4 ms·

Digital nomads, not remote... Doesn't compute. Why would any real digital nomad that could spend every month at a different place around the world want to get

by bitL 7y ago

Digital nomads, not remote... Doesn't compute. Why would any real digital nomad that could spend every month at a different place around the world want to get stuck in Munich in subpar and overpriced housing with only 2-3 months a year of bearable weather and deal with German tax bureaucracy (need to have at least 2 clients in parallel or be forced to register themselves as a single person business with all the increased taxes and no corporate veil), not to mention that it would take years to find just one real German friend for normal social interactions?

dhkxh 7y ago
Do you have an opinion on life in Germany that you would like to share?
- deleted 7y ago
  [deleted]
lm28469 7y ago
> not to mention that it would take years to find just one real German friend for normal social interactions That's factually false and incompatible with your previous statement. > could spend every month at a different place around the world
- bitL 7y ago
  I don't see any link. You e.g. go to Barcelona or Rio de Janeiro and you get a bunch of friends the moment you walk out of the door of your apartment (figuratively ofc), whereas in Germany it takes years to develop any closer relationship that could be qualified as something more than superficial friendship (i.e. nobody cares, unless you are useful in some way right away), and even those often get abruptly terminated in 15 minutes for whatever silly reason. In other words, for the month or year you spend in Munich, you won't make any friends unless super lucky, it'll be just about work unless you want to surf on a river or watch Bayern in action, etc. and "socialize" that way. Germany is also the only place I am aware of where two colleagues sharing the same desk at the same company for 20 years still address each other formally in Höflichkeitsform all the time (this is absolutely funny to people from Netherlands).
  - lm28469 7y ago
    > go to Barcelona or Rio de Janeiro and you get a bunch of friends the moment you walk out of the door of your apartment I lived in California for a while, everyone is seemingly your friend, but really no one is it's just the bro culture (for a lack of a better term). Smiling and sharing a beer isn't being "friends". Now yeah, if your definition of friendship is socialising with random people in the street avoid Munich. > Germany is also the only place I am aware of where two colleagues sharing the same desk at the same company for 20 years still address each other formally in Höflichkeitsform all the time Dude, really ... did you work for the Deutsche bahn in 1982 or something similar ? If anything my social life is better both in and out of work in Berlin than it was in mountain view / LA. I'm not saying it's bad in other places but Germany isn't as you describe it.
    - bitL 7y ago
      > I lived in California for a while, everyone is seemingly your friend I agree it's not ideal in California (arguably similar to Germany wrt random quality, but without the perpetually angry faces though with fake smiles exposing whitened teeth). Still, it used to be a bit happier place and there is a large choice of (sub)cultures one might fit in better, and one can focus on real bleeding edge work whereas in Germany foreigners aren't really trusted with working on cool things/hit glass ceiling quickly. > Dude, really ... did you work for the Deutsche bahn in 1982 or something similar ? I was told that by some Dutch guy who couldn't believe it, but that's what he experienced (I think he mentioned Siemens or a similar large co). > If anything my social life is better both in and out of work in Berlin Berlin is a huge outlier ("Arm aber sexy"), and probably the only cosmopolitan city in Germany that attracts young/creative people (Frankfurt is not for the young). Miami on the other hand is IMO way above Berlin/LA when it comes to social life (unless you are super rich, but then your tastes are completely different). Also, regarding "friendships", they were either based on how useful you were, or how much dominated you could be, e.g. I remember playing tennis/squash/badminton with German players and the friendships lasted only while I allowed them to win; the moment I decided "* it" and played as good as I could, the "friendships" disappeared quickly. The thing is they do it even to each other unconsciously, so it's pointless to discuss this with them, as there is no awareness.
- thiago_fm 7y ago
  What he's saying is true. I live in Germany for 4 years, and even though I can definitely speak German, only the foreigners are generally willing to(it's a generalisation!). Now, when discussing friendships, the picture is even more bleak. I have loads of foreigner friends, but 0.5 german friend.
  - stephenr 7y ago
    How do you have half a German friend? Is he/she half German, or was he/she involved in some terrible guillotine accident?
    - thiago_fm 7y ago
      Because they aren't a "friend", but more somebody I hang out with.

by bitL 7y ago

dhkxh 7y ago

Do you have an opinion on life in Germany that you would like to share?

deleted 7y ago
[deleted]

lm28469 7y ago

> not to mention that it would take years to find just one real German friend for normal social interactions That's factually false and incompatible with your previous statement. > could spend every month at a different place around the world

bitL 7y ago
I don't see any link. You e.g. go to Barcelona or Rio de Janeiro and you get a bunch of friends the moment you walk out of the door of your apartment (figuratively ofc), whereas in Germany it takes years to develop any closer relationship that could be qualified as something more than superficial friendship (i.e. nobody cares, unless you are useful in some way right away), and even those often get abruptly terminated in 15 minutes for whatever silly reason. In other words, for the month or year you spend in Munich, you won't make any friends unless super lucky, it'll be just about work unless you want to surf on a river or watch Bayern in action, etc. and "socialize" that way. Germany is also the only place I am aware of where two colleagues sharing the same desk at the same company for 20 years still address each other formally in Höflichkeitsform all the time (this is absolutely funny to people from Netherlands).
- lm28469 7y ago
  > go to Barcelona or Rio de Janeiro and you get a bunch of friends the moment you walk out of the door of your apartment I lived in California for a while, everyone is seemingly your friend, but really no one is it's just the bro culture (for a lack of a better term). Smiling and sharing a beer isn't being "friends". Now yeah, if your definition of friendship is socialising with random people in the street avoid Munich. > Germany is also the only place I am aware of where two colleagues sharing the same desk at the same company for 20 years still address each other formally in Höflichkeitsform all the time Dude, really ... did you work for the Deutsche bahn in 1982 or something similar ? If anything my social life is better both in and out of work in Berlin than it was in mountain view / LA. I'm not saying it's bad in other places but Germany isn't as you describe it.
  - bitL 7y ago
    > I lived in California for a while, everyone is seemingly your friend I agree it's not ideal in California (arguably similar to Germany wrt random quality, but without the perpetually angry faces though with fake smiles exposing whitened teeth). Still, it used to be a bit happier place and there is a large choice of (sub)cultures one might fit in better, and one can focus on real bleeding edge work whereas in Germany foreigners aren't really trusted with working on cool things/hit glass ceiling quickly. > Dude, really ... did you work for the Deutsche bahn in 1982 or something similar ? I was told that by some Dutch guy who couldn't believe it, but that's what he experienced (I think he mentioned Siemens or a similar large co). > If anything my social life is better both in and out of work in Berlin Berlin is a huge outlier ("Arm aber sexy"), and probably the only cosmopolitan city in Germany that attracts young/creative people (Frankfurt is not for the young). Miami on the other hand is IMO way above Berlin/LA when it comes to social life (unless you are super rich, but then your tastes are completely different). Also, regarding "friendships", they were either based on how useful you were, or how much dominated you could be, e.g. I remember playing tennis/squash/badminton with German players and the friendships lasted only while I allowed them to win; the moment I decided "* it" and played as good as I could, the "friendships" disappeared quickly. The thing is they do it even to each other unconsciously, so it's pointless to discuss this with them, as there is no awareness.
thiago_fm 7y ago
What he's saying is true. I live in Germany for 4 years, and even though I can definitely speak German, only the foreigners are generally willing to(it's a generalisation!). Now, when discussing friendships, the picture is even more bleak. I have loads of foreigner friends, but 0.5 german friend.
- stephenr 7y ago
  How do you have half a German friend? Is he/she half German, or was he/she involved in some terrible guillotine accident?
  - thiago_fm 7y ago
    Because they aren't a "friend", but more somebody I hang out with.