As a working German citizen without children, I'm happy that my tax money finances things like that. I also profited from them when I was still a child.

Spoken from a child's point of view; I am so grateful to my parents that they went with me to Germany.I was allowed to grow up without fear, is there anything better?But I am also grateful to this country, which relieved my parents of many worries.Since last year I am also a real German, one of my most beautiful gifts.I am absolutely sure that your children will also thank you for this decision.Best regards Kelsea

Something that really struck me when studying sciences in both Germany and the UK: In Germany, the radiation safety officer of our institute insisted that women talk with him as soon as they knew they were pregnant so that proper precautions could be taken and he could talk with their boss to come up with methods avoiding radioactivity. As he put it "There's no such thing as 'only a bit pregnant'" In the US, I saw a colleague work with radioactivity until two weeks before she was due.

20:40 Kindergeld until 25 is not for children with disabilities, but, as the paper shows, for children who are still in education (vocational school, university), and until 21 if they are jobless.

Every American family with children should see this because this is how it is to lived in a civilized part of the world. I can’t understand why Americans can claim that US is the worlds best country….

It is kind of interesting (sad? funny?).. that in the 1910's nearly half of my family emigrated to New York to have a better life (and they had) and now we are experiencing Americans coming to Germany to have a better life.

it gives me a good feeling when our taxes goes to things like this, we are a community and we all have a better life when everyone is taken good care of.

when I have conversations with my American friends about these kinds of subjects I always experience that for one, they claim that Germany is basically Communism. They claim that they already pay too many taxes, and they don't really understand the concept of paying into your society because the society pays back. Obviously, a tiny percentage of my tax € supports you guys as a family, but your kid's tax € will support me when I retire, so it is a very good deal for me because you guys are doing all the work. I completely miss this concept in the USA.

I lived in Germany for three years long ago in the early 90’s. The experience changed me and the way I see the U.S. and our politics. I wish almost every day I could live there in Germany or another European country. I’m so depressed to be in the U.S., especially with all of the shootings. They happen more frequently and I’m just in disgust for the children and that nothing is ever done. You can’t go to the grocery store, hospital, anywhere without the threat of guns. I wish I could have asylum somewhere else.

I once had a brief discussion with a US lady about university tuition fees and the situation in Germany. She was arguing that she would not be willing to pay for the education of other people's children. It was the parents' duty to do so. And if you have poor parents or no parents at all. Well, that's your problem and your problem alone. She considered the idea of free university education as communistic. She saw no benefit for the society in from offering free education. Very different mindset compared to an average European.

We are moving to Germany in October because our daughter has severe, multiple disabilities (Phelan McDermid Syndrome). We are currently in South Africa and look forward to a better life for her and us as a family. She already jas a space in an amazing Kindergarten- I feel for the first time ever that her disabilities is not an inconvenience and that she will be safe even when we arent around anymore. ❤️ Hubby works in IT and I'm a teacher. We look forward paying into a system that works so well and isnt as corrupt as it is here.

I heard once that the US "solves" its social problems in prisons.

I've grown up in Germany, and I've come from a place where my family wasn't very well-off, but I still had a childhood like any other person. And now I'm making a good living where quite a bit is being deducted in taxes, and knowing that it gives everyone around me a better quality of life makes me really happy. Like you said, there is room for improvement, not to mention that it's healthy to never grow complacent about one own country's systems and to give it a constant stream of constructive criticism. But I am overall thankful. After all, anyone could be in need of those social systems tomorrow or even hours from now.

Here's my experience: I study in Heidelberg, where the Semesterbeitrag is round about 170 euros, which means I pay 340 euros total in a year to go to university. For rent, I pay 180 euros because I managed to get in the Studentenwohnheim, even though I don't live far from uni and could easily go there by train. Our cafeteria is known as one of the best in Germany, there I pay only 2,30 euros per meal. Aditionally, many cultural activities (for example going to the theatre) are completely free for students or have at least a great discount.

That great social system exists because childless people have to pay more taxes than those having children. And I am one of them (the first ones). BUT I don't mind paying more taxes. I am happy to do this because: CHILDREN ARE OUR FUTURE! And if I see how happy you are, I feel really, really good. ❤❤❤God bless your children and you!

"Free" education for international students actually is a smart move, I think. On YT you can see lots of students from everywhere telling about their experiences in Germany and at some point in time they mention they are learning German and finally integrating in the German workforce - and that includes paying taxes and returning the money the state has "loaned" them. And I dare say, the average foreigner turning German student ist above average compared with the German students (German myself, no insult intended!). So this is an absolute win-win situation for Germany. Suck up smart young people from all over the world and make them stay is good "business" practice

The fact that I still get Kindergeld at the age of 23 (my mom sends it to me monthly) because I am still in university is a lifesaver. It‘s a great concept! I mean 200€ more is a lot of money.

Here in Belgium you have 15 weeks in total when you are pregnant. You can stay at home as from 6 weeks prior to the delivery date. 1 week before the delivery you are obliged to stop working. The amount of weeks you take before and after the birth are counted together and should be 15 in total. When you are getting twins or even more babies, you get a longer postnatal leave.

You can't get fired from the day you inform your employer you are pregnant! 🤯 AND: during maternal leave (6 weeks before and 8 weeks after) you are not allowed to work! Has nothing to do with how you feel.

Wenn ich das alles höre werde ich noch viel froher, ein Deutscher zu sein und bin sehr stolz auf mein Land!

Liebe Sara, lieber Kevin, Ich folge euch schon lange auf KZfaq und jetzt ist es wirklich Zeit euch einmal zu loben und zu gratulieren. Eure Videos und Berichte sind so gut! Immer interessant, intelligent, genau und gründlich und auch noch mit viel Herz und Engagement gemacht. So etwas sieht man nur selten im Internet. Ich freue mich jedes Mal sehr über eure Erzählungen und Themen. Es ist so schön, dass ihr nicht oberflächlich, banal und Click-abhängig seid. Macht weiter so! Ich liebe euch!

Thank you so much for mentioning my channel in your video😍❤️ You are such an inspiration and one of the reasons why I started my channel ❤️❤️❤️ I was surprised to hear that you can't bring food to an amusement park in the US😳 I didn't know that! I learn so much every time I watch one of your videos! ❤️❤️❤️ I also love to see the two of you together! You can tell that you take great care of each other and treat each other very lovingly 😍 PS: What a coincidence that you mention Siegen in your video as it is my husband's hometown 😁 I grew up 30 minutes out of Siegen in a very little town 😊

The Mutterschutz, Elterngeld and Elternzeit is great in Germany. With the first child, I was only on maternity leave. My husband took parental leave. With the second child, I took most of the parental leave and my husband was also on parental leave for a short period of time. We are very grateful for all these opportunities

I'm currently planning our move even though it probably a good year and a half away. We have three girls and the most recent "incident" in Texas has me chomping at the bit to leave. Brushing up on my German and researching.

As a Dane living in Sweden with similar programs . Our parents started to fight and woted for democracy. We are all heavily taxed which pays for this things, healthcare and education etc. I am happy to hear that you appreciate and as you say, when you travel if only in our tiny continent there are huge differences. For you children learning different languages gives you an idea of different cultures and way of leaving. Wishing you all the best, from stockholm

As a university student who used to grow up in a family, who would otherwise not be able to support my university dreams, I am so happy about all the support I get from Germany. With the Bafög and the lack of tuition fees I am able to afford my degree. Otherwise (even though my parents saved every extra money for my and my sisters career) I still could do a "Ausbildung", but this would not fit ideal as I am more happy with theoretical work and science. Now I am on my way to my PhD (which is also muuuuuch cheaper in Germany than in the US, and I even get paid during that time, so actually it is already my first "real" job). I think it is clever for Germany to invest in a young age in its children. One of the best resources our country has is people with knowledge and education. If we have many well educated people they pay more taxes and go into other countries, which benefits germany again, because it gets a center of knowledge. So we are nor exporting that many natural resources, but educated people all over the world. You are right there are some flaws in the system, but overall I am so thankful I am born in this country...

The spending in Norway need to be put in perspective of Norwegion prices, which are higher then in Germany. However, Norway has a strong focus on children, and established its support system, that also single parents can easily raise their children.

0:20 Finally some cat content!🐈‍⬛

Im a vet student in germany and as a vet you actually cannot work while being pregnant, so the maternity leave goes from the time the pregnancy test is positive up tp until the baby is born XD

Well I can only say that as a kid from a family with a migration background where only my father worked (my mum was stay-home and raised us) we really depended on that Kindergeld money. I'm super that I had the chance to have my mother at home as a kid, healthy homemade food, always someone at home, someone who can check up your homework, etc.. It really can make or break your childhood. Edit: Also, like other mentioned, studying costs around 300€/semester (so 600€ a year). It depends where and what you study (e.g. often medicine costs more), and if you're an international guest student (cheaper for them) or not. Then again, there is Bafög (up to 800€/month if you're fully eligible) that you get from the government, so that easily covers that and you have some money left. IF you get it that is, depends on how much wealth you yourself have and how much you and your parents earn.

I’m American living in America and I was an American Steelworker. When I became pregnant with my 2nd son it was physically unhealthy for me to do the job. Steelworkers have intense, hard jobs. I was given leave in February and my son wasn’t born until May. I worked almost 6 months doing what I would normally do but it just got to be too much. Thank God for the Steelworkers Union.

As a born American, living in Germany, I can only agree with all you described and explained. I'm a retiree now, after 38 years of working in the metal industry. I hope your life, and that of your children will be just as fulfilling. (BTW! I happen to live in Siegen! You're right! It has a very good university!)

I've recently learned, that these education costs aren't exclusive to university education in the USA. You also need to pay for training and licenses for most vocational jobs in the USA, and these also easily can get to a five figure amount for that. Compare that to Germany, where apprentices not only don't have to pay for their training (with very few exceptions), they *_get paid,_* and substantially, usually around 1,000 € per month, give or take few hundred Euros, depending on the job they are trained for.

In Germany and also in Austria your job is not only safe in the time of maternity leave. From the moment you tell your company that you are pregnant your job is safe. They can't fire you during your pregnancy, till the 3th birthday of your child!!!

My first child was born 1986 and this was the first year to have Elternzeit in Germany. I could stay home one year, then got a place in a Kindergarten and go back to work. I got 600 D-Mark a month which equals about 300 € today. I had to apply for Wohngeld to get along but I could do it. Kindergeld was 50 DM per month at that time. It worked for me because I had some savings and got some money from my employer every month. Things are much better nowadays although there is always room for improvement.

Here in Berlin the charges for studying at the Humboldt-University is about 650 Euro per year. The students pay 50 Euro per month and get a “Semester-Ticket” for the whole areas ABC of Berlin to use busses, tram and S-Bahn. Usually only the areas AB costs about 86 Euro per month, if you have a monthly pass. Students of poor familys also can get “Bafög”. The highest rate in 2020 was 861 Euro, when the student does not live with his parents. We don’t know how good we have it here!

I find it absurd that going to college in the US can mean paying for a huge stadium for a few students to bash their heads in.

I am German and my husband American - he lived in Germany for 15 years and worked at the same place i did. In 1999 we had a baby girl and my husband stayed home 2 years and i worked full time because i made more money . My mother took care of her until Kindergarden. My husband got 600 DM. a month until he went back to work. It was the best thing to do because my husband and child are very close. She is 23 now and remembers every thing they did together and what she learned. Now we live in the USA and i see how babies go to childcare at 6 weeks old - i think that it is bad for the child - the most important time.

I'm a little late but welcome to germany. Hope you have a happy, healthy, good life here and a fantastic future for your kids.

In the metropolitan area in Finland (Helsinki, Espoo amd Vantaa) you have the following benefit. You are entitled to free travel when traveling with a child aged between 0 and 6 years in a pram, pushchair or wheelchair. Bicycle trailers for children count as prams on all buses, trams, metro and commuters

BTW I'm still paying for my grad school from 2013! More reason that my family and I left the States for Deutschland.

Dear Sara and Kevin. I just want to say thank you for your videos explaining how living is here in Germany. My cousin and his wife want to move from Boston to Germany. They gonna visit us for Christmas and they start planning their moving. Your videos (I sent them a link and since that day they watch every video) help them so much. Virtual hugs from Ostfriesland ❣️

In church kindergartens, 90% of the costs are paid by the parents, the municipality and the Federal Republic of Germany. Only about 10% are financed by the churches from the church tax.

Love your numbers and overall comprehensiveness

I would say the most progressive US State is Washington (City of Seattle even more),especially with Maternal Leave, Kindergarten and Preschool. We had our first kid in Florida, which was tough, there was little room to stop working. I moved eventually to Washington State, and i noticed how much more similar to Germany it is, in many (small) ways - but now as i am getting older, i encountered Health-/Healthcare issues and i finally decided to move back to Germany, after nearly 25 years in the US. You are still young and seem pretty healthy, but i am sure you already have a good idea about how much better you are off in Germany in regards to Healthcare - not just the costs, but to have Doctors that do not have constantly Insurance and Coverage of their patients in mind, and can focus on the actual Health Issues unhindered. Thank you for sharing your journey. Much Love.

Here is another awesome thing when living and raising children Here in Europe there are no school shootings over here Europe is an awesome and safe place to raise you're children. Europe is so much better than the United States or should i say the Divided States of America. Other than that a great video keep it up👍 and greetings from the Netherlands🇳🇱

Nice!!

Very excellent points and straight on.

Great and very interesting video! :)

Very interesting video. Yes in Germany you dont have to save up money for collage but for the extremly expensive driver‘s licence ;-)

Books also aren‘t included in Germany, I studied veterinary medicine and we were obliged to buy all the anatomy books for about 100€ each, there were 5, and that was just for one class, then the white labcoats, wellingtons with steel caps, a stethoscope, ASTA Skripts, Food, Apartment and the Semestercard and the Semesterbeitrag . So it‘s by no means free!

As a american and visiting with people from germany, norway and switzerland. I don't see them telling me. That it's less expensive to live in those countries. In fact they would tell. How high their taxes are and keeps them from owning things like a home.

LOL."You can get Kindergeld up to 25 if your child has a disablitiy", what you ment to say is, you get it to 21 if your child does not have a job yet and to 25 if your child does any type of further education, from university to vocational training. I would not call those disabilities :P

You are so heartwarming 😍

Love your videos. Thank you!

Hello dear ones - thank you for your channel which took me from a 3 to 1 in speaking, writing...understood anything cause of your clear pronunciation. You helped me a lot watching your yt channel. Let me know if i can help you as compensation. you guys rock - keep on. All the best to you and your family...and the cat....and the hamster...Greetz

29:20 There are administrative fees which are about €300 on average per semsester. However this usually also includes a semesterticket for public transportation in the entire region which means you can use public transportation as often as you like as long as you're a student.

Kindergeld also exists in other countries, not just Germany. Some money comparisons (base pay, not including extras such as school money or aid for lower incomes) below: - The Netherlands: 230-330 euro per quarter - Belgium: 170 euro per month

Good explanation. I haven't known that as in detail.Very interesting.🌞

Wow! So eye opening

I am also shocked, that you have to pay up to 1000 $ for books, I didn`t have to pay anything for books, because I could get them for the entire semester at the university library for free or download the PDF from the university website for free. It is insane, having students to buy this literature.

You just showed my old university in the States. Brought me right back. ❤ Apart from that... yeah... tuition was mindblowingly high. About 12.000 USD per semester for graduate school. It definitely was an eye opener for me.

Wow! How great!!

A lot of research went into making these 2 videos - thank you!

It´s always amzing when there´s a new video of you guys. I just love your way of talking and explaining and finding out what surprised you. :) When I was younger I always dreamed of going to an american college. Because american pop culture is big in Germany, most Ivy League Universities are really good known here. And I did visit Harvard when I was in Boston a couple of years ago. American Universities, especially the private ones, are of really high quality, especially when it comes to research. I also really loved the "spirit" that schools and colleges in the US have and always wished we would have something like this. But I am really greatful that I don´t have to think about money as a University Student in Germany. I actually changed my major two times and didn´t have to think about how much money I lost to something I didn´t graduate in and was able to still see it as a valuable, important and teaching experience. I don´t go to University to get a degree, I mostly go because I´m actually interested in the things I´m learning. I don´t know if I could´ve had the same experience in the US. Probalby not. About college expenses: There is no such thing as tuition in Germany as we don´t pay for the education itself. There is a "Semester Fee" which pays for other things regarding student and University life. At my University it was 310€ for this semester. More than a half of it goes to the "Semesterticket". A ticket for all public transportation in the hole state and some cities in neigboring states and the Netherlands. Another big portion goes to the "Studierendenwerk". It manages and finances effortable housing and food at the many cafeterias, and the "Hochschulsport", the University-Sport. There is also Bafög. Its a student loan from the government for students from low income/middle class families. How much you get depends on how much your parents make. The max is 861€/month right now. It´s a student loan without interest, you only have to pay half of it back and never more than 10.000€. If you don´t have the money to pay it back you can delay the payments. It will not be a burden to you later. The Bafög-Student-Debt of a friends mother actually got canceld after 20 years of delaying it. I don´t want to be super german and direct so it seems unfriendly but I have some corrections :) : Actually you can take 3 years of Elternzeit (Parental Leave) per child within the first 8 years of their life. in those 3 years you can´t get fired. Its the Elterngeld (Paid Parental Leave) that you have to take in the childs first year. There is also Elterngeld Plus, which is the same amount of money but split over the first two years. You don´t have to be a tax paying citizen to get Kindergeld. Everybody who has a child will get Kindergeld until they´re not responsible for the child anymore. Which in germany means, the child is done with their education or not in the education system (University/Traidschool/Apprenticeship) anymore or reached the age of 25.

Waking up on Sunday, preparing breakfast and then seeing a new video of you in my notes is just nice, now I know today is going to be a good day and I'm motivated. Thank you very much.

Very informative and I appreciate the great audio quality of your videos (noticed over my headphones today).

I worked in a Casino in germany where it´s allowed to smoke during work, if a female co-worker get´s pregnant they have to immediately go in to "Mutterschutz" to protect the unborn child

Loved the intro. Again. Beautiful flowers, you are taking such good care of your garden. Awesome. Hehe, I notice other signs of Germanization: you are not actually complaining (yet) but you ARE pointing out where Germany's system could improve. THAT is soooo German. Never rest on your laurels, always look for ways to improve. And don't be shy about pointing it out. Without being forced to see problems we can't notice that there IS a problem. Without acknowledging problems we can't tackle them. So good on you! 👍👍 Another point: yepp, you have been faced with the German Amtsschimmel, the bureaucracy, and you have noticed that Germans CAN'T do ANYTHING without applying for it in triplicate, at least two exceptions to a rule, five mitigating factors, and at least ten add-ons after the fact. That is a direct outgrowth of wanting to constantly improve. When a once fairly simple concept gets tweeked and changed to accomodate new improvements, the added bells and whistles can overburden the system to the point of collapse. Sometimes it gets easier to throw away the original concept and work out a new one; in others, the concept of a 'bureaucratic tree' may be pruned back down to two or three major branches to give it a chance at survival and get it growing again, instead of being covered in strangling vines stifling all growth. Final comment: Sarah's singing voice is exceptionally pure. Have you trained?

I definitely would want to raise my children here, if I had any. The only thing I really get concerned about is that I feel they have a lot of pressure in school. But also alot of people care about their education, so it’s constantly improving. And I pay my college Semesterbeitrag so happily! My husband paid off his Bafög at a reduced rate, all in one go, whereas my student loans from the UK just kept adding interest - but nothing compares to American college debt. I know a college education isn’t necessary, but it’s a wonderful thing and should be possible for everyone. Your children will probably appreciate everything more, because of you and your videos, too. I hope they feel they get the best of both worlds.

When I went to a Bavarian Gymnasium, theoretically, I would have had to pay nothing for books, but they were used ones, so I persuaded my parents to buy at least the most important ones for me. And of course I wanted some sports gear and a bicycle. Don't underestimate how exxpensive children can be.

The €500.00 includes health insurance. This is for students who come without a government program.

When an "international student" wants to study in Germany and therefore applies for a student visa, they need to prove that they can afford to live in Germany, which can be done in one of three ways: 1. A document which proves that the student will have a scholarship which covers his/her living expenses, or 2. A "letter of obligation" from a German resident with sufficient income who guarantees to cover the student's living expenses if necessary, or 3. A "blocked account" with about 10500€, from which the student is allowed to withdraw about 860€ per month for 12 months (which is the 12 month period for which the visa is valid). So,.860€ is the amount that the German state officially expects to be usually sufficient for all living expenses per month(and this is probably a rather cautious, i.e. high, estimate). Compare that to the numbers that have been given in the video for US. College students.

You use the Kindergeld in the way it was meant to - to give your children the best possible start in life!

In Mecklenburg-Vorpommern childcare is free, you have to pay only for food (

A few weeks ago I stumbled over your channel and I like it very much. Your positive attitude is so catchy and I love that you embrace the new culture with open arms. Looking forward for new videos. Many greetings from your neighbour-Bundesland Baden-Württemberg 👋

Great video! Note: If you are subject to german income tax, cost for childcare of preschool kids is fully deductible, or can be sponsored by the employer tax-free to up to 100%.

The costs of day care are different in every Bundesland. Bavaria is even one of the more expemsive states. In Eastern Germany with its longer tradition comcerning Kindergarten and Kinderkrippe day care tends to be cheaper.

My German university had a fee of 300€, when I first enrolled it was about 240€, the costs just simply went up over the few years. More than half of the 300€ was for the public transport public ticket valid in the whole state as mentioned in some other comments. So I could use all the public busses, trams, trains (except for IC and ICE) in the whole state. It used to be a paper card but then they changed to chip cards, which the conductor could easily scan, if they were doing passenger checks. Student dorms are affordable but from my experience with my university, they had a long waiting list of over a year so many students just lived in private rented apartments and those can range from 250€ to 500€ for a single bedroom apartment, then the cost of food which can vary depending on your lifestyle.

Hallo Merry Family😀 schönen Sonntag ihr lieben😘

Especially the part of university/college got me really excited for the future to see what paths your children are going to choose and if all of them go to university/college or one or more are even doing a German "Berufsausbildung", maybe even going a totally different direction. You are right about the lack of children, we have a very low rate being born every year which is especially bad with our kind of healthcare system which depends basically on having enough young people to contribute because the life expectancy has increased over the decades and centuries which leads to a high percentage of senior citizens who no longer contribute in a financial way like people who have jobs. Tbh, I think one of the best outcomes of the current crisis (for Germany) is when a lot of Ukrainian families with multiple children decide to stay in Germany (but I don't know how many people would agree with me).

It is quite amazing when you add it all up, how much more family-friendly Germany is, from a financial perspective. Quite a redistribution of tax funds going on in DE. And families benefit from this. Insightful listing. Food is also way cheaper in DE; housing - well that depends so much on where you live, and that is true both in the US and DE, but maybe that is a bit cheaper in the US on average, but not by much; healthcare - you already mentioned that this difference is huge; travel and commuting is more expensive in US, it just all adds up. Have a good Memorial Day weekend!

My mom didn’t have to pay anything for daycare. They just had to pay for the food I got and maybe some activity’s we did. ( ice cream, zoo, horseback riding…) One of my most vivid memories in my kindergarten was a sleepover we had. Sleeping overnight there was amazing. That was the first time I had eaten at subway.

You guys are so adorable... Germany can be happy to have you :)

I am a german that lived for 18 years in the US and moved back to Germany in 2008 for good. That the US government is so completely disregarding parents, mostly of course parents that are not rich, is the most dumb and short minded thing that there is. These kids are of course the future taxpayers and if you do not help their parents with affordable daycare and education, you (the government) shoot your own foot in terms of future tax revenue if you allow that these children don't get good paying jobs later in life because you ( the government) does not give a rats ass about it. And second, you prevent their parents to go to work full time, both, because the outrageous criminal fees for daycare. That also is so dumb in terms of tax revenue. The US politicians just have not recognized that the money spend on kids and their parents is coming back in multiple times.

The costs also differ depending on the state you live in. Here in Berlin and Brandenburg, Kita/Kindergarten is completely free - for everyone. The only costs that occur are the 23EUR "flat rate" for food. Thats it.

This is how a social system should work!

Hey hey, just wanna say that you guys are a lovely lovely couple, and I love your open mindset (here in Germany people might be lacking it sometimes). Love watching your videos. Alles gute! :-) Andrea, Munich

Some things to add that have not been mentioned in other comments: The monthly Kindergeld is adjusted almost every year to account for inflation. That money is still considered low, by many because it does by far not account for all the expenses you have to pay for your child - and you should never be penalized for having a child. So there is some talk going on (for a few years already though) to further increase it.

I had to chuckle when you said ski resorts are cheaper in Austria, because they are considered to be incredibly expensive these days by Austrian standards. However I am familiar with the American prices - truly shocking when I first looked them up. To take an entire family skiing is unfortunately becoming a thing of the privileged here as well, and well, with climate change, who knows how much longer it will be possible anyway. Makes me really sad because in true Austrian fashion, I love skiing 😅 Great video as always :)

I live in the US, in Texas. 20 years ago I had my 2 young children on CCMS which was the government program that paid for childcare for single mothers and low income families. It wasn’t easy to get on. I had help through a couple of nonprofit organizations. They helped with the process to get my kids on it. It was very helpful. It covered the daycare costs completely. My children attended daycare 5 days a week from 7:45am to 5:30 pm. I was able to attend college and get a degree. I’m not sure if this funding is still available.

Hi, nice to Listen to your stories. And by the way, I studied mechanical engineering at Siegen Uni from 1977 - 1981.

The childcare costs vary from Bundesland to Bundesland, even from town to town. In our town (NRW) the fee is based upon your family income. So if you have two fulltime working parents you can easily pay 800 Euros per month or even more. Everybody is happy, when the children finally can go to school, because that saves you a lot of money 😉 afternoon childcare in the school after lunch is much cheaper..at least in our town...

Great video! Just one small detail: "Krippe" is usually day care for children unter 3 years of age. And the costs for that are considerably higher than for children 3+. In Baden-Württemberg, a Krippenplatz can cost up to 550 Euros per month. BUT: For low income families, the Jugendamt covers these costs.

Great invention Live and let live Take it easy guys Enjoy life

I remember me and my sis going to a private preschool/kindergarten in the 90s in Rhode Island. The cost per week for both of us (per child) was 100$. Despite it being that cheap per child, it was still like a public school with learning to read, write, and do basic math and everything. I think it was 'better' than public school in the sense that...we learned to read and write 1 or 2 years before you would in public school, at about 3 to 5 years old. But it's good that there all children seem to be equal in regard to education and it seems a helluva lot higher in quality.

Maybe you can reconsider about having a 5th child, because prenatal care, birthing and traditions in Germany would be the subject of a while array of interesting videos. 😅 I had both of mine children in Turkey (private health care) and everything was great, so a fresh perspective on having a baby in Germany would be most welcome. But then I am sure you will find many other interesting topics. Have a great Sunday.

In some jobs you are not even allowed to work if you are pregnant, like if you work with hazardous substances. Obviously in this case you also still get payed

You are very, very welcome in Germany. We need more people, more families like you.❤

I was hoping for a new baby :D I am always giggeling when I see your kids, because they are so cute. I really enjoy to watch your videos. And how well settled you are now. Really nice to see.