Moving to Germany? Here’s What I Wish I Knew!

[@lazyperfectionist1]

Oh, yes. In Germany, cash is king. They make exceptions if you're buying something very expensive, but if you're just paying for a meal or a small piece of electronics, cash is all they'll take. In all honesty, though, that's something I find myself appreciating about Germany. You can't overspend money you unmistakably don't _have._

[@ThatDelhiGirlInGermany]

I am still getting used to carry cash with me. But more and more places are accepting card payments now

[@uwekraus5938]

Yes, you're looking good. 🙂

[@LogicalguyThinking]

Never been to Duesseldorf. I was once traveling to Stuttgart by Sban there was a German lady sitting right opposite to me and she was staring at me. I tried to ignore her twice however it didn't help much therefore I touched my head pretending to feel my invisible horns on my head and then I gave a wide smile to that German lady . She was so terrified that she got down at the next station seems like she saw the devil himself on the train 😂.

[@RoderickEmanuel]

Wishes she knew mm Yes - . . She wishes she Had KNnown before coming to Germany

[@LogicalguyThinking]

@RoderickEmanuel who should have known before coming to Germany?

[@c2-kh6ed]

Often starring has an antiquated reason like the one she mentioned right in the beginning. Especially older people are conditioned to watch if you're wearing propper clothes and stuff like that. Imagine someone entering a Bahn with a riven jeans or a young girl not wearing "girl's stuff" but punk ish like clothes. The stares will be on your side, i promise. So it all came from that clothes thing or a certain behavior especially older folks are not used to. Nothing to worry about.

[@JakobFischer60]

We have many foreigners in out german company with little or no german knowledge. So when a non-german speaker is in the meeting we have to switsch to english. Unlike most foreigners we Germans speak different levels of english and so, german or english meetings, it is always a mix of realy bad language. But we take it with patience and humor and sometimes foreigners are pretty disappointed when we switch to english just when they wanted to practise their german. The worst is the many pronounciations of english we have with french, serbian, scotish, indian and all other dialects you can imagine.

[@peterzapp2091]

We just look straight ahead. If a person sits, stand or walks in front of us, we don't bother to look the other way to avoid eye contact rather than deliberately look at other persons' face or body.

[@ThatDelhiGirlInGermany]

@@peterzapp2091 this is what my husband does too 😀

[@V100-e5q]

Funny story: I was at a party where we were sitting in a circle doing games. I needed to take a leak, got out and reappeared. When I sat down again everybody was just staring at me not saying a word even when I made a remark. It dawned on me they were playing a game of trying to embarrass me. So realizing that, I simply turned quiet and stared at the person opposite to me. Simply returning their "favor". After several minutes they couldn't take it any longer and the normal conversation started up again. Me: 1 group: 0 Another anecdote: We were on our trip home from vacation. I was a teenager then. Several days before I had casually spotted a nice looking girl riding my bike home from the beach. I looked her into the eyes she looked back. Instant affection? But I didn't stop to talk to her, too shy a character myself, and simply cycled on. Next days I tried to find her around that beach. Naturally it didn't happen. So when the vacation ended I tried something to get her out of my mind. We were sitting in a restaurant on a ferry (long trip of 16 hours). A few tables over there was a group of four in my age playing cards. Among them a nice looking girl. So I decided to stare at her to erase that longing feeling. First the group didn't take notice of me. But when the girl accidentially looked in my direction she must have noticed my stare. So from time to time she looked over again to find out if I was still staring. And I was. First she looked just occasionally but over time more frequently. And obviously it also had become a conversation point at their table. Like: Hey, did you notice that guy constantly staring? After some hour or so, I ended that by leaving the restaurant. The trick worked. I got over my crush and left somebody else confused. So much about the staring hobby in Germany. Probably more than you wanted to know, I guess.

[@ThatDelhiGirlInGermany]

thats the funniest Stare story ever :D

[@michaelgrabner8977]

About the socalled stare...most people are just looking in your direction while their mind is on an other planet..So don´t bother it´s not about you, you are just standing, sitting in their view direction (at least most of the time that is the case, and just looking in one´s other face is not perceived as intrusive in most Central Europe countries, so that´s not "German specific", but just in anglophile countries (USA, Canada, UK) it is different and perceived as intrusive) ;-D Socalled "western countries" do have totally divers cultures and mannerisms, and simply aren´t "culturally" the same.

[@wokeaf1337]

As a German, I can say that people look at their phones all the time on public transport. Old people stare because they don't have a phone or don't use theirs. I only stare when someone acts weird but that's for safety reasons :) Also the "only cash" thing I have never experienced myself but I saw it displayed before entering stores, usually this only occurs with stores that have financial issues since paying with a card comes with extra cost for them(=fee). I literally use my bank card for everything.

[@juricarmichael2534]

Well, nur bar might be for credit cards in general. But what i call a restaurant, not a Wurstbude in town or at the Weihnachtsmarkt, always accepts debit cards from one of our bigger national banks. If you want to stay for a longer time you need a Girokonto (includes this card), for sure and anyways. 👋

[@ThatDelhiGirlInGermany]

Actually it did happen to us in a couple of restaurants in Heidelberg before Corona times and I did have an EC Karte but it wasn’t accepted. I hope it has changed now, considering Heidelberg is one of the most touristic city in Southern Germany. And Hi 🙂

[@kirannautiyal1516]

So well put!! Stares was so not expected 😄

[@ThatDelhiGirlInGermany]

@@kirannautiyal1516now you must expect when you visit Germany

[@Why-D]

I never though about looking at others is staring ... ok. The point with German is so true, everything around is in German. There are a few jobs in English, but there are so many people who just can get these jobs. And if you are invited to the neighbour, both may speak English, but may be their parents or their kids not, so it is just inconvinient constantly switching the language and translating everything to others. And even my wife understand English quite well, but she is not used to speak. "Nur was man schwarz auf weiß besitzt, kann man getrost nach Hause tragen!" At least they try to get rid of the fax. In case a restaurant only accepts cash, they usually show this openly often even at the entrance. From time to time, this happens.

[@katin251087]

Looking at some one for more than 5 seconds is staring. And for a whole journing of 5-10 mins in u-bahn or bus is not just looking. Also I would suggest that German government and Companies who are looking for talent from abroad, should make the importance of the language quite clear and this should be clear to foreign talent looking for job in Germany. When you are in Germany, you have to get yourself registered in first 15 days at Rathaus. Most probably no-one would speak English there. One might have to visit Immigration office in first 15 days and many times even after, and almost no-one speaks English there, at least no-one did in Stuttgart. And its quite difficult to be that fluent in German to speak to an Immigration officer and understand what they say in 6 months or a year. Just imagine working 8 hours, having family and then taking out time everyday to learn German so that you can be that fluent within a year-very very difficult. And thats not it, getting an apartment for rent, internet connection or God-forbid, if something goes wrong with internet or anything in your house, anyone you have to talk to, most probably can't speak english. So it should be made quite clear that your life is going to be quite "inconvenient" after moving to Germany.

[@1983simi]

As a very introverted German who always hated being stared at my coping mechanism always was not to stare back at people into their eye but I'd focus on a spot between but a little above their eyebrows. Easier to hold a stare that way and they eventually look away lol but honestly many people who seem to be staring are just spacing out lost in thought. you're like a piece of furniture to them at that point. with some experience you'll know if someone staters at you in a provoking manner or not btw. i am German but have been living in India for a decade. in my first 1-2 years I'd always thought some aunties were looking angrily at me until my Indian husband took a quick glance and said "oh no, that aunty is just uncomfortable because she's hot/tired" and true enough if I would smile at them they'd all switch up and smile back very nicely

[@ThatDelhiGirlInGermany]

I think now after spending quite few years in Germany I understand the reasons and feel much more comfortable. And you saying “Aunty” that means you also understand Indian stares really well. I am laughing sitting on my couch. Because I know it’s otherwise so unusual in western countries to call someone Aunty 😆

[@1983simi]

@@ThatDelhiGirlInGermany I completed one decade in India last year and counting 😄 now whenever I visit back home my friends in Germany look at me weird when I tell them some story about "that neighborhood aunty" or "there is this grocery store uncle" 🙈😆

[@Steeler-wg5zo]

In Germany, 'If someone avoids your gaze, they have something to hide' or a guilty conscience.

[@ThatDelhiGirlInGermany]

🙂

[@wora1111]

I have come to expect foreigners in Germany to learn to speak German. And most of them do. Even more so, if they live and work here. And most of them do. I am living in a university town and with some lessons I noted the speaker would ask if everybody understands German and then continue in German because even the foreign students usually were able to understand everything in German. And yes, that includes IT.

[@ThatDelhiGirlInGermany]

I get it. But I was unfortunately amongst those people who had no idea about it before arriving in Germany. And then, I myself learned German and work in a german speaking Company now, in IT 🙂

[@wora1111]

@ThatDelhiGirlInGermany Not knowing German is fine. Not being willing to learn it is not.

[@RU-Tech]

New subscriber! Wishing you lots of Success and Happiness ✨️. Please make videos on temples in Germany.

[@ThatDelhiGirlInGermany]

@@RU-Tech thank you. Sure. Will definitely keep in mind

[@V100-e5q]

What kind of temples? Of people's heads? Is that a way of Indian staring in secret?

[@katin251087]

I miss the stares in Düsseldorf. 😢😂

[@ThatDelhiGirlInGermany]

@@katin251087 visit more in Buses and trains then 😃

[@ronp.6782]

Maybe they stare at you because you are a beautiful,lovely lady 😄

[@Jasoda-k9y]

❤🎉

[@jaybhavsar7846]

Ye her koi vlogs banana suru kar dete hein after moving abroad. It is necessary to post videos 😅

[@pankajrawat1201]

Delhi - आंख दिखाता है, Uttarakhand - ये क्या ह्यू वालु ये आंखों थे, हे दीदी देखनी छै तू से थे यि. कन्न मेसी कू च यू

[@ThatDelhiGirlInGermany]

@@pankajrawat1201 hahaha. Ekdum sahi baat 😀😀 kani mesi 😀

[@vinodprasad3750]

Ur teeth is full of polished white