REASONS WHY LIVING IN GERMANY MIGHT NOT BE FOR YOU 🇩🇪

[@mitre6923]

It’s so interesting how someone who didn’t grow up in Germany sees our culture/habits. Very eye opening! When I was a backpacker in NZ I was very confused when I learned that you get your salary every week but also have to pay your rent weekly. I thought that’s inconvenient but from your perspective it’s inconvenient to plan a month ahead. I love those cultural differences, it shows how much we humans are affected by our upbringing/environment 😋 P.S.: I totally agree about our customer service, NZ is doing a much better job in that regard in my opinion

[@DanielLDE]

It's so refreshing to be able to watch a video like this without the long apologetic disclaimer that most KZbinrs put at the beginning. I was delighted that I didn't have to search for the actual beginning of the video. Thank you! :)

[@flylikeabird9479]

she always starts so quickly, that's so nice and is so annoying at the others

[@AntoinetteEmily]

I'm so happy to hear this. Really appreciate your feed back!

[@agnes15101968]

@@AntoinetteEmily You are efficient, well done ;-DDD

[@Bugstoon]

You are right with this early bird thing. I was confused when i first heard from a "nine to five" job somewhere else ;).

[@dagmarfrerking2235]

I'm a German living in the US, and I must say you definitely get what you pay for with your taxes. The infrastructure here, compared to Germany, stinks. Public building projects are given to the lowest bidder, in some states that's the law. So what incentive does a company have to do the job right, if they can make additional money with the low bid on the inevitable repair work? Therefore people here have to spend the money they're saving on taxes on car repairs, because at the end of winter, the roads are cratered. In most towns, the electrical lines are still above ground, strung between houses. The slightest storm will rip them, so electrical outages happen all the time. Etc. etc. As to customer service: I will never get used to the waiter or waitress bringing the bill before everyone at the table is done eating. That, to me, says: ok, now eat up and get out. And in stores, I much rather have a 'stand-offish' person who leaves me to browse, but who actually knows the products and can answer questions knowledgeably when asked. Here you have to do your research on the internet beforehand, because the sales staff only knows how to run your credit card...

[@peters.778]

This is true. Especially DMV is terribly understaffed in the US. I really liked the Swiss system with relatively low taxes and still extraordinarily good service (this comes to the price of high working hours, fewer holidays and expensive health insurance - but in economy, there is unfortunately no free lunch). Public building projects are by the wy always given to the lowest bidder, also in Germany (sometimes to the second lowest, e. g. in parts of Switzerland, to avoid companies making unrealistically low cost estimates). This is necessary to avoid corruption.

[@jessicaely2521]

The check on the table is so you dont have to spend 30 minutes looking for the damn waiter like in some restaurants in Germany and Switzerland. In Germany and Switzerland I left what I thought I owed on the table and left the restaurant. I probably ripped off the restaurants, but I dont care. When your staff is no where to be seen for 30 minutes you deserve everything you get.

[@lazarusblade9617]

@@jessicaely2521 du darfst doch nicht gehen wenn nach 30 Minuten niemand zum kassieren kommt. Dann ruft man zahlen bitte.

[@swanpride]

@@jessicaely2521 In such cases you simply go up to the cash-register and pay there directly. It's really not a big a deal. Alternatively you can ask for the check the moment you make your last order and then either pay directly or leave the money on the table. People who know that they are in a hurry do this all the time. But the important thing is that you aren't hurried through your meal.

[@jessicaely2521]

@@swanpride there has to be someone at the register. Swiss restaurant employees are really really really good at disappearing into the back.

[@Aurriel]

A german nightowl here. I feel you! Getting up for school was so hard for me. And we even had a class that started at 7:20 am. I had to get up at 4:45 am to fetch the bus at 5:20 am to get to school on time. Thankfully my job now has "Gleitzeit" so I can start my work day a little later.

[@m8k1shaiz8]

German saying „At the end of the money there is so much month left"

[@danielcuibono]

Since I no longer have a purse made of "Zwiebelleder", it actually works :D

[@archanawerner2349]

🤣😂👌!!

[@peterkoller3761]

@@danielcuibono o yea, my good old onion skin wallet! when ever I have to open it, my eyes fill with tears.

[@lissalack1490]

I would not mind at all paying those taxes if I get those benefits.............here in the state of Nevada in the U.S. my taxes are lower but I am very aware that I have no safety net at all. One serious hospitalization and I could lose my home and all of my savings even though I have health insurance. About the young people getting a check monthly and spending it all, they will quickly realize they need to budget or they will be on the street without a place to live. If you are an adult earning money, you absolutely must learn to use your money wisely.

[@millyhartz5604]

Where I live, Sao Paulo, Brazil, public schools start at 7 o'clock. As a teacher I used to woke up around 5:30! The good side of it is that at 16 you are going home, when most workers go home after 18, 19 o'clock. I really enjoyed the way germans leave customers free. I am used to it because it depends on the store, they leave us free as well.

[@lisamirako1073]

In Germany income tax increases with income. Up to an annual income of 9,168 €, no taxes are due at all. For the income parts above that (starting at 9.169 €) a linearly increasing tax is due. The maximum tax rate is 45 % from the part of the income that exceeds 265,327 €. With an annual income of 50,000 € e.g. one does not pay 42 %, but an average total tax rate of about 25 %. For example, if you earn 265,000 € per year, the average total tax rate is about 39 %. Only if you add income tax and contributions for all social provisions (unemployment insurance, pension, health insurance etc.), the vast majority of all citizens will have to pay a total of about 40 to 45 % of their income. But not through taxes alone, unless you earn far, far above average. Therefore one must consider that one would have to pay corresponding costs for health and social security in addition to the respective taxes also in other countries. Half of the costs for the legally binding health insurance in Germany are also paid by the employer.

[@peters.778]

Fees for retirement plan, health and unemployment insurance are at a fixed rate (up to a maximal amount). Additionally, the sale tax is extraordinarily high compared to other countries (19%) and also the same for everybody. Not to mention all the additional fees (additional taxes on energy, bin taxes, television fees ...) which are often even fixed (so comparably harder to pay for low-income families). If you think about it, you pay a ridiculous amount of money to the government in Germany, especially compared to Switzerland and the US where I lived before for a very long time. edit: And that half of the health insurance is paid by the employer (or almost the half), is technically true but does not make any difference. For the companies it does not matter if they pay the health insurance company or the employer directly. If the costs were completely covered by the employees themselves, the employers could increase the salaries by the same amount (what they would probably do on long-term, of course not immediately).

[@lisamirako1073]

@@peters.778 This is basically correct, except for the note on sales tax. In most other European countries, the sale tax is at least as high as in Germany, often even significantly higher. A laudable exception is Switzerland with less than 8 %. However, the Youtubians usually only mention income tax as a benchmark for the tax burden in Germany, and for this, they often give a flat 42 %. Hence my additional comments. And by the way, people usually forget that additional costs would also be incurred in other countries, if one wants to make the comparison with Germany (costs AND benefits) really realistic.

[@peters.778]

@@lisamirako1073 You are correct. I just lived in countries where the sales taxes were significantly lower.

[@lazarusblade9617]

Ihr redet nur darüber wie hoch die Steuer hier ist. In Amerika währen alle froh wenn sie Verhältnisse wie in der DDR hätten. Ihr habt keine Ahnung.

[@peters.778]

@@lazarusblade9617 Aber Du hast bestimmt voll die Ahnung? Wie lange hast Du denn in den USA gelebt?

[@bienemaja4007]

I always hated it, that when I got to school it was dark and when I left school it was dark again.

[@youmedancing11]

Our customer service really sucks. I like to be left alone in stores too but it goes that far that you mostly feel like you are bothering the staff when you ask them a question :D maybe that’s just me but I really try to avoid to ask them anything

[@swanpride]

You get the customer service you paid for. It's that easy. If you want staff who looks after you, you go into a proper boutique, not one of those huge stores with cheap throwaway clothing. Costs a little bit more on the onset, but is actually cheaper in the long run, because the clothing you buy there, you can wear for years and they will still be good enough for a second hand shop after it.

[@michimacho73]

You have to adress this things directly: I remember my mother was hospitalized and she needed a pijama. So I rushed out from work to the store and it took me a while until I found a lady from the customers service. I told her exactly what I needed (size, shape, material, colour etc). She was so unfriendly and bothered while looking for what I asked, so I told her: "Did I offend you in any way or have I been unpolite to you? Have I done something wrong?" She stared at me and said: "No , why?" I said to her looking her straight in the eyes: "because the way you act, treat and speak to me is so unfriendly and your body language signalizes that you are fed up and bored with me" Her face went red and all of a sudden she became artificially friendly.... I think she was not happy with the life she had.....

[@wichardbeenken1173]

Concerning taxes you should mention that this includes healthcare and pension contributions as well as insurance for unemployment. Furthermore, the possibilities to reduce your taxes are numerous.

[@dorih.6688]

Starting school at 8 am means also that the students are home earlier about 12 o'clock or older students about 1 pm. I think, in other countrys school starts at 9 am and ends at 3 pm.

[@dorisw5558]

my students usually start at 7.40 and end at 14.45 and sometimes at 16.30

[@evayxc]

That's not the case (anymore). Students are usually in school until 3 o clock (at least).

[@yessigarcia13]

In Colombia the public school starts at 06:30 and ends at 12:00.

[@MiciFee97]

I am german and i wake up around 30-45 minutes before i start work. And i start at 8. now since i work in homeoffice i get up at 7:50 and start at 8😂

[@danielcuibono]

Making coffee must fit in finally only temporally before :D

[@amrimi8371]

I'm german as well and now while working from home, I wake up at 8:45 to start work at 9:00.No early 🐦 for me.

[@michaelironrider9443]

As always nice video! - Taxes: in Germany we do not want openly visible poverty. No one should be forced to live under a bridge. All children should have access to free quality education, not only the rich ones. This is why German society wants all working/earning people and companies to pay their fair share of taxes. Although the government may not always spend money perfectly well, we trust that more than some celebrities donating on shiny public charity's for whatever purpose. - getting up early: one of the few good things with corona is that it forces our Grundschule to open at 08.30 instead of 08.00. Everybody is happy about this except for the teacher 😅😃

[@jessicaely2521]

You do realize Germany has more homeless people per capita than the US. Right? US had 550,742 homeless people in 2017. Germany had 650,000 in 2017. You would think that a country with a better social system would have 0 people homeless. *edit Germany has 79 homeless people per 10,000. US has 17 homeless people per 10,000. en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_homeless_population

[@jessicaely2521]

All children have a opportunity for free quality education. You are thinking of young adults who need the opportunity to go to a University. University students aren't children whatsoever. They can die for the US, get arrested and charged as an adult, and vote in elections You can choose to go to a private or charter school. When you compare education level of someone from public school it is exactly the same as private school. I only say private school because charter schools follow a different curriculum. It depends what kind of charter school that your kid goes to on the education they have. There are schools that only focus on a musician, artist, mechanic, doctor, nurse, etc. My daughter is going to a Charter school that focuses on Switzerland's and Germany's education system. My daughter will be able to walk into any German or Swiss University after she finishes school. Charter schools are free to children by the way. You choose to send you kid to a charter school or not. *Edit I should say the kids growing up in poor neighborhoods usually doesnt have the support of their parents. This isnt the governments fault. It's the parents fault. You can only help someone addicted to drugs or alcohol so much.

[@krin9120]

Youre a dreamwalker :-D

[@lauram519]

I much prefer getting paid monthly. I find it so much easier to budget and split my money up for food/bills/savings/leisure etc for the month and it means I can make my money go further. I actually found, in a previous job where I was paid weekly, that I just spent it all. I got paid on the Tuesday and it was gone by Friday. Probably because I knew that if I spent it all, I just had a few days until I was paid again. Monthly pay all the way! 😊

[@jurgenrathjen5965]

Excellent video. Here in the USA taxes are definitely less than in Germany, but you get what you pay for. The biggest issue in general is health costs and education. Senior citizens over 65 have Medicare which in general covers a lot, you can buy supplemental insurance which helps. Having visited Germany 3 tines in the last 15 years, I can say that I never experienced poor customer service. Lucky I guess. Is not the tax structure similar to other countries in the European Union?

[@Rebel_Vamp1r3]

I'm a night owl as well, in which my home country (Spain) helps tremendously since in general meals are later and there's more night life than in Germany, and also we get more hours of day light, however in secondary school you start at 8 am and stay until 5:30 in school, primary school students start later, at 9 :)

[@joeaverage3444]

There have been calls to have school start at 9am in Germany, because apparently kids really benefit from an extra hour of sleep. Kind of hard to implement though, when many adults still have to be at work by 8 o'clock.

[@alleininamsterdam8825]

I'm always so happy when I see a new video of you on youtube :))

[@worldhello1234]

@8:32 E. g. just budget for monthly fix costs and change your provider for electricity if necessary and save some money for an emergency fund. 😊

[@pgreen0001]

Great video. Taxes in general are high. Taxes on gasoline, Vat tax, tv tax, yearly auto tax. Now the difference in my eyes is that they see their taxes working for them. Awesome public transportation, healthcare, unlimited sick leave and paid vacations for all. But Germany may not be for you if you like shopping on Sundays or driving slow. 😂

[@lorisutherland7728]

I like it. It seems your needs are met so you don’t have to worry and I think the us goes overboard on Christmas and other holiday gift giving cause people are in debt here and can’t get out or survive if they are poor

[@windhelmguard5295]

@@lorisutherland7728 i live in Germany and here is a little clarification: "Awesome public transportation" that is a straight up lie, public transportation sucks over here. healthcare sucks too, once you look at all the things public health insurance doesn't cover (like sometimes the pharmacy can't give you your medicine because they don't have the brand in stock that your health insurance covers, when it's all the same shit just with a different name on the box), and how long you're going to wait for stuff like eye exams or an x-ray, it's actually terrible,. it sucks for the doctors too, because the health insurance companies refuse to pay doctors by the hour, they get a flat rate per patient, meaning that they have to handle every patient as quickly as possible to earn back the time and money they've wasted on getting a medical degree, when veterinarians actually earn more than doctors who operate on humans because of this. "unlimited sick leave" also a lie, you get six weeks a year of sick leave, after that it's up to your health insurance to decide whether or not they want to pay you, if they don't, you're fucked, even your doctor doesn't have a say in the matter. my father had a bad back, destroyed knees, one of his legs shorter than the other, heart disease, lung disease, nerve damage in his hands, extreme myopia bordering on blindness and they still decided to stop paying his sick leave, it took him putting himself in a mental institution to be diagnosed with crippling depression on top of all this to get his retirement money, which is somehow still less than what people get who have never had a job, living off of welfare their entire life.

[@leni2.082]

Your Videos are great and you're such a kind person, go on forever❤🤩

[@holger_p]

It's funny you call 7:30 "early". Or even super early. Early is 6am. Some bakeries open at 6am to provide breakfast. Bakeries, Bus drivers, etc start around 4am, bakers at 2am. In highschool my class started 6:50am; until around 2pm.

[@x3suUmmeRx3]

Night owl here! I totally get the part about getting up early! I passionately hate waking up when it's still dark outside. My normal rhythm is waking up around 9 and I'm glad I could live like this (for the most part) over all these years since going to uni. But I'm scared of starting to work and having to get up that early again.. I'm also totally with you when it comes to customer sevice and rude germans in general. Seems so unnecessary and frustrating..

[@JosLa877]

I’m from Trinidad and Tobago 🇹🇹 and we start our day early as well. Work generally starts at 7:30am-4pm and schools starts at 8am-3pm

[@curious_cristy7248]

My husband is german and he gets up at 6:20 to drive for 45-1 hr going to his work. His work starts at 8 am. He never complains. I used to live and work in UK and my work starts at 8, I wake up at 7:30 every workday and it was just 5-10 min walk away from where I used to live. Not to mention, I complained a lot. LOL

[@eastfrisianguy]

I also hate getting up early. I had a job once where the earliest shift started at 6 a.m. I had to get up at 4:15 a.m. and after work I fell on the sofa at 3:15 p.m. and had to sleep for an hour to regain my strength. In former times many workers were paid weekly every Friday, at least my grandpa told me. But that was changed in the 1970s and in his company especially, because the drunkards among the work colleagues always spent the money for the week in the pub at the weekend 😂 I think that customer service is a question of culture. My mother was an au pair in the USA almost 40 years ago and she still likes to talk about that time and how annoyed she was when you couldn't even eat in peace in the restaurant because the waitress was always annoying or shopping quickly at Walmart because the cashier just wouldn't stop chatting 😂 Customer service here is more like "Hey dear customer, good to see you! I'm here if you want something, just get in touch and otherwise I'll just leave you alone". France was worse for me, in Strasbourg and Paris I was treated so extremely ignorantly and unkindly in the restaurant or when I asked a salesman something in the shop, I found that downright insulting, even as a long-suffering German. But maybe I just had bad luck.

[@kellymorris2076]

In New Zealand people start work really early. Being from Auckland I don’t know many people who would start as late as 9am. Perhaps it’s more common to start later in smaller cities with less commute time etc. If you live in Auckland or Wellington you are up early as there is a huge commute time to work & school for most. Being up at 5-6am seems to be the norm in bigger cities in New Zealand maybe not so much in smaller cities.

[@nadinebeck2069]

It's funny, because the darkness during winter and the early start in the morning could be reasons for me to leave Germany! But the rest is so cool -especially with children- that of course we will stay here ;-)

[@dorisw5558]

the early thing here in Germany has bothered me my whole life. i hate rushing so to get to work and still have time to eat something means getting up at 5 am. school (teacher) starts at 7.40

[@janicemehalick3984]

Our schools here in my US town start at 7:30 am. I also find it so funny to hear the word "fortnight." That is rarely heard in American English. We just say that we get paid every two weeks.

[@arnodobler1096]

Mir geht ein Verkäufer/in auf die Nerven wenn sie dauernd um mich rumschleicht, mich vollquatscht, aber wenn ich eine brauch und keine/n finde ist s auch doof - bin ich so deutsch oder einfach normal? Siehe Walmart in Germany Story Was Euch bei IKEA passiert ist war schlimm - ich wäre vom Kauf zurück getreten und gegangen! Aber vielleicht könnt ihr eines Tages darüber lachen, kleine Story: Meine Schwester war mit ihren Kindern (2 Jungs 8 und 10J) und unserer Mutter beim Einkaufen im C&A. Die Jungs haben heimlich heruntergefallene Kleideretiketten in die Tasche von Oma gesteckt, was natürlich Alarm Verkäufer, Detektiv und den peinlichsten Moment meiner Mutter auslöste - heute kann sie drüber lachen (dauerte aber paar Jahre).

[@stephanteuscher6583]

You are right: customer service in Germany is terrible, especially if there is something wrong and you have to complain about. But to be fair: we love the freedom to look around in shops without getting cornered by a sales person. We love to be left alone, when we are out for dinner and don't need anything right away. But if you need any service or support - just call somebody. Sometimes you have to get tough with them. When I have trouble with my internet connection I always have to tell them: "from this moment forward you will not get any more money from me until the problem is fixed". That helps surprisingly well. =;-)

[@SabrinaBella36]

As a young person who is German but grew up in Canada mostly, I moved to Berlin at 22! The monthly paycheque threw me off at first too and I definitely lived paycheque to paycheque 😅 But after 2 months I just rationed my own money and used 4 envelopes for each month and divided my Paycheque evenly, taking it out all in cash, and that worked for me!

[@zazu3006]

As a Berliner I can't confirm, you can't text people about work stuff at 7 or 8, preferably 12 or 1pm, but 1am work calls where the norm. Freelancer living

[@lotharschepers2240]

Antoinette, as a native babyboomer German I could advise you that the customer service had been improved in Germany in the last three decades. I'm sure that this sounds unbelievable to folks like you who have experienced customer service on a totally different level but compared with the 1980th the current customer service in Germany is far better than it was back then. I'm not sure why my society is the way it is but I believe that it has something to do with our language. Service is translated as "Dienstleistung" and the German word Dienst comes with a slight link to the word underlying maybe this is the reason why my society did so strong resist to be kind and nice to customers even when these customers be the ones that pay for their paycheques.

[@yt-viewerfromger320]

Monatliche Lohn-/Gehalt- Abrechnung und -Zahlung sind in Deutschland schon lange die Norm. Ich habe es nie anders erlebt. Wer bei monatlichen Zahlungen nicht "über die Runden" kommt (wieder so ein typ. dt. Ausdruck), der schafft es bei wöchentlichen Zahlungen vermutlich noch weniger. Man muß sich anfangs seines Arbeitslebens, besser schon früher, "einfach mal zusammenreißen" und eine zeitlang sparen bis ein Puffer von einigen Monatslöhnen zusammen gekommen ist. Dann gibt es so schnell auch keine Engpässe, sofern man diesen Puffer nach Gebrauch auch immer wieder auffüllt oder sogar erhöht. Ich habe das immer so gehalten und konnte dadurch auch in der Familie gelegentlich "aushelfen". Und das bei nicht mal besonders gutem Einkommen. Allerdings bin ich immer ledig gewesen, sodaß ich eine Situation mit Ehepartner + Kind(ern) nicht wirklich einschätzen kann. Aber ich glaube daß eine gewisse Sparsamkeit und ein finanzieller Puffer in solch einer Situation sogar noch wichtiger als für eine Einzelperson ist..! Dies soll keine Kritik an wem auch immer sein, ist nur meine Meinung...

[@sonkeschluter3654]

52000 a year is 9800 in taxes plus 10400 for health, unemployment and Rente( social security? ). So not really 50% in taxes

[@jessicaely2521]

She said almost 1/2. 40% is almost 50%.

[@sonkeschluter3654]

@@jessicaely2521 Maybe its me being german but i see a slightly difference in taxes and all the other stuff that gets subtracted from your salary. Yes you get only 62% of your salary but please mention then that that includes your health insurance wich in the worst case pays you up to 2 years 70% of your salary and your unemployment insurance that also pays up to a year 60%.

[@jessicaely2521]

@@sonkeschluter3654 she kind of did. She said "that you are very looked after" at around 3:20. Everyone in the first world knows what Germany gives as far as health insurance, education, etc. I have friends who never ever stepped foot outside of their county in Florida and they know the benefits of Germany. It's so easy to Google what you are well looked after in Germany means.

[@tasminoben686]

Moin Antoinette, sehr interessantes Video. Bin als Berufstätiger fast die ganze Zeit morgens um 6 Uhr aufgestanden und habe meinen Job um 8 Uhr angefangen. Völlig normal für mich. Mein Vater, der eine Schreinerei besaß war, wie seine Gesellen schon ab 7 Uhr aktiv. LG Ben stay save. Ps: Was macht deine Lunge? alles wieder völlig ok?

[@sebastiannolte1201]

Concerning the Taxes: As somebody who was born in Germany and works as a regular employee, I don't really notice that, to be honest. I don't know how it is in other countries, but here we don't even have to do the taxes, so we just get the net income by our employer. Actually if somebody asks me now what my income is, I cannot even tell him and have to look it up. I only know my net income. And unlike the USA for example the displayed prices in stores are including all taxes. So I get money on my account that I can spent on the one side, and I see prices that I have to pay. And I know that I have health insurance, that I get 60% of my income for one year when I lose my job, I get some pension, my future kids can study for (more or less) free etc etc, I don't really think about the fact that I actually earn more if there were no taxes etc. Somebody with libertarian views probably will say, that is manipulation of the people, so that they don't see how the government is stealing money ;-)

[@helfgott1]

Dear Anoinette first of all u are looking GREAT in ure pregnancy, ( german honesty) Well in germany we have a saying:Der frühe Vogel fängt den Wurm. U gotta be on your toes to be first. My day usually starts 05:30..morning routine and breakfast( of course with rolls ham and cheese and a big cup of coffee) so i can be sure to be on time on work by 07:30. I was never late 33 years now. My Boss pays me good money so he can expect good work, right? Its just fair, and i love to see the morning light driving to work and listen to a good audio book, its relaxing. Morning is MY time so i grumble if i get disturbed. I recently had a small car accident, nothing searious, and when my opponent at court said he was speeding because he wanted to be on time on the job, the judge said : So get up early.

[@horstlohner2055]

Bevor es Girokonten gab,da war das in Österreich auch so.Jeden Samstag,damlas hatten wir die 45 Stunden Woche,gab es Geld.Am Ende vom Monat gab es die Abrechnung.Mein Vater bekam das Geld in einem hellblauen Kuvert.Mit der Abrechnung,bekam er auch den Gehaltszettel.Brutto minus Abzüge = Netto.

[@quo33]

I think once you have kids, it's pretty much over anyway with the sleeping in anyway. I mean, they have to go do Kita/school. I'm childfree though and can sleep how long I want in the morning (I work from home). :)

[@jessicaely2521]

Depends on your kid and if your kid goes to Kita/school. I'm lucky enough to be a stay at home mom and my husband works from the house. My daughter is 2 and LOVES sleeping until 10 am or 11 am. When I have to wake her up before 10 am she has a gigantic meltdown. My friends kids (14, 6, and 3) during the shutdown of schools for Covid would sleep until noon. When they had to go back to school it was meltdowns galore.

[@hh2fan]

Umm most people start work at 8-8:30am in NZ? Also, school started at 8:30am when I went to school, well high schools. Primary school I started at 8:50am.

[@kellymorris2076]

Agree! School starts in NZ at 8:30am and work hours normally are around 8am/8:30am!

[@Eli_Arch]

In Colombia school starts at 6:30 a.m., I had to wake up at 4:50 to be on time 😭😭😭

[@hamuandxerxl4255]

Yes that's what I was thinking! My partner was born in Colombia and they get up incredibly early..

[@mariposadelamusica1283]

Many Germans really hate getting up early but at the end it's just normal to do so. Regarding customer Service you're right, my husband (from Mexico) still complains about that, he'll never get used to it even after some years here ;)

[@sphhyn]

Taxes and social security (incl health insurance) are not the same! Please do not confuse those two things. :) I totally relate to being a night owl. But in many office jobs you can usually choose to start between 7 and 9. Most people choose to start early so they can quit early in the afternoon. I am not like that :)

[@sunnysummer4934]

I am german and I was surprised how different you are treated in Shops and Restaurants in the US - I would definitely choose the US customer service over the german one :D

[@Anson_AKB]

we once were on holidays in france and a hotel where we stayed one night had a "fine restaurant". we were the only customers and 5+ waiters stood near the next table and watched us all the time, one of them asking every 5 minutes how we liked the food and whether we wanted more to drink. we were glad to leave as fast as possible and enjoy sitting in our small room and talking there in peace. i imagine something similar happening in the usa all the time with "too attentive" waiters ...

[@federerized493]

So here is an awkward situation: I am a tennis coach and I play competitive tennis, from what I know( I am not sure btw), ın Germany; people find it more appropriate to dress formally then sporty, but dressing sporty is kind of what I do for a living :) So what do I do?

[@alexgilbert]

Another great video Antoinette!!

[@AntoinetteEmily]

Glad you liked it Alex!!

[@jusunea1014]

About the working hours. I have NEVER EVER met someone that has go to work that early. At least not mandatory. Some people start to work earlier so they can go home sooner. But from my perspective that is less than the half of the german population.

[@XynxNet]

2:24 Sorry that is a bit misleading. You will pay something around 27% income tax on average in your scenario. Hitting those omnious 42% just means that every euro you earn above ~54k is taxed with 42%. Every euro below this limit is still taxed according to the progressive increasing tax which results in an average income tax far below 42%. Of course your base arguments is still valid. All those social securtity measures have to be paid somehow.

[@petersmiling9494]

An American told me: The main problems of Germany are: 1. The language, and 2. The weather.

[@horstlohner2055]

LOL!Come to Austria....Tirol,Salzburg,Oberösterreich....5 Month cold,5 Month wit Rain.....In Tirol over 1500m a lot of Snow....and the Slang is soooo different!

[@jessicaely2521]

For me it was the weather, high taxes (German taxes is actually why I moved to Switzerland), and customer service. I don't like people following me around like a puppy, but I expect to have a clerk around to ask if they have something in particular. Switzerland is doing perfectly fine without overtaxing citizens like Germany. Switzerland has great roads, free University, and great social programs without taxing 42% from people only making 56,000 €. Now what Switzerland does need to work on is the cost of meat, clothes, and general household stuff.

[@wernerhiemer406]

@@jessicaely2521 Hehe you can't have everything. Oder: Irgendwas ist immer.

[@swanpride]

@@jessicaely2521 Well, if Switzerland wouldn't keep stealing our tax money we could tax less.....

[@jessicaely2521]

@@swanpride bullshit if you are talking about Swiss people coming and buying stuff in Germany. If it wasn't for the Swiss businesses at the border would have to close up. When the borders were shutdown Weil Am Rhein area was complaining to the German government. They wanted to open the borders to the Swiss because they weren't making any money. You dont realize how much money Swiss bring into Germany.

[@danielcuibono]

Covid-19 will change the working hours in the future. The desire for a home office and more flexibility in working hours has been growing for years.

[@r.b.8061]

I could get my Money only once year. It has to be enough. You have to do only a schedule. You have to do it with your weekly salary as well...

[@ruth6883]

My school starts at the 7.35 I have to leave 6.30 because the Bus is so early.

[@piccadelly9360]

I get up at 4:20 and I love that. if I had to get up at 6 or 7 I wouldn't be in a good mood

[@marrykurie48]

There is a fun saying in Germany: "Am Ende des Geldes ist noch so viel Monat übrig." = "At the end of the money there's still so much month left." There you see how good our "planning" works... Of course it depends on the wage you're getting for your work.

[@lorisutherland7728]

Can you make it on 1,300 per month in Germany if you are a senior

[@Alexander-dt2eq]

sure you can. costs of living especially in small towns are really low - also compared to other european countries

[@helloweener2007]

The mean pension in Germany is 1,381 EUR. Yes, you can live from it. In some areas it is hard because apartments are so expensive but if you own a house or an apartment or you live in a town with more apartments available ist is fine. For an apartment in Munich (about 60m² 3 rooms) you will pay between 1,000 EUR and 2,000 EUR "cold" (without costs for heating, eletcric power, water and so on). In an East German town of middle size you will get apartments in this size for 240 to 400 EUR cold. And you can get all between these extrem examples, depending on the area. So yes you can live from 1,300 a month but not everwhere

[@oechermaedche]

Depends on where you live and your living standards, but generally you good

[@tineilers2291]

When I was still working i get up at 4.30 am and by 6 im at work. (6 am to 14:00) my working hours. When you work at the industry that's normal sometimes i work at 5 am and i get up at 3 am.

[@michaela114]

Well, insurances are no taxes... you pay pension insurance 9.3%, unemployment insurance 1.3%, health insurance ~7.5% and care insurance ~ 1.5%. That sums up to 19.6% of your income (your employer pays the same on top) for insurances. Than of course there is the income and maybe the church tax (9% of income tax). That means, taxes maybe high and depend on your income - but I guess the insurances aren't cheaper in most other countries... and almost everyone pays the same % of his income AND everyone has the a/m insurances.

[@walther7147]

Getting up 6:00 is normal to me. My son has to enter the bus 7:25. So he has to leave the house 7:00. My mother had to get up 5:30. My grandparents beeing farmers had to get up 4;00.

[@frankhauck7354]

if you work in the Industrie in Produktion Cars , you start working at 5:15 or 5:45 in the morning

[@walther7147]

If you are working as a Freelancer lets say in Filmindustrie you may get your money after several month. So you have to have a spare for all this time. Thats quite complicate.

[@sunnysummer4934]

Hahaha I just came from your IKEA Story Time and guess what Ad was shown right before this video started 😂

[@michaelwesselmann5133]

Hi Antoinette, never been in the US? that are the real early birds, definitely ;-)

[@vbvideo1669]

Klasse Video! :)

[@alanbarr9327]

Getting up early? At 5:45am? Really? By that time, I was already at work preparing my self for what was to come! Our early shift started at 6:00am! I got up at about 3:30 maybe 4:00am. Took the bus at 5:00am to be at work, when you got up! I did that for nearly 35 years. And depending on the shifts, I would get home at 7:00am from my night shift, around midnight from the late shift and around 4:00pm on the early shift. Getting up at 6:00 am sounds like luxury to me!

[@muethepoe4942]

In the spirit of constructive criticism, I think the video discriminates against night owls. Around 70% of the life forms we could identify on Earth are noctrunal. The evolutionary choice to get accustomed to getting up early is intricately connected to climate, genetic predispositions, habits and customs. I really feel sad by the video. I am student from North Africa and my sleep choices are determined by the same factors. Should I avoid Germany because of that? Should I lock myself out from the excellent academic and research institutions because of that?

[@lorisutherland7728]

I know this sounds dumb but it seems people are hat live in colder climates don’t talk as much as in warmer all year people.

[@kanpaisou]

Maybe because it's way easier to move around and meet people when it's bot freezing cold

[@horstlohner2055]

Meine ex Schwiegermutter,die musste ein Haushaltsbuch führen.Mit Belegen,für alles!Lebensmittel,Getränke,Putzmittel. usw.....und auf den Schilling genau!Sie musste sehr gut planen......Ich habe sie öfter mit "Schwarzgeld" versorgt.Geld von dem ihr Mann nichts wusste.

[@sueel-shewy2318]

I've always been paid monthly, have worked in England and Egypt. Thought this was normal, everyone I know is paid monthly.

[@dankofanz]

Yes, most people in the UK get paid monthly, into their bank account.

[@cdnest]

I hate to get up so early, but I must :(

[@berndhoffmann7703]

not me - at least not on weekends....

[@jessicaely2521]

It's nice to be acknowledged. A simple hello isn't difficult. I don't remember what Germany was like (it's been awhile since I was living there), but Switzerland can have really really really really shitty customer service. There were people in the store that would walk out with clothes without paying because there was no one around. The grocery store Coop got ripped off a lot at the self checkout because there wasn't always staff there making sure people didnt just leave without paying. There are many many many many stores where I had to look for someone to ask where something was. There was 6 times I just left the store. My husband is more ballsy than I am. He would go to a register and just start hitting buttons on the register. That got staff to show up very very quickly. It's nice to walk into a clothing store and ask if they have something in particular. For example I was looking for a white dress that would be appropriate for a courthouse wedding. I saved lots and lots of time looking in the US. I had a staff member pretty much immediately ask if they could help me and I was able to ask and be out of the store within a minute (if they didnt have a white dress). I didn't have to spend time looking for someone to ask if I went shopping in Switzerland.

[@natashaw401]

Never thought of paying ever month herd of every 2 weeks

[@EllisBell]

❤️

[@ladybird2222]

I think monthy payment is more senses

[@hamuandxerxl4255]

They way you describe the customer service in New Zealand... that sounds so bad! I absolutely hate it when these people jump at me, follow me around and ask annoying question. Just leave me alone, for heaven's sake! So.. is it possible to just tell them politely to ignore you? I mean with their commission and all they probably don't want to do that?

[@aquarius4073]

I'm so a untypical German 😂 I start work at like 8:30 to 9 and then go home at 17 or even later 🙈

[@e.s.8531]

Same with me. I start working around 9 a.m. Getting up before 7.30 a.m. is really a challenge for me.

[@michimacho73]

What! People get paid weekly ????! I am from South America, I lived many years in Asia and now in Germany, I never heared of people getting paid weekly! --- Yes! Germany is a service desaster , they have no clue how to treat customers (of course there are exeptions) , this makes shopping and eating out almost unpleasant experiences. But I wonder why, when germans come to our countries, where the customer service is 100 times better than in Germany, they complain endlessly! I would express this manco in service as follows: Deutschland ist eine große Service-Wüste.

[@americanbookdragon]

None of these are deal-breakers to me.

[@holger_p]

I think you call the contribution to insurances "taxes" ? No, it's not. And it's not more expensive than in other countries. What do you pay in New Zealand in Taxes+Health Insurance + Unemployment insurance + Retirement plan. Maybe you pay it one by one, so you don't realize the total.

[@claudiaduffy5500]

It's all voluntary on a private basis. Income tax goes to the government into one big tax pool. The system is called "user pays".

[@holger_p]

@@claudiaduffy5500 there is nobody else to pay. And volontary means ...if they can afford it.

[@jurivlk5433]

New Zeeland is paradise on earth! I would like to know how many Germans know that in NZ you don't even have a car insurance!

[@B.A.B.G.]

The best way to avoid that tax problem, is to live in a neighboring country on the border and buy your daily things in Germany. The system in Germany though is geared that way that your bills only come in once a month, so the monthly pay isn't a problem. To be honest though, I was surprised or shocked when I learned that in the US folks got paid weekly. It's something I had to get used to.

[@calise8783]

I was paid every other week in the US. I could have easily handled monthly though.

[@jessicaely2521]

Most people are paid biweekly not every week. Your hourly jobs are the ones that pay weekly. I'm not saying businesses that pay a salary dont do weekly, but most do not.

[@peterkoller3761]

never got paid in the US, but in Ireland, what shocked me the most was payCHECKS!!! I mean: 21st century - HELLOOO?! checks were a thing of the past by the late 60s here in Austria - I have never seen, nor written or received one here.

[@jessicaely2521]

@@peterkoller3761 for the US some employers will give you an actual paycheck your first time being paid. After this is directly deposited to your checking account. I never understood why businesses did this. I was always like "why does it take you so long to get the stuff you need to get done to have my first paycheck in my banking account." I had one job that didn't do a direct deposit to your checking account. It was a summer camp and they paid you cash. Their excuse was a lot of 16 year olds dont have a checking account yet or they are from a foreign country. In the US you have to be 18 to have your own personal checking account. At 15 or 16 you can have someone over the age of 18 to cosign for a checking account. I had a checking account at 16, but my mom was technically the owner of the checking account. If I overdrew on my checking account my mom was responsible for it.

[@HenryAusLuebeck]

Des Deutschen Pünktlichkeit, ist 10 Minuten VOR der Zeit! ;)

[@lorisutherland7728]

American dollars1,300

[@lovepeacehappy8565]

Mein englisch ist nicht sehr gut, deswegen lieber auf deutsch. Ich habe nachgeschaut in Neuseeland liegt der Steuersatz für alleinstehende bei 18,1 bei Familien bei 6,4%. Wir sieht es bei euch bei der Krankenversicherung? Könnt ihr einen Arzt frei wählen? Was zahlt man für Medikamente? Sind alle Behandlungen kostenlos? Gibt es so etwas wir Hartz4, bekommen Bedürftige Lebensunterhalt? Wie ist das bei den Renten?

[@eastfrisianguy]

Most Germans like: Salary is transferred at the end of the month: Yaaaaay, shopping! I am rich baby! Rent, electricity bill, mobile phone bill, internet costs, car insurance are debited on the 1st of the new month: Where the hell did all my money go?! On the 20th of the month: Mhh okay, at what time can I fill up my car at the cheapest petrol station? Which supermarket has which offers? Don't I still have 20 bucks on my savings account? Sorry mate, better have dinner next weekend, eh?

[@kessas.489]

Weil wir so hohe Steuern zahlen, müssen wir mehr arbeiten, das heißt auch früh aufstehen!

[@natashaw401]

With the new baby that baby will get u up early loll

[@nordwestbeiwest1899]

Most Germans work in industry and they start at 6 a.m. !!! The craft starts at 7 a.m.

[@danielcuibono]

No, that is wrong "Almost three quarters of all employees in Germany work in the service sector, which has continued to grow in recent years. By contrast, fewer and fewer people are employed in the manufacturing sector - in 2017, this figure was around 24 percent of the workforce. Work in agriculture now accounts for just over one percent".

[@flylikeabird9479]

I as a German hate all this habbits too. I should live in NZ. Getting up at 5:30, what a Nightmare. (Luckily I have an only-late shift job now). And this fightings at the checkouts and cold service e.g. at Cafés. 😕 And all this pseudo- hyper correctness. High taxes is a special topic, as only normal people pay it, the really rich ones have tricks to avoid it, ..... this society is based on unfair....

[@Ytittyfan33]

I'm German and at the moment I'm even struggling with getting up before 12 a.m :D For me, it's absolutely not a normal thing to get up before 7 and if that's necesaary I wake up about 5 minutes before I leave the house. I'm sure there are many many Germans who agree with me. Maybe we should start a revolution with this topic ! :D

[@geneviere199]

I actually prefer to be paid monthly as I think it is even more difficult to keep track with weekly pay as the biggest payments people have are monthly payments. With weekly payments you would have to save money each week for this payments. It might help teenagers that live with their parents and that do not have to pay for rent, car and insurances - but for other people? For me a good customer service is one that does not bother me too much and gets the job done - I do not like it when they are impolite or rude but I do not need nobody that is overly friendly.

[@MiciFee97]

Right. I just thought „how can you pay your apartment rent when you only get a 4th of the money“ Cuz i have to pay definitely more than a 4th for rent and i have to buy food. So i do need the money every month. And then i give myself a few Hundred € for each week to „go out“

[@jessicaely2521]

Rent, utilities (including internet, phone, and cable), credit cards, etc isn't due at the end of the month everywhere in the world. For the US it depends where you are. My credit card was due in the middle of the month, rent and utilities was due the 2nd week of the month, car insurance was due the end of the month, health insurance was due the first week of the month, my car payment was also due the middle of the month. When you have a crazy schedule like this it's nice to be paid weekly or biweekly. I was paid biweekly. Being paid biweekly or weekly is definitely more work for the employer. Really being paid monthly in the US is better because usually you have a paycheck when your bills are due. I spent less money when I was paid weekly because I knew how much money I had for the week. There was no "I have to wait to buy food, clothes, whatever because I dont get my paycheck until....."

[@geneviere199]

@@jessicaely2521 But then your payments have to be spread equally over the weeks, too - else you got to save up for payments. I have all my bigger payments on the beginning of the months. And actually - no matter who much I have earned through my life and how well I was off, I always managed it too have a reserve. To get that it sometimes meant that I had too live on the absolute minimum (and I really mean that) for some weeks but for my well being that was worth it. But I am probably "too German". Better save up money before buying and not buying and then paying rates etc. - that saves you credit card payings...

[@jessicaely2521]

@@geneviere199 nope. I made $300 a week. I made it so $99 went to food and general toilet trees, $50 went to gas, and $150 on bills. The bills were car insurance, health insurance, utilities this did not include internet because I lived nextdoor to a supermarket and used their internet, and rent. Housing was so cheap because I was on public housing. Instead of going for the free house I decided to pay an extra $150 to live in a better neighborhood. Not being raped, murdered, or kidnapped was really important to me. For health insurance I went for the most basic thing I could find. The health insurance was incase I needed surgery or needed to be hospitalized. The car insurance was just there so I could legally drive. *Edit I should say this was when I was a college student. Now that I'm out of college and have a good paying job I'm paid biweekly. I could go monthly, but I can't change the payroll department way of doing things. Mostly college students and newly graduated college students need some help before the first paycheck. I was very very very very lucky and my boyfriend paid for my bills when I just started my job.

[@elileit]

Being Canadian and moving to Austria, the early thing was hard! And then after 9 years, i moved back to Canada and now I get angry when stores aren't open early :D

[@kamillaerdos7636]

Dont go crazy , go back to sleep early morning!

[@lilg2300]

i think half of the population is night owl, and hence they do suffer in germany. you cannot really change your inner clock, even if you have to. me included! luckily my job allows late shifts ;-)

[@stricknitt0184]

I think that there is a misconception about the pros and cons of a weekly vs monthly paycheck. The system which comes with each version is different as well. Getting one paycheck a month also means to pay rent only once a month. So people who struggle dealing with money do it in both systems, because the reasons are not related to when how much money comes in. So if you move from one system to another System it obviously can take a while to adjust you routine. I think, the "German" system looks more difficult for people who are used to the weekly paycheck system, because the concept of living from paycheck to paycheck isn't a thing here compared to (in particular) english speaking countries. (I'm not talking about poor people). How we save money (or not) is also an important aspect of that as well as our whole consumer behavior/way of living.

[@lisakofler8607]

right

[@MoLauer]

"8:00 at school is really early" -me laughs in Sachsen-Anhalt

[@calise8783]

Isn’t Germany under a progressive tax system? You pay x% on the first amount, above that amount, you are then taxed y% and so on. So in the end you are not taxed 42% on all your income, just the amount over a threshold. The lower earnings are taxed at a lower rate. Many may never even have a portion taxed at the highest rate. I hope someone can clarify this further with concrete numbers. I get up at 5.45 to wake my kids at 6.15 to catch their bus at 7.08 - School starts at 7.45. Not much different than when I lived in the US. In the US I was payed every two weeks and paid rent monthly. As for customer service, I think once you are a Stammkunden, you get fabulous service. Other than that, it is hit or miss. But I like to be helped only when I ask for it so it works for me.

[@folkehoffmann1198]

Not necessarily. We have six different tax classes. 1 is for singles, 2 is for widows I think, 3, 4, and 5 are for married couples. If both make about the same they are advised to both get into 4, if one makes more then the other they are advised to get the one with the lower wage into 5 and the other one into 3. And 6 is for the people who make a lot of money I think.

[@jochenkreusel131]

@@folkehoffmann1198 We have only one taxation system. The tax classes are only defining the deduction from salary, which is a sort of pre-payment. The purpose of the classes is to get a reasonable estimate. But with the annual tax declaration the classes become irrelevant and everybody is subject to the same taxation.

[@folkehoffmann1198]

@@jochenkreusel131 That's true. But from what I know tax declarations werent always mandatory, were they? I might be wrong though ...

[@jochenkreusel131]

@@folkehoffmann1198 Indeed, tax declarations are not mandatory for all citizens, but as soon as one has any other income than salary they are (and there are also other reasons). And as long as one has income and pays taxes making a declaration is certainly advisable.

[@eastfrisianguy]

That's right, so I earn a little more than the minimum wage, round about € 10.20 per hour and my tax share is 23 per cent as a single person without a child and without church tax.