Cologne Germany | Advice & perspective from 10 year expat computer programmer & software engineer
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- Опубліковано 4 лип 2024
- #germany #expat #interview
Today I sit down with John, an American expat who has been living in Germany for a decade. Join us as he walks us through what it is like living and working in Germany, Germany's social system, German culture, and much more.
John has a degree from the university of Alabama, and a masters degree from a German University. He has been working as a computer programmer and software engineer since doing freelance work in college.
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I hope that this video is able to help you further your understanding of the material within. Be sure to like and subscribe for more videos, and as always, if you have any questions please leave a comment.
I love how this video shows scenery alongside the interview. Makes it more interesting to watch.
Thanks! Hey, I must say this guy has done a better job at introducing Germany as an expat than most other videos around. The guy is insightful, full of detail & precision - we can see he's a sw engr - while also having the relaxed, friendly, American attitude to explaining things. Much appreciated!
This video is awesome. Very informative and enjoyable to watch!
freaking well put together with each clip! love the outro
Thanks buddy! Glad u enjoyed
I might do u for beijing
Enjoyed watching my boys and learning about German culture Miss you
"Mädchen" is neutral because it is a "Diminutiv (Verniedlichung)(minimization)".
For example "der Hund" -> "das Hündchen" or "die Katze" -> "das Kätzchen".
"Mädchen" comes from "die Magd" or "die Meid".
This is actually an exceptionless rule, alle diminutives become neutral, so that's enough proof that the grammatical genders are not random. :D
There are lots of looser rules with some exceptions, e.g. abstract words ending in -heit, -keit, -ung are almost always feminine, those ending in -tum are mostly neutral (Christentum), sometimes masculine (Reichtum) etc. The person ist the video is too advanced, so past such rules because he will notice the exceptions but they should be very helpful for a beginner and one can find them on German language learning youtube vids.
To me this is the most accurate video of this kind i have seen.
Extremely informative and well done interview.
Great video, very informative and relatable.
Dude that guy spits gold ... he says only what i need to know ... i wish our curriculum was as good as you
I have learnt a lot through this video... Keep it up
Also my feelings/observations after moving to Germany from UK (not US). But I'm also white and university-educated. Greatly influences what experience you have. People treat you better and easier to find employment.
Very useful advice! I love the last part. He talks about German is different from other languages. Interesting!
Thank you! Did that part impress you?
Global Vagrant Z6 impress me.🤣
Great stuff--Aldi's has stores in New Jersey and Eastern PA in the USA--great store here.
Best video and most helpful
Wonderful!
Am sorry but shocked again. Most Europe has at least 4 weeks paid vacation mandatory by law. It’s not only Germany and it’s quite common outside the US actually.
This guy knows Germany alright but he clearly hasn't worked with disadvantaged immigrants and others who slip through the cracks in the social welfare system. The bureaucracy can be a nightmare, especially for immigrants, but he is right in that there are agencies to help, as long as you know where to go and ask the right questions.
It was really useful 🙂
8:45 An employee working a 5-day week now has a minimum of 20 days paid holiday per annum.
Dude, you gotta go to the north. Hamburg is beautiful and there are beaches!
There is Nothing there. Munich is the Place to be.
You have to visit Lübeck in the north of germany
As someone who wants to move out of the US (and has a chance for citizenship in another country by decent in the EU) this video is great information wise. I also was already planning on going to Koeln and getting my masters degree so that's even better and I'm currently in my 6th month of studying german lol.
it was very interesting to me you didn't feel any cultural difference. knew quite a few American expats in my hometown Munich way back when and have traveled to the US several times since, also lived there for 6months, and jeez, there is a huge cultural difference between Americans and Germans.
It's initially not that obvious, cause they are both largely western cultures, but there are just so many different general attitudes and values, different modes of communicating, different comfortable distance to stand at while communicating, different noise levels in communicating, different modes of forming friendships, the very question what kind of person you would call a friend at all, and so on and so forth.
I love the US a lot, it's very diverse and there are some great great people there, but in 20 years of dealing with Americans I still have a very hard time really knowing what's just superficial polite friendliness and what is actually a sign of a deeper connection. Funnily I moved to a way more culturally different country 7 years ago (India) and have a way easier time getting a grasp on those things here despite the culture being so different from my own.
In fact I think it can actually be easier if you're moving to a culture that is more drastically different than you're own. With the US and Americans everything feels so familiar cause it all looks so similar and we all grew up with American movies and all, but that often leads to you not getting a proper grasp of the small nitty gritties of cultural fine print. The risk is way higher, that you just interpret the behavior of a person as part of their character rather than a trait of their cultural norms. This is how many Germans who move to the US first are blown away at just how friendly all Americans seem to be, just to a few years in get a delayed cultural shock when they find a lot of friendliness is just politeness and then they flipflop into the other extreme conclusion that Americans are superficial, when really Americans are just as superficial or friendly as any other people, just the norms in polite communication differ.
Meanwhile when you go somewhere where the culture is just very obviously different, you tend to stop more and think 'Ok, is this miscommunication happening because of a cultural misunderstanding or because that person really sucks?' Of course there's also a big cultural learning curve involved, and the culture shock usually sets in a lot earlier into the stay, but you're generally more on your toes and aware that differences can be expected.
I think you completely nailed it! I didn't get much of a culture shock from anywhere I've been in Europe, because you are right, we are all western countries. We have similar values, but i can totally see that about delayed shock. Im sure John would agree as well. I think the point he was making was your same point, that its not going to blow your mind like going to some wildly different country will. I feel the same way about china as you did India.
... small nitty grittyS???? It's usually singular and nitty gritty are the really important things. What does the native speaker say?
@@hanschristianwolffdr.1635 Why are you correcting them when they made it clear that english isnt their first language?
I really like the way the pronunciations, although the words are collected together are understood even for all.
Work hard play hard and vacation time is holy.
I believe that 25% foreign born number refers to people with migratory background. That would include everyone who is foreign born but also everyone born in Germany with at least one foreign born parent.
And of course that also counts fellow EU/EEA-countries as foreign with whom we basically have open borders (as you explained quite well). Ofcourse including Austria and Switzerland which are technically German speaking - doesnt mean that you can understand them tho.
Im planning to move to germany this year so Im gonna need your help on some things
This guy gets it. He's been there long enough to get it. Or internalize it. :P xD
Ah yes praise Köln its music to my ears. Greetings from a Kölsch jung
John Mayer looks like you!!!! or You look like him,, man I got familiar vibes and realized in the very end.
It was nice that he compared to Spanish because now I have a good point of reference
About that "work ethics" thing: I had worked in a fast food joint for some time and we often had Americans from the nearby hotel getting a bite to eat at our restaurant. I enjoyed speaking in english to them and I also liked their mostly friendly attitude. Several of them told me I could go to the U.S. and get a job anytime. That was nice of them but I don't think I would have been too happy over there with low wage job and no/almost no healthcare. Still, very friendly people :-)
Also: The New Zealand "english" accent is almost unintelligible. They swallow vowels like a french girl :P
Their accent isn't any worse than many local British accents. Once you get used to the way New Zealanders speak, they're just as intelligible as the rest.
I lived in the same state. This guy could not be more dead on.
Everything "small" with "-chen" in the end is automatically "das".
# cadeeja thanks for the tip, the die/der/das is extremely frustrating to learn especially since in English we only have “the”
english and german have many things in common .Don t forget that is english is a germanic language.brother/bruder,mutter/mother,nackste sommer/nest summer.the pronunciation is totally different but if you read words or sentences you can guess the meaning.
you surprised that germay is not touristic germany is one if the one most visited country in Europe.
Nice promotional video for Germany and Cologne, but it's funny that he doesn't remark tourism in Germany ;-)
The interview was in 2019; here are statistics from 2018: a total of around 179 million guest arrivals in German accommodation establishments (hotels, hostels, etc.) in 2018, Germany ranked 9th in a global comparison of the countries with the most arrivals of international tourists (...the 9th place out of about 195 countries on earth !)
France and Spain are by far the most visited countries in Europe (!). Italy follows with a bit of a gap, but then Germany appears, and only then does the UK follow, what most U.S.Americans do not know.
Foreigners or tourists do not attract attention in Germany because Germany is a country of immigration anyway.- Maybe that's why the computer programmer doesn't notice tourism in Germany :-)
Wondering just how long the guy lives in Germany? Because Germany is a holiday destination for tourists! For example all these castles you can see then the Black Forest which stands for all forests in Germany as well as all these beautiful rural villages with their history and people. Then the coast and its islands in the North Sea, including the most famous "Helgoland", or Baltic Sea. Even all these old buildings that can be seen all over Germany that are older than the United States. Just mentioned the Romans were here and founded the oldest cities in Germany. Honestly, he was not yet outside a city in Germany and was looking for or visiting all of this. Knowledge is that he must be blind if he has not seen or visited it. Now Germany is not made up of Bavaria but Bavaria is a small part of Germany. Question: Was he already in the city where Martin Luther published his 95 theses, or where he was hiding in a castle for a long time?PS: We have large beaches, but if you have never been to an East Frisian island you don't know.
PS: We have large beaches, but if you have never been to an East Frisian island you don't know.
It's in the title of the video. 10 years
I'm American and I'd love to live there. I went when I was a kid and never forgot it. I'd love to live there. Is it safe for foreign women there, are they welcoming to americans. You sound southern
Well, in fact Germany is quite touristy, I'd say. In 2018 the German tourist industry contributed 8,6 % to the GDP (USA 7,8 %, Canada 6,4 %).
Dang if that is true, that is a lot. It doesn't feel super touristy though, so that is surprising to see it so high.
@@globalvagrant1392 There are less super attractions. If you say Italy is touristy you only think of Rome +2-3 Cities maybe. But There are dozens of different things in Germany and its probably more subgenre like cultural, historical, hiking toruism and less the obvious towel reservation tourism that raids the buffet 10 minutes before breakfast closes. :D
Look at the places where he lived.
Berlin ...ok. There are enough tourists. But Stuttgart and Münster? Not so much.
Most of the foreigners will travel to Frankfurt, the Black Forest, Heidelberg , Lake Constance, Neuschwanstein, Munich, period.
The north see and the baltic see are both mainly visited by Germans.
With regard to the paperwork for working, I feel you. I had to do a lot of paperwork even if I am Italian, therefore part of the EU. I can imagine the hustle for a non-EU citizen.
I’d love to get a chance to talk o John. As a programmer planning to move there soon i have a lot of questions. Any way i can reach him?
Thats awesome! He said i could give u his email, but I'd hate to do it on here. U can send me a private message on instagram (should be in the description of video or homepage of youtube) and I will give u his email. Best of luck!
@@globalvagrant1392 thanks man. I sent you a DM. This is great
He aced everything except that he got Germany as a tourist attraction wrong. Germany has a multitude of tourist attractive places.
Hi . Do you know any public university conducting bachelors degree in music in germany .
No beaches? We have the Northern Sea and the Baltic Sea with countless beaches. Plus all the islands. You should definitely visit Northern Germany.😉
dont go to northern germany - the people are terrible and hate foreigners and just racist....overall. You will never be equal
what about mallorca?
Nah. Only a few stretches of the coastline at the North Sea have proper beaches. I can’t forget how disappointed our Spanish exchange student on our biology field trip was, when we arrived at the North Sea: mud everywhere.
@@gregprouse1173 wie kommst du denn auf sowas?
@@gregprouse1173 There is some irony here.
das Mäd-chen is neutral bc it is -chen which means small, those are all neutral 😎 The Dutch synonym is het meisje - neutral bc of the -je which means small 😎
Neutral in welcher Hinsicht? Ich versteh‘s nicht. Mädchen ist weiblich 🤔
@@WanderDude Das = neutrum. Die = weiblich. Der = männlich. Das Mädchen selbst ist natürlich weiblich. Das Wort ist aber neutral
Achso ist das gemeint. Ja, logisch 😅
Is your German fluent? I presume you got into your tech job without having to learn fluent German.....so in your field it would have been quite easy!
Third shocking thing. FOOTBALL is HUGE IN GERMANY. What’s almost unheard of is American Football.
What were marchers marching for at beginning of video
It was a march to combat climate change
Don't forget: English is a West Germanic language! Like German, Dutch, Jiddish, Africaans, Frisian and Letzeburgisch (sorry for wrong spelling of the last).😉
Germany won almost all medals in all categories for decades in equestrian sports, you might "update" your soccer-is-all-in-Germany-statement
But who cares about that?
@@schonlingg.wunderbar2985 true
@@schonlingg.wunderbar2985 me... Lol
Where from did you get the notion that food is subsidized? Any proof or numbers? Farm subsidies are there but so in the US. $20 billion (2015) in the US vs. €2 billion in German (2013) Please don't spill out rumors.
He is referring to the reduced VAT of 7% for food in contrast to the usual 19% VAT
Nice video but "not many beaches" in germany? That's because you haven't visited Schleswig-Holstein then :D It's like saying there aren't that many beaches in the US because you spend all your time in Nebraska or Texas.
„...chen“ With chen the reduction is formed, which is always neutral, so that ... chen, even with a little man, who is then called „das Männchen“
Only football? There's team handball, icehockey (Haie) and The Iron man on Hawai was won by German several times😉👍🏽
Berlin is so hipster, That Even if you not speaking German you could get a job there. If i would set foot in Germany - try Berlin, get a few German friends and learn to speak German.
well, that sounds like, I am fucked. I am moving to germany next year.
Herzlich willkommen!
Give germany a chance, mate.
You will like it.
how was your first year in GE?
Germany is NOT touristy? O Boy!
Maybe touristy to him means something very specific? Like a certain way tourists behave and shape their surroundings?
There is a big big difference between germany and the USA
Actually, Germany has more tourists annually than China....just sayin'
Am really shocked about what he said regarding homeless people. Not the system is not that perfect in Germany and yes people still die of hunger and yes some don’t have a choice but to live in the street. Shame on him and my he one day have to face it too.
Der Deutscher fliegen noch Paris Franco Reich. wenn der flug ist gelandet...der Sollagent mit sein fragebogen...frage eine:"Occupation"...der Deutscher rufe der frage an " Nein...ich bin hier nur fur besuchen".
Mütze und Handschuhe im Haus? Ist vielleicht die Heizung ausgefallen?
Ansonsten macht es ein sehr unhöflichen und ungezogenen Eindruck, so vor der Kamera zu stehen!
welcome in 1900 :D
Honestly mate, you missed out on a lot - never left your American bubble it seems.
Woooot? You know the wrong people :D NFL is a thing here. Has been for some years now.
Check out NALF here on UA-cam!
I think he means popular sports, and I agree. In Australia, popular sports would be cricket, rugby, and Aussie rules. Of course, Australians play a tonne of sports besides that but if you pop into your nearest pub those sports is what they'd be talking about. Pop into any German pub it is soccer here.
@@sisuguillam5109 Me? I have been following Nalf for years... notoriously :D
I feel like this guy lives in a different Germany then me.
I love Berlin and Munich. Cheap flights to everywhere. I wouldn't say same about Cologne.
Punctuality is a weird one. I'm Australia but I've been here for ages. I'm extremely punctual but it's because of how school in Australia was at the time. We had to be on time, every time. So people think that side of me is German, whereas it's actually Australian. Well, as far as public life is concerned because in private life I can be late (which Germans generally are not).
5:05 well, you haven´t meet me then :D I get loud very fast, if you cross the line :)
Mh sorry when i am now typical German and be direct.
But i think you really missed out a lot in Germany even when you lived here for 10 years and having a German girlfriend.
You said that german and American culture are nearly the same.
Okay when it comes to movie and music i give the point,
But culture is so much more like, history, art, literature, poetry.
And i my optnion there is a big difference.
Even that you live in a city which is more than 2000 years old
Okay you are right when you compare Latin America to Germany then Germany is of course more similar to the USA.
Coming to sports : yes Fussball is the most played and viewed sport in Germany. And there is a big ga to other sports, but there are many people who are to other sports like ice hockey (yeah we play in germany although field hockey), Handball and of course basketball. The German national Basketball league has an average of 4200 persons per game by 18 teams.
And there is all sports a big difference between Germany / Europe comparing to the USA.
There a are a lot of leagues below the mayor or first league.
In fussball /soccer you have down to 8 leagues. And even in the third division you have spectator average of 8000.
You get the german mind of working very good.
We Germans like to work hard, ne on time and give our best to the company, if thr company is fair to us and give as good money, free time and paid vacations and a Christmas party.
"if you do work hard you can party hard"
And one final thing to your view on tourism in Germany. Okay if you are seeking for endless beaches and hot summer nights you are searching at the wrong place.
If you want to visit a country which has many different landscapes within a drive of 2 hours, if you want to see history, if you enjoy the rich culture you can visit Germany.
In 2018 nearly 90 mio foreign peoples visited Germany. The USA was visited by 79 mio foreigners.
The biggest differences I see is in education and culture experiences we have in Europe in general. As Europeans and "world traveler" are Germans much better when it comes to a differentiated world view. Many US Americans lack of knowledge if they are not interested in other cultures in general.
This dude is amazing!
After 10 years built on day to day experience he has an alarmingly superficial understanding of the country he lives in. Americans are really of a kind.
What the weather isn't good? Häh? Germany isn't touristy?
He lives in Cologne where the weather is a bit of a mixed bag. And he probably means not touristy in the Schinkenstrasse-sense.
He lives in Cologne where the weather is a bit of a mixed bag. And he probably means not touristy in the Schinkenstrasse-sense.
Germany does not subsidize food 😉
No but we subsidize the agricultural industry very much.
Schwarzer what? 24:34
Hilfe, die Bässe der Hintergrundmusi sind total übersteuert, so daß man den Sprecher nicht mehr verstehen kann!
Help, the musi ist much too loud, so that I can heardly understand the Speaker!
Ich hab gar keine Musik gehört 🤷♂️
@@WanderDude Offensichtlich wurde meinem dringenden Wunsche Rechnung getragen. Danke, für den Hinweis, ich freue mich!
Politijagt
Yes,beeing unpunctual is disrespectfull.
Generlising ....., not all are the same but most are.
2 pullups. .soft...software programmer.
Downvoted because the music is too loud.
The political perception isn’t that accurate
Mädchen ist die Verkleinerungsform von "der Maid" bzw. "die Maid" eine kleine Maid ist also ein Mädchen!
Would like to see Holocaust places in another video
White.