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Germany replaces US as country with best international image
- wnm 9y agoPersonal anecdote: When I was backpacking in Australia 10 years ago I felt I had a clear advantage over other backpackers because germans somehow have this image of being super productive and hard working. I more than once got a job just because I was from Germany.
- TomK32 9y agoAs a fellow German I simply can't resist to correct you: it's "more than once".
- wnm 9y agothanks :)
- hardlianotion 9y agoAs a pedant and a (half) Brit, I can't resist correcting your correction: "... can't resist correcting you". My apologies! But your actual correction is correct...
- mynewtb 9y agoAren't both correct but just a little different in meaning?
- cJ0th 9y agoFunnily enough I (German) was also backpacking Australia and once I didn't get a fruit picking job because they only wanted Asians.
- INTPenis 9y agoThat might be because they believe asians put up with more crap than germans/europeans. I once heard a dane say to us (swedes) that they would love it if we came over to work because danes have too many demands when you ask them to do something while a swede will just do it.
- mtgx 9y agoIn related news, Germany's government, just like the U.S. government, seems to be pro-coal - so its image can't be that much better? https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2017/nov/16/political-watershed-as-19-countries-pledge-to-phase-out-coal https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2017/nov/16/politica...
- fdw 9y agoI'm sorry, but do you think that a government's image depends only on its views on coal? How about respect for other countries and cultures, their values or their stability? There are many factors, and coal is only one of them.
- shadowtree 9y agoAh, the Guardian article is missing a pretty important bit of information. Germany is getting out of nuclear, under pressure by its populations that is heavily environmental. The irony being that to meet the electricity demand, they need all other sources - one of them being coal. Germany CAN’T get out of certain energy sources quickly as the Greens have killed nuclear. Damned if you, damned if you don’t.
- jacobush 9y agoThey are betting the barn on increasing renewable though.
- r3bl 9y agoIs then China the one with the best international image?
- Retric 9y agoGermany is at 31+% renewable right now. They get a lower percentage of energy from Fossil fuels than the US but don't have massive natural gas deposits thus high coal usage.
- NotUsingLinux 9y agoLike any other country Germany is deeply fragmented into its evolving directions. I'm from Germany and I'd love to get out of coal sooner. But for historical-political reasons seems we won't... We also have many bureaucracy and corruption issues. But then which developed nation has not? In my opinion the age of nation states is slowly coming to an end( see Catalonia and related) So it will be exiting to see what decentralization brings to us. I hope web3 will help with this and along remove some of the negatives of big cooperations influence on society.
- k__ 9y agohaha, often I think Germany isn't that good and I should move, but then I look at other countries and have the feeling it only could get worse... Warmer weather, but the economy is worse or the other way around.
- jacobush 9y agoI have exactly the same feeling about Sweden. (Which is rather similar to Germany in many ways.)
- k__ 9y agoYes, or Switzerland, which does a bit better than Germany, but lays in the Alps
- thomasahle 9y agoThere's an interesting correlation between latitude and gdp: https://qph.ec.quoracdn.net/main-qimg-2c35a5e9756ffb71801560f40afdbd42 https://qph.ec.quoracdn.net/main-qimg-2c35a5e9756ffb71801560... It's not terribly strong though, and there's probably not a very direct causation.
- mediumdeviation 9y agoHistorically, equatorial countries in Africa, South and South East Asia were colonies. I think we can also assume each country weights equally on the regression line, even though they vary greatly in population - this favors latitudes with lots of small wealthy countries, which Europe is.
- k__ 9y agoOn the other hand, I'd like to know how much the colder climate in the north enabled people to colonialise the people in the south in the first place
- caseymarquis 9y ago
- partycoder 9y agoGermany makes greats products. I really enjoy using my Eierschalensollbruchstellenverursacher (egg opener, or more literally, "egg shell pre-determined breaking point causer"), very precise.
- r3bl 9y agoIn some parts of Europe, a product made in Germany is automatically a good product. In fact, when looking for household appliances, you'll notice local shops using "originated from Germany" to promote some brands over the other. Especially Telefunken products. Same thing applies to cars, where the public separates them into two categories: "German" and "shit".
- partycoder 9y agoJokes aside, my favourite German thing these days are Lothar Papula's series of math books, very well organized.
- ehllo 9y ago"Especially Telefunken products." Today Telefunken don't produce any products(they sell only their Brand-Licence to partners), if you buy for example a Telefunken-TV it is produced by Vestel(in Turkey). http://vestelinternational.com/en/corporate/vestel-group/ http://vestelinternational.com/en/corporate/vestel-group/ https://www.telefunken.com/company/ https://www.telefunken.com/company/ - Partner Alliance
- mpweiher 9y ago> made in Germany is automatically a good product. The irony being that "Made in Germany" was originally forced by the UK government to distinguish "inferior" imports. Didn't work out as planned... https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Made_in_Germany https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Made_in_Germany
- rorykoehler 9y agoI feel there is some parallels with brexit here
- geff82 9y agoInteresting. As the most die-hard German USA-fanboy one could have imagined, I can only say: since Trump, even I reconsidered my plan to move to Texas and currently plan to just stay here in my hometown Frankfurt, as there are currently no comparable options anywhere in the western world (maybe Canada, but then again I prefer to stay in multi-national EU if the diversity and sunny weather of the USA is currently not an option). In those unstable times, we all feel the influx of money, ideas, people here. Some don‘t like change, but to me it all feels quite good. Anyway, still hope to spend some years in the USA when the time is right.
- jgh 9y agoThere are places in the EU with sunny weather though...certainly more so than Canada! Spain, Italy, Greece, and the Balkans are all as far south as California is. You guys have it pretty good in the EU when it comes to options for living in sunny places. Maybe not as good as the US, but certainly a lot better than I do here in Canada. Any time I want to go live somewhere sunny I have to go through somebody else's immigration system! (Can we please adopt Turks and Caicos already?)
- benevol 9y agoAnd it has never been so ridiculously easy.
- superplussed 9y agoAs an American living in Berlin, it's a striking feeling to live in a well-run country. It's not perfect of course, but the feeling that the system works with you and for you (even as a foreigner) is a stark contradiction to the US.
- deleted 9y ago[deleted]
- jojoo 9y agoAs a german who moved from berlin to the south of germany: living in berlin feels like living in a failed bundesland. the public transport is broken all the time, the bürgerämter are crowded, you can't appointments, the administration is basically clueless, ... i guess if you don't rely on public services it's not that bad, but still, berlin is a very bad example for a functioning german place.
- smcl 9y agoI guess that makes the comparison the GP post made even more interesting
- amigoingtodie 9y agoHow long ago did you move from Berlin?
- superplussed 9y ago4 years ago. It has been a pretty smooth ride, from originally getting a freelancer's Visa (pretty easily), to getting a Blue Card (even more easily). The biggest surprise to me as an American was that I had this perception that health care is free over here, and it's not. You are mandated to pay your health insurance, which isn't as cheap as you might imagine, but it is of course pretty comprehensive with no co-pays for every service that I've ever had. Btw, the health care system is a dream of efficiency compared to the US.
- mpweiher 9y ago
- Sylos 9y agoTL;DR: Trump. The US fell from first to sixth place in their study, since last year.
- benevol 9y agoTrump is the symptom, the signal. He's not the cause. The cause is a system that's dysfunctional on multiple levels. The US' issues are systemic and some have now become part of US culture and are deeply anchored as such. I don't foresee any quick and meaningful correction. It's going to take many years for the country to become healthy again. And given US influence all over the World, it's not good news.
- INTPenis 9y agoHonestly I was surprised the US was in first place at all. But I guess I move in different circles. It does still have the biggest propaganda machine in the world and now it's online.
- dpweb 9y agoIts downplayed but the Tr7mp election which was possible even likely once he got the nomination, was the complete implosion of the Republican party and inability of any republican candidate except Trump to remotely connect to the needs of the people. Two issues particularly, immigration which yes plays to darker impulses, but also represents law and order to the average conservative. And free trade, endlessly flogged by so called conservatives and was increasingly exposed as more shilling for powerful interests and more benefit to them than the average american. Even though they lost the election Dems had their shit together much more compared to Republicans, and as much as we say we want disruption in presideantial politics, we see what happens when one half of the system goes completely limp.
- deleted 9y ago[deleted]
- amigoingtodie 9y agoEverything is binary, huh?
- mto 9y agoRight, my move-to countries are similar but our neighbors don't come first for me. More like Scotland/UK, Canada, Australia, Sweden, Germany, US. But perhaps Germany is too similar to Austria so I don't really see any real advantages in moving there, except slightly better job prospects, depending on the region.
- stesch 9y agoDeutsche Welle (DW) is Germany’s international broadcaster.
- saas_co_de 9y ago"The Nation Brands Index (NBI) survey, carried out by German-based market research firm GfK" Not hating the general premise, since I personally feel that Germany and the EU have taken the place of world leadership that the US previously occupied, but still "Germany Marketing Company Declares Germany the Best Country" would be a more accurate headline here.
- mpweiher 9y agoExcept that they've been running this for a while and Germany has tended to not come out on top.
- fdw 9y agoI think you should read a bit further: "The Nation Brands Index (NBI) survey, carried out by German-based market research firm GfK and the British political consultant Simon Anholt [...]". It's not just a German company polling people.
- philipps 9y agoGerman here, living in the US. For the first time in 20 years I am seriously considering to move back. There are lots of things I do not like about Germany, but there is a sense of buying into a social contract that I am coming to appreciate more and more. I do not believe that the most knotty problems can be solved by increasing individual freedoms or simply making markets more efficient. They require some form of collective action and solidarity, which seems hard to imagine happening in the current political climate in the US. [Edit] There is something quite surreal to see a discussion about Germany’s positive image for people my age and above. I couldn’t have imagined this even ten years ago.
- thekingofh 9y agoTaking away personal freedoms isn’t ever going to be a selling feature of any country. I can think of some good things about Germany, but I wouldn’t be so quick to tout that as one of them.
- paulgb 9y agoMy interpretation of OP is not that taking away personal freedoms is a feature, but that personal freedom absolutism is a bug. Giving up some freedom is always a consequence of society: your freedom to swim in a lake is at odds with my freedom to dump sewage there.
- gumaflux 9y agoExcellent point. Most people don't want to swim in a sewerage. Except of course if someone tells them that vague concepts such as sovereignty is more important than swimming in a lake.
- standupstandup 9y agoThat seems like a poorly disguised dig at Brexit. I'd hope that Germany of all countries understands the importance of sovereign democratic government and the harsh conditions people will endure to preserve it. In fact the behaviour of Germany (and France) in recent times has seriously worsened my perception of these countries. I wouldn't say they're clearly better in my view than the USA, despite Trump.
- williamle8300 9y agoI'm American. I don't give a shit for your PR articles. We make things and we're gonna MAGA brothers and sisters!
- petre 9y agoActually DW is a public news outlet so this is country PR.
- allsunny 9y agoI'm 99.99% sure this is just a joke. ;) It's the sort of thing that gets bandied about by Trump and his supporters. I laughed when I read it.
- allsunny 9y ago:)
- sctb 9y agoIt seems you won't post civilly and substantively like we've asked many times before, so we've banned this account. https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html
- limaoscarjuliet 9y agoIn most of Europe, Germany has been seen as a solid, hard working nation for many years. If I had to use one word: efficiency above all. But recently, with Merkel's immigration policy (or ineptness?), the country is being overrun with North Africa immigrants, who are a drag on rich social care system, taking a lot out while not contributing their equal share back to it. (Eastern Europe calls this process cultural enrichment, which is a clear sarcasm.) I'm wondering about contrast between "best international image" and the perceived reality. Good marketing comes to mind.
- amigoingtodie 9y agoCome to the US and help fund our opioid treatments and naloxone purchases.
- ianbooker 9y agoThat is not just plain wrong, but also far right propaganda. In fact, the system needs these immigrants for the workforce in the long term. But that is an argument far beyond the grasp of most people. SAD.
- FeepingCreature 9y agoIn the long term, automation makes these immigrants completely redundant though.
- smcl 9y agoHN is no place for your racist hate. Take it elsewhere
- 42656e 9y agoThey aren't immigrants, they are refugees. They aren't in the same social care system as German citizens and haven't actually impacted the quality of social care for regular citizens at all. Contrary to popular belief it's actually not easy at all to gain citizenship status. Hosting a million refugees does cost a lot (~20B € annually), but it is constitutionally required to guarantee that everyone in Germany is treated with human dignity.
- taksintikk 9y agoDiversity is Americas’ greatest strength and also its greatest weakness.
- amigoingtodie 9y agoAre you meaning USA, or all of North and South America?
- aaron-lebo 9y agoContext clues > pedantism.
- amigoingtodie 9y agoDo you mean the apostrophe placement?
- NiklasMort 9y agoHonestly I am surprised to see the US even in the Top10, people usually have nothing good to say about it for various reasons.
- deleted 9y ago[deleted]
- kmfrk 9y agoI know this is such a Hacker News question, but is there a good place to gauge what good places in Germany also have solid internet speeds (100/30)? I’ve thought about moving there, too, but it’d be great to narrow the places in Germany down geographically with some data like this, especially with what I hear about the state of internet infrastructure there.
- rorykoehler 9y agoYou'll get that speed and more in any urbanised part of Germany. I had 100 symmetrical 6 years ago in Berlin. What makes you think the internet infrastructure is bad?
- RickJWag 9y agoCongratulations to those countries moving up. Congratulations also to Americans, who feel their country is moving in a better direction. May America be the best America it can be, and the same of Germany, Japan, etc.