vlog 8 - HARSH REALITY OF LIVING IN GERMANY 2024 / WORK /FAMILY /STUDY / WEATHER / COST OF LIVING

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Germany has some upsides and also some downsides. Military isn't valued at all. However many ex soldiers who were stationed here wanted to move or even moved. There is a lot of paperwork. Imagine a stack of paper and then double or triple it. if you are not the type or you don't know how to make friends in Germany you can be lonely. some of the cities have many American residents, so this might not be as important. But could have an impact.
Maybe watch some yt videos from people moving to Germany how they feel. There are some pretty good one out there.
Based on the cities you're looking at ... Wiesbaden/Mainz will probably give you the best working opportunities, since both WI and MZ are capital cities for their respective states (Hessen and Rheinland-Pfalz) and you've got direct (and quick) access to Frankfurt, Russelsheim and other cities with large, international companies.
Kaiserslautern doesn't have much in the way of employment other than the US military bases nearby.
Stuttgart is also a capital city (Baden-Württemberg), but it's a bit "out of the way" unless you work for one of the automobile companies. You might want to think about Mannheim or Heidelberg also, as they are much better in terms of transporation (Mannheim is a major hub for the Deutsche Bahn) and there's lots of international companies in the area as well.
As others have said, there are upsides and downsides to living in Germany. On the upside, it's generally safe, you have a much better work-life balance with better employee protections, health insurance, unions in many industries, etc.
On the downside, there's a lot of bureacracy, higher taxes and lower incomes, a lack of digitalization or on-line services for many government services, and you have to make an effort to learn the langauge and integrate into the German lifestyle..
Germany is not the most family friendly country ever. But it is ok. At least it is very safe in most areas. I am German and I have kids, I know what I am talking about ;)
Check out MyMerryMessyGermanLife for some insights from an american family of 6 that moved to Germany during the pandemic. They have some good insights on moving itself, schools, shopping and so on. Might even be something on taxes , something which can be daunting when you first have to wrestle with it.
Whether or not it's worth, is something only you can decide. It might be hard to find a suitable house/apartement at the moment, and the paper bureaucracy can drive you nuts sometimes. But i would venture a guess that the peace of mind of not having to worry about your kids getting murdered in school, not being indoctrinated into certain cultish politics (except for european football maybe ;D ) outweighs the negatives, also you'll be smack dab in the middle of Europe with many travel opportunities and in the end, if you say you'd prefer to be in the netherlands or france, then you can just move over there.
Working hours are probably less crazy than in the US. Something around or lower than 40 h/week is considered normal.
If you plan to move here and work without speaking a word of German you would be limited to big international corporations, which are mostly located in the bigger cities, which makes opportunities not as numerous as you might want them. So I would strongly suggest taking language classes and take it seriously, not only for work but also to get easier in touch with the locals.