Downsides of Living in Germany

Germany is one of the world’s most developed countries with a diverse economy offering many jobs, where people enjoy high quality of life and live in security and peace. Germany ranks 15 in the democracy index, 11th in the index of press freedom and 17th by median wealth per person. Its central location in Europe allows you to explore many European countries with ease and it is in Germany's culture to be logical, punctual and trustworthy. But just as in any country, there are a few drawbacks that come with living in Germany.

Germany is known for its big government and high taxes. It is actually the country with the highest tax and social security contributions for single individuals without kids among all OECD countries, second only to Belgium. Say you make 60’000 Euros a year in Berlin, then the state takes about 37% of your income in taxes, leaving you with about 37’000 Euros at the end of the year. Germany has a progressive tax system, so the more you earn the higher your tax rate becomes. The general value added tax rate is at 19% and there is a reduced tax rate of 7% on certain foods and necessities. To be fair, taxation for married couples with two kids is not as bad compared to the Nordic countries, but if you are looking for a country where you can save some money on taxes, then Germany might not be the right country for you.

Furthermore, there is a big debate about German television tax, which is at about 220 Euros a year for every household. The state charges this tax to fund public television, even though many Germans are against it because they don’t even watch TV. And even some YouTube channels are funded by this tax, some of them are popular among Germans while others are, let's say a bit more controversial.

Another downside is poor digitalization. For such a well-engineered country like Germany, it is ridiculous how poor mobile internet availability is. Germany ranks 23rd in mobile download speeds, behind North Macedonia, Hungary, the Czech Republic or Croatia. And fixed broadband download speeds are even worse. Germany ranks 35th behind many central and southern European countries. Sure, this is not representative for the whole country, but just bear in mind that internet infrastructure is not as developed as you might think. And don’t expect much digitalization in government services as well. For the fourth largest economy in the world, Germany is surprisingly far behind in terms of its digital services and internet. Politicians keep talking about digitalization, but at the end of the day only little progress is made.

Germany also has problems caused by its energy policies. In Germany, people pay the most for their electricity among every OECD country and also worldwide Germany ranks in the top 3 in terms of electricity costs. And this is even more unfortunate for such an industrialized country like Germany, which could benefit tremendously from low electricity prices. But the most ridiculous thing is that the current political leadership is against generating electricity from nuclear power plants, because of security and environmental concerns. The three remaining nuclear power plants in Germany are on their way of being shut down, even though Germany faces a severe energy crisis and extremely high prices for electricity. Nuclear power plants are used in many industrialized countries, but Germany appears to be the only one that wants to get rid of it, even though its renewable alternative energy sources do not yet provide enough power that Germany needs. Moreover, spiking gas prices and high taxes on fuel put the German industry in big danger and certainly makes manufacturing businesses move abroad to countries where energy is more affordable.

Public transport in Germany is great and well developed. Assuming you don’t live in the countryside, you can get by without owning a car. And just like France, Spain and Italy, Germany has a dense high speed rail network, connecting many of its major cities. But in recent times reliability of long-distance trains has decreased. In August 2022, only 56% of the long-distance trains reached their destination on time. And interestingly, trains that get canceled are not considered in this statistic. This means that when Deutsche Bahn decides to cancel a train, it may be that their statistics of trains being late becomes better. About 5% of the long-distance trains get canceled. But on the flipside, we also have to mention that the overall railway infrastructure is great and many countries can only dream of having such a well-developed public transport system.

Expats report that Germans are a bit reserved and stay private at times, making it hard to break into social circles and make friends. Small talking is also not as common as in other European countries. Germans value efficiency, and this also influences the way people communicate with each other. But once expats make an effort to immerse themselves in local culture and learn the language, they’ll find that the locals will warm up to them. And if you share a smile and go through the world with a happy attitude, you will find new friends very quickly.

Germany is the land of poets and thinkers, but it also is the land of contract law and administration. If you move here, expect to be tackling paperwork on a pretty regular basis – which is often a struggle if you don’t speak German. Generally, any official process needs some forms, tons of appointments, and a lot of time. And as already mentioned the public sector is not so digitalized, so expect some bureaucracy. There even are some startups that were founded to simplify the bureaucratic interactions with the government. disentangled for instance, is an app designed to help new parents file for parental allowance.

Another downside are early closing times of stores and shops in Germany. Most supermarkets close at 8:00pm, even though there may be exceptions. And unlike in the Netherlands for instance, stores are generally closed on Sundays. Smaller cities in Germany look like ghost cities on Sundays. So, make sure to buy all the things you need on Friday evening or Saturday.

In recent years criminality has increased, and some areas of some German cities really got dangerous. In Duisburg for instance there was a clash between the Hells Angels and a Lebanese clan, where about 100 participants shot at each other in an almost war like manner. There are rivaling clans and extended families statistically overrepresented by people who moved to Germany from the middle east. These clans and extended families are involved in illegal activities such as money laundering or drug trafficking and cooperate with criminal organizations abroad. This probably won’t really affect your life in Germany and criminal organizations are present in almost all countries, but it’s just something to be aware of. And just stay away from the not so nice places of Germany like the Bahnhofsviertel in Frankfurt.

Germans are very strict about political correctness and you have to be careful about what you say. Don’t get me wrong, Germany is a free country where you can say whatever you like, but people here really stick to political correctness which you just need to get used to. This can be a bit of a culture shock for people who are used to speaking their minds freely, but it’s something that you’ll get used to overtime. Even though most Germans speak English well, learning German is required to really connect to the people and culture of Germany. Learning German also shows your willingness to integrate into German society. Learning German is not known for being easy, but if you are interested in moving to Germany, then investing the time and effort is definitely worth it. And you certainly need German skills for accomplishing all bureaucratic matters, finding an apartment, and also for buying your daily bread, or for explaining your preferences to the waitress in a Bavarian restaurant, German skills will help you get along the way.

As always, the last downside is a bit of a fun fact. Expect to gain a lot of weight in Germany, since Germany offers a wide variety of beers, breads, and wurst. German cuisine is delicious and rich in calories, so you will be very tempted to gain some extra weight while living in Germany.