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Nalf: "Got my DNA test back ... I'm 40% Italian, 33% German, 25% Irish and 2% Czech." Europeans: " Oh, you are American." 😂😂😂

It’s funny how Americans living abroad call themselves “expats” and they call every other foreigner living in the US “immigrant” 😂 😉

Sometimes your videos make me prouder of my country than one of our chancellor's speeches.

I‘m also American and grew up overseas, traveled a lot, but can honestly say that Germany was never on my radar. I came here for a visit over years ago … and stayed. Completely unexpected. Now my kids consider themselves German and though they‘re happy to visit the US, they‘re also very happy to come back home. So low (or no) expectations perhaps is the key.

My mother is German and I've been in love with the country since I was very young (we would often go in the summers to visit family and friends there). I know it's weird to say, having lived my life in America, but I feel so at home there. I've extolled what a great place it is to live, or even just visit, to my own American friends and acquaintances my whole life (probably to the point of being obnoxious). No one ever gets it until they go there. We visited in 2010 with my husband and kids; and when he got back he said he finally understood my love of it and confessed that he felt a little depressed when we got back home (to the heat and humidity and concrete sprawl and traffic and no-zoning and strip malls and billboards of Houston TX). I should have requested dual-citizenship when I was 18 but somehow missed the deadline, much to my deep regret.

I am an American currently studying German with the goal to move to Germany sometime in the next few years. Thanks for your videos, they have been a huge encouragement for me to keep moving forward with my goal.

I totally agree with the familiarity statement! I was stationed in England with the US Air Force and visited friends at Ramstein Air Base. Both my wife and I felt like we belonged there, or had been there before…very strange. I’m half German/Austrian and my wife’s maternal side is from Leipzig. Very comfortable feeling as we traveled the country. We plan on returning for a Christmas in Germany vacation next year!

NALF: Americans expect Germans to be weird, creepy and unfunny and when they come here and find out this is not really the case, they are pleasantly surprised. Also NALF in every other video: Germans stare at you all the time and they always get close to you and leave you no personal space. 😉

Many Germans feel slightly negative about their own country, so it is great to hear that a lot of Americans feel so well here! We can see regularly that you really made Germany your home, so we'll do our best to make you feel comfortable here for the rest of your life (if you like)!

An online friend of mine was stationed in Germany with the US Army for one or two years. He loves thinking back to it and he more than once said he wished he stayed

I get the feeling (without having been to the US or knowing anyone from the US personally... so basically just from what I see on tv and social media...) that people in the US have the idea that they'll work and hustle as much as they can so they can retire and THEN relax, having earned enough to live comfortably as a pensioner. Here (in Sweden but also I believe in much of Europe in general) we kind of work and relax interchangably. Who knows what the future will bring? You might get hit by a bus the day after you retire... so why not enjoy life right now? Just my five cents...

An Expat living here for 6 years, and we bought our first house here this month. The biggest thing for us is accessibility to the outdoors, art, history, and different cultures. And we don't have to drive to access it if we choose.

well, you asked about if we have other experiences: I used to be a German exchange studend and lived in Spokane, Washington. Went to "Ferris High School". It was terrible for a lot of reasons. My "host parents" both worked 2 jobs each. I hardly ever got to see them. Just to survive (no, I'm not kidding), i had to call my parents to send me money (it was 1990, there was no Internet). It was terrible. A few years later my host father died of colon cancer. Of course they did not have health insurance. Today i am 50 years old and i can only look upon that experience as if i was looking on a third world country. Sorry.

Having grown up in the USA I now realize how much of the German culture/influence exists in this area of the Midwest that I never appreciated until I attended Germanfest in Milwaukee, WI for the first time. I am sure the world wars made it so people did not want to openly identify as German. The overall feeling at this festival was definitely der Gemütlichkeit!

100% I'm also from Oregon and have fallen in love with Germany. I love the USA, but Germany just has so much to love. So many small and large things that make life here incredible.

I must admit, I was never very fond of my own country, Germany, while growing up. I then lived for a year in France which started to slightly change my perspective and make me perceive positive aspects of my home country. But your videos help me even more to realise, that Germany is actually a great country, so thank you!

I'm German, as a child I grew up in Kuwait and Mexico. My family has always been spread around the world (my father grew up in Australia, when travilling such distances whith ship was the normal way). For myself I worked for a small German but very international company. I had ~15-20 business trips to the US and US colleagues, so I'd say I know a bit about the US. Some maybe minor but still important things: - social safety including basic social welfare support if you don't have a job (government pays for apartment), but also "free" health insurance, basically everything is covered very well. Even if you depend on welfare, you still get all medications, operations and additional stuff covered. There is family insurance, so my wife and kid are completly covered over me paying for it. She got a brain stroke and health insurance pays physiotherapy, Ergotherapy, an MRT a year and operations at no additional cost! - no way an illness could ruin you financially - You mentioned Deutsche Bahn, hey you should also mention the new "50 Euro" Ticket, pay 50 Euros a month and you could ride EVERY and ANY public transport system in ANY city in Germany for free including regional trains (taking enough patience and willingness to change trains you could travel whole Germany). Fast connections are excluded though. - Free schools and universities, you can go to excellent universities and don't end up with a huge mortage (for low income families there is even financial support from the government called Bafög) - much safer? Getting a gun needs a reason (such as being a licensed hunter) and guns need to be protected well

Ich bin nicht besonders stolz auf mein Deutschland, aber dann kommt NALF und erklärt mir, was hier so schön ist! Ja, Sie haben recht, es ist sehr schön hier - ich bin zu kritisch mit meinem eigenem Land. Sie sind ein Superbeispiel für perfekte Integration, Ihr Deutsch ist sehr gut (besser als mein Englisch) und Sie beschäftigen sich mit der deutschen Kultur. Sie beschämen mich ein wenig, wofür ich sehr dankbar bin!!! Ihre Videos sind sehr gut gemacht und haben viel Content! - Vielen Dank!

Ja wir Deutschen sind viel zu kritisch und dankbar. would say we are totally spoiled. Hab als Kind in den USA gelebt und war im Nachhinein froh meine Jugend in good old Germany verbracht zu haben. Erst seitdem ich in Spanien lebe (fast 25 Jahre) weiß ich Deutschland zu schätzen. There is good and bad everywhere. Disfruta la vita!

I am German, but have lived in the US as a high school Student and also experienced US-working culture when working for International companies. I can only confirm the unhealthy circumstances in working world in the US. I Personally also appreciate the "normal" options to spend leasure time (not only adventure parks, but more in contact with nature). Further, I really appreciate the emphasis on local and regional cultural events like concerts of all types, possibilities to get Information on historic or regional events). Last but not least the numerous options for people to contribute to their community outside the reach of churches. In Germany there are thousands of "Vereine" to engage in reasonable and satisfying community-related services. I have not yet witnessed the latter in the US outside of high schools and colleges much.

There may be 120,000 Americans living in Germany presently, but there was a time when over a half million were! During the Cold War, over 250,000 American miitary and their families swelled the number up to one half million. I was one of them. I spent 3 of the best years of my life living in Darmstadt. Here, I began my study of German, which ended in me getting a BA in German. I also met my German wife, which was a relationship that lasted 50 years until her death. I have an interesting perspective, as I have visited Germany regularly over 60 years and have seen the gradual changes in that country. First, German's who were conversant in English were not all that common in the early 60's. Certainly, those students who obtained their Abitur in school were conversant, but it was not all that common in the other levels of the German school system. A second observation is how the complexion of Germany has changed. The Germany of the early 60's were of basically ethnic Germans. Sure, there were some Italian and Spanish Gastarbeitern, but overall, Germany was full of Germans. The Germany of today has become a melting pot of Europeans and other farther afield ethnic groups. My wife's home town of Darmstadt now looks as varied as any American big city! Most notable, because of the head scarves that the women wear , are the Muslims. Darmstadt now has a couple mosques! In the 60's, if you saw a black person, it was an American G.I. Today, the black person is probably a student at the technical university in Darmstadt. Darmstadt is a fair seized cosmopolitan city of 250,000, just 30 kilometers south of Frankfurt. Perhaps the Germany of smalls towns has not changed as much.

I was able to claim German citizenship on the same basis as Nalf was able to claim Italian citizenship. Alas, I only found out about my entitlement about 10 years ago. If I knew it when I was a young man, I probably would have lived in Germany now. I do speak German.

2:17 "3. Easier to live a comfortable life"

I came to Berlin as a soldier in the early 90s. I always tried to make it back to the States at least once a year, and each year, I felt more and more foreign in the States. I simply cannot imagine living in the States and living the grind.

Youre the man, NALF. One of the major reasons I want to relocate from CA, USA to DE. Thanks for the videos!

Well said - and after 50 years here, I can judge that.

Thank you so much of that positive portrait of my country👍😍. We Germans should be more proud of our home country. So I like the American patriotism and the kindness of American people 🇩🇪❤🇺🇸

This is maybe the most beautiful declaration of love to my country I have ever heard! ❤

As a German living in Colorado, I would add affordability to the list. Here in the US it is so hard to vacation or spend a few days in a nice place. There are hardly any affordable (while also decent) hotels here. I miss the German / Austrian Hotel Garnis so much. I also miss, being able to hop on a train just to go for a hike in the mountains. Here everything is cars and the highway to the mountains are so crowded, that it is near to impossible to just go skiing for a day. I also hate that you can't walk to the store or bike. The cars or trucks are massive and the strip malls suck. There is not even a bike rack at my supermarket. Love to walk European cities and hang out in cafes and have a drink. Here you are sitting on a parking lot with a fenced off patio, because of the stupid alcohol laws

Really liked the editing of today´s video and the rest was of course great as usual. Keep it up!

I know a few more important reasons like 1. Healthcare for everyone 2. No tuition fees 3. Various political parties 5. No guns for citizens except for the police and subsequently no random shootings.

Very nice video. I am German and when I was young I have been everything but happy to be German. Getting older now I appreciate to live in my country. I have also worked 15 years for a large US based company and enjoyed a lot working with Americans. Germans are often overcomplicating things - looking for reasons why something can go wrong whereas Americans just try and get things done. In the end we can learn from each other.

Very interesting perspective and fortunately a bit off the beaten track. And very well presented - as usual!

Currently in Germany, arrived a few weeks back. Even caught a Unicorn game. That was an experience, loved the Unicorn burger. The quietness for the offence was odd. I do like it much better here. I work remote in the States, Staying with a friend who moved here 5 months ago. I am only able to stay for 90 days every 180 days.

Hi Beautiful, I want to tell you a story: At the age of 20 or 20 and a half (important!) I went "abroad" with a friend. We were both hoteliers and ended up in Gstaad, Switzerland. Through that, over the years, I met my almost-husband from Napoli and then my only later husband from Buenos Aires. I loved Naples, Ischia, all of Italy, I loved Buenos Aires, the drive from Paraguay over the waterfalls to Brazil, I loved the non-Germany. But after I landed here in Cologne in 1990, I tried to discover my home country; like Switzerland, for example, also French Switzerland, like Italy, like Argentina and so on. So, arrived in my new reality in Cologne, during my streetcar rides to work, I looked into the windows of the apartments, looked at the people walking around, discovered scenes between greengrocers and shoppers, and I had to smile (with love). It let me finally discover my country / town over the years as a really really REALLY nice place to live. Before, however, I would have wanted to live EVERYWHERE - but not in Germany. Born in 1965 as a Second World War child's child, I had previously rejected, critically eyed, doubted, criticized my birth country. ANYTHING was better than being German (so away from here, just away)! But then from 1990 on, little by little, I discovered the beauty of this democracy, this mixed (finally!) togetherness, this my homeland. And my first contacts and reference persons were refugee people from Eritrea, who knew Cologne so much better than I did back then.

Glad to see you back.

. . . and that's before you have kids! After you have kids, the list grows. It generally involves things like safety, cost and quality of education, healthcare, and becoming bilingual. Also, European countries seem to care more about children, or at least make it more of a societal endeavor. There just seem to be more things for children to do here and society seems to play a more active role in providing and underwriting the costs of activities for children. It starts with much longer maternity / paternity leave periods and goes right on through university education with much more affordable education. It's also great that our teenage boys can go to activities or visit their friends without relying on their parents to drive them everywhere.

Good video. It's been fourty (!) years since I lived in Germany, but I still fondly remember my time there. I think your points are all good ones. Keep up the great content.

If I could afford to retire in Germany, I would and I have two places in mind, Kehl am Rhine and Überlingen am Bodensee.

Great job, dude!

Best buddy of mine is Canadian...stayed here after his military time has ended.

You made very good points!

Thanks Nick. It is always a pleasure to see your videos .. love your sight of the world... you do a great job. Have a nice summer comeback.

Thank you for that interesting and appreciative video !

Loved living there and miss it so much.

moving to schwäbisch hall in 4 weeks! I'm even more excited since discovering your videos today! if I'll bump into you I will let you know🤣 keep up the great work

Danke für diesen Content. Wir können so viel voneinander lernen.😊

In my opinion that Phrase "Americans live to work, germans work to live" applies a lot better to french people. Or any other roman language speaking country like Italy or Spain. It might not be as bad as in the US but germans still have a very strong drive to be productive.

Great video!

I watched my father-in-law follow the american prescription for being devoted to his company and work so that at age 65 he could have a good retirement. Unfortunately he developed an incurable debilitating condition a few years before retirement age and his retirement turned out to be doctor visits and a nursing home. I took that as a lesson and decided to expand my bucket list into my middle age (maybe even a little earlier). There has been a little bit of chaos as a result, but also many dreams come true. I have visited friends and their families in germany and see thay are living comfortably but not lavishly as germans, and felt that I could be happy as part of german citizenry.

I'm planning to move to Munich in January. So excited and nervous!!

Great video, as usual from your channel, Bro. Greetings from neighbouring Stuttgart. ^^

Thanks for another great video. It´s interesting - me as a German have the same "foreign yet familiar" feeling when I visit the States. After 10 hours of flight every time I somehow feel at home 🙂

Yes, you are right! My husband is American and we both never want to life in the States for all of these reasons.

"High Budget Background". Love it! 😆

I really enjoy your Videos, thanks :)

After following your videos for years, I eventually booked an extended weekend in Schwäbisch Hall in Oktober. I am looking forward to seeing the lovely old town myself. Although I am living less than 2 hours by car away, I never made it.

My girlfriend always wanted to emigrate to the USA. Last year the time had come and she lived in Kansas for half a year. Now she came back in the spring. She missed so so many things that she wasn't happy in Kansas, where she know some friends. We live here in Würzburg, and now she appreciates being here again. She could hardly buy any food in the USA without unwanted additives. Above all, she didn't find any good cheese there........and overall she found American food terrible. But there were many other things too. For example, just going out, going for a walk in the woods, cycling along the Main, and much more... She no longer wants to emigrate.

On point 3. I think its pretty telling when folk from the US introduce themselves the first parft of the conversation is what do you you do? What's your job? As its a big part of how their identiy is formed and how they are able to form an idea of who a person is. I've lived in Germany 3 years and I'm really close with my sports team (training 2+ times a week, away games, holidays together etc) but I'd struggle to tell you most of thier jobs. For most its just not a big part of their identity.

Some fair points were made in this video.

ONCE again - Well Done. Gut gemacht . Mister Alferi Liebe Grüße aus dem Sauerland 🌲⛰️🌲

I never really thought about that feeling of familiarity Americans experience here, thanks for the great content! :D

Welcome home, long lost cousin 🖤❤️💛

It’s almost like having a strong social aspect toward the citizenry creates a better place to live.

Great video, I never have been to Germany but sure seems awesome. As to working in corporate USA we never did get much time off. I normally worked my days off as the job was so demanding. I found myself working 6-7 days a week 12 hour days and it still was not enough.

I love your view on germany, Like it, love it😭

Not only vacation days and holidays. We also have Saturdays and Sundays.

Hey Iove this video!! I'm age 21 and did gymnastics for 14 years. I was born in Ukraine but adopted and raised in rural USA. I'm also naturalized American thank you very much. This summer I met a German college student at the 24/7 gym who is a bar athlete. We bonded over abdominal training and pull ups. He's invited me to visit Germany and his bar athletes back home. I can see maybe why living there is great.

12 National Public Holidays (full pay) in Australia plus various public holidays in different states within Australia. If employed, you get 4 weeks (28 days) paid leave/time off + 20 days of sick leave (medical certificate if you take more than 3 sick days in a row). BTW, a medical certificate, signed by a Dr or pharmacist is either free or up to $10

I've never heard of that 'mathematical' equation of happiness but I'm totally stealing that. Like it, nah, love it. The whole video is an awesome insight. Keep it up.

I love visiting Germany. When I get home, I really miss the bread. I also feel peace there.😊❤

Nick, I really love your videos. Your long lost cousins are happy to have you here. 🙂

I've been living here, in Germany, for over 2 decades now, there are a few things I miss from living in the UK, but there is no way I would want to go back.

Wow, ... great video!

I'm going there in a month for the first time for Oktoberfest in München. Hopefully, I will be transferring to TUM to finish my bachelor's degree next year

Nice! More than 45 seconds😊

I've seen a lot on YT, but the low expectations to Germany have never been addressed. What also surprises me is, that Americans take it for granted that you can get by with English everywhere and therefore do not realize that almost all younger Germans understand English relatively well and sometimes even speak it well. Conversely, I had the same experience in the USA. Americans are portrayed as superficial, overly friendly and business minded... Business is everything. In fact, I was surprised at how openly nice, interested, polite, and patient (if you don't get it) the Americans I met were. Only some people of color were very suspicious and I had no idea why that is. Maybe this is an Inter-American thing.

A lot of the German chatter in lazily produced American movies and TV shows isn't German at all, it just mimics the language to a point where most Americans will think, oh yeah, that sounds German. Which is then a bit awkward when your American friends ask you "What's he saying?". 😁 Even Family Guy, one of my favorite American shows, does this all the time, despite its million-dollar budget. They have money to pay for a big orchestra for the show's music score every week, but they can't hire a writer who knows enough correct German. 😅

You are right on the money with your assessment

Again you really nailed it. You seem to analyse very well how the relationship between Americans and Germans has developed. Impressive how you speak out what many people feel, but have a hard time verbalising. Thanks

As both of my grandmothers were German, I grew up in the USA enjoying German-style cooking. (As opposed to, say, French, Italian or Chinese) Thus, I'm entirely comfortable with the menus in German restaurants.

If you are poor or black or from the South, you are an immigrant. Being rich or from powerful countries, then you are an expat. That languaje.

you could have mentioned Friedrich Martin (of Martin Guitars) when you showed Levi's.

Somehow i got the tune of Mad TV in my head 🎵Lowered expectations🎵 Good point of view..you found the words no other spoke out yet. You get the expected, and then some plus or minus..but well balanced. And when you complain about DB for a delay..your are baptized germanized

I have lived in many different countries, in some of them with children, in some before we had a family. I have spent most of my own childhood in Germany and am quite critical towards the country - but paid health insurance, parental leave, paid family leave of 12 days when you have to care for a familiy member, paid child sick days, and some other social benefits were some of the reasons to spend the pregnancy and toddler times in Germany. Now we live in France and I have to say that child care is much better organised here 😉

Funny, every time I find myself missing your posts, a new one is popping up 🙃 Telepathy? I really enjoy watching your videos.

i think i know why in spite of the romantic notion of eating baguettes in france, or going to the beach in italy, people end up living in germany. Americans dream about retiring to cool places, they never actually go, and if they do they end up in Florida.... Younger people who actually go places, find out that living and working in germany is totally feasible, while you are still alive, mind you! nobody thinks of the amalfi coast as a place to work and build a house, start a family, etc. It is just a vacation destination.

How nice to see our Stadium in your videos. In Frankfurt we say EINTRACHT! Hope you experience that in Germany!

Would never life in any country without vacation day. Went in spring to Tuerkey for 5 days, Summer 3 weeks to Bosnien and will be to Greece for 10 days in Fall.

There is this weird guy in Silicon Valley who speaks German in his sleep. German: "What is he saying? Which language is he speaking? Is that supposed to be German?!" 😂

As for the vacation, in Germany the employer is obliged that you take at least 2 weeks of vacation at a time per year.

Yes! And you are obliged to take at least one contingent two week period off work per year. It's called "Erholungsurlaub": "recreation/recuperation/regeneration holiday".

I would say less guns and shootings and no tent towns or situations like in Kensington Philadelphia.

I wish I had never left Schwäbisch Hall. You're Blessed.

People used to ask me what I missed most when I moved back to the US. Food!!! I never missed the food in the US when I lived in Germany.

Germany is more relaxed but also still modern. Its a safe place with a cost of living that is low compared to most European countries. Its also not that far from the US via flying. Flying to a place like Australia is way more intense.

Familiarity I think is huge. I’m an American living in Portugal and struggled with lack of familiarity in Portugal and many Americans leave because they can’t adapt or refuse to. Only about 10k of Americans here so I was surprised to hear so many live in Germany. I’m adapting to Portugal now and have no plans on leaving but will definitely spend some time in Germany in the next year.

My wife and I lived in Germany for almost 3 years while I was in the Army. After we raised our family we spend 4 months a year in Europe much in Germany. Can’t wait for July.

"Happiness equals reality minus expectations." And the first example coming to your mind to make this point is Deutsche Bahn. By this measure, Americans should be ecstatic about Germans' obsession with rules.