Now that’s a title, isn’t it? Makes me feel like I really have to follow up with quite a meaningful article.

I’ve lived in Germany my entire life and have made the jump over the pond just before Covid hit. Literally. I think I missed it by a month. That being said, having been here for a couple of years, I now have a relatively solid idea of how it is to live here. Well, at least I’d hope so. And I can’t say I worked through all of my culture shocks yet.

What is the day to day life like?

The latest World Happiness Report 2024 suggests that the Brits are in position 20 of being, well, the most happy peeps on the planet. Even higher than Germany, which surprised me a bit (and who have lost big time in comparison to 2023, where they ranked 16th and now, a year later, 24th). It surprised me in the sense that there are quite a few things in everyday life that I believe to be better in Germany than they are here in the UK. But thinking about it, it might just be a case of things that were unfamiliar. Or things that I thought might have made a big difference. Or things, that turned into elephants at some points, though they might just be molehills in the end. And reflecting on them now, they’re not as bad. Or rather not as important as I firstly thought.

That was a big paragraph of saying all and nothing at once. Hear me out. When I first moved, a lot of things were strange. Obviously, driving on the left completely freaked me out. The first time my partner entered into a roundabout going left, I nearly lost it. And I can honestly say, it’s only now, a couple of years in, that I am not instinctively turning my head in a left-right-left pattern when trying to cross the road.

Worse than that, though, is the absolute nonsense of Brits trying to dip their toes into every single measurement that is apparently available on the planet (not even joking. Look at this mess!). Listen, I come from a country where we sensibly use the metric system. Exclusively. And I think what some people don’t realise when they hear us rant about how silly it is to use something else, is how absolutely counterintuitive things become. I know how a centimetre feels, you know? If someone tells me there is a bakery 100 meters down the road, I can probably walk there blindfolded and end up spot on in front of their door. I just have a sense of things. I can navigate through them confidently. Now, if someone asks me how tall I am, my brain becomes soup.

But besides these oddities that are simply different and require you to, well, get used to, life is more or less the same. You sleep (in weird double sized blankets), you work (pretty similar), you eat (not big fans of vegetarian/vegan, though – and don’t get me started on their Döner), you buy things (no recycling or Pfand¹!) – and you do the things that you enjoy doing most. Just while speaking English instead. There is nothing fundamentally different, yet.

How are the people here?

I said “yet”, because here’s where things become funny. Every folk in existence has stereotypes. Here are some of the most common ones about us Germans debunked, but there is still some truth to them. We do like to be orderly. That’s just being reliable. Being on time simply means we respect each other. We really don’t like small talk, I know I don’t. I always need to know what people want from me. Oh, and we’re very formal. You see, German has two ways of addressing people – a formal and informal way. The formal one we use for kids and people familiar to us. The informal way is used for strangers or higher-ups.

That being said, the first time I went to a British supermarket and the cashier, happy as a clam, yelled a hearty: “YA ALRIGHT LUV?” before scanning my bananas, needless to say, I was a bit confused.

You see, culture shock is a thing and it surely was a fun experience to see it happen to me. By now I know that everyone here is just absolutely happy to treat people with more familiarity than is actually there. And it’s refreshing, once you get used to it! I love saying “cheers!” with a big smile whenever I could simply say “thank you”!

But.

What I will never, ever get used to, is how they up here in the north say “Aareet”. As. A. Greeting. Those Geordies, I swear. You pass someone, somewhere, doesn’t matter. On a path in the hills. Your postie. And they go: “You alright, mate?” And do you know what they want as an answer?

DO YOU KNOW?

THE SAME THING.

They just expect a “Alright?” back. That’s their way of saying hello. It’s not a question. IT IS NOT A QUESTION. Sorry for shouting. But I just can’t live with that. I have to live with me saying “Not too bad, how about you?”, a friendly nod, or just a defeated “hello” from my side. It’s just not right, man.

What is the best thing about living in the UK?

Ah, this is an easy one. The nature. In Germany (another cliché), everything is quite structured. We’ve got some absolute beautiful landscapes there, wonderful regions with stunning nature – but it’s all quite tame. We got fences, paths, signs – rules. Here in the UK, everything is a bit more, mh, how do I say it, wild. No one really cares in a way that they go “Please stick to the path and you’ll have a wonderful walk!”. Here, it’s more of a: “Do whatever you feel like, mate. We got some posts up and if that takes you across this field of cows, just trust the process. You’ll end up somewhere.“

And I absolutely love it. The lush and broadly untouched nature here, as well as the beautiful coastlines here are two of the biggest reason I love living in the UK. Oh, and if you like the picture I chose for the article, that’s in Scotland, around Loch Long!

How easy is it to move?

You’d be surprised at how easy it was to migrate – and boy was I scared when I got things started. As mentioned at the very beginning, I moved just before Covid – which means, that I also moved while Brexit was still going strong and still very much in the transitional phase. This means, that I am covered by the Settlement Scheme, which is now no longer obtainable. This scheme grants me all the rights that I would have as a normal EU citizen before Brexit – meaning that basically the UK still acts as a EU country for me, even though it’s not. I am free to live and work here, without any further needs of me having to apply for something.

Now, things look a bit different. As with any other country outside the EU/EEA/Swiss area, you’ll now have to apply for a visa to study, settle, or seek asylum here. Not for visits, though, yay!

But really, moving into a different country comes all down to making the first step and trusting yourself. It’s an adventure, for sure, but an incredibly rewarding one. Things may seem strange at first, but the closer you look, the more you’ll realise that a lot of things are simply the same everywhere.

1. “Pfand” /fUNd/ – In Germany, if you buy a bottle or can of a drink you fancy, you pay more. But if you bring it back to a shop when it’s empty, you get that money back. Excellent recycling scheme we had for decades! ↩︎