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I'm actually a French who lived 5 years in Berlin. I can tell you that not speaking german was really a burden (again in the long term). Everyone below 40 spe
by paraboul 10y ago
I'm actually a French who lived 5 years in Berlin.
I can tell you that not speaking german was really a burden (again in the long term).
Everyone below 40 speaks english, but as soon as you have to deal with the administration, or just even the doctor, it really was a PITA.
Also, Even the tech support (e.g. for Internet) wasn't allowed to speaks English on phone.
I'm pretty sure the same "issues" apply to any country.
- nkkollaw 10y agoYes. My point wasn't that it's not a problem in the long term, but that in some countries it's also a problem in the short term. In Poland I really felt unwelcomed on many occasions. The fact that they're extremely nationalistic doesn't help, I guess. I was surprised that even 18-year-olds wouldn't speak English to me. I'm now learning Polish.
- throwaway1892 10y agoThat's odd, I felt very welcome when I was there hiking this summer. But then it might not have been in the same areas, plus the usual difference between the country and cities.
- nkkollaw 10y agoDefinitely. Also, you might just have gotten lucky (or me unlucky). Generalizing is difficult (of course, it's impossible talking about these things without generalizing).
- tonfa 10y agoLarge companies in Switzerland (e.g. telcos) often provides customer services in English.
- hocuspocus 10y agoTelcos, banks, insurances, and even some administrations. When you have to provide service in German, French and Italian, adding English doesn't require a huge effort :) My foreign friends would complain mostly about real-estate agents (it's a sellers market, they make no effort).