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Germans are a cautious people and fear that the economy could collapse at any time. As a result they are trying to: - Make sure they have some savings to fall

by junto 12y ago

Germans are a cautious people and fear that the economy could collapse at any time. As a result they are trying to: - Make sure they have some savings to fall back on - Moving their Euros into bricks and mortar They are careful with their private income and suspicious of debt. When I look at my fellow Brits in the UK living on their credit cards and month-to-month on their Wonga loans, I'm starting to realise that the Germans might be onto something. One thing is quite obvious. The German mentality for cautiousness is not going to change any time soon.

hackerboos 12y ago
The differences between our economies are more complex than you've suggested. Differences between the UK and Germany: * Unions are very weak in the UK compared to Germany. Union reps sit on boards of major German companies, negotiate wages that get workers a better deal * Germany's infamous mittelstand provides good technical jobs when compared to the UK which depends heavily on an unstable banking sector to bring in tax revenue * Germany doesn't have the same crippling real estate market as the UK and has stronger tenants rights, long leases when renting * Germany's benefits system is much more generous than the UK's
patrickk 12y ago
> Moving their Euros into bricks and mortar This one is certainly untrue, most Germans rent http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_home_ownership_rate http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_home_owner... It's certainly true about debt, you have to have cash with you always in Germany because sometimes a shop accepts Visa/Mastercard, sometimes EC Karte (German banking debit card), and sometimes neither. You can rarely predict which is going to be the case.
- junto 12y ago
  Observer bias, but whilst Germany home ownership rates are one of the lowest in the EU, they are increasing. The housing market here is competitive (between buyers) even with agent commissions of up to 6% of the house price (normally paid by the buyer). Having recently purchased property I can confirm that the market is quite crazy at the moment.
  - patrickk 12y ago
    I live in Frankfurt, I've noticed the market here being really expensive. It appears from my perspective a lot of it is companies who own property investments, or individuals who own property as investments. Lots of regular people simply rent, sometimes for their entire lives.
    - kuschku 12y ago
      Even in Kiel, 260k people, we had some areas where the price of houses over the past 10 years almost doubled – and I’m talking of suburbs, not even high rise areas.

by junto 12y ago

hackerboos 12y ago

The differences between our economies are more complex than you've suggested. Differences between the UK and Germany: * Unions are very weak in the UK compared to Germany. Union reps sit on boards of major German companies, negotiate wages that get workers a better deal * Germany's infamous mittelstand provides good technical jobs when compared to the UK which depends heavily on an unstable banking sector to bring in tax revenue * Germany doesn't have the same crippling real estate market as the UK and has stronger tenants rights, long leases when renting * Germany's benefits system is much more generous than the UK's

patrickk 12y ago

> Moving their Euros into bricks and mortar This one is certainly untrue, most Germans rent http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_home_ownership_rate http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_home_owner... It's certainly true about debt, you have to have cash with you always in Germany because sometimes a shop accepts Visa/Mastercard, sometimes EC Karte (German banking debit card), and sometimes neither. You can rarely predict which is going to be the case.

junto 12y ago
Observer bias, but whilst Germany home ownership rates are one of the lowest in the EU, they are increasing. The housing market here is competitive (between buyers) even with agent commissions of up to 6% of the house price (normally paid by the buyer). Having recently purchased property I can confirm that the market is quite crazy at the moment.
- patrickk 12y ago
  I live in Frankfurt, I've noticed the market here being really expensive. It appears from my perspective a lot of it is companies who own property investments, or individuals who own property as investments. Lots of regular people simply rent, sometimes for their entire lives.
  - kuschku 12y ago
    Even in Kiel, 260k people, we had some areas where the price of houses over the past 10 years almost doubled – and I’m talking of suburbs, not even high rise areas.