8 Ways Germany Changed My View Of The USA

[@NALFVLOGS]

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[@Hauke-ph5ui]

Formal and Informal does exist in English too - sort of. "You" is actually the formal way of adressing people - the equivalent of the German "Ihr" (2.person plural), the so called pluralis majestatis. In German this was used in centuries past to adress people of higher social standing, primarily high nobility. The actual equivalent of the informal "du" in English is "thou", however that word is no longer used in modern English. It is of course found in old texts and sometimes in modern day poetry as well, but no longer in everday english. That said - it is etxremely uncommon these days that co-workers in Germany use the formal version, at least after working together for a while. I'm 49 and have worked in 4 differenct companies so far, and we used the informal version in all of them, even including management. As a matter of fact - one of the companies was a pretty large one with more than 9000 employees in 14 different locations in 4 countries, and when the boss of the entire company came to our Christmas party the first thing he did in his speech was to offer all of us to adress him informally.

[@eredaane4656]

yo, german internet only sucks in rural parts. Many communes still run on copper cables. so average speed ranking is low. If you live in the better connected areas, you have a base of 300-400 mb/s and the top end is pretty open on fiber optics depending on your provider. just stay in the city or get fiber at ur home

[@bennyspingflower]

@@eredaane4656 i have 1gb/s \o/

[@kyihsin2917]

Nick: "It's nice how we're not bombarded with advertising in Germany like people are in the U.S." Immediately after: *bombards us with advertising*.

[@NALFVLOGS]

Irony is a funny thing.

[@tribequest9]

@@NALFVLOGS irony or hypocrisy?

[@CodeNascher_]

@@kyihsin2917 people who browse the web without adblocker have no right to complain about ads. it's your own fault you see them.

[@franhunne8929]

@@tribequest9 Irony - I would vote for irony here - particularly since you missed that "irony is a funny thing" has two meanings, too ... geez, you do not have to prove the prejudice right, that Germans have no funny bone.

[@lisastenzel5713]

True😂😂😂

[@Arndt_DC7OT]

In Germany, there is a law that prohibits unlit advertising signs or even neon signs from being closer than 150m to the highway or freeway. The reason for this is the distraction that such advertising structures cause for road users. This is one of the reasons why we have 4 times fewer traffic fatalities in Germany than the USA.

[@Arndt_DC7OT]

@ApeStimplair-et9yk du hast Pech beim Denken. Kann passieren.

[@niklas6047]

@ApeStimplair-et9yk UND DEUTSCHLAND IST EINE VON DEN ALLIIERTEN GEGRÜNDETE, BESETZTE GMBH!!!1!!1!!!1!!!!

[@Kirsch-Mamsell]

​@ApeStimplair-et9ykLaß es mich mal so sagen: HÄ???

[@memento81]

@ApeStimplair-et9yk I just posted a screenshot of that comment to our law firm's Slack where I work with over 50 traffic lawyers. Big laughs and hysterical dunks on your ignorance all around. Thank you for that entertainment, you make a fine jester.

[@theresabu3000]

Not sure the no advertisement is responsible for that much less accidents. But definitely helps being less distracted. Smaller roads, better crossings, prioritizing pedestrians in the center of a city... - all that minimizes the contact of cars and pedestrians, maybe even bike riders. Also not having pickup trucks, where blind spots are huge.

[@michajoe]

At Autobahn speeds it may not be a great idea to have tons of distracting advertising on the side of the road. That is actually one of the reasons.

[@MBrieger]

There is that, but maybe there is Location too? A drive on I5 (California) and there are almost ZERO Billboards. There are also almost ZERO Cities.

[@MichaelBurggraf-gm8vl]

We hardly have any billboards. However, in some areas, you might get overwhelmed by traffic signsand traffic lights...

[@MBrieger]

@@MichaelBurggraf-gm8vl That's the legal insanity. As a rule of Thumb, any signs in Germany loose their validity at the next Intersection. Thus posted once, valid. That's not the case in most US States. Hence we end up with the insane amount of Signs.

[@thiloreichelt4199]

There are occasionally billboards promoting road safety on the German Autobahn.

[@horst4439]

@@MBrieger It would be interesting to know, if billboard ads also lose their vailidiy somewhat down the road at the next intersection? 😉

[@TheDigger76]

My impression is that risk attitudes really depend a lot on the context. You are right about the insurances etc., but it’s a completely different matter with children. German playgrounds are more wild and full of adventure, in the US they are more cookie cutter, cushioned safety institutions. Kids in Germany would walk to school or take public transport by the age of 8.

[@enid9911]

I don't think this is much of an issue anymore anyway soon because more and more people stop having children to make space for ai robots. Why raise a child when you can just lean back and watch Netflix???

[@laurenz4528]

Age of 6 for me 2 weeks one of the moms would bring us to the bus and the we would go alone.

[@simonewohr4385]

I strongly disagreee with the “Du” and “Sie” statement. I’m 48 yo and had many different jobs yet and almost always everybody was “per Du”, calling each other by our first names . Even now, working as a nurse at a hospital, it is normal to use the first names, even when talking to the doctors. Just the “higher” bosses are called by their last names.

[@jojostag]

Same here. I'm 40 and I never worked in a company where anybody used "Sie". I could see that this might be the case in some "official" companies, like lawyer offices, banks or something like that.

[@steffenpanning2776]

For me the default is still 'Sie'. If everybody agrees on 'Du', then it's ok. Otherwise it's still 'Sie'. Fun fact: the English you is the German 'Sie'. The English 'Du' 'thou' fell out of fashion.

[@MiaMerkur]

​@@steffenpanning2776 Same for me. I want everybody I do not know to say formal Sie, especially men. I want same respect as doctors or policemen. If I know and like s.b. I feel comfortable with and like the du.

[@lisastenzel5713]

It's different in different parts of Germany. I only yet worked for 12 years, I'm only in my 30s. And I have had workplaces, where I wasn't called by my first name. Or one part of the staff was and some refused to. And that was true for everyone, not only me. Half the staff called everyone by their last name, the other one didn't.

[@RealNelsonC]

I can confirm that. I am over 50 and have never worked in a company where colleagues were addressed formally. At my current employer, the informal "Du" is even prescribed from above. Even the CEO is addressed informally by all employees.

[@sigmaoctantis1892]

Billboards reminded me of an Ogden Nash poem- I think I shall never see A billboard lovely as a tree Perhaps, unless the billboards fall I'll never see a tree at all

[@Flac_the_Wave]

I love Ogden Nash so much, definitely my favorite poet

[@Desperoro]

As Czech I am surprised as well how bad internet in Germany is. Especially in trains. But speaking of USA. In ski resorts, on west coast of WA state (101 road) .. No service at all! GSM service in states is worse than in Africa where you got 4G even in rainforest

[@jonson856]

Yeah we Germans have rested so much on top of the hill of our engineering prowess like cars and machines that we missed the internet revolution.

[@ChristianKolbow]

@@jonson856 That was the fault of Chancellor Helmut Kohl. He took a bribe and had outdated copper cables laid, even though it was already known at the time that fibre optics was the future.

[@yaboyjay7202]

It's all thanks to Telekom lobbying the CDU for years and years to keep laying cheap copper wire. We had the option to be the first to lay fiberglass cables in the 1980s or so, but since that was the less profitable option for the Telekom monopoly, the CDU under forever chancellor Kohl decided against it... Now we pay some of the highest prices for the worst speeds worldwide. The worst part might be that everyone is okay with that and nothing will ever change...

[@MiaMerkur]

​@@yaboyjay7202 so true!

[@camueller28]

There are certainly some smaller towns with slow internet access but almost everywhere fiber networks are being installed. However sometimes a referendum takes place beforehand and plans for fiber are stopped because especially cities with many older people don't understand the advantage of fiber networks. I live in a small town with about 12.000 people and currently have 300 MBit/s and could get 1 GBit/s if I would like to get.

[@winniemarvel7262]

Less known: In Germany, the weeks around Christmas and New Year are considered the time of “Christmas peace”. During this time, the authorities in Germany generally do not issue any burdensome administrative acts or refrain from enforcing them.

[@martinwagner4960]

quatsch, die arbeiten einfach alle nicht. nie würde ein deutscher bürokrat am rechtsstaat zweifeln.

[@markusmuller2951]

The Du/Sie thing is changing very much right now and it depends very much on what company you work for. In conservative organisations like banks you will still hear a lot of "Sie", but many places are changing to "Du" quickly. I once worked at a small company where we are all on a "Du" basis, but "Sie/Herr Soandso" with customers, so we would (half-)jokingly address each other with "Du, Frau Schmidt..."

[@jeffjeziorowski8612]

Love your videos. You have now surpassed me as to how long you’ve lived in Germany. I lived there just shy of seven years. I’m 61 now and I’m spending what time I have left going back to Germany every 18 months. I was there last year and I’m going back in April. Next trip will be during Christmas time. I love Christmas time in Germany.

[@weserbruch]

You're welcome

[@heridfel]

As an expat German, Christmas time is the one time I miss most, and I try to go back for it whenever possible. How can one live without Christmas markets? Inconceivable!!!

[@enid9911]

I would avoid it because WW3 is going to break out this decade and the US will be safer than Europe.

[@alexanderkraft4616]

Why is risk avoiding such a big thing in Germany? I don't know if there are studies to this. My idea is, that the last century could be a good explanation. My grandparents were born in the 1910s. In their childhood they suffered from hunger because of the breakdown of the agriculture during WW I. Then the hyperinflation of 1923 killed almost all savings of common people. Followed by Naziperiod / WW II. Then came the flight from their homes in the east, nowerdays Poland, Ukraine, Baltic States, Romania, Czech Republik and so on. This generation was all about security. They had no interest in anything risky. And then there's tradition. You may find even in Schwäbisch Hall the so called "Handwerkskammern". Professional organisations with roots in the middle ages. They protected the interest of settled kraftsmen, by fighting off competition. For example by setting standards, newcomers cannot compete with. This way of thinking is still very much alive.

[@RustyDust101]

Definitely this. Yet I would go back even further. Germany has suffered five major economic collapses since 1882. Each one reinforced what grandparents told them about how dangerous too much optimism is for an economy. That has changed the outlook of Germany for over 140 years. Throw in the destruction of two world wars we either started or at the very least supported massively. Yepp, that does tend to dampen both optimism _and_ the acceptance of risk taking.

[@onlyonekate7128]

I think you're spot on.

[@yamidibarra]

Sicher ist sicher. Das habe ich in Deutschland gelernt 😎

[@urlauburlaub2222]

It's the opposite. Risk and optimism just react differently in many environments. In the US, in many regions you can risk much, because you or your neighbors don't feel the pain directly, because there a many natural buffers from richness. People are social, not Socialists there. Still, over many years since 100 years, the US government put tied rules opon many US States, limiting results and therefor capabilities, also to take risks. In the big cities, with a lot of crime or pressures, US Americans are the opposite, and therefor shy or fake. In Germany, everything is more balanced including the cities, but still risk and optimism lead towards becoming realists not shy people, because you and others feel the pain everywhere, if something big happens, because you are more in the field of action and there are not many buffers. The tradition you speak off, is not about protecting the interest of craftsmen, but for the public management and keeping standards / surplus value as a people/folk, what you also have in the US. The US might be more liberal here, so they prey for profits, while in Germany the protection/safety is rather weak, because they or the public management doesn't invest in sound standards but re-uses the tax money for anyone under Socialist/Christian governments, and many craftsmen want to be free of charge, because they had trust that the government takes charge. That's were private competition is crossed out.

[@NechtanGerbers]

I think this "high risk high reward" system is just stupid, it's like playing the lottery you'll most likely lose everything, except that in real life you can't just buy a new ticket (change my mind) 👇

[@Annie-ex3ge]

I really like this in- depth analysis that goes beyond the superficial, in-your-face differences! Also, the beautiful Schwäbisch Hall footage is great advertisimg for the town. It makes me want to visit. Keep at the good work

[@frankschrewe4302]

The English language also has 2 ways to address people - but the informal "thou" is no longer used and only found in old texts. So saying "you" you always use the formal address.

[@k.schmidt2740]

That is really eye-opening, when you think about it, especially in the workplace: You may work for "Bob", but at the latest, when he lays you off, you learn that he has been Mr. Smith the whole time, - although, due to the first-name basis and the ubiquity of the form of address, you can easily forget that. In that situation, "you" retains its formality.

[@Llyd_ApDicta]

@@k.schmidt2740 Going along with smthg I learned in the Bundeswehr: "It's a lot easier to say 'Thou a$$hole' instead of 'You a$$hole'" :]

[@emjayay]

Many Americans, particularly fundamentalist Protestant Christians, use the King James version of the Bible. So they think you should call God "thou" and "thee" when praying or it's not holy enough. They use them even if the prayer is improvised.

[@emjayay]

We used to capitalize common nouns too centuries ago.

[@dirkspatz3692]

@@emjayay Or used the German way of telling numbers like in old (very very old) songs where the lyrics are still known. Like "Sing a Song of Sixpence" (18th century) One songtext from 1744 is: Sing a Song of Sixpence, A bag full of Rye, *Four and twenty* Naughty Boys, Baked in a Pye.

[@jajamuc]

My Internet experience was the complete opposite. My friend in the SF Bay Area only has two providers to choose from and for a 30 Mbit line he has to pay 60 bucks a month! I couldn‘t believe it, he‘s just 10 miles south of SF. In Germany, I get a 1 Gbit glass fiber line for the same price almost everywhere and I have dozens of providers to choose from. Edit: what the statistics reflect is the fact that Germans rarely buy the fastest connection available to them. They buy whatever is good enough for them. E. g. at my place, I could buy 1 Gbit at € 60. But I prefer 100 Mbit at € 20, because it‘s fast enough for my needs.

[@karlkastor]

This is only true in the big cities in my experience. I currently live pretty centrally in the second biggest city and I just got fiber last month.

[@Chadegon1693]

​@@karlkastori live in the pampa and we have fiber for months now. Some villages got it like 2 years ago

[@lisastenzel5713]

9:05 yeah...we like our 'silent night' vibe. We are stressed out enough by Christmas gift shopping often enough and the real calm only comes after 24th of December and ends on 2nd of January

[@nicolem6314]

The lack or small amount was one of the first things I noticed on my trips in Germany. And i love it, it doesn't ruin the scenery like here in the US. I am currently working on obtaining dual citizenship. My mother was born and raised in Heilbronn, but i was born before 1975, so i do not get it just by descent. And as far as Christmas, i totally agree with that as well. Here in the US, it is so commercialized and everything starts so early. I saw a Christmas commercial two weeks ago! I have always visited Germany during the summer, but I would love to go during winter to experience authentic Christmas markets. By the way, I really enjoy your videos and perspectives...

[@weserbruch]

You're welcome, hope you get you're citizenship.

[@abgekippt]

You have slow internet? Maybe it was Sunday, when the Internet is traditionally switched off in Germany

[@axwest1]

😂😂

[@FreezyAbitKT7A]

We had an exchange student from Brasil. He would ask for a ride to the gym 4 miles away and ride a stationary bike.

[@privatevendetta]

Well in Brazil you sometimes dont want to be driving on the public roads for safety reason.

[@MiaMerkur]

Crazy. As long as it is not stormy biking outdoor is better oc.

[@FreezyAbitKT7A]

@@MiaMerkur just farm country

[@margritjones7934]

I live in the States since almost 22 years and I appreciate your assessment as a German. So true, you did an amazing video. I agree with all your points 100%. People here in the US get up after a failure, it's just a roadblock but not the end. I'm still adjusting to the risk taking, but it made my life a lot easier and more fun. Thank you!!

[@markmagiera6115]

Vermont has a billboard ban. Thank goodness

[@NALFVLOGS]

wow I didn’t know that, interesting!

[@jccusell]

American optimism is their real super power without realizing it.

[@starseed8087]

They didn't lose two world wars either 😁

[@malmonthegiraffe3920]

Und keine Diktatur hinter sich, wo es die absoulte Überwachung gab😅​@@starseed8087

[@ohauss]

Not really a superpower when it makes you ignore the consequences of your own actions and live like there's no tomorrow because it'll all work out somehow...

[@mdsouz4]

@@ohauss that's exactly why the US is the most influential country on the planet now

[@sunnylife6892]

haha the thumbnail - Nalf you're crazy 😂

[@NALFVLOGS]

I have eaten too much Chipotle and Starbucks recently.

[@CarlBland-l8l]

​@NALFVLOGS loved living in cellar in Germany as a kid such a nice country

[@asmodon]

NALF + Ted Lasso

[@DNA350ppm]

@@CarlBland-l8l Celle?

[@CarlBland-l8l]

@@DNA350ppm cellar

[@riker1701D]

Ich wohne in einem 1000-Seelen-Dorf in Nordrhein-Westfalen. Und zwar im Außenbereich. Trotzdem habe ich Glasfaser mit 1000 Mbit/s. Mein Dorf ist im Kern und im Außenbereich zu 100% mit Glasfaser abgedeckt, und das bereits seit 5 Jahren. Wir waren die erste Gemeinde in unserem riesigen Kreis, die das geschafft hat. Mit viel Eigeninitiative im Außenbereich zwar, aber immerhin.

[@Attirbful]

da hast Du aber Glück! Ich habe vor mehr als zwei Jahren, gleich als es angeboten wurde, einen Vertrag mit Deutsche Glasfaser abgeschlossen. Bis auf die Vertragsunterzeichnung, die Hausbegehung und Festlegung, wo der Anschluss hin soll und eine unangekündigte und auch nicht weiter kommentierte Mannschaft, die durch meinen Vorgarten trampelte, ist seitdem NICHTS passiert! Ich wohne im Rhein-Main-Gebiet, also dicht besiedelt, aber in einem kleinen Ort (400 Einwohner). Wann immer ich anrufe, kann mir niemand eine Auskunft geben, wann endlich die Glasfaser verlegt wird. Und wenn sie erst mal verlegt ist, dauert es noch ein Jahr, bis alles startklar ist…. Zum kotzen!

[@riker1701D]

@ApeStimplair-et9yk Esel. Ist da mit der DG auch so schlimm wie anderswo?

[@Attirbful]

@ApeStimplair-et9yk Ulrike Westkamp. Was hat das jetzt mit dem Thema zu tun?

[@AP-RSI]

@@Attirbful Ja, die selber "Abzocke" hat Deutsche Glasfaser auch bei uns im Ort versucht. Und der Bürgermeister hat brav mit gespielt (möchte nicht wisssen, was er dafür kassiert hat...). Aber die Mehrheit hat sich dagegen entschieden, zum Glück! Und die paar, die mit gespielt haben, warten heute noch auf ihren Anschluss! Wozu brauche ich auch eine 1MBit Leitung? Ich bin mit meiner 250 GBit Leitung voll und ganz zufrieden!

[@riker1701D]

@ApeStimplair-et9yk Esel. Sollte bekannt sein.

[@drdanakendall]

My husband and I moved from Seattle to Porto, Portugal in 2022, and IMO all these aspects also apply to Portuguese culture. Apart from the internet. It's excellent here.

[@davidharris3391]

re: Active lifestyle It's much easier to do that in Germany thanks to safer pedestrian and bicycling infrastructure and public transit, which makes it much easier to do many / most trips without a car.

[@jjsc4396]

Been in Germany for a slightly shorter period. Agree with each. One aspect I’ve noticed is German political discourse is FAR more mature, respectful deep and circumspect.

[@lisastenzel5713]

Thank you!🙏 But even with all that...these days it's almost as much a mess then it is in the US. We have a "new" party that will only be happy once we have another Nazi Germany. And that's a nightmare...young people vote for them a lot. And especially the former East of Germany is voting for them. It's my personal hell to see this in my life time. Cos I was born behind the wall just under a year before it fell. I feel like déjà-vû

[@NorthSea_1981]

@@lisastenzel5713 That's a bunch of nonsense. What scares me the most is this green leftist nonsense that is currently ruining our country. And why do you think voting for the AfD is increasing? Surely because everything here is going just fine....lol Naive people like you are a huge problem.

[@Subi_88]

As a German I strongly disagree with both statements. Neither do we have a mature discussion in politics, nor there is any party which likes to see "Nazi Germany". In fact the comment from lisa confirms my argument #1 ... Pretty sad to see such unreflected comments - no wonder young people are voting for that party as their future is at stake here. I'd wish my fellow citizens would develop any sense for responsibility and - frequently traveling to the US and completely agree with the observations of the video - I wish there would be any optimism in the german communities at all. Lisa shows that there is no motivation to move forward, only fear.

[@morrisse0_088]

@@Subi_88 Dude. There are fascists in this party and its leaders are openly promoting ethnic cleansing. Get your facts straight before you call someone unreflected.

[@eliasgotzfried1131]

well america though is quite a low standard i have to say

[@cathrinharter2642]

Internet speed varies greatly depending on where you live in Germany. In some rural areas it is quite good, as in Clausthal Zellerfeld (Glass fiber, Download 100 Mb/s). But the rule is, the bigger the town, the better the Internet. No matter if it rains.

[@Sayitlikitiz101]

American optimism is a beautiful thing that I cherish in the right dose. As a dual Franco-American citizen, the ambient pessimism in which my Gallic brethren love to indulge is a absolute buzzkill, yet, optimism in America can be overbearing as well, excessive to the point it looses its meaning and becomes sheer delusion! Often, we confuse ego and entitlement with optimism when making rather irresponsible choices. That can be difficult to watch. Your videos, as usual, are amazing.

[@oliverteetrinker8124]

In Germany we have different words that describe a different period of time. - gleich (10min) - später (1h) - nachher (after lunch, after cinema, 2-4h) - bald (after easter, after christmas, weeks - months) - irgendwann (after next election/after chileren are out of the house, years oder probably never)

[@davidharris3391]

re: Casual vs. Formal It depends upon the part of Germany (e.g. North vs. South, or former East vs. West) and also the industry. In *software* in *Berlin*, it's super informal. I've never addressed my boss or even my client or my client's boss with Sie or any other formality. And, nobody wears a tie or even a sportcoat. At most, the CEO will wear a buttoned shirt, but usually a hoodie.

[@thorstenkoethe]

Precise of language: in the 1980s I went to Spain for the first time. For help with the translation we had a small book for the main phrases. The word "mañana" was not what we expected! Instead of "tomorrow" the translations was "sometimes in the near future", and that matched perfectly for our vacations to South Spain!

[@Jefff72]

For me, I often miss American openness. I have German friends mainly due to my wife. When Germans, that I know, are out in public, they will talk to their friends in their group or I like to call them cliques, but they don't talk to people they don't know. I can have a conversation with anyone. I think due to my Midwest roots. When dealing with those they don't know, it is business. You get what you need and move on... No small talk.

[@MRmotorworkz]

Thank you so much for the MyHerritage info 🙏 I'm familiar my family came to the US from Germany but I plan to move back to Germany once the opportunity comes right. This could help that process so much, im excited to learn more of the background and history of my family in hopes it might be able to help me obtain a citizenship a little easier 🤞🙏

[@NALFVLOGS]

Germany also just changed the laws and made it possible to have dual citizenship. I have some American friends in the process of obtaining theirs now. Good luck!

[@MRmotorworkz]

@NALFVLOGS That's awesome! Thank you for taking the time and energy to make these videos. They always prove to not only be entertaining but also so insightful 🍻

[@alicemilne1444]

​@MRmotorworkz German ancestry laws are not the same as Italian laws, so I would take the trouble to investigate thoroughly whether you are eligible for citizenship on ancestry grounds. If not, you would have to spend years living and working in the country and pass a language and citizenship test to gain citizenship.

[@AriaEmily]

I dont think the heritage counts that much in here in Germany. Afaik, at least one of your parents has to have the German citizenship for you to be able to get it too.

[@TeutonicWitch]

Why change citizenship? Here we have many US Forces Installations where you can easily work and live as an American citizen. This is also a good opportunity to find out if you really want to live here permanently :-)

[@silviaborghese8568]

Italian living in Germany here! I got emotional when you said that thanks your bis-bis-bis-nonno (great great great grandfather), you got your Italian citizenship! 🥲

[@vaiciciaku]

Been watching you for years and your content just gets better with each upload. And yes to American optimism

[@MelODeon-l9b]

On the 'risktaking' thing, on my trips to the US for off-roading and other outdoor activity stuff, I've often been a bit startled by the apparent lack of any sense of self-preservation among many of the American participants. They appeared to be perfectly happy to throw themselves into/at sketchy situations without a care in the world.

[@arnodobler1096]

Perhaps the playgrounds are to blame?

[@rosemarielee7775]

Even if they have top grade health insurance this seems paradoxical to me. Perhaps once they are persuaded to take any risk, anything goes.

[@AtorRca]

Good points. Happy that you point out other things, compared to al lot of other

[@BucketList-qi3sm]

Totally agree about the slow German internet in SHA, and the amount of walking we do every day walking to Simonetti’s for our morning espresso and Graeter pretzel. One other thing you might have mentioned is how courteous and rules based drivers are in Germany vs the US. I have to keep my head on a swivel in the US when driving, not knowing where the next crazy is coming from

[@lisastenzel5713]

😂 1:00 This is just the right timing. Couple days ago I read about some work being done on a specific Autobahn, and that they are debating to whether or not renew the billboards/signs that tell you... what river you are about to cross or what specific city monument is near you. Like old city centers with building out of the 16th century. Which you could go and check out, if you get off the Autobahn in the next couple of kilometers. So this isn't really advertising, more like a little history lesson while driving across the country.😅 Cos non of this costs you anything to look at. And these signs are so expensive, that it's being thought about keeping the old ones a few more years. While American billboards are 20-30 times that size 😅 much more expensive in terms of cost and hell knows how much more of them are out there😂 Yeah, definitely a huge difference 😅

[@ESUPhysicsBuckley]

I really enjoyed this video (I enjoy most of your videos!). I especially like the segment on Fitness. I'm over 60 and try to exercise 4-5 times a week in the US. It helps immensely, but when I go to Germany (as I have for the last several summers) I always eat and drink as much as I want (often bier and wurst, etc... not "health food") and I always come home having lost several pounds due to the healthier lifestyle. I suppose if I had the foothills of the Alps nearby to hike through I might have a healthier lifestyle at home too. But I think it's more than that. It's a mindset to be out and about no matter what time of year of what the weather is. Thanks for bringing that to light.

[@iknow9367]

There are some points which are a little bit diffrent or u dont know the reason for it. 1. Our internetcables are underground, so you dont have to see them etc. Therefore its very expensive to change the old cables from copper to fiberglass cables which leads to a not so good Internet. But we make our way and at many homes we have up to 1 GB/s. 2. Advertising at the autobahn is a distraction we dont need. Its much saver with out. 3. At work its casual to talk with higher ranked people the formal way(its a thing of respect) but with people on the same level like you we dont do that and talk to us by our first Name. 4. Risk: Our parents (im 22) are the children of the "war generation". There was not so much money, they had to built up germany again. It wasnt a time for taking risks. Our parents saw and learned that in their childhood. But today its changing with the new generations. Thanks for your video👍👍

[@brucemc1581]

Nalf, just fyi…. I am in Germany. I have 1000mb connection. I never have connectivity issues where I live. It’s not all of Germany. The same in the US.. you will find many poor serviced areas… hence the reason why starlink is popular.

[@whohan779]

The difference is that nowadays most metropolitan areas of the US at least have ’Gigabit/s‘ cable, while many German cities barely have that or it's far less reliable. Living more rural like me, it's ‘normal’ to jump from 6 MBit/s to 12 to 50 to 160 to 1000 within a span of five years as your only realistic options are DSL and fiber later on. No problem with Deutsche Glasfaser now. I somehow even get pings of ~5ms to Lower Saxony despite living in Baden-Württemberg. To put that into perspective: even at light speed point2point without any hardware delays that would be only 3ms faster.

[@horst4439]

Proably select your next flat, depending on the interenet connection speed available?

[@Hey.Joe.]

Yes., it really depends where you live. I could order/sign up for fiberglass-internet, but it don't makes a lot sense, because here, it would be only until to the front door of the house, not until inside the apartment/flat. The bottleneck is the house itself, because of old copperlines and as a renter/tenant I don't own the house, so I cannot just let build in new cables inside house without permission of the landlord and why should the landlord take the whole costs for that specified structural alteration works just for me only?

[@Henning_Rech]

@@whohan779 I have hiked the southern half of the PCT, all in rural CA, this spring. 80% of the time there WAS NO SERVICE AT ALL (Verizon plan, but AT&T not much better). Even when the trail crossed a Hwy or even Interstate, not always service there. Some of the cheaper motels did not have wifi in all areas.

[@whohan779]

@@Henning_Rech But that's really not my point. I was specifically referring to fixed broadband in [sub]urban areas. Cellular coverage in rural USA is still a mess for the most part. Granted; that isn't justified either (apart from greed) as Finland and Estonia have no such problem despite a vast lack of people.

[@danielwilms6919]

I had maybe 2 or 3 internet outtages my whole life. Only from friends using LTE I know that it is depending on the weather, but it is rather rarely used. On the other hand I have seen streamer from the USA who are saying that with nearly every thunderstorm they have internet or even complete electricty outtages. Not sure what the average experience is, but there are good and bad examples for both countries.

[@AaronCCorbin]

Thanks for sharing. I love your videos; really cool to see.

[@heridfel]

Oh, a word about Christmas - yes, it is very different, but I did like being introduced to American Christmas legends like Rudolph. However, the real secret to contemporary German Christmas is Cristmas markets with ... Glühwein! (Hot spiced wine). I mean ... standing in a lovely historical town square, with smells of ginger bread and sausages wafting around, soft lights and you drink your Glühwein spiced with rum... nothing beats that. You live in Schwäbisch Hall, so I don't know about the market there, but in Stuttgart the Christmas market has stalls run by actual local vintners, so the Glühwein they sell is not some unspeakable Hooch like the stuff they mostly sell in Berlin but something actually drinkable.

[@peterweiss123]

finally found the time to watch this vid, great insights

[@prod.extema.da.sickomane]

6:23 In Germany, the internet speed varies depending on which region you live in And whether you live in a big city, a small town or a village.

[@ShenandoahShelty]

This is the first video of yours that I've seen. It was interesting and much lighter than the usual expat video that burns the bridges behind them. I liked it.

[@joannunemaker6332]

I enjoyed this video. 😊❤

[@scottclarke0317]

I also was born in the US and have Italian citizenship through my maternal grandmother. Glad to have an Italian passport!

[@ursnoetzelmann2972]

as always a beautiful and intersting mirror for us locals here in Germany :-) ... And apart from that: I guess I need to take a ride to Schwäbisch Hall, looks really nice

[@michaelmejia2775]

And don't forget the "not possible" response when you have a particular situation that you need some leeway, in other words, the mantra in Germany of "there must be order/rules, otherwise there is chaos." American flexibility in situations, working with others to get to a satisfactory solution....I lived in Germany for 17 years. I do miss Germany and hope to return soon. Love your videos NALF!

[@mojojim6458]

I wonder what there is in the German past that makes them think there would be chaos, if they're not strictly regulated by laws.

[@la-go-xy]

​​@@mojojim6458It's more like be prepared, avoid "bad" situations. A culture you grow into... If it is a flaw or a beneficial trait depends on how you handle it. No mental set is perfect for everything. If you know when to choose which you'll be off best, I reckon.

[@wazabey1730]

The Anrede part really depends. My personal rule is, if they are my senior coworker or higher up to ladder, I am formal with them, until they offer a more non formal way of speech. If I am the senior, I offer it if I feel comfortable with my colleague. If they deny that that's fine by me.

[@shenlong3879]

I have never had problems with my internet connection because of rain. Usually all our lines are underground anyway. Though with anything airborne I could see that. But yes, when it comes to internet infrastructure as well as digitization we are somewhat behind.

[@heridfel]

Great observations, NALF! I like it that you come to a balanced view, same thing happened to me after a year in the States. I would say that the issue of formality ("Du" vs. "Sie") is attenuated geographically, the more south you go in the German-speaking world, the more likely it is that people switch to "Du" faster, with the Swiss being the most informal in this regard. Moreover, the younger generation of Germans now demands more "Du" in the workplace, in typical German fashion trying to make a rule out of it (Some things never change with us...). I was a bit surprised that you didn't mention the casual friendly and sometimes humourous interaction in daily life, but then you live in my home state in a provincial town where people actually are friendly to strangers and the difference to the US is less stark. I liked it that cashiers in the supermarket in the US would chat a bit, at least saying "how are you today, honey?" knowing that they don't want to know I just got a "C" in a test or my cat threw up on the bed :) I currently live in Mexico where people are even more nice and chatty in daily life, and it is one of the big differences to Germany for me.

[@michellemaine2719]

My theory on the rainy slower internet is that more people stay inside and use it. Combined with slow internet already, it makes for serious frustration. I love how European countries in general prioritise being active outdoors, and make it easy with countless walking and cycling paths. In the US, you generally have to drive somewhere to go for a walk.

[@christinabuchele185]

I'm German and am living in WA for a couple months now. Just the other day I asked a colleague about how I am supposed to address clients (I work for a counseling organization). In Germany I'm used to address clients with their last name as it gives a certain distance and professionalism. Here in the states everybody goes by first name 😂 I guess I have to get used to it.

[@werbrotvomstammederbrote9424]

The sentence at the house (around 4:00) is actually quite good. "Wir weben das Kleid - Uns webet die Zeit"

[@MugiwaraRuffy]

The point with the formailty on the job really depends. On the company you are working on down to your co-workers (or more precise, your personal relationship with them). Heere in Germany we ususally have the approach of adressing people formaly, if we not know them (well / long enough). But we have the practiver of "das Du anbieten". Basically saying "I am okay in interacting on a first name basis".

[@RunningRonnie]

About the formality at work: In some cases, employees are encouraged to adress each other formally (with "Sie") in front of clients or customers to create a sense of professionalism, even if they already adress each other with "du" when working only amongst themselves. Furthermore, it is generally expected to wait for the employee with more authority or more work experience to be the one offering you to adress them with the informal "du" and sometimes, those people happen to be rather conservative in regards to their work relations and therefore hesitant to invite informality. But again, this is also dependent on the relationships of the employees amongst each other or which branch of industry or company philosophy they are following.

[@JouMxyzptlk]

It all feels pretty much on spot :D. Including the "bombarding with ads" right before MyHeritage :D

[@jasperzanovich2504]

And those are naturally also regulated, they all have the same shade of brown and beige. They won't distract you much.

[@mojojim6458]

Do you maybe think that he might have designed it that way? After all, he's the person who edits the video. Just a touch of humor to see who gets triggered. 😄

[@JouMxyzptlk]

@@mojojim6458 Of course he did!

[@aaronwhite1786]

I hate that I saw that billboard picture at 1:34 and thought "Damn, that really does look like what I'm used to". Then realized it was for Columbia, MO...where I grew up.

[@Anthyrion]

The problem with our Internetspeed can practicly broke down to three letters: C D U. The political party of former chancellor Merkel and her political foster father, former chancellor Helmut Kohl. In the late 80's it was already known, that with fiber optic cables the phonespeed and the newcoming Internet would be way better. But Kohl had a buddy, which company was big in the copper cable buiseness. So that buddy asked him (and probably bribed him too), if Kohl can do him a favor and let his company lay out copper cables in our country. Of course, Kohl accepted and the rest is history. The CDU mostly stands for conservative ways and most of the time, that stands for standstill or even regression.

[@Anson_AKB]

berlin, and i have internet and tv-via-internet "only" on 50 year old copper landlines, but on my 250 contract (which guarantees *up to* 250/40), i just measured ping 12, download 265, upload 40.5. since that is normal and not only some lucky event, i have no reason to complain about copper instead of fiber. for people "in the countryside" who have much more distant central nodes, the situation may be completely different.

[@Anthyrion]

@@Anson_AKB Yes, it's getting better. Most of the cities today get fiber optic cables, but the countryside still have problems. I'm glad, that my provider decided to lay out fiber optic cables in our city too. Before that, i had to let my computer run for at least 2 or 3 days, when i wanted to download a game from steam. Now it's only a matter of a few hours

[@Henning_Rech]

In the 1980s there was no internet like today. People wanted cable TV (CATV). And analog multichannel CATV to the customer was not economically feasible at this time via fiber. It was discussed again in the early 90s after the reunification (OPAL = optische Anschlußleitung) - the fiber-optic system that surged from there is nowadays the biggest obstacle because of its PON architecture . - Today, if you have a CATV access via copper coaxial cable (about 60% of all homes in Germany) you can easily get 1000 Mbit/s to your home in the HFC approach. I could (in a small town), but I see no reason to upgrade from my 100 Mbit/s plan. Internet is much more expensive in the US, so maybe people there are just ready to buy faster plans for a higher price than here. A major reason for a faster development of fiber-optic customer access in other countries is the overhead installation of telecom AND power lines. If you have a wooden mast in your garden they can easily replace the old telephone line there by a fiber line. But I expect you prefer our underground installation?

[@gerhardpaul2651]

…….aus welchem Märchenbuch hast du denn die Geschichte mit Kohls Kumpel ? Deiner Schilderung nach ist Deutschland noch auf der Entwicklungsstufe von 1965, da ausser den SPD Regierungen Brandt, Schmidt, Schröder und dem heutigen Chaoshaufen die CDU die Kanzler stellte. In welcher Welt lebst denn Du ?

[@urlauburlaub2222]

No, the Internet problems have to do with Socialism. First in Germany (SPD plus coalitions with CDU, also FDP/Greens), then over the EU legislature (Socialists and liberals). German telco companies or the taxpayers have subsidized a lot of foreign internet groundwork. Meaning either for the benefit of European telco companies, partly Socialist government structures, which had the EU right to participate or to actually gain a net income abroad, where they are allowed to get this without destructive taxation and redistribution. So, the consumer feels this from either high or low inflation. The same shit happened in Democrat run US State, where you have the very same problems, if you go more into the countryside, but inflation is tackled there with huge spending increases, so the inflation is still felt but paid by debt or spending cuts elsewhere. In solid Republican states, the telco companies don't run into such problems. So, the statistic of 90% is misleading, because in many areas you have far higher imbalances than in Germany, even if Germany is mismanaged here.

[@axwest1]

Even here in Berlin when It’s heavily raining my Internet- and TV-Signal is also week. We’ll never know why..😂 But if so, we’ll just go to the gym.

[@OrkarIsberEstar]

XD The gym is where i work. the gym is where i eat. the gym is where i spent quite alot of my spare time as well. The gym is where i meet friends and even family (we serve great coffee and proteine cake there)

[@ischulte1684]

Nik telling us about his italien heritage while using his hands to talk for the whole video 😂 you are a real italien indeed!

[@johnlabus7359]

I've never spoken to anyone at any of my jobs in the USA by anything other than their first name. This includes people at the very top of the organization. Even in college, my professors asked us to call them by their first names only, regardless of their title. Essentially, other than with my teachers in primary and secondary school (in my childhood), it's been nearly all first name basis communication with professionals.

[@magdalenaschweickhardt7189]

my humor is so mature that i automatically replaced every beep in the intro with "f*cking". i was not disappointed.

[@donucles]

Nick: Wonders why internet is slow, especially at rain - uses mobile data router. I would recommend you to use a fibre cable, cable or dsl provider, then you have much higher and reliable speed.

[@1974lilli]

That made me also really think.

[@SecretSquirrel59]

Beautiful Schwäbisch Hall! Hard to disagree with your view points. Spot on.

[@SecretSquirrel59]

I’ve researched into my possibilities of dual citizenship, and it appears because my father was born after his father‘s naturalization I lost my eligibility. 😢

[@Zeyev]

Decades ago, in French classes, we were given the idea that if an unrelated man and woman called each other "tu" instead of "vous" at work, : it suggested they were sleeping with each other. I gather that French is now considerably less formal. We did have formal and informal "you" in English and some regions, e.g., the area where Pennsylvania Dutch is spoken, still make that distinction.

[@theresadutcher4750]

In some fields of work the 'formal' Sie is actually understood as a professional 'Sie'. Which indicates to everyone that this is a serious business and we treat each others not like friends but as adult co-workers. I am currently in a setting where we use first names AND Sie together. Because it is a team but it is also work where we are supposed to be very professional...

[@atonality23]

You should go to Austria... I'm now since 4 months in D.C. and I am missing the internet speed of my home country 😂

[@TSinRM]

As an American whose spent time in Germany, I'd agree with all of these.

[@Byteloser]

I always appreciate your perspective, and this time I particularly liked your take on risk tolerance. Even though I’ve lived in Canada for nearly 20 years, I still find myself struggling with the “let’s just do it” mindset. Before starting any software project of my own, I tend to overanalyze everything, which often leads to not even starting. Right now, I’m working on a larger project and making a conscious effort to push my doubts aside-doubts that seem to come up almost daily-and telling myself, "I’ll cross that bridge when I get to it." It’s definitely pushing me out of my comfort zone, and I suspect my German upbringing has something to do with that.

[@joerustamov8846]

Optimism , Kindness , Friendly , Openness, Helpfulness , Generosity and Trying to be Helpful at everything thats what made me fall to USA ❤

[@FrogeniusW.G.]

I think "My heritage" is especially interesting for you Americans, since so many of you do have European last names and in my experience most don't even know where it comes from. 😊❤

[@janina9789]

Being formal at work and to use the " Sie " and not to use first names to address co-workes is common in Germany unless you develop some kind of friendship with them, but it's even common in neighborhoods. My parents are formal with their neighbors. So when I visit my parents their neighbors say " Du " to me because they know me since childhood , but they say " Sie " to my parents and they live in houses next to each other for over 30 years.

[@PlanetBerlin1991]

This optimistic thinking is what I admire in the USA. You guys don't get scared so easy of problems. In big cities like here in Berlin one gets very fast and reliable internet but you are right that the average connection speed is better in the USA.

[@phoenix-xu9xj]

Well their optimism hasn’t solved their problems has it ?

[@PlanetBerlin1991]

@@phoenix-xu9xj I mean this in regards to enterpreneurship.

[@2Hunky]

Sorry to correct you @6:48. It's not Megabyte , it's Megabit (MBit). Megabyte is MBit dvided with 8. 1 Byte is 8 Bits. So in your situation it's 60 MBit = ~ 7.5 Mbyte 😉 If its getting worse about rain etc. connect your Providor and tell the situation. But not only you !! They have to check the Cable , especialy the (wow..Übergangspunkte) of the wires and that is expansiv 🤨 So: many People must send this Issiue to the Provider , so he has to react to the Problem.

[@maxschwarzschmied5744]

Why do you think he meant Megabits? If he has gigacube which I assume hast a Gigabit connection, assuming he uses it through WLAN, somwthing around 500mbit as a top limit is plausible. Whereas somewhere else you can get more than a gigabit connection to get your 250mbites

[@chrisk5651]

Where I live in suburban New York and commute to work by car and do not see any billboards on the highways that I take.

[@emjayay]

Local laws, like all of Vermont.

[@sam0ttillman316]

i'd guess your internet is slow when it rains because you might have a shared line? You know.. everyones at home and so you share the line with them (there are other contracts you could have a look for)

[@qobide]

It's the GigaCube. That's internet by radio waves (well cell tower). And when it rains it massively dampens the range of the radio waves. Like with wifi when too many people are in a room. All those sacks of water slow down the waves. :)

[@marcuskintz]

6:53 The last time I visited Oregon I was flabbergasted how EVERY place has WiFi!!

[@malcolmjacquard4689]

On casual or formal: The more you get to the south of Germany the more formal people are at work. If you are living in northern states, especially in Schleswig-Holstein that is often not the case. This may be due to the influence of the danish population. (The southern danish border used to be to the south of Altona which today is part of Hamburg.) In Denmark people will almost always use the first name. (Actually I heard that when a danish person switches to formal this is like the last warning before they attack you.) There may be other regions as well where people have a similar view.

[@spinnenente]

I work for German it company and we are "per du" with pretty much every other person working in the company. But i think some more formal professions still use the formal Sie in most situations.

[@Stephanthesearcher]

i live in one of the poorest towns of germany and my internet speed is between 100 and 180 MBit, depending on traffic. i even reduced speed to 100MBit to save money because thats plenty fast enough to stream full hd video on 4 devices simultaniously. thats standart adsl for less than 50 bucks with no traffic or time restrictions. for 20 bucks more i can upgrade to 200 MBit fiber net.... and yet i constantly see ppl complain about the terrible internet in germany

[@mojojim6458]

Those people need to stop complaining and start moving to the poorest German towns.

[@bill-ne8kr]

Pretty much agreed with you. I lived in southern Germany two years and appreciated their transportation (small country), and personal safety. Did not appreciate their excessive government oversight though.......

[@awumbah]

Since you mentioned your workout routine: did you choose to be less lean or athletic since leaving professional football? Did you indulge more in your favourite German chocolate candy?

[@scherge]

The internet may suck in general here, but at least my cable connection always delivers 110%. Like, literally. It's ALWAYS either 55 of the advertised 50 mb/s or it's out of order, but it never slows down. Du and Sie make a lot of sense actually, because they help with keeping a certain distance with contractors, higher ups, people you don't know, or people you just find to be unsympathetic, but I've said Du to 90% of my coworkers over the past 20 years at different employers. So, were not as stiff as you make it sound, imo. Oh and being precise is something I can very much appreciate. People that always respond in a way that I have to ask multiple questions before having a clear picture make me roll my eyes internally. So annoying.

[@slevinkalevra2008]

As for the form of salutation, it depends where you work. In an office it's more formal that on a construction site. I worked in a big repair shop and we were all on first-name basis, even with the foreman. With the shop manager it was formal however. Then there is this mix when you use the casual "du" but also use the last-name.

[@rogink]

I'm a Brit with a deep affection for Germany. At the moment I'm visiting Berlin. There is so much to admire, even if the city centre still seems like a building site. Whenever I visit of course my main concern is getting around, and this is so easy. Even here in the suburbs of Spandau the trains into Berlin are perhaps every ten minutes and even the local buses run every 10 mins. As Nick says, walking is a part of everyday life. But even in the nicest areas, you can't escape graffiti. OK, I know Berlin is not Germany, but any city I've visited is the same, Just about any wall or vertical surface has been 'tagged'. The Germans have some lovely urban parks - or they would be if it wasn't for even the benches being defaced. It feels like no one cares about this.

[@wolfsk1n]

Besides "Sie" and "Du" there's actually a 3rd way to adress someone as "Ihr", super formal oldschool speech for adressing nobles, royalty and such. (most likely found in TV and movies than real life situations). It's called Pluralis Majestatis

[@nicolagianaroli2024]

We also have it in Italian language. Fun fact. Mussolini at his time launched a campaign to impose the use of the second person plural (they (voi)) to be used for addressing the elderly and/or important people. Wikipedia is saying the following on this subject: "Fascism attempts to impose the use of "voi" instead of "lei", considered "a residue of Italian servility towards foreign invaders and an expression of bourgeois snobbery" in the spoken language". Mussolini also attempted to remove from italian vocabulary as many words as possible taken from abroad languages, sometimes with truly noticeable comical effects as brand new italian words had to be invented

[@wolfsk1n]

@@nicolagianaroli2024 super interesting stuff! German had a wave of "let's replace (mostly french) loanwords with new german sounding word inventions" around the end of the 19th century I think. It gave us "Flugzeug" (lit. "Fly Thing") instead of "Aeroplan", and many over words that certainly sounded a bit weird at the time, but now we take for granted

[@user-cr3fz8lz2i]

I have paternal German roots so every time you point out German traits…it explains me perfectly! 😊😊😊

[@kommiaccount483]

Es ist nicht nur, dass Deutsch eine präzisere Sprache ist, es ist vor allem die Verbindlichkeit bei Verabredungen (bzw. die Unverbindlichkeit auf der amerikanischen Seite). Ich glaube @AramisMerlin hat das an einer Verabredung zum Kino festgemacht; der Deutsche steht dann vorm Kino und fragt dann die amerikanischen Kumpels, wo sie bleiben. ^^

[@babsihebeis8939]

I agree with the idea that the apparent informality of addressing people is derived from the language. It is the same in UK, the first name is used in almost every situation. However, in the US and UK, it is even more formal when you do not know somebody's name. You can just address people using sir or madam. This is not done in modern German, something that often gets wrongly translated into English is calling somebody "mein Herr". This is never used in modern German conversation. I think this is one of the reasons German society sounds less polite to English speakers, there just is no option to formally address somebody in passing that you don't know the name of.

[@german_in_usa]

Im German, currently studying in Maryland. I agree with all your points. I would add that America is much more welcoming towards people who are more extreme in their ways. I feel like people are less judgmental and even appreciate it if people do crazy things. I guess it corresponds with the optimism. In Germany I often felt judged if I wanted to express myself.

[@frankbudzwait6276]

Insurance is important against risks that could hit you hard when they occur. The most important one is healthcare, which is much better in Germany (still far from perfect, thpugh) than in the US as far as I know. Others like Haftpflichtversicherung (Liability Insurance?) is not costly but can safe a lot of money, our son caused an accident and the insurance saved us a hell of money we would have paid without the insurance.

[@Jeff.Wilson]

Sorry, don't wanna be too nerdy, when it comes to internet speed, it's usually measured in megabits, not megabytes (also the chart on the screenshot at 06:52 uses megabits). 8 Bits = 1 Byte. 100 Mbps (megabits per second) = 12.5 MBps (megabytes per second).

[@NicosLeben]

7:10 Don't confuse MBit/s with MB/s. That's 8 times the difference. 1 MB/s are actually 8 MBit/sec. So a 1 GBit/s connection gives you approximately 128 MB/s.