I Did What Most Germans Won't Do

[@NALFVLOGS]

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[@lordzizo375]

I dont use Cyber Ghost I use North VPN Im Half American Half German I live in Munich in Bavaria I wanted to leave my mothers home and live alone that was 21 years ago. I moved inside of Munich already 9 times to another part of the City because my father had different Jobs in different parts of the City. So we moved with him. My Father is a New Yorker. I visited him In New York 29 times until I was 35 years old and he 75 years old. I flew the first time to America with PANAM Airlines later Delta Airlines. I was 5 that was 1979 to New York. Since that time I visited 45 States of America I can say that I have a good look of the Country that in the Future I would like to see it again. So as his son I never lived in New York only 8 weeks in the Holiday and 9/11 3 Months until I was Allowed to be flown out. Due to the Terrorist Attacks of the World Trade Center. My Stepaunt Elenora still lives in New York. She is the opposite of me she has Relatives in Germany Colongne and lives in New York now. So you can say she is half German half American. But my Grandparents and Great Grandparents did. My Great Grandmother Left Germany 1932 with 3 sisters to America because of the Beginning of the Third Reich. There parents came from Polen and East Prussia. Now everybody exept my Uncle my 2 Cousins that still live in Florida and Trenton New Jersey are the only reletives that are left from the Familiy. I live with my Mother she will reach in a few months 80. Im will be on the 8th July 50.

[@Ulrich.Bierwisch]

As an Italian, you should know that the concept of multi generation houses is actually a much more Italian thing than German. Living together with several generations of a family hasn't a long tradition in Germany. Germans used to move out but stayed in the region. There was also the tradition of young men that had finished learning a craftsmanship (Handwerk) to move out of town for a couple of years and walk thru the country and work at a lot of different places to get a wider knowledge of how things are done. After this they returned home to continue the family business or stayed somewhere else when there was an opportunity.

[@jrl7623]

my mom is from the same state u live in we go there every year PS i live in the us

[@lennybuttz2162]

I like to watch a lot of Australian TV shows but I have never found a VPN that actually worked. I would try to access an Australian show directly and I would get a message saying I was trying to watch their content from outside their country even though I picked a VPN that was supposed to be Australian. This has happened to me 4 times so I have given up on VPNs.

[@Otte74]

I live in a small village in Germany - 100 m away from the house, my great (great great...) grandfather build in 1555. I was born in a hospital 5 km away, but since then I live in the same house. The room I called Kinderzimmer is now the room of my son (8). So, I am an absolute boring person. Traveling far away - but home is where my heart(and family) is.

[@alpeneredelweiss]

honestly it just sounds incredibly comforting to me. obviously the freedom should be given but I think this sounds super calm and has this family feeling that has vanished over the past decades. I personally live far away from my family and even further from my birth place, most likely like many others

[@sollyroger4119]

Just for the record: I don't think thats boring at all!

[@eliharman]

I had an ancestor from a small village in Germany. All of his ancestors had lived in the same village for generations and generations. All of his grandparents, despite having 4 different surnames, had 2 or 3 grandparents of their own in common with his other grandparents. So it's probably a good thing he left that village and settled in another tiny village nearby and married someone from that village, lol. One of their descendants came to America and here I am. I do think the American pattern of constantly moving about following work or other opportunities, or fleeing local misfortunes, has got to settle down sometime because it's disruptive to the formation of true communities or society. Many people hardly form any ties or bonds with the place that they live or the neighbors they live among. My grandparents are from 4 different states. And they all died, or will die, hundreds to thousands of miles from where they were born. That being said, a majority of Americans do still stay put relatively speaking. Where I live now there are a few prominent local families that have been in the area for hundreds of years, have hundreds of members, have given their names to local streets, businesses, and landmarks, are visible and influential in local life and politics, etc... I travel around the region a lot, to both small towns and big cities, and I can see in other towns even quite nearby it's different families in those roles. So it is very localized. It even happens a little bit in the cities but it's much more pronounced in small, rural, towns. In many ways, that's the real America, but it's much less visible, and it's overlooked or despised by America's urban monoculture which controls most major institutions.

[@corriemayo2715]

What's 'despised by America's monoculture' is perceived and actual ignorance​. Historically, the insularity of some some of small town America has bred mistrust, fear, hatred of outsiders and of ideas and of religions. A closed information exchange is a detriment long term to any society, small towns included. @@eliharman

[@eliharman]

@@corriemayo2715 NOBODY is more ignorant, or closed-minded, or arrogant, meddlesome, intolerant, etc... than urban, "sophisticated," "educated," fashionable, snobs...

[@H.Boe.]

I live in northern Hesse. I was born and raised here and will probably never leave this area because i love it here. My whole family has lived here in Germany for hundreds of years. My mother's family is recorded as having lived here for more than 700 years. My friends, family and relatives and everything else I know are here. Leaving this place would be like uprooting a tree.

[@Tobi-ln9xr]

Hessen… Du arme Sau 😅

[@65Tedybear]

I think, your last sentence is an important factor: In several videos foreigners living in Germany pointed out, that it is difficult to get a German to be a friend, but if you succeed, he will be friend for life. I personally keep still in contact with several friend from my youth (and going on 60 myself). I got the impression, that Americans take friendships less seriously and thus deem it less problematic to leave their friends behind.

[@anna-elisabethbender3123]

Sehr schön beschrieben. I guess, Americans cannot fully understand the impact. I once explained it like this: When you bend down and pick up a handful of soil, it is very likely that one of your ancestors has worked it or left traces in it. Maybe 500, maybe a thousand years ago. Knowing that gives a deep sense of belonging.

[@herrgoldmann2562]

Some years ago I read a newspaper article : They found bones of people having died 5000 years ago in the Harz area. They checked their DNA and the DNA of the present inhabitants of that area and found out, that the offspring of these people who died 5000 years ago still live in that same area.

[@MrsNanaBlue]

In a rural region, that's totally possible. The family side of my mother lives at least since 1900 in the same village, maybe longer, but therefore I would have to start genealogy.😊

[@schroedingers_kotze]

I don't think it just has to do with culture. Of course, the job market in the USA and the social environment are structured in such a way that statistically people move or even leave their homeland more often than in Germany (which is also very common here). Since the Neolithic period, however, there has always been both sedentism and migration: A few years ago it was determined through genetic analysis that some of the people buried at Stonehenge apparently came from far away, some from what is now Austria and even further. It's the same today, some of humanity simply has the "local gene" and others have the "wide world gene".

[@FrogeniusW.G.]

Wow, cool!

[@FrogeniusW.G.]

​@@schroedingers_kotze Yes, and Americans already are "from somewhere else" in the first place.

[@angelamicallef2904]

Same in England with the find of a 5000 year corpse of the "Chedder Man" a proven dna descendent lived in the same village.

[@maxlgaudi8386]

I also think a big aspect ist the ''sicher ist sicher'' german style, so that americans tend to risk more in life while germans normally would always prefer the safer way and not risking that much.

[@simonsays2774]

@SoundwaveSinus9 I have always lived here and yet I invest a lot in shares and cryptos and speculate extremely.😄

[@lynnsintention5722]

Very true...Germans are risk adverse

[@vbu1957]

Moving within America always means the same language. Moving within Europ means a Lot of different languages, maybe a point or a reason.😅

[@Cairol58]

Now that German style "sicher ist sicher" might end soon enough the way things are going to change here currently. In many ways economically, financially and more ...

[@simonsays2774]

@SoundwaveSinus9 There is no average.😅

[@erikagoodale9014]

I did what most Germans won't do! I moved from Germany to the States 40 years ago. I am surprised that only 10 % of Germans move away from their hometowns. My three brothers did stay close to the area where we grew up but several of my nieces and nephews moved to other German States. Now that I'm older I miss Germany more because I feel Germany moved forward whereas here in Florida we haven't made much progress in the past 40 years. The work conditions are poor. No unions, low pay, people seem to work all the time and can't really enjoy life. They are looking forward to retirement instead of living life while they are still young. I love the sun so living in the Sunshine State works for me! LOL. Love your videos!

[@TainDK]

Most Germans like sun too - as i Dane i have heard that Mallorca (Malle) is sometimes called the 17th Bundesland, as many Germans visit =D

[@robertomanz6399]

you picked a red republican state to live in so you got what you paid for, its well known that florida pays very poorly and has little social services, you wanted a sun climate in a red state so you got it. in your lifetime florida will not improve, enjoy R

[@erikagoodale9014]

@@robertomanz6399 Roberto, I moved here 40 years ago. Things have changed!

[@ksinfl]

I moved to Florida from Germany 25 years ago and I agree with you about the conditions here. I love where I am and the life I built, but I would not do it again. Little vacation time, non-existing parental leave, expensive child care, expensive college, no social safety net, working all the time, and Florida is going back to the stone-ages.

[@unconventionalideas5683]

@@ksinfl Florida is also not necessarily reflective of the whole US, though. Also, I would dispute the idea that there is no social safety net, as things like food stamps/EBT and Medicaid do exist. They're not fantastic, but they do exist.

[@heidiann2304]

I was born in Oregon. But when my parents got divorced my mom took us kids back to Germany to her parent's place. Now I am 62 years old and I still live in my mom's house.

[@joanneburg4159]

You hit the nail on the head. When immigrants moved here(America) they stayed together with family for a little time, but wanted the American dream of owning their own home. Being independent was huge. It was instilled in you. Being free of what they moved to America for in the first place. That need for freedom/independence was past down from generation to generation. We are very lucky that our 3 kids and their families all live within a hour from us. That is GREAT. Now the movement within the US is gone in a different direction and reason. I have gone to my families home town in Germany on a Ancestry pilgrimage. Seeing where my family came from is mind blowing. I think this was your best vlog yet. Looking forward to this year when we are coming back there for a Christmas Market adventure. Blessings, D and J

[@holger_p]

Beeing independet you can do in 5 miles, or 50 miles distance. Why moving 2000 miles away ? Somebody doing so, would be considerer an adventurer, or a dropout in Germany.

[@jjinwien9054]

The concept of "owning your own home/apartment" is not so prevalent in Germany because of the strong laws protecting the renters of apartments. You can live your whole life while renting an apartment and never be evicted/priced out like in the USA.

[@BerndJung-o4n]

As a highschool-student I once wrote an essay: "Born, living and (not yet) dying in Walldorf". That is Mörfelden-Walldorf near Frankfurt. Even though I went to highschool in Frankfurt, had my "Ausbildung" 50% there, studied in Frankfurt and my first 2 girlfriends were from "the city", I could not imagine leaving my smalltown! And, of course, at the age of 57 I still live in Walldorf... Quoting John Mellencamp: "I was born in a smalltown, and I live in a smalltown, gonna die in that smalltown, and that's propably where they burry me..."! ...or: NEVER change a winning team ...

[@MrBritishComedy]

I was born and grew up in Groß-Gerau, so very close to Mörfelde-Walldorf, passed my high-school leaving exam in Groß-Gerau, and couldn't wait to leave that area. The past 18 years, I've been living in Brno, Czech Republic. Best decision of my life. And the more often I visit the Frankfurt - Groß-Gerau area, the happier and more relieved I am to be gone. Terrible IMHO. No disrespect to you.

[@Sebastian-pr8kz]

Alright, so I grew up in Mörfelden and left 10+ years ago to another continent (and that is not because our part of town is worse, its the opposite haha). Anyway, enough local banter, I can understand you in a way. It is a great area to stay, guess we are lucky to have all options also at home. I am still happy to go back 'home', but after a while you start losing your connections. For me that point was after about 3 years abroad. The longer you stay away, the bigger the distance, the less likely it is you will be back. I'm not unhappy, its just a part of life, some things you gain, some things you lose. Rhein-Main still rocks though, so god knows, maybe eventually...

[@sns4748]

@@MrBritishComedy in groß Gerau geboren und wohne in Nauheim 😂

[@williamrockwood5234]

that's the most american definition of "all around the world" that i've ever seen. 4 out of 6 in america, 1 in italy and 1 in germany haha...

[@KonglomeratYT]

The ones in America are farther apart than the ones in Italy and Germany.

[@starstencahl8985]

@@KonglomeratYTYet still in the same exact country

[@williamrockwood5234]

@@KonglomeratYT so?

[@eliharman]

And 3 of the 4 on the West Coast, lol. Which the rest of us Americans practically regard as all the same city...

[@klamin_original]

@@williamrockwood5234it’s not about distance. It’s about culture, language and environment.

[@larsnadeau2441]

I was born in Detroit, Michigan and today I am living in Bayreuth, Germany for my masters degree. I want to thank you for your videos as they have been both entertaining and informative before and after i moved here!

[@Miguel-ve1lh]

Hello fellow midwesterner 👋 I‘m from Milwaukee Wisconsin living in Bayreuth ! 🍻

[@MrKlausihausi]

I think the "community"-system is one aspect. E.g. in the US you are only part of a sports team in school or uni, while In Germany sports teams or bands etc. are outside of school/uni so that you basically stay in the same "community" after school too.

[@enerpro2955]

Born in Czechoslovakia, living in Hawaii. Doesn't get much farther than that

[@qwert_yuiop7506]

born and raised in hawaii, the first time i left hawaii i went to germany

[@blaumupi]

Language is probably also an important factor! If you move from Florida to Texas, you are still in the same language area. The German-speaking area in Europe is much smaller!

[@tommay6590]

Florida to Texas? So you mean Spanish?😂😂😂

[@DeutschlandGuy]

Thank God! 😅🤣😂

[@anthonyflambard6472]

Despite the increasing use of English in media and science, German is still the most widely spoken language in Europe, either as a first or second language.

[@blaumupi]

@@anthonyflambard6472 hi, that may be enough when you're on vacation, but if you move and have to work there, you won't get anywhere with just German.

[@lottecooper4370]

it's about moving within the same country...

[@peterschneider2550]

After 62 years in Tennessee, I retired to Vienna. Both of my grandfathers fought in WW1 - one for the US and the other for Germany.

[@gregorygant4242]

Vienna ? That's cool. I have a cousin who works in Graz .

[@fmitterb]

Greetings from Vienna. I hope you like it here 🙂

[@MS-io6kl]

At my grandmothers 80th birthday luncheon in 2007 I sat opposite three colleagues of my grandfather who were teachers at the same Gymnasium Oberschützen in Burgenland. One served at the Eastern Front in WWII. The man next to him was a U-Boat man (a service that suffered 75% casualties most of them KIA) and next to the U-Boat man was a former English and biology professor who served in the US navy on destroyers during WWII because he was born in the US and was there for his studies when the war started. His family had moved back to the Burgenland in the 1920s. He joined the navy because his younger brother was drafted into the German Army, and he wanted to fight against the Nazis, but he didn't want to possibly shoot at his brother. These three old guys (as well as my grandfather, who was also on the Eastern Front) had been on different sides during the war, but they had become livelong friends in the decades after the war.

[@gregorygant4242]

@@fmitterb I don't live in Vienna I said my cousin is in Graz. Arnold Schwarzenegger's backyard. "I'll be back !"

[@jjinwien9054]

Emigrating from Iowa to Vienna was one of the best things I have done.

[@LythaWausW]

My local German example is a family who divided their home into fourths so that their 3 adult children could live in the home with the parents. 1 house, 4 mailboxes, 4 separate entrances and somehow they pull off harmony. The father was born in a house on this street - I cannot imagine living my whole life on one street, and for the kids who are in their 30s and 40s, the same house. I wish someone would do a vlog on this house sharing concept. Every house on my street looks like a normal house, but all but a couple of them have two mailboxes.

[@ChoiiXMasters]

One major Point, why People are staying near their Birthplace and especially near or with the Family comes down to Tradition. It was pretty normal for Families to take care of each other till the very End, there where no Retirementhomes or Kindergärten in the past, so the Elders took care of the little Children and the Parents and older Children/young Adults took care of the Elders and so on. This has changed in the last couple Decades, due to the growing Economy bringing in bigger and more spaced out Communes, which turned into Cities. Suddenly the Cities are way more interesting cuturally and the young People wanna go into Cities to see something new. Also the rising Inflation, paired with the faster Lifestyle of People made it necessary to create said Nursinghomes and Kindergärten, which made it unnecesarry for someone to stay at Home to take care of the very young/old. These old Traditions are slowly coming back for good, I think.

[@Pehaba1961]

The "average German" is a member of three clubs, e.g. soccer-club, traditional-costume-club and the volunteer fire department. It was also common for Germans to work in the same company their entire live. In addition, many Germans aim to own their own home. To achieve this, they often spend their entire lives paying off loans. They are reluctant to sell the house early because they have usually invested a lot of their own work. Is that the case in the USA too?

[@margritjones7934]

No Americans buy and sell their houses all the time. I'm living in our 4th one.

[@KerstinVomVulkan]

These costume-clubs seem to be a Bavarian thing, at least I've never heard about it.

[@KonglomeratYT]

Most American houses were built before the current living Americans. There is no investment in the current locations we live. Americans gladly sell their houses to profit on a move to a different house that has better costs.

[@Ba34qt]

​​@@margritjones7934That is because you have no Grunderwerbssteuer, which cost you, depending on the German State, between 3.5 and 6.5% of the selling price. Do the math.

[@margritjones7934]

@@Ba34qt that's a lot! Plus I think you pay the notary places etc. a lot. We pay like a lump sum which is rolled into the loan. And I had loans where I just had to have 3% down. We would never have been able to buy a house in Germany!

[@thejourney1369]

I was born in the hospital in the county seat and grew up 25 miles away in one of our hollows. Same for my sister. I now live seven miles from where I grew up and my sister lives at one end of our small town and I live at the other. My son is 30 and after his divorce, he moved back in with us. It has been a tremendous blessing having him here, but I’m praying that he finds someone who really loves and appreciates him. Rent in our area has gotten out of control and a single person can’t make it by themselves.

[@blissgr]

i was born and raised in Greece, studied for 5 years in England then moved for another 5 years for more studies and work in Scotland.. then moved to Freiburg in Germany for 3-4 years for work.. and the past 6 years i live and work in Switzerland! still super close with my family ❤️

[@thestonegateroadrunner7305]

You forgot to mention what huge impact the concept of "Heimat" (home/native area - there is no real appropriate translation in English) has in german culture and attitude to life.

[@Attirbful]

Born in Frankfurt/Hesse; emigrated to Oslo/Norway at three years; moved to Rhineland-Palatinate at five years; lived a year each in New Jersey, Kentucky and NYC after school as an AuPair, as an undergraduate and as a postgraduate; then moved back to Mainz/Rhineland-Palatinate, Bingen/Rhineland-Palatinate, and back to my parent‘s house in Ingelheim/Rhineland-Palatinate due to the fact that since 2000, I have had a steady job at Mainz university, my parents needed assistance in old age, and now I own the home I spent my late puberty and young adulthood in, still close to my place of work… Considered briefly - when involved in a transcontinental relationship - of moving to the U.S. (where he lived at the time) or to Malawi/Africa (where his family was from), but am happy the really complicated relationship ended after 17 years and am to be back in my turf… I‘ll be here for the rest of my life.

[@farawaymerchants9027]

Most of my life in U.S but now In Koln I have to say the way you put this video together and the selection of the speakers was spot on!

[@nejdro1]

Born in Missouri, 58 years in the Chicago area, 3 years in Germany, 19 years in Portland, Oregon. I have lived in 11 homes and apartments in my life. I owned 3 of them. My German wife spent her first 25 years in Darmstadt., before emigrating to the U.S. with me. Her family all still remain in Hessen.

[@markaverett1225]

My wife and I were nomads growing up. She was an army brat, I was a uitliity company brat. We ended up starting our family away from all of our immediate family. We are trying hard to change that by having our mother-in-law live with us, and our kids (3) have all ended up staying relatively (for Americans) close. We now have 5 grand children within a 3 hour drive and my wife's brother recently moved from across the country to be closer to Mom and our extended family. We'd really like to change the legacy of our family by being physically closer.

[@Schuft242]

"....and we essentially live all around the world.." Keep this in mind, I will come back later to this. I like the thought you are bringing up here. Something I really enjoy on your Channel. I am a child of the deep deep West. 6km from the most western point of Germany (NRW).I lived in different cities in NRW, NDS and BLN, followed by Vietnam, China, Hong Kong and now Taiwan. My Brother studied in NDS and moved to BW. You are right, Germans tend to make an apprenticeship in a local trade and usually stay there for the Industry is based there. Mining, Steel in the Ruhr area and fishing in the north (I know I over simplefied.) How many of Americans moving to a different State are from the Central Plains, the Midwest and other regions where the young don't have a chance to build a career they want? How many cross state borders to attend Universities? The top Universities are in 5 states. Students of 45 states would move there and become a part of the statistic you quoted. ( I am curious how many Uni-Absolventen will go back to the hometown or move somewhere for the job) Let's come back to you and your siblings. "Essentially all around the world" Nope. You and Mikey moved due to your job. and the rest is still in the country of their birth. Can we compare the USA and Germany looking on ppl moving between states? Political we could but I do not know any German who really cares about the State Borders. Ask a German where he/she is from, you will get a City name in return. I personally also moved to Cities not States.

[@Krokostad]

I live just a few kilometers from the village I grew up in. My parents still live there. My sister also lives just a few minutes away which is great. I am so grateful for all the time I've spent with my parents in the last 20 years since moving out. My mum is 72 now but my dad is 82. They won't live forever so I'm glad I stayed here. It's also great when you start your own family. My kids have their grandparents around and I feel like having a helpful network for raising my kids.

[@Krokostad]

I am 40 and moved only 3 time in my life....

[@ChoiiXMasters]

Born in Osterholz-Scharmbeck in northern Germany, still living in the Area to this Days

[@MarioKstgr]

For a brief time i tinkered a bit with some audio stuff and I helped a band called "Kleinstadthelden", they were from Osterholz-Scharmbeck ☺️

[@dummyfarm]

Nice, auch aus OHZ

[@MrMojo271]

I was stationed in Garlstadt for several years. I love Osterholz-Scharmbeck! Lots of good memories there.

[@kyihsin2917]

I read once that anthropologists discovered 2000-year-old human remains somewhere in the Harz region of central Germany. DNA testing showed that the descendants of those people were still living in a nearby village - they hadn't moved in 2000 years! In America, not even the Native Americans are still living in the same place where their ancestors lived 2000 years ago, but in Germany they do.

[@Earthshakes]

The Native Americans didn’t have a choice. There are many people who didn’t have that choice.

[@lionljb]

To some degree it's also a culture thing of local customs, dialects, etc. It is getting lesser through Globalization and more centralization of culture as a whole (e.g. dialects being spoken less) but still someone from southern Germany, used to the dialects, festivals and cuisine there will have some catching up to do on regional customs, like the food and learn to understand people that speak the local dialect when moving to the north

[@Mozartkugel]

Local patriotism that’s been built over generations for centuries plays a huge part, too, I guess. Asking around in SHA for locals who‘d consider moving to a different state? Unlikely. Moving to another area in the same state? Maybe not as unlikely but still. Swabians moving to Baden and vice versa? That’s basically the same as moving from your village to the neighboring one. You have often been raised with a certain local identity that’s hard to lay off. Americans are very diverse in terms of origin, too, probably even more so than Germans. But they always find common ground in being Americans. I am a German, but I‘m actually more of a Baden-Württemberger. To be frank, I‘m a Badener, from Südbaden to be even more specific. And I‘m not from the Black Forest, I‘m from the Hochrhein region, to be precise. But not any Hochrhein region but specifically… you know what I mean?

[@heikos4264]

yup. most foreigners think we have no national pride. When i read that from foreigner i am always thinking: try to eff around with my local pride and find out... I sligthly prefer our village coat of arms over the Badian flag and i prefer the Badian over the German flag* , BUT i am 100% sure, when something properly threatens the country, then local pride goes out of the window till that is over. I'm sure that the vast majority of us imediately would come together as one. Grüsse vom letzten Heilbronner Außenposten (kurz vor Sinsheim) 🙂 *(nonetheless the german flag is on every single one of my virtual racecars that enters a competition, in sports representing your country is a must)

[@JefftheSabaDude]

Born in Minnesota in a small town, educated in Minneapolis and spent my first 8 working years there. Moved to Phoenix, Arizona at age 35 for a better work opportunity in the same profession, to escape the winters, and to be closer to my elderly parents who had moved there while I was at university. Changed careers at age 50, retired at 60 and left the US for Mexico. After 9 years I made another move to tiny Saba Island in the Dutch Caribbean to begin my third career operating Airbnb rentals for tourists during the 9 month tourist season. This is now my permanent residence. I also maintain my permanent residency status in Mexico and return there for 2-3 months in the summer which is the low tourist season on Saba. I rent my house in Mexico to a friend from Minnesota and can stay with him whenever I return for a change of scenery. I visit the US every few years, I have exactly 7 people left there, but not regularly anymore as I sem to experience unpleasant culture shock now.

[@Custer0706]

Hi, born in 1962 in Hessen/Germany. Moved to another town in the same county 30 km away age 4. That’s where I grew up. My parents still live there. I moved to Baden Württemberg after university, lived/worked there for 4 years. Moved back (job related) to my home town, met my later wife there. After three years, took her over to the USA on an expat assignment. Moved back after 2 years. A year later, we moved to the biggest town in our county, 18 km away, where my two kids were born. Stayed with the same company for another 15 years (in retrospect, 5 years too many), then quit my job and moved to Bavaria for work, as a weekend commuter. Was offered and did accept a job in my home county after 6 years, and intend to stay there until retirement. So I have been around, with a huge number of business trips to a lot of remote corners in the world, but felt attached to my home county during all of my life. No intention to change that, ever. Germany still is a very tribalized society. There is a distinct difference between people say from Bavaria and Hessen, which you typically realize after 3-5 seconds listening to them speaking. There are huge differences in culture and also behavior between the tribes. That’s one of the main differences to the US.

[@geschichten_ursula278]

I am now back in the Town were i was born. I was 1 year in Maine and i still trave a lot in Europa. for 4 years i lived in Hannover, because of work an familie i moved back. It is normal in Germany to live close to you familie. Back Back Back in time familie hat to stay together to service.... In the past, far far back, families lived together in tribes to survive. To this day, these tribal boundaries are visible in everyday life in Germany. So it is understandable that this has not changed to this day. I am very happy about this video, thank you

[@mojojim6458]

I just noticed the new translate feature in the comment stream. This is TREMENDOUS!

[@herb6677]

Austria is about the size of Bavaria and has 9 states, I was born in one state and work and live in another. My youngest sister was born, has worked and still lives in one Austrian state. My second sis was born in Austria but now lives in Edmonton, Canada, after having lived 20 years or so in South Africa. My oldest sis moved from one side of Austria to the other, she lives now 3 km to Switzerland. In Austria many young people go study in one of the major cities and then often stay there. Farmers and craftsmen usually stay where they are from. Cheers!

[@sisuguillam5109]

Germany is full of people who moved due to severe trauma: war, genozide etc pp. Moving your family again just shortly after you settled might not be that popular partly due to that. When you are the child of a Heimatvertriebene or a refugee from Croatia or Vietnam the idea simpy might be too connected to negative images - and connected to the feeling of finally having a new home.

[@arctix4518]

Many germans are socialized in strong regional cultures and with regional traditions. The home region is a very big part of the identity of a german. It goes so far, that we even have a culture of coming back to our home regions after living somewhere for a while. "Mich ziehts zurück in die Heimat"... is a sentence which you will hear again and again if you talk to germans who live elsewhere than in their home regions. Not because life is bad there, it's just a feeling of getting drawn back to the place where you really belong :D

[@MS-io6kl]

Well, we Germans (in the linguistic case, I'm including us Austrians) have two words for quite opposite concepts, "Heimweh" which has a literal translation in the English "homesickness" (though they have a bit of a different feel) and "Fernweh" which has no literal translation but which I would translate as "longing for the horizon" or less poetic "longing to go to places far away". You described the first one very well, but the second one is why half of Germany's population (or possibly even more) leaves the country every summer.

[@EvelinHolmes]

I am born and raced in Germany but I can’t go back to live there. I married a Canadian soldier stationed in Germany way back at the end of the 1960. I live in Canada and my husband has been retired a long time. We own our own home and live very well . Since my parents never owned any property we always lived in an apartment. No problem there since about 60% of Germans live in apartment dwelling. When I go back to Germany to visit I find very confined in apartments and the do’ and don’ts you can’t to because of rules and regulations are a little insane. In Germany all you can maybe dream to get a 2 bedroom place to live unless you marry into family that has property. I still love Germany but living there for is not realistic . Of course it loose my German citizen ship once I became a Canadian a mother sore point in my life . There are only a handful country’s left in the world that make you do that. It’s kind hurtful when you foreigners with a German passport plus they are allowed to carry there passport from there birth-country. But I love my Canadian lifestyle . I did get faster ahead over-here ,no regrets..

[@trematode1148]

born and raised in Brandenburg --> 10 years Baden-Württemberg --> 2.5 years California --> 1.5 years Michigan --> now 9 years in Hessen

[@Schuft242]

😳.. HESSEN??? (lol sorry ich konnte nicht widerstehen)

[@reesofraft4166]

typical eastern german schicksal.

[@Akrus15]

Wie kommt man aus den USA wieder nach HESSEN?

[@trematode1148]

@@Akrus15 Wollte nie für immer in den USA bleiben und habe meinen Traumjob hier angeboten bekommen. Das Angebot kam völlig überraschend und ich habe die Entscheidung, den Job anzunehmen, innerhalb von einer Minute getroffen. Habe das auch nicht bereut :-)

[@Mechanic44455]

Born and raised in Brandenburg --> 7 years in Russia and Ukraine --> 2 years in California --> 5 years in Munich --> 6 years in Saxony - What's next? Sweden!

[@ERE02]

I come from the very south of Germany next to Neuschwanstein. I tried to life in Western Australia in Perth for over a Year and I also travel alot to china because of my wife. We talk alot about moving but even my wife likes it here where we life. The good thing about Germany is: withing 8-10 hours by car you come around quiet a bit. And it is a good place to raise your kids, too. And this year we plan to make a daytrip to Schwäbisch Hall because of your Vids :)

[@Timo-qb1gf]

There's plenty of Germans around here in the south who have moved in from the north/east. The rest are locals and locals mean never had to change their 2 license plate letters. At work I'm always shocked how many say how they would like to try another job in the company but they are too far being on the other side of Stuttgart, ie 45min drive.

[@johnlabus7359]

I live in Florida, but was born in Oregon. My parents aren't from Oregon; they are from another state. Their parents aren't from the same state as them, and their grandparents were immigrants. My family history-post immigration took us from Ellis Island to Pittsburgh, to Chicago, to Indiana, to Oregon, to California and then to North Carolina in the course of less than 75 years. I splintered off and went to Florida.

[@fullerenpirat5134]

After the War Germany had the "Wirtschaftswunder" and there was no need go somewhere else for job opportunities. On the contrary a lot of people from other countries (Italy, Greece, Turkey) came to Germany to work here. Germany is one of the place people want to go to find a better life. The second thing is Germany was created out of over 300 "micro states", changing states back then, was much more complicated. So there is very little tradition of moving long distance. A third thing is that at the end of the war, people from Ostpreussen and Sudetendeutsche where forced to leave their homes and became refugees. The were not very welcome at that time. I think that also put a negative image to moving long distance.

[@McGhinch]

I am a Bavarian with the congenital defect 🙂 being born in Stuttgart, Baden Württemberg. After several years in Switzerland I live in Schleswig-Holstein. Edit: Even with my current location being relatively far away, I still can drive to my parents, who moved back to Bavaria, within a day. I can drive to friends in Stuttgart within a day. Do I miss something? Yes, the food and the language of the South. Sometimes in the North I am not understood because of my choice of words. The food I have learned to cook myself in a quality that is as good as I remember it -- and the remembrance is refreshed often enough when I travel down south.

[@Pseudonym-qh3oo]

Wie bist du Bayrisch wenn du in BW geboren wurdest?

[@McGhinch]

​@@Pseudonym-qh3ooDer Geburtsoŕt sagt nichts über Hintergründe aus. Hätte meine Mutter mich in bspw. Seoul zur Welt gebracht, wäre ich dann nach Deiner Auffassung Koreaner?

[@dw8931]

I would like to add one aspect. In Germany (and other European countries as well) you build a house to stay in it for the rest of your life and also to hand it over to next generations. Houses are built to last, unlike the US cardboard models that will fall to pieces after a decade or maybe two. This ties you to your home and reduces the motivation to start nomadizing just because you are looking for a new job.

[@XX-bn9sf]

Oh no. My house (in the US) is probably 70 years old. I am risking death for every minute living in it, since a collapse must be imminent. Well, I am a daredevil and living on the edge is my middle name. I will prevail.

[@Mulmgott]

@@XX-bn9sf Some houses in Germany are older than the USA. Of course they were renovated but houses here are definitely more sturdy and are more likely to stand the test of time. You don't need to take everything as a personal attack.

[@ichich3978]

@@XX-bn9sf 70 years, this is called a teenager-House:-)

[@KonglomeratYT]

You are delusional. I have lived in brick and wooden houses here in America and they have been around for a century+ and are not falling apart. I moved from one brick house to another due to cost. That brick house to another brick house due to cost again. That brick house to another to get away from family. That brick house to a wooden house to get more space. That wooden house to a brick house to get 3 hours closer to my daily activities. That brick house to a wooden house for work and to live on my own. All of these houses are still standing without issue. Not sure how your education can be so bad that you think a house of brick, or wood can fall apart in a decade.

[@AleaumeAnders]

@@KonglomeratYT The average life expectancy of an american house is 30-50 years. Yes, there are older houses, but they are not the norm. The norm are cheaply but impressively built wooden stick houses, that can be easily replaced by something "better" (usually higher quantity instead of quality). The average german house from the 60 and 70s (the worst time to build a houses) has a life expectancy of 50-80 years, while proper german houses (read from before the war(s) or after the 70s) have a life expectancy of 80-100 years at least. And of course, we do have still many much much older houses (thus that survived WWII that is). Summa: no, not every house is a pile of termite food... but the vast majority is. So please refrain on blaming your lack of knowledge about building statistics on others.

[@hans-juergenwirth2913]

Well a bit of both I presume. After university I moved to Australia, initially for a postdoc, but somehow got stuck. Now, after 30 years, I am back in Germany with my kids, living in the same house that my great-grandfather built more than a 100 years ago.

[@baramuth71]

Hi Nalf, your family in the States should be really jealous when they see these pictures of you here in Germany and what a changed life you are leading here. The whole thing is remarkable. Many Americans would dream of having the same in the USA.

[@t.kausch419]

Nick, sehr viele deutsche Familien sind nach dem Krieg aus den Ostgebieten vertrieben worden... und sicherlich froh eine neue Heimat gefunden zu haben.., meine Familie z.B. auch.

[@wietholdtbuhl6168]

Ja Schlesien?

[@t.kausch419]

@@wietholdtbuhl6168 Ja, Schlesien heute halt Polen.

[@MS-io6kl]

@@wietholdtbuhl6168 Oder Sudetenland, oder Siebenbürgen, oder Baltikum etc.

[@Ossey1976]

Heimatverbunden! I lived in the neighbour town of my home for a few years (but just a 15 minute car drive away from home), but our family home since the 1950s is a Two-Family house, so at first, my parents and grandparents, then my parents and my aunt and now my parents, my son and I live here.

[@VanessaRi10]

I am one of those rare Germans who not only moved out of their state but also moved to a faraway country -- the United States. I live in San Francisco now, and I love it. When I think of my entire family and the vast majority of my German friends, though, most of them still live very close to where they were born.

[@rretepsytc5180]

Born in Lower Saxony and than moved to the United Kingdom, back to Germany (N-Westfalia, than Hessen and again N-Westfalia) and back to Lower Saxony … 10 km from where I was born- Home is where friends and family are and the heart is …

[@KweenieMetal]

Yeah I'm one of the 10%. Born in North-Rhine-Westphalia, moved from there to the smallest state in Germany Bremen, then to Schleswig Holstein after this to Bavaria. Completly fine with it.

[@138tomhall]

Very cool thoughts and data on our differences in habitat. Although I was born and live in South Carolina, USA, both of my parents moved away from their birthplaces. Mom moved from Japan, and Dad moved here from Pittsburg, Pensilvania, USA. My politics are definitely not typical conservative, christian left, like most of South Carolina. I see the divisions here based on fears of the white conservative majority losing their place at the front of the line. They are quickly becoming the minority. Misplaced fears indeed. I hope for a day when we can all embrace our differences and learn to benefit from our diversity.. I think many Americans move for Job related concerns, as you mentioned Nalf, but too many move to seek the perceived safety of living with like minded ( Politically ), and similarly situated ethnic and financially similar people. I love that Germans embrace a multi generational household too. So much to admire from modern Germans. Another video well done. Bravo.

[@FranziInSpain]

Born in Rostock, Germany, moved to Portugal and then to Spain.

[@MrSchroder]

I had not expected so low numbers in germany. I was born in Lower Saxony, I studied in Hessen and Hamburg, worked in Bavaria, Grenoble, Ludwigshafen, Heidelberg and am now living in Hamburg. Best reasons are two: I like the people of the north better and my parents are close and they can enjoy time with our kids!

[@huha47]

My German family uprooted in the late 1800s to America, and by 1900 there was no trace of the family in Rodenbach. They spread out from the Midwest to Montana. I was fortunate to know my great grandfather there. I left the US 30+ years ago, now living in southern Austria, and am the only who moved to Europe and very few of my cousins have ever visited their roots here, whether in Germany, Sweden or Hungary. LG aus VI

[@jamesmartello1]

I was born in New Orleans and live in the same house at 60 years old. My family in Cefalu, Sicily have lived in the same house, (apartment building) for 11 generations. It's an Italian thing as well.

[@MS-io6kl]

Not just Italian. My maternal grandfather's ancestors lived in the same area of German West Hungary, since 1921 Burgenland Austria, for more than 500 years and my maternal grandmother's for 450 give or take, though neither of them stayed in the same house for 11 generations as far as I can tell, well that's not entirely true as my great-grandfathers grandmother was the bastard daughter of a count. And I know that his ancestors had owned the castle where he lived with her mother since more than 350 years I'd say chances are that it were 11 or more generations living in the castle but without doing some research I can't be sure. I'd say it is a European thing.

[@jamesmartello1]

@@MS-io6kl OH absolutely! It's definitely a European thing.

[@lpfansenan]

Great Video man !

[@CTBauer]

I was born in Wurzburg, but grew up in Kansas (long story), moved to Texas for university - with a 8 month stint in Italy, then back to Kansas, and now live in Missouri. In a short while, I will be moving back to Germany (near Wurzburg) to be near family after I retire. My father's family is from the same small village near Wurzburg since around 700-750 A.D. (when records began) and there are many relatives living there. I have three siblings in Germany, two live within 10 km of the family home and one near Augsburg. In the US, I had seven siblings (all grew up in Kansas). Four live within 50 miles of our family home. One in Oklahoma, one in Massachusetts, one in Florida, and me in Missouri. One of my kids (born in Missouri) still lives in the same city where he was born, but the other now lives in Boston, MA. So, the 41% rate in the US is pretty accurate.

[@shaclo1512]

and I was born and still live in Würzburg area 😂

[@MarianneExJohnson]

Born in the Netherlands, moved to the U.S. (New Jersey), returned to the Netherlands after 20 years, currently living about 30 km from the town where I was born. Sometimes I think of moving to Southern Europe when I retire, because of the weather, but I probably won't. I have my family nearby, healthcare is good and affordable here, I live in a beautiful area, and I just like the general vibe. It feels like home.

[@Kirkmaximus]

Meanwhile, children of veterans & government employees: "Those are rookie numbers. You've got to move every 2 to 4 years."

[@oldtop4682]

You beat me to it! My kids grew up this way, and have themselves lived in various parts of the US.

[@quoll4961]

Same in Germany

[@cynthiastinson7059]

I have lost count of how many times I have moved.

[@V3R2_Music]

I like the Vibe of your Videos! Very well told, edited and the Music! Great Atmosphere!

[@Khyrus]

This one guy said it, we dont want to leave our bubble, I think hes got a very solid point there. As someone who actually moved states I can say that I didnt have a bubble to stay in, sure I had my family but that was it. I grew up in Hesse a few Kilometers northwest of Frankfurt, I finished school, I was unemployed and no one would take me in, I just knew I had one goal in mind and that was getting to the Alps in one way or another. The overwhelming majority of germans are very "proud" of their hometown/region, they dont think about leaving that behind because of friends and family. I didnt have work and it felt to me like no one cared about me, I wanted to see snow in winter and mountains outside my window. Only the day that I finally left everyone became aware that I was actually doing what I said for years. Truth be told, seeing my father cry next to me on our way south almost made me regret my decision. Germans rarely move to new places for anything other than a job but even that is rare I think, they dont have big enough a reason to move

[@GoodVibes1997]

Was born in Bavaria, Germany and have been in the US for 37 years and my hubby and I just retired to Idaho, USA. We live in a total remote town and love it. Our County is larger than the Oberpfalz (a district in Bavaria, also where I was born specifically) with only about 7000 residents.

[@susannschwermer-mbaye6400]

Born in Westfalia, grew up in Hessen. My family half from Thüringen and half from Westfalia and we have also ancestors (before 1800) from Netherlands, Finland and England. I did my studies in Niedersachsen and Schleswig Holstein. As my brother never left Hessen. We have relatives in Belgium, Netherlands, Luxembourg and Austria. I can say for our lot: Rural family (farmers and forresters) stayed put for generations (over 400 years), while business people, doctors, teachers etc. moved to other places too

[@stefanklass6763]

My grandparents lived two villages away from me, my parents one village over. About 5 Kilometers per Generation.

[@friedrichstock6377]

The moving to another state-part is totally correct for me. I was born and raised in Northrhine-Westphalia where I am living now. For work reasons, I moved to other German states (Bundesländer) twice. I didn't feel at home there and was very happy to return home after 5 and nearly 3 years respectively. For the future, I don't plan to move from Northrhine-Westphalia ever again! Most of my family and friends are living here, so in other states I feel somehow like a stranger. At home it's always best!

[@SecretSquirrel59]

I lived in Japan for 3 years, and Schwäbisch Hall for 3 1/2 years. You're living my dream.

[@prezbass]

I am a German citizen, who was born in Garden Grove, California (in the US), moved to Wiesbaden when I was 2 weeks old, lived there until I was 9 and then moved to the US, where I have no resided since 1973. Still have a ton of family in the Wiesbaden/Frankfurt area, and they have never understood why I stay here. (Gotta admit that these days, it's very tempting to move back home. We'll see- might change my mind around November........)

[@f.d.robben159]

I grew up in North Rhine-Westphalia and then lived in Bavaria for three years. Then 12 years in Lower Saxony. For 2 years in Saxony-Anhalt and now for 15 years in Schleswig-Holstein. I have five siblings. Only one of my brothers still lives with his family in my parents' house, where my mother has had a floor to herself for 30 years. All my siblings live with their families in other federal states. This year, all 41 members of the four generations will come together for my mother's 90th birthday. A beautiful and rare gathering. Some of the family were abroad as exchange students (America, Canada, China). I had a student from Brazil as a guest and my daughter had been in the UK for five years. She brought home an Australian with her, with whom she now lives in Schleswig Holstein. It is always worthwhile to think outside the box with new experiences...

[@Sebman1113]

Im a Minnesotan of age 18. I couldn't fathom the idea of living outside Minnesota. several generations before me called this great American state home. I like hot dish, fishing, polka music, and going to the Lutheran Church every Sunday.

[@RealConstructor]

I was born in The Netherlands in a small town in North Holland near Amsterdam, grew up there until I was 12 years and moved with my parents to a town 6km away in another province. The culture was really different, from a kind of suburban town of Amsterdam to a rural village half the size of my birth town. Sports clubs (no Sunday sports because of religion) were very different, people were different, more religious, more friendly and open, more locally oriented for school and work, while the town I was born in was a commuter town, during the day almost everyone left for work, college and university to Amsterdam. Who knew a town, only 6km away, could be so different. I never left the town, although I moved three times already.

[@paultaverne2788]

I wholeheartedly agree to that comparison at the end between Americans basically being descendents from immigrants and Germans being basically locals. Although I've been born and raised in Germany, my parents only came here a couple months before my birth. Therefore as a child I beleived that it'd be normal to move to another country, or at least city, when you're an adult. My suprise to see that some of my friends lived even on the same street as their grandparents...

[@Mamaki1987]

German here. I apprechiate the fact that Germans are way more settled, but as a naturalized citizen myself (I am originally from Austria) I admire the fact that many Americans see so much more than their little corner of the country. Even in the same country (and especially in one that is as big as the US) you might have simmilar things everywhere but you also have many different cultures and mentalities within this country. So you have to adapt quite a bit. And learn how to make new friends when your old ones are on the other side of the country. That makes me curious: When you ask an American where they are from and they moved many times, what do they say? Do they refer to the state where they grew up or where they were born or where they currently live?

[@nejdro1]

I have lived in Portland, Oregon, on the West Coast, for the last 19 years, but I still say I am from Chicago!

[@liamflanagan7490]

I think it probably depends on a lot of factors. If you're talking to an American outside of the USA they'll probably respond with where they currently live, but if you're in the state they currently live in they'll probably respond with either a short recap of where they were born and the states they've lived in since, or more likely just the state that they grew up in, at least that's what I think.

[@petercharron3268]

This is a great video. I was born in Maine, grew up in Northern NY, educated n Arizona, started career in LA, lived in Marin, Piedmont, Tahoe and Sonoma CA now work remote in lake placid NY

[@Zeratoxx_]

Love your videos. A good mix of scientific research and personal thoughts with beautiful shots, embedded in a friendly and nice calm editing😁

[@maryanne9065]

Loved you insight and getting a bit deeper into this subject! Living abroad and in different areas of Germany I appreciate my home growing up even more.

[@andrefricke9998]

I'm one of the rather few Germans that live outside of their original federal state. I moved 500km south to Baden-Württemberg more than ten years ago for the job of my dreams. That was a huge step but over time I learned to love living here and have made awesome friends. Luckily, I possibly won't have to move away for the rest of my life ✌️

[@MrsStrawhatberry]

That's so interesting to hear because there are sooo many Germans here in Switzerland. But I think the housing crisis is a huge contributing factor. Americans don't have houses that last a hundred years, German do. They stay in their home because it took them a lifetime to pay it off. Salary in Germany is lower but house prices a much higher than in the US. I also like to believe that many people just simply enjoy their hometown because it may be a beautiful old village or a nice town.

[@jeffmorse645]

Born in Northern California and lived in a number of towns and cities in Northern and Central California. Last September I moved to Northeast Florida to a town between St. Augustine and Daytona Beach. Almost 3,000 miles away. The drive took 5 1/2 days. I'm retired now and just want to try a new adventure now that I can. My parents were both born in Oklahoma and met in California. Same for their parents (three of my grandparents were born in Arkansas, moved to Oklahoma then California). Great-grandparents the same (Alabama and Mississippi). Always on the move in search of a better life. Here in my new Florida city I would guess the majority of people are from New York, New Jersey, Connecticut and Massachusetts. Plus a multitude of other Northern states. Americans are a restless people.

[@steve19811]

Restless in a bad, un-present way....

[@jeffmorse645]

@@steve19811 "un-present"? lol

[@roesi1985]

I'm from a family that lived in the same village for at least 500 years, and I own a house there that's at least 300 years old, but I still moved to another (European) country. I probably wouldn't have done so had I not travelled and met my husband during my travels, though. The ties to your home and your land are very strong in Germany, especially in rural areas. I was told so many stories about my ancestors, and living in the same house they lived in and being surrounded by all the old stuff inherited from one ancestor or the other builds very strong ties to the past and to the place you grow up in. Even though we were just an unimportant farming family with a smallholding, I grew up with such a huge awareness of my family's history, I sometimes feel like one of those noble landowners from a Regency novel. I don't think many American families experience that because they've been much more mobile for centuries.

[@crothefool1651]

I was born in Kettering, Ohio and now live in Wuppertal, Germany. My wife was born in Wuppertal, still lives here, and she has had the apartment where we live for about thirty years now. We discussed moving somewhere where it would be easier for me to find work as an English-speaker (I speak German but not on a professional level) and she refused to leave Wuppertal due to her family being here.

[@christinehorsley]

I’m very impressed with this video ! And I think your conclusion, about why there is such a difference in this matter between Germans and Americans, hit the nail on the head 👍 By the way, I live in a different state now (Baden-Wuerttemberg) than where I was born (Bavaria), but I did grow up not too far away from here. I had moved out at 20, to a town about 30 miles away, met my husband-to-be, an American, moved with him to southern California and, after nearly 12 years there (but only 5 moves there, all within the same county) I moved back home, to a village where my parents had meanwhile moved to. My husband and I have been living in this apartment for over 30 years now (we own it), meantime his family members in the States have moved numerous times. Only one of them has returned to living in California a few years ago, but upon retirement she’s planning to move to the east coast to be near her daughter. My parents however were both from different German states, they met in Bavaria, but Baden-Wuerttemberg is where they found a place to live (in the early to late fifties there was still a great need for housing in Germany) and that’s where they stayed for the remainder of their lives, their relatives were far away and so I grew up seeing my relatives only a few times a year, if that much.

[@aresee8208]

I was born in a hospital in Huntington, NY, which is on the North Shore of Long Island, though we actually lived in Seaford, NY, which is on the South Shore. When I was 8, we moved to Wappingers Falls, NY, in the Mid-Hudson Valley. When I was 18, I went to college in Baltimore, MD, and have mostly lived in Baltimore since. One big exception is when I lived in Rauenberg, Baden-Württemberg, Germany (near Heidelberg) for 2.5 years.

[@hessin3027]

My family has lived in our village for at least 400 years. There are no documents for the time before that, due to the Thirty Years' War. The parents emigrated with some of the children, but two children stayed here and even kept the house. They never saw the rest of the family again.

[@Erik69118]

Born in California but like many Americans moved to different cities with parents while growing up and than when they divorced moved to a different city with one of the parents, than went off to college in a city 4 hours away. After graduating worked in my field of study for a while but always wanted to live in Germany since I was kid because I was somehow drawn to Germany and my ancestry here so it was pretty easy for me to make the move in 2006 and been living in the same city here ever since. Funny thing is I've lived in Heidelberg now longer than I ever lived in any city in America. I guess I'm becoming more German now than American.

[@samuelsamenstrang6069]

Born in Düsseldorf, lived there for 50 years. Now i moved to rural Bavaria and I´m loving it.

[@chkoha6462]

Born and raised in Hamburg,now I live in Hessen. My sister left Germany right after Uni for Guatemala and now resides in the US. My parents moved from Germany to Canada,UAE and back to Canada ...so we are spread around the globe as well

[@wmf831]

I am born in Germany, I lived in New York for a couple of years, I also lived in Italy for two years. I am now living in Germany, about 700 kms from where my parents live. I have cousins who live nearby and far. My family is spread out through 4 states in Germany. Some family in North America, some in the former Yugoslavija, some in Hungary. Most of my friends have lived in other countries as well and are not necessarily living in the same state they were born in and where their parents live. Neither do their children live in the same state. I always thought of this as "normal". I only know few people who have never lived anywhere else or are living close to where their families live. So your statistic kind of blew my mind. It just goes to show that we all live in our own bubble and what we think of as "normal" may be very different from the "reality". This might be due to the fact that I work for a company where many of my colleagues are in fact from other countries, and the company languages are English first and then German and Italian, but since not everybody knows German and Italian the one language we all communicate in is English. So I guess I am not as "normal" as I thought. Especially since I will be leaving the state I live in now - again - in 4 years, to settle in another German state in my old age.

[@elkeyvonnelindemann8284]

We are a family similar like yours is! My Dad fled as a child with his family from West Prussia to (close to) Bremen,and moved as he was 18 to Switzerland where he met my Mom who moved from Austria! They moved with me later to Germany! I moved with my German husband to Texas, and now we live with our three boys, 2 born in Germany and one in Texas, in North Carolina and are Dual Citizens! My sister lives in Berlin, our parents live close to Bremen! Americans move back home now after college, because it is simply not affordable to buy a house or rent something! The US became one of the most expensive countries…..sadly!

[@bitcoin4life]

Well, I am German...and I have lived in Germany (rural area), Germany small city and Berlin, Greece and the US; right now I live in Berlin. My family is so spread out that there are not two people living in the same city anymore and even our parents live in different countries. Keep in mind that your experiences mostly stem from a small town in southern Germany :-)

[@friederikelehrbass135]

I was raised in a small village in Germany,( Mittelfranken.). Then went to Boarding school in Oberbayern,then Allgau,Berlin and to the US. The rest of my family still lives in Mittelfranken,so do many of my relatives...

[@sylviaschaich]

Houses are build for the future of more than 1 generation. So you Stay in the Area and live oneday in the house where your grandparents lived before. Not me. But friends of mine

[@Klu1337]

Very interesting video 🙈 I moved about 15 minutes (car wise) away from my parents house and I miss home all the time and want to move back soon again

[@sandrakarls8466]

Great episode! Thank you for the explanation!

[@SirHeinzbond]

born in munich, lived in Koblenz, Saarbrücken, Bern and now outside of Zürich and yes i am happier now than ever, and beside the 3 generation under one roof, my family is dispersed in Germany too, also some part in Australia but i guess we were not the typical ones...

[@SuperNachtigall44]

Grew up in Nordrhein-Westfalen, lived in Hessen, then moved to California and currently in Texas with 3 generations in one house.

[@stus1171]

“Go west young man!” Although we aren’t living in the era of Manifest Destiny in the United States anymore, I think the attitude of striking out in search of bigger and better things still resonates deeply in US culture.

[@musicofnote1]

Born outside os Swindon, England Grew up in San Francisco Have been living in Switzerland outside of Basel since 1977.

[@gregorygant4242]

Or is it Basle ?

[@jozef_chocholacek]

Sali, Nachbar! ;-)

[@gregorygant4242]

@@jozef_chocholacek What does that mean ? Please translate !

[@jozef_chocholacek]

@@gregorygant4242 it means "Hi, neighbor!". It is meant for @musicofnote1, as I live near Basel, too.

[@musicofnote1]

@@gregorygant4242 / Uf Düütsch is's Basel.

[@jarnobot]

Europe also has a lot of walkable places, often a place to socialize and often unique to an area. I suspect these could create more attachment to a specific area. The are places where you actually want to be and what pops into your mind when you think if that area/city/town and all the memories that go with it. From what I've seen/heard, the USA most towns look more or less the same, while also not having a lot of unique, walkable places to socialize, if at all. I can imagine that it makes that specific "attachment to area" barrier a lot smaller.

[@Krokostad]

Never thought about that! But you could be right!