German Expat – 11 1/2 Signs This Could be You
Have you ever pondered about becoming an expat. Moving a way from home and diving into the glamorous (sometimes) and frustrating (often) life of living outside of your home country? Have you every thought of Germany as a destination? Perhaps you are already planning a move and wonder whether you fit. Here are some signs that you might be a good expat living in Germany.
1 ) You don’t mind not understanding things on a daily basis.
Being an expat means that even after many years, you will still have things that you don’t understand about your host country. It is a life-long learning thing. Not just the language but the food and culture too. Things so subtle no guidebook would have them.
2 ) Adaptable is one of your primary traits.
So you are used to going to the grocery store on Sunday afternoon or at 3am on a Tuesday? Sorry, can’t. Get used to it. All of those things from #1 that you don’t understand, you have to adapt to them. And things can be freaky and scary sometimes. It’s ok to be unsure or overwhelmed sometimes though.
3 ) You enjoy filling out reams of forms for no apparent reason. (In triplicate of course.)
Germany sometimes feels like a beauracracy with a society attached. Most things still require a written signature to do. The amount of papers notifying me of things in my mailbox is pretty high. The requirement to keep those papers for tax purposes or whatnot also means they stick around.
If you like paperwork and filing, you could be on your way.
4 ) You like to travel, but still like to feel at home.
Being an expat is kind of like traveling all the time. Foreign food and language all over the place. Yet this is where you live, so you get to experience all of this and still have a comfy bed and your own bathroom.
5 ) You seem to get along with travelers better than the people in your home town.
As an expat you will perhaps find that you may be adaptable to live nearly anywhere and deal with strange traditions in your new home, and yet the stuff you grew up with at home no longer makes much sense.
Travelers may understand your stories of coping in a foreign culture better than your friends at home that never left.
6 ) You enjoy getting Christmas cards in March.
6 ) You enjoy getting Christmas cards in March.Yeah, mail between Germany and the US is not always the most speedy thing.
7 ) “What sex is table?” is a perfectly normal question.
Yup, German has 3 genders. Masculine, feminine and neuter. And there are a few rules, but nothing like Spanish or Italian, so you just have to memorize most of them. Or do like I do and mumble. And yet German can be a beautiful language.
8 ) You like that things run on time and get worried that the system is breaking down if a train is just a few minutes late.
German Order is legendary. Everything runs as expected and the system is king. Until it isn’t. Trains are late by 10minutes pretty often, but with a system so tightly wound (7minute exchanges are very common) it can mean a problem. Whereas other countries just relax and deal with it, Germans begin to complain about the downfall of the system.
9 ) Opening the windows in the middle of the winter for 5-10 minutes makes sense.
It does! The air gets stuffy and you need fresh air, no matter how cold. Right? If this seems right to you, you won’t be surprised when you have to wear a coat inside just to deal with the random open windows. Just don’t let a draft hit your neck. Germans are obsessed with fresh air.
10 ) You think it is crazy to cross the street against a red don’t walk sign. Even at 2am with no cars in sight.
The lights must be there for your protection and the keeping of order right? The rules must be obeyed.
11 ) You know which of the 4 cans to throw away anything.
Yellow is plastic and packaging. Green is for paper. Brown for food waste and biodegradable stuff. Black is for everything else. There is a yearly magazine that comes out with every possible form of waste and where it can be thrown away. Ali has a wonderful post about this garbage stuff in Germany.
11 1/2) The fact that there ARE 4 different places to throw things away is not odd.
Seriously, 4! They are talking about adding a 5th one, and still people leave things on the street corner to be taken by others.
So, are you ready to join us in Germany?
June 13, 2012 @ 5:03 am
Hitting the neck means, if cold air twists around your neck, your muscles are going to be harder and harder until you aren’t able to turn your head in any direction – and it really hurts. And no, we germans are not that “fresh air” obsessed…. We just like it 🙂
June 13, 2012 @ 8:07 pm
That is really weird. Having a cold neck isn’t fun, but I have never heard or experienced that a bit of cold air on the neck causes my muscles to do anything. If anything, I find the cold breezes from the open winter windows to be more annoying on my whole body. I guess the common sense we grow up with makes sense to us, even if it doesn’t to others.
And yes Germans like Fresh Air enough that I think they would think I was out to get them, if I kept the doors and windows closed all of the time.
March 10, 2012 @ 8:19 am
Yup great write up! I love being an expat in London. I like your point of ‘You like to travel, but still like to feel at home”. Definitely reflects me!
March 10, 2012 @ 3:07 pm
Thanks for the comment and compliment. London seems to draw a lot of expats. Seems chaotic and big, but I’m sure there are little neighborhood places to find as well.
March 6, 2012 @ 12:13 am
You crack me up 🙂
March 6, 2012 @ 12:10 pm
I’m glad I can be entertaining. 🙂
March 5, 2012 @ 8:22 pm
This was a fun post! Yes I think I could be an expat in Germany. What is with their fear of air hitting their necks? That is very strange to me 🙂
March 5, 2012 @ 8:38 pm
The French are like that too. They always wear scarves, even in summer. They also seem to think air conditioners are evil.
March 6, 2012 @ 12:17 pm
The scarves thing is odd. I get hot even in the winter with something around my neck. I admit to kind of liking not having every building chilled to freezing in the summer by the AC. Though I definitely miss it on the hotter days in the summer, especially at night. There needs to be a balance.
March 6, 2012 @ 12:50 pm
Thanks. I don’t know exactly, but it seems to be a fear of getting sick. Something akin to the more English idea of wearing a hat or you will “catch your death of cold”. Check out the cold weather things from Italians at Annie’s site. http://waywardtraveller.com/2011/03/lesson-7-if-youre-not-careful-youll-die/
March 5, 2012 @ 12:48 am
Though the actual expectations and experiences are different, the subtleties one must consider are much the same here in Italy. It took me a loooong time to get used to the grocery stores!
March 6, 2012 @ 2:36 pm
How are the grocery stores different? I don’t remember much different from the few times I have gone shopping in Italy.
March 4, 2012 @ 10:44 pm
Hahahha, this list is brilliant! And sitting here in my apartment in Berlin with my windows open during winter, I have to say you’re spot on with these telltale signs!
March 6, 2012 @ 3:14 pm
Thanks. I know I am definitely a German expat. I would open the windows far more often, although my wife would not like it. I don’t get the depths of winter cold thing, but I do like to get fresh air in the house every so often.
March 7, 2012 @ 12:20 pm
Yes, please shut the damn windows! 😉
March 7, 2012 @ 9:11 pm
See..
March 4, 2012 @ 9:58 pm
I love it! I think I would do quite well in Germany. Now just to find a way to make some $$$!
March 6, 2012 @ 3:15 pm
€€€ maybe more like it? Look at things you could do from here. Freiburg is lovely in the summer.
March 4, 2012 @ 7:47 pm
Most of these points are actually quite appealing to me, except for the filling out forms one of course, although I’m quite used to that after having lived in France for 6 years.
March 6, 2012 @ 3:16 pm
Europeans seem to like their paperwork in general. I have heard similar of Italy as well. Have you made up your mind of your next move?
March 4, 2012 @ 5:37 pm
Good post, I lived for three years in Berlin. It made me smile to read your experiences.
March 6, 2012 @ 3:17 pm
Glad that I could make you smile.