Germany vs Ireland vs USA : Personal Observations
Been living in Germany for 5 months now, before that I was living in Ireland, and before that I was in America. I've been wanting to put down some of my observations comparing and contrasting the three different countries that I have lived in, of course trying to be as objective as possible! What I find really interesting is that sometimes we can't even see these differences until we are uprooted from somewhere and not there for a while. So here they are:
USA - America is my homeland. The land of big wide open spaces, lot's of people, and diverse beautiful landscapes. Very car oriented, poor public transit in general, (of course it's better in cities), not pedestrian friendly in a lot of places. Less community oriented and more self oriented. More options for food, groceries, products- you can get basically anything you want at almost any time of day, thanks to longer opening hours of stores. Lower taxes, higher health care.
Ireland- Most Americanized European country that I have been to so far. Also has big open spaces, fewer people, diverse landscapes. Not even as big as my home state in America. Also very car oriented, public transit is okay, but not great. Is pedestrian friendly, even on roads with no sidewalks. Community oriented, but not readily open to outsiders from the community. A few big grocery stores like in the USA. Stores close earlier. Higher tax rates, lower cost for health care.
Germany- About as big as my home state. Lot's of people, not as diverse landscapes, but still beautiful landscapes nonetheless. Lots of parks.Very pedestrian/bicycle friendly, great public transit system. Community oriented with a lot of activities sponsored by the city to promote culture and connection in the city. Smaller grocery stores, shorter opening hours, including most stores being closed on Sundays. High tax rate. Inclusive heatlth care for everyone.
You are probably wondering what has been my favorite place to live? That is a difficult question on so many levels, because as I have gotten older, my desires for certain things have changed, thus changed what I need/want out of the country I am living in. I believe all of these countries are good and have different things to offer, but it all depends on what you are looking for in your life.
Before we moved to Germany we said that we wanted to live in a place in which we could be at work in 20 minutes or less using a bike or public transport, as we don't have a car. A place in which we could walk to get all of our necessary things, and where there is a lot of activities for us to do. So at the moment, Germany really fulfills our desires for those things. But who knows, in the next ten years, things may change and we end up somewhere else. Main point I guess is that just because they do things differently, in a way you are not used to, does not make it wrong. In fact it can turn out to be pretty ingenious if you give it a chance!
USA - America is my homeland. The land of big wide open spaces, lot's of people, and diverse beautiful landscapes. Very car oriented, poor public transit in general, (of course it's better in cities), not pedestrian friendly in a lot of places. Less community oriented and more self oriented. More options for food, groceries, products- you can get basically anything you want at almost any time of day, thanks to longer opening hours of stores. Lower taxes, higher health care.
Ireland- Most Americanized European country that I have been to so far. Also has big open spaces, fewer people, diverse landscapes. Not even as big as my home state in America. Also very car oriented, public transit is okay, but not great. Is pedestrian friendly, even on roads with no sidewalks. Community oriented, but not readily open to outsiders from the community. A few big grocery stores like in the USA. Stores close earlier. Higher tax rates, lower cost for health care.
Germany- About as big as my home state. Lot's of people, not as diverse landscapes, but still beautiful landscapes nonetheless. Lots of parks.Very pedestrian/bicycle friendly, great public transit system. Community oriented with a lot of activities sponsored by the city to promote culture and connection in the city. Smaller grocery stores, shorter opening hours, including most stores being closed on Sundays. High tax rate. Inclusive heatlth care for everyone.
You are probably wondering what has been my favorite place to live? That is a difficult question on so many levels, because as I have gotten older, my desires for certain things have changed, thus changed what I need/want out of the country I am living in. I believe all of these countries are good and have different things to offer, but it all depends on what you are looking for in your life.
Before we moved to Germany we said that we wanted to live in a place in which we could be at work in 20 minutes or less using a bike or public transport, as we don't have a car. A place in which we could walk to get all of our necessary things, and where there is a lot of activities for us to do. So at the moment, Germany really fulfills our desires for those things. But who knows, in the next ten years, things may change and we end up somewhere else. Main point I guess is that just because they do things differently, in a way you are not used to, does not make it wrong. In fact it can turn out to be pretty ingenious if you give it a chance!
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