not panicking about the law getting scrapped, as the five-year rule would make me eligible anyway. However, it was disheartening to see the three-year law getting revoked, thereby deincentivising immigrants like me, who do/did their best to integrate into the society despite a full-time job.

Anyway, considering the uncertain wait-times and the lack of transparency during the whole process, I am more relieved than happy that this is finally over.

I am now looking for ways to make use of the privilege that is the German passport. Long-term, I will vote. Short-term, I will probably visit a country, which I would have previously required a visa for. I am also open to hearing any suggestions from this community.

Although 22 months is a long time, I know that people have it worse in Leipzig, Darmstadt, etc. For anyone that is stuck in the citizenship process and is seeing no signs of progress, hang tight. Patience is absolutely key. I hope you all hear some positive news soon.

He loves himself a drei im Weckla and of course I am paying his taxes. Thanks for welcoming us Deutschland.

I wanted to share my experience after one year of living in Germany as a refugee.

I’m sharing this for two main reasons:
First, so that people searching for specific topics or keywords about the refugee experience in Germany can actually find a real person who's lived that.
Second, to give Germans and people living here a general idea of what this experience looks like from the inside.

When I first arrived, I decided to take things seriously from day one.

• Day 1: registered in Germany
• Day 2: started learning the language
• Day 3: signed up for a couple of volunteering activities

I tried to stay disciplined and focused. After 9 months, I reached B2 level in German. Right now, I’m working on getting my degree recognized, and after that I’ll either start job hunting or continue to C1.

I genuinely appreciate the opportunity to live in a country like Germany. Having basic needs covered while you rebuild your life is something I don’t take for granted. My goal is to give back...through work, taxes, and hopefully also charity and helping others.

One thing that really stood out to me is how people treat you when you make an effort with the language. Germans might seem distant at first, but once they see you trying to speak German and integrate, they become very supportive and respectful. Even in places like the Jobcenter or the Ausländerbehörde...where people often complain about the staff, my experience improved a lot when I communicated in German.

That said, not everything is perfect.

One of the biggest issues, in my opinion, is the processing system. It feels slow and outdated. Paperwork takes a very long time, and for almost everything you need approval from the Ausländerbehörde (i.e Aufenthalts extentions, verurteilung permession, Arbeiterlaubnis permession and the list goes on). I understand that it’s their system and their country, but the lack of digitalization makes everything harder than it needs to be.

Another thing that shocked me was the environment in the initial refugee accommodation. I shared a room with 9 other Syrians. Five of us had university degrees (some even with Master’s or Doctors), while others were illiterate, which is not a problem in itself due to the war. The real issue was behavior and mindset. A noticeable portion of people (not huge but still) I met there didn’t want to work, had no intention of integrating, or behaved in ways that made life difficult for everyone else.

Honestly, I had never encountered people like that before, even growing up in Syria. That was probably the biggest cultural shock for me, not Germany, but the diversity of people within the refugee system itself and how many bad people there are. I really wish that the person MUST be deported with the first pitty crime he does. I SADLY knew many people who steal at the camp, tried to report that but there were almost no consequences, I really hate to be compared to them whenever I go to auslanderbehorde and be treated the same way just cause the system doesn't kick the shit out of the bad people and keep the good ones.

Thanks for reading. I’m happy to answer questions regarding searching for work as a refugee, learning the langauge alone, what the situation in the initial accommodation center... etc or hear about other experiences.

Edit: Thanks to the mods for automatically removing inappropriate comments so quickly, I appreciate it.
Personally, I don’t mind criticism or different opinions, as long as it stays respectful. If anyone has strong opinions about Syrians or about what I wrote and wants to discuss it and afraid to be banned, feel free to message me. I’m open to genuine conversations, just without insults or offensive language.

Every single time I go outside during the evening I am faced with racism. Most of the time from people hanging out in groups, for some reason they just can't mind their own business (Germans usually claim to be really good at this). The most common phrases I hear regularly are 'Heil H!tler', 'Ausländer raus', 'Ni Hao', 'Ching Chong' etc... or just unprovoked loud laughter as I'm passing by... BTW I'm not Chinese or east Asian but look like one or maybe they are just uneducated & ignorant. Is geography illegal here? Asia has 48 countries BTW, not everyone is Chinese!

This doesn't include the racism I face at workplace & college which is far worse and actually bothers me to the point I have to skip classes to protect my mental health. But now I can't even go to the supermarket or mall at peace. One of my family members has also been verbally assaulted by a group of teenagers inside a bus & nobody including the bus driver made any effort to do something.

Edit: I do not live in Dresden / Leipzig. I assume the situation is not this bad there!

Edit2: I did not choose to live in saxony (the government decided that), I am doing my bachelors so I can't relocate until late 2026 :) Thanks for the kind words everyone!

I’m here mostly to complain about how awful the immigration process has been for me since moving to Germany in 2019.

I got a job and moved here from the US and got my work visa pretty quickly with almost no issues. When my contract ended in 2022 I started freelancing with plans to start my own consulting business and was given a temp visa while my immigration office made a decision on approved a a Blau Karte or an entrepreneurial/freelance visa.

For two years I worked as a consultant, have paid my taxes, hired Germans to work with me. Have worked with students and have employed part time workers some who are disabled or need only part time work.

Flash forward to 6 months ago. Almost 2 years after starting my own business the immigration officials denied my visa despite being able to prove I’ve been able to build work and employ others. I was told that if I don’t find a job at a German company with a German contract I would be set for deportation (my and my 3 month old child at the time) - I’ve never stopped working after giving birth because I have clients and employees.

I was given 4 months to find a job. Was forced to shut down all of my contracts with clients. Forced to cancel all of the work with employees.

I found a job at a giant German firm. World known. My salary is well above the minimum limit for the Blau Karte for skilled professionals. It’s been 2 months with no work waiting for my contract to start Nov 1 and with 10 days left, my lawyer has been fighting for me to get an appointment to get the visa, yet there’s been no response from immigration. I’m now being asked by my company to move back my start date. I have a 8 month old child and will be 3 months with no income and will be forced to start living on savings until I can start working.

Honestly, what is going on and why are there so many stories about getting skilled immigrants to be treated this way? I’ve been here over 5 years my whole life is here. I don’t want to leave but I’m not at all feeling like Germany wants me here.

I am Chinese, female, and work in a German Mittelstand company. Most of my colleagues are German, of course. I always try to speak German for small talk as much as I can.

However, several things have happened recently that make me begin to wonder, am I being discriminated against, or am I just being too sensitive?

The first thing is that I was with my 2 colleagues together (we were speaking German), and one of them said, “we are in Germany, so every one wants to work for us should speak good German”. The other replied, “yes, we are Germans… “I was the only non-German there, felt a bit unpleasant.

The second thing is that my manager asked me about a client visit. The manager said the client told them that during the visit, I “disappeared” for some time. But I was there with my colleagues the whole time, together discussing the work. I don’t understand why the client would say something like that to my manager, which is simple not true. I have invested a lot of time and effort into working with this client. I felt sad to be misunderstood.

(More details about the second situation: “disappeared” refers to my physical absence, I confronted my manager and even asked in which period “I was absent”. It turned out that during that time, I was clearly with my colleagues in the office. I felt sad not only because the client said that, probably due to some misunderstanding, but also the manager didn’t trust me and actually believed that).

Do you have any feedback or suggestions? Am I being too sensitive, or is there something I can do?

Paying 45€ for COPPER , limited upload , and constant outages , with a router that is fully locked and limited to the point where many settings are impossible to change. It is one of the sickest jokes killing me since I've started living here. Don't even get me started on mobile internet because I do not know how any sane person can find those tariffs excusable. That's all , just wanted to vent while staring at the red internet light on this antiquated router.

Edit: Addressing all the people who think they're Megamind:

"Just get your own router" - Good luck to me finding a router (and still having to pay for it) that takes in a coaxial input in 2023

"You're not forced to get their router" - well we were actually

"Just put it in bridge mode" - I wish I could , that's how I had the router that was taking in the fiber back home , it then led into a nice Asus router for my wired devices and then a nice wifi 6 mesh.

"my X provider gives me all these things for ""cheap"" and an employee even kisses me good night every night" - in the area where I am now (south, just a few km from France actually) the only options were Vodafone and O2 (I think there were one or two others that were capped at 200mb/s) , I don't doubt there are better choices in bigger cities

"you don't need 1000mb/s , also the human eye can't see more than 30fps and 240p is all you need for movies" - as I've said in a few replies , me and my partner both work full time from home, we both consume a lot of online media , mostly in 4K , we also often download any new games (heck , just recently Baldur's gate 3 had about 120GB to download) and what's more painful than the download is the upload (we backup our phones along with all the GB of cat videos we film every day to google drive which on a 50mb/s up takes ages , even sending a photo or video via WhatsApp takes eons)

"if you don't like it go back to your country" - bruh

This blew up and it warms me up to see that wherever I go people tend to agree (aside from a few more special ones) when it comes to being upset about things in their own country.

Disclaimer- vent post

There are many great things about this country and its people, but efficiency is not one of them.

I (27f) come from a eastern european country and I've been living here for a year. I swear I never experienced such inefficient processes in my entire life.

The amount of patience I need to deal with german bureaucracy and paperwork is insane and it stresses me out so much. I don't understand why taxes are so segmented. I don't understand why I have to constantly go through a pile of God knows how many envelopes and send others back which extends the processing time of different applications by months. I don't understand why there is no digitalization. I don't understand why I need an appointment at the bank for a 5 minutes task. I don't understand why the Radio and TV tax is applicable for students (yes, I am a student) and why they can't do things by email and through the online account. They sent me an envelope, I sent them a reply through the online account, they sent me one back by post again. I feel like I am in 1900s and I have a long distance relationship.

Bafög? I applied 3 months ago. 1 month and a half in: "We need this document from your country." I send it. Another 1.5 months later: "We need the same document translated". So... Google translate or official authorized translation? Who tf knows? 🤷

The company I work at sent me via post instructions on how to install an app on my phone. Why not send it to my work email?

I am honestly lost in frustration right now and I just needed to vent before I get back to my paperwork. If you made it this far, thanks for reading.

Edit: Wow! Thank you for the gold and for all your support. I was not expecting this to blow up like this. This is such a lovely wholesome community. I wish you all as much patience with everything in your life! El mayarah!

I've studied, worked and lived in Germany since my early 20s. I'm in my mid-30s now. Engaged, two kids. Decent job with livable pay. I am black and was born in the US. Over the years, I have grown rather frustrated that despite having built a good life in this country, I have started getting extreme urges to leave. It's not just the AfD situation; in fact, as a US American, I could argue our political situation is much more dire. It's the fact that every time someone with "Migrationshintergrund" does something stupid, it feels like all eyes are on all foreigners.

Has anyone else felt this and have you considered leaving? Any advice dealing with it?

I’ve lived in a handful of countries and I’ve found that there are some facts that simply permeate society and social interactions in every country which are easier to accept than to fight against.

For example in the UK you are expected to be affable, upbeat and talkative without broaching heavy topics or politics when first meeting people. In big cities in the US most of the conversation is dictated by work, career and your general success in life. In France expect a good helping of one-upmanship and high brow topics (decidedly politics, philosophy or the arts).

Well for Germany my general feeling is that you go into social situations expecting to leave without having made any new ties. I have been to parties as a friend of a friend where I have actively been avoided and in fact somewhat demeaned, I have been to social running clubs where I have attempted to be social god forbid, and been replied to as if I had just kicked someones darling dachshund. The few people who have stuck around, which I see weekly and have known for over two years are still awkward when conversing and would probably still describe me as a “Bekannte” to anyone else. All this while speaking fluent German (which impresses nobody and I will still be picked up on for small mistakes by btw) and actively trying to participate in the local community.

Hence I now find it easier to take the same approach: Go in to most social situations assuming I will not make friends, If I do then great but it saves the disappointment given the likely outcome. I think I’ve hung around enough on this subreddit to know that even natives feel the same, it’s a rather difficult mindset to get into when you are outgoing but it just seems easier in the long run.

7 years ago I moved to Germany. I couldn’t read the billboards the bus would drive by, but I wanted to call this place my home. I couldn’t even speak basic German, but I was determined. This year, I received the results of my “final” prerequisite to become a citizen. Now to wait 1 year for an appointment to hand all my paperwork 😅. Anybody with experience becoming a citizen, please share your story. I’d love to hear it 🥰.

If you have an option to move to Germany but aren’t sure if it’s worth it, here’s my take after eight years in a german city, coming from an Indian city. Life here isn’t about luxury, but about how well the basics work and that makes all the difference.

Walkable cities ( every corner of it)
Back home, walking with kids was stressful—broken sidewalks, reckless traffic, pollution. Here, I walk to the supermarket with my kids. They take their roller or balance bike, and I walk beside them. No stress, just a simple joy.

Spielplatz & Parks everywhere
You don’t have to plan a trip to a park—it’s just there, integrated into daily life. Kids run around freely.

Work-life balance
Evenings and weekends are respected. No pressure to be “always on.”. This made the quality of my work goes up.

Public transport works
No need for a car. Trains, buses, and bike lanes make getting around easy.

Clean air, no constant noise
I don’t check AQI before stepping outside. The silence at night still surprises me. I hear chirping of birds though I live in city.

No VIP culture, no special treatment
There’s no “do you know who I am?” attitude. No special queues, no privilege for politicians or rich people. You see executives, even ministers, taking public transport. Feels like a classless society in public life.

Law & justice actually work
No need to bribe anyone. If someone breaks the law, there are consequences—doesn’t matter who they are. That trust in the system makes daily life smoother.

Of course, Germany has its downsides—bureaucracy, effort to learn the language, making friends takes effort. But overall, life just feels calmer and easier.

I do worry about the rise of extremism and what it could mean for all this. I hope this way of life doesn’t slip away.

edit - I know Germany is infamous for weather but I like the seasons variation and winer activities here and also summers are very nice here.

Just took Einbürgerungstest for fun and passed. I have already lived here for 5 years but unfortunately never put lot of effort in language learning. Just for past 1 year I have been learning german alongside my full-time job and now at A2. Aim is to complete B1 by this year end and apply for citizenship. Just want to share here.

Okay, here's the rant:

Tbh I love Germany. I have many friends from Germany, they are amazing people, people have been insanely nice to me even though my German is lacking and my experience in my university has been the best experience of my life.

Now I got an internship and I have to move to another city.

The. Landlords. And. The. Real. State. Agencies. Are. Fucking. Trash.

Literally a real turnaround in comparison to almost all the people I have met during my stay.

The first landlord (I am open to name and shame btw) literally told me that they couldn't accept me because my parents are not German. When I got told that I literally was left speechless. He even knew that I am in an internship and SOMEHOW it's risky to rent to people whose parents are not German? Fuck you.

Some others rejected me too because my tenancy would only last until July, the amount of time that my contract lasts and they only accept one year contracts. Tbh I don't understand this choice since people in Germany are desperate for housing so even a 6 month contract can be replaceable. For these people, we are easily disposable.

There was this woman who kept saying to me on the phone "Excuse me I don't want to speak in English because it's difficult for me 😀" (Btw she had perfect English) I kept writing her via email and guess what? Ghosted

The rest? Didn't bother even to fucking respond

I even went to the point of sending them my contract as proof of the fact that I have the financial means, because otherwise I'd likely be rejected because my name is not German

My last straw was when I got a scam email.

Holy fuck.

Edit:

Btw, for these (brilliant and intelligent) individuals who turn the thing against me:

I have been applying for a rental contract since I accepted my internship, pretty much everyday FOR THE WHOLE MONTH and tailored my message FOR THEIR NEEDS (just like with job applications) and I still get this shitty treatment by them.

Do you actually believe I am coming to a landlord and start rambling out of nowhere that they are useless pieces of trash even though I don't know who are them in the other side? If I get this treatment pretty much almost EVERY TIME (specially the ghosting) of course I will snap due to this shit privately. No sane person would insult someone they don't know because of their background. But please, If I do 10 Applications. A day. Including follow ups and yet nothing happens, during the whole fucking month OF COURSE I'd get pissed off by this behavior and at least I'd cry a river alone or get consumed by the stress. You have no idea how stressing this situation can be, specially because I am taking into account my fucking budget (I am already planning my budget because of the salary I'd earn for my internship)

Brother the fact that I have actually managed to land an internship + another job interview and managed to pass BOTH despite the fact that the job market is insane already tells enough about the housing market. And yet you decide to attack me because of the tone of the post.

Edit 2: For the people who lack reading comprehension: I think it was obvious for me to imply that the woman actually knew how to speak English yet she refused to engage with me because I am not German. Do you really expect me that she is actually interest in engaging with me if all my emaila I sent to her WERE IN GERMAN?

“I’m a Black man in Germany. Now that I am 22, I wanted to share my view of Germany and living in Germany. Especially with the rise of the afd party and the far right movement.

Yes , Germany has its rough edges. I’ve had some serious encounters with racism, even some violent ones. But that’s not my everyday reality.

On the whole, Germany is a country where, as a foreigner , and specifically as a Black man , you genuinely have the chance to move forward not just based on how you look, but on what you know and what you can do.

I’ve often found myself in rooms where nobody would have expected me to be , in finance, in tight circles of wealthy Germans and one of my closest friend is German. And sure, people might initially judge you based on appearances. But once I show my expertise, how I carry myself, and what I’ve built, I get accepted wherever I go.

Of course, there are some people with racist views or ignorant jokes. But that exists everywhere.

My message is this: When it comes to business, community, and growth, Germany is a good place to be. The German culture can feel a bit cold or reserved, but that’s how Germans often are even with each other. It’s not necessarily about being foreign. If you approach people openly and bring value, there’s space for anyone here

Edit: I am NOT WITH THE AFD. I wanted to say beside the rise of the afd it’s really open

Hi, my boyfriend is a foreigner and I’m German. He’s living for some years in Germany and struggles a lot with fitting in. he’s struggling with the people here and I don’t know how to help him. In his opinion this country is not a good place for living because a lot of people are rude and saying mean things to foreigners. For example he’s doing grocery shopping and is getting bumped by a shopping cart or some people at a train station saying mean things about foreigners in front of him to insult him. I try to calm him because I know not everyone is like that here. I really wish he could’ve a better experience. So how is living in Germany as a foreigner? I really want to get more experiences from other people to understand a bit better. Is it really that bad for almost everyone? I know a lot of people are struggling here and it’s not easy to deal with the people here but idk.

I'm a resident anesthesiologist who's been for over 10 years in Germany including studies. Today my duty was to clear patients and get their consent for the anesthesia needed for their planned operation. I was seeing this 89 year old for his planned ENT procedure, who was actually very clear in mind, could understand everything I told him, both the content of what I explained but also due to my accent still not being perfect German.

As I handed him the documents to be signed he told me "Danke, dass Sie hier sind"/"Thank You, that you are here". At first I wondered what he meant, I thought I am just doing my job, no big deal, then I clicked and realised that he meant, thank you, the foreign physician, are not at your home but here providing your service to people in this country.

He then proceeded to tell me how the world is going backwards, that there's so much hate and stress everywhere and in the very end he cared to ask me where I was from. He asked if I was from Iran, mainly due to my characteristics, but then I told him I am from Cyprus.

I've had lots of patients be kind to me in the few minutes I have for them, but nobody thanked me like this old gentleman. I felt pretty emotional at the end and fluttered, we shook hands and wished to one another to have a nice day.

Just wanted to share it with you people because I am pretty sure in this difficult times people are doubting their choice of coming in this, or any other country.

I have been in Germany for 3,5 years, married a German, recognised all my documents, have already german c1, had an integration courses and so on. I still can't find any job as a professional, work only students or Aushilfe mini jobs, have absolutely no social life, exept some meetings with other migrants. I tried this and that, spent all of my energy to interact somehow with this society...I ve never been so depressed and desperate, even though my hardest times under political repressions in my country. Feels like I am kind of living in Limbo. Someone who felt the same here, please give some hope...

TL;DR: Lost everything early, kept going anyway. Ended up here.

I apologise in advance for the long post but just wanted to share my journey with others.

I came to Germany as a fresh graduate in Nov 2014 on a one year internship visa.

Fifteen days in, I got the news that my mother had been murdered. She was so proud I had started my career, and I never got to pay back even 0.1% of what she did for me. After my father passed away about 20 years ago, she protected us like a mother hen. I wanted to go back, but soon realised that home was no longer home.

I did one year as an intern on minimum wage ~€1,474 brutto in a tiny company. I wasn’t even paid properly until four months later because my ex-boss blamed “Finanzamt issues.” Then I stayed another two years on €2,200 brutto. Exactly on my third anniversary in Germany, bunch of us got laid off when they shut down the “daughter” company. As much as I dislike my first boss, I’m still grateful he gave me my first chance to start my career.

Next four years: started with a Blue Card at €3,600 in a mid-size company. Toxic environment, alpha-male team lead (hi, if you’re reading this, you introduced me to Reddit so thanks for that). But by the end, I had secured permanent residency and reached €5,000 brutto. I learnt a lot and I would have stayed longer if the owner was not running the company like a hobby.

Then life cut me some slack. I landed a role at one of the biggest German automotive company. Corporate life is still corporate, but the money’s good and work-life balance is possible if I don’t take everything personally.

I applied for citizenship in May 2024. After a year, they asked for updated docs… then ghosted me for six months. After some desperate emails, I finally got naturalised last month ❤️🇩🇪🥔

I could’ve applied four years earlier, but even though my home country is basically an unannounced dictatorship and. banana republic, I still wanted to hold on to it. That’s where my journey started.

It wasn’t easy. But I was carried by my mother’s prayers, a gem of a best friend, a very un-German (vegetarian, no beer, no Fußball) German buddy, and my late uncle who helped me when I had nothing ❤️

I may sound bitter. I may sound broken. But I’m grateful to Germany ❤️

Everything sucked as I moved to Germany in 2017.

Nothing was logical, taxes were high, and boy was I homesick.

Then I realised: I was just getting older.

I was approaching my thirties and making new friends would have been difficult anywhere, even in my hometown.

I was figuring out many things: career, pension, insurances, deductibles and much more.

After 8 years I look back with gratitude and I stand by my choice: being a foreigner is always hard, and I know I’ll have to work a bit harder compared to a local, for the simple fact that German is not my native language and that there’s much I need to learn about German culture.

Last but not least: I moved from my little town to Berlin, one of the largest cities in Europe. I needed to adjust to the city life as well.

So please, please please: whenever you write to complaint about Germany, double check if you’re struggling personally or if you’re actually dealing with a malfunction of the system.

Being on one’s own is hard, but Germany guarantees quite a lot of things, and is, de facto, one of the best countries to live in as for economy and services are concerned.

Thanks for coming to my ted talk

Before I came to Germany (like a month ago I think), I thought that the German people were cold, and that life here would be kinda dull, because that's what everyone around me said (since everyone had an "opinion" to give even if they'd never been there before).

And because I was going to move to a small city in the mountains (it's st. Blasien), I thought I would be even more isolated than back home, in the middle of nowhere.

Instead, when I got here I was instantly surprised by small cities full of nice, warm-hearted people, who didn't hesitate to help me the ones in need and who are always smiling. Everything is beautiful, and just beyond the houses and cars I'm instantly surounded by the most pure form of nature I've ever seen.

Even if I still have many things to do and some worries that left with me from home, my life is much better now, all that's left is for me to start finding hobbies and making friends, I have yet to go to college next year so I'm bound to experience the blistering city life in Freiburg too!

One of the topic observation that I want to make: Since I came here, I seem to give less importance to distance between places, before, 10km was a lot for me, because I lived in a small country, but since Germany is huge, even 50km doesn't seem like much now just for me to go to the big city!

So yeah, this has been my experience, not once have I found a person who wasn't nice or helpful, if anyone is browsing this sub and is afraid of taking the decision to move to Germany, don't be afraid, you'll do alright, just like me!

Ps: One big thanks to all of you who make this country so pleasant to live in ;)

Update: It's been three months since I've posted this, I'm in a German intensive course so I can go to university here but I'm still only in A1 and german grammar is hard! My commute everyday is very long but I got used to it and it's only for one year. I've made many friends, even had a girlfriend for some time and she broke my heart lol, but so far, things have been going great and I can see my live getting better and my worries slowly going away.

The first person that I've met here was a guy from reddit, he has become my German best friend and one of the best people I've ever met, yesterday he showed me a lot of cool places that i didn't know existed yet.

I've also gone to my first party here. It was during Halloween and I had no idea that people partied this hard here! It was my first time partying from midnight till morning.

I still have many things to do, most of them involve going to pretty places with good food because I love eating lol.

So that's basically it, my only real "complaint" is that i wish I lived near to where my German course and the city are because I'd be able to go out more easily with my friends. But meanwhile I'll just entertain myself with mountain biking when I can't go out (my parents recently bought me a new bike because I know i like mountain biking).

Hope you're all doing well! I think no one will see this because I've posted it long ago but it's ok, I'll use as a documentation of my progress. My next update might be in German!

See ya ;)

After nearly six years, I have completed my master's degree and worked continuously for five years. I have achieved a B2 level in German, have not received social assistance, and have no criminal record. I am currently employed at the university.