Living in Germany: Hurdles for foreigners, worrying Denglish and mapping castles

Is Germany really one of the least attractive places for foreigners? 

There is lots to love about living in Germany. From the gorgeous nature to robust public transport and the strong welfare system, the quality of life here is high, most people would agree. But that hasn’t stopped Germany from landing way down the ladder in surveys about foreigners’ experiences of settling abroad. This week Germany ranked in 49th place (out of 53) in the InterNations Expat Insider Survey - making it one of the least attractive destinations for foreign residents.  

So what makes it so bad? According to the survey, Germany came last in the Expat Essentials category which covers housing, administration, language and digital life. Foreign residents slammed the lack of digital infrastructure, inflexible bureaucracy and the tense housing market. Another area where Germany did not do well was the Ease of Settling In category.

In fact, the Bundesrepublik ranked among the bottom five least friendly local populations. Many internationals said Germans weren’t friendly towards foreign residents and more than half said they struggled to make friends.

But there were areas where Germany scored highly. For instance, Germany came 15th in the Working Abroad category, with the job market and job security snagging a place in the top five. And when it comes to quality of life, Germany ranked in the not too shabby 18th spot. 

But overall, it’s not encouraging. And this isn’t the first time the country has been criticised; Germany has consistently ranked among the bottom 10 countries for finding friends and the friendliness of the locals over the last decade. We’d love to know what your experience of settling in Germany is. Let us know by emailing news@thelocal.de. 

Tweet of the week

Whatever you do, don’t send this as a birthday gift!  

That German urge to utterly misappropriate an English term in a commercial way pic.twitter.com/lJj3KhMFOj

— Tim Tugendhat (@TimTugendhat) July 12, 2023

Where is this?

Photo: DPA/Jens Kalaene

You probably recognise the Berlin Victory Column or Siegessäule. But this week the Großer Stern got a makeover as workers from the Kulturprojekte Berlin painted rainbow colours on the road ahead of Christopher Street Day (CSD). The Pride flag is being gradually painted on areas around the Victory Column in the run-up to the demonstration taking place on July 22nd.  

Did you know?

Germany is home to thousands of castles which are well worth checking out. The most famous is Neuschwanstein, in the Alpine foothills near lakes Schwansee and Alpsee in southwestern Bavaria.

The fairytale fortress inspired the castle of Walt Disney’s Sleeping Beauty. Heidelberg Castle, in Baden-Württemberg, is another gorgeous attraction and the first stop on Heidelberg’s funicular railway. The castle has been a muse for authors and poets over the centuries, including Victor Hugo and Mark Twain.

Hohenzollern Castle, also in Baden-Württemberg and dating back to the 11th century, is another spectacular site and is still privately owned by descendants of Germany’s royal line.

There are thought to be around 25,000 castles in Germany - but historians believe there could be even more. A project was set up in 2018 by the German Castle Club (DBV) to build a record of every castle in Germany. But due to the high costs and lack of staff, the project could take 10 years to complete.