USA 4th; GERMANY 1st: US NEWS and World Report: Annual Country Rankings

And the results?

U.S. News & World Report ranks Germany #1

Germany is viewed as the overall "best country."

The home to Europe's largest economy is seen as the top country for encouraging
entrepreneurship, and is highly regarded for providing global leadership and
caring for its citizens.

Its leader, Chancellor Angela Merkel, whom both the Financial Times and Time magazine named as their Person of the Year for 2015, has actively led her government to confront some of the world's most pressing challenges, such as the Greek debt crisis and the waves of immigrants sweeping
across Europe.

Germany rose from the ashes of World War II to become Europe's foremost power
and a world leader in many areas, not least of which is its economic prowess founded on its network of small and medium businesses known as "Mittlestand."

The country is seen as a model for the way in which it trains workers in apprenticeships following secondary school education.

The United States, the world's greatest military power and largest economy, ranks fourth, trailing not only Germany but Canada and the United Kingdom, as well.

Canada, which recently elected a new liberal government under Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, is rated highly on quality of life issues and transparency, while the U.K. is seen as an influential country that is the best nation to obtain an education.


J.D. GUY- Massachusetts AATG

10 things you should know before moving to Germany

Adam Groffman, Travels of Adam

This autumn marks my four year Berliniversary—four years living in Germany. Oh mein Gott.
Though I’ve lived abroad a few other times as a student and a “slow” traveler, this has been my first real experience living abroad.

Without question, it’s been a learning experience and I’ve come away with a lot of great stories.
Everything from the process of moving to a new country, embracing a new culture, learning a new language and a million other things.

I never expected to live in Germany, but four years on, here I am.
Here’s what I’ve learned along the way …

Special thanks to Claire who has helped put together these fun illustrations.  Check out:  http://clairikine.blogspot.de/

1. Learning German is Essential

 
Claire Webster

While it might seem like a monumental task at the beginning, learning the language will make your life easier and way more fun while living in Germany. Sometimes you find yourself in a club and the guy on the dance floor next to you whispers in your ear. This is an instance when knowing German is helpful. (Trust me: this comes from personal experience!)

Of course, the language is also important for finding jobs, getting visas, visiting all the Amts and dealing with the bureaucracy of living abroad. Even though people in bigger cities (hallo Berlin!) tend to speak English, it’s not always the case. Plus, a language that has a word like bitte which can be used for just about any situation, it’s really not that difficult to pick up essential words to know. It’ll help you get further in your expat experience.

In every city across Germany you’ll find Volkshochschule which are local community schools which offer classes in everything from art & web design to language classes including German. Another good way is to attend language exchanges and meet-ups. The InterNations website organizes regular meet-ups in most major German cities, making it a good way to try out your language skills—plus meet other expats.

2.  Germans Love Their Bikes (and So Should You!)

 

Getty Images/Sean GallupGermans are avid cyclists, and for a reason. The city infrastructure is usually built with cycling in mind, meaning bike lanes can be found almost everywhere.

Germans are avid cyclists, and for a reason. The city infrastructure is usually built with cycling in mind, meaning bike lanes can be found almost everywhere. When moving to a new city, cycling is usually the best and the cheapest way to get to know your surroundings. Used bikes aren’t usually expensive, and several cities have bike-sharing services where you can use the public bikes for a small annual fee. Bonus: they’re emission free and will help to burn those extra calories from all the beer and sausages you stuff in your mouth.

3.  Cash is King

 
Claire Webster

Germans don't like debt. Businesses don't encourage debt. So do not ever assume that your card will work at any shop, restaurant or ticket machine. No matter if it’s credit or debit, German or international, much of the time it just won’t be accepted, and that's final. Many places don’t accept EC (electronic cash/debit) below a certain amount (usually 5€ or 10€).  -- Grocery stores are one of the few places I’ve found where credit cards are almost always accepted for any amount.

4.  Electronic Music Is What You’ll Hear

Germany is famous for its techno music scene. You might think it’s a stereotype, but I dare you to go out to a club in Berlin and not hear some form of electronic music. Even smaller clubs tend to have at least one night a week with techno, but really: it’s the bigger nightclubs that you’ll want to experience for electronic music. I don’t know why electronic music is so popular in Germany, but it is. Maybe it’s the country’s history, or the fact that so many of the world’s best techno DJs have come out of Germany (sorry, Bristol).

Even if electronic music isn’t your thing, give it a chance. In the right club atmosphere, you’ll find yourself swept away by the beats and the crowds.

5.  German Food is More Than Just Wurst & Bier

Saying that, as an expat, at some point you’ll probably start to crave your favorite foods from back home. Luckily, Germany has a relatively diverse cuisine—more so than you might initially expect! Even if you can’t find your favorite international foods quite as easy, there are specialty food shops and international supermarkets (plus more than a few online services) to get what you might miss from home.

In Germany, though, you’ll also find a lot of Italian and Turkish food options. American-style burgers are currently all the rage throughout the country, as is vegan & vegetarian food. And even when you’re craving German food in Germany, know that your options extend beyond sausages, beer and potatoes. Käsespätzle is a sort of mac & cheese perfect for the winter (or as a vegetarian option in most German restaurants) and the huge variety of meats make it easy to try new foods.

6.  Fizzy Drinks Are Awesome

I’m not 100% sure why, but Germans have a fixation with carbonated drinks. Water is always sparkling, unless otherwise specified. When you want to order water without the bubbles, ask for stilles Wasser (or Leitungswasser if you want it from the tap—but be warned they might not offer it to you for free!).

I won’t lie—I didn’t like sparkling water or many fizzy drinks before moving to Germany, but now it’s a staple of most of my meals out. Germans don’t just make their water fizzy, though. It’s also in their beer. Beer in Germany is generally excellent, perhaps predictably. Even the smallest village seems to have their own brewery. And in the summer, nothing is better than a Radler (a mix of beer with lemonade) or even a Diesel (a mix of beer with cola). There are also a variety of hipster soft drinks of every stripe available. Try the German brand Fritz Kola, out of Hamburg but widely available in Germany (and even across Europe).

7.  Everything Can Be Recycled

Claire Webster

Germans have a predilection for Ordnung, or order/discipline. And anyone who’s been to Germany will attest to the fact that everything can be organized—especially the trash. Glass bottles are separated by color. Organic waste goes in its own special bins. Paper and electronics are separated. Everything has its place. All the grocery stores have places to deposit bottles where you’ll get change back, ranging from 8 to 15 cents. In some cities, it’s quite common to leave beer bottles out on the sidewalk for the homeless and other bottle collectors to pick up.

The longer you stay in Germany, the better you get at organizing things. It’s actually quite a comforting thing—knowing that your trash is going to be recycled. You will be a fan of green energy too, it is simply contagious: I am nuclear-free. Plus, wind turbines are an essential part of Germany’s landscape, and you will love to see them from your train or your bus while crossing the German countryside.

8.  There’s a Place for Everything

It’s not just your plastics and papers that can be sorted, but just about everything else in Germany has its own special place and rules. You might think the stereotype of German bureaucracy & paperwork is a myth, but it’s not. Rules are followed to the letter in Germany. There’s an Amt (office) for everything—from registering your address at the Bürgeramt to dealing with the Ordnungsamt.
The rules go so far that even jaywalking is considered a serious offense. Trust me: try to cross an empty street when the Ampelmännchen is red. Just don’t tell people I told you to do it! (I have seen people screaming “children killer!” to someone who crosses the street with a red light, because in good German logic, children see you breaking the law and will follow your example.)

9.  Social Media Will Always Help

I don’t think I could’ve effectively made Germany my home without a network of friends, those people that had moved here around the same time, or those long-time locals who I was lucky enough to meet in my early days living here. Starting out in a new country, you usually don’t know many people in the beginning. I came to Berlin and knew no one.

And while Germans can be a bit formal, it’s definitely possible to break through those tough exteriors. If you’re relatively social, using social media you should be able to connect with new people wherever you are in Germany. Facebook and meetups connect you to local events, and through them it’s easy to find out about cool things to do. I’ve also found it helpful to connect with other international people living in Germany—those that are in similar situations and probably have dealt with the same issues of bureaucracy. I couldn’t have made it here so long without a strong network of other expats. Free networking websites like InterNations make it pretty easy to connect—they’re one of the biggest expat communities worldwide and a good resource for asking questions. Sign up here for free and maybe see you at one of the many Berlin meet ups!

10.  Get Comfortable in Your Birthday Suit

There’s a stereotype about Germans and nudity (and a more free-spirited approach to sexuality—but that’s a different story!) and I can tell you after living in Berlin for four years, it’s definitely true. Nudity just isn’t an issue in Germany. That first summer when I went to a lake for a day of suntanning, the crowded beach was a bit of a shock: there was a lot of droop. Quite a shock for this American!

But after that initial shock, I’ve come to realize the Germans really know what’s up. Nudity shouldn’t be an issue—when you separate clothing from sexuality, it’s actually incredibly liberating.
* * *
I can write lots of other stuff that you need to know before moving to Germany, from the (self-)imposed silence in public transportation to the surrealism of German television (and their weird taxes). I believe that Berlin made it easier for me to move here because the city is truly international. There are always lots of different people around. I sometimes dream of moving to a new city, a new country—somewhere like Barcelona or London, but I sincerely think I would miss Germany. Once you get in tune with the mood and the German-style, you can conquer the world (metaphorically, of course!).

Move to Leipzig and Become A German

These are the things I've adjusted to on my way to becoming German.

FacebookPinterestTumblr     Photo: Alexander Rentsch

1. Idle chit chat

During my first days of work in Germany, I made sure to be super friendly to all of my coworkers. Whenever anyone passed me in the hallway, I would grin maniacally, wave, and yelp, “Hi! How’s your day going?” The responses ranged from bemused looks to a total lack of reply. Confused but not discouraged, I continued trying to work my charms on my new friends.

One morning, I passed Roger, the department’s statistician. I laser-beamed him with my eyes and yelled out my usual “How are you?!” He paused for a moment, staring at me bewilderedly and scratching his fluffy, mad-professor hairdo.

“Do you really want to know?” he asked, one eyebrow raised.

“Uh, yes,” I stammered, unsure of what to make of this.

Twenty minutes later, he was still going strong on a breathless diatribe about how the students’ inferior grasp of basic stats and unbearably messy data sets were contributing to his ever-increasing workload.

Eventually sensing my discomfort, Roger paused and gave me a blank look. “Well you asked,” he muttered, rolling his eyes before continuing down the hall to his office.

2. Fear of nudity

Especially in the former East, Freikörperkultur, or free body culture, is an important part of German identity. Decades of oppression led to a particular appreciation for the experience of freedom and nudity without a direct relationship to sexuality.

This can sometimes be difficult for Americans to buy, particularly when your coworkers casually invite you to the office’s nude sauna or suggest a naked swim in a nearby lake. Adjusting to this culture without getting weird took some grit, finesse, and more than a few awkward encounters.

3. Expectation of safety above all

The pervasive fear of litigation that infuses most public activities in the United States is virtually nonexistent in Germany. Germans take a much more casual, reasonable approach to public safety. On a hike in Sächsische Schweiz, a beautiful, mountainous region of Saxony, I once commented on the lack of guardrails and warning signs surrounding the steepest cliffs. “Only an idiot would fail to realize that a steep cliff is dangerous,” my German co-worker stated matter-of-factly.

A few months later, after a particularly brutal snowstorm, I remember seeing an older gentleman faceplant on the ice while waiting for the tram. He stood up, casually wiped the trickle of blood from his forehead, and resumed his position on the platform without so much as grimacing.
I love this attitude.

Every year, a local artist would put on a crazy party called “Bimbotown” in one of the warehouses in the Spinnereistrasse neighborhood of Leipzig. The party was crawling with machines that this artist made — giant metallic worms slithering across the ceiling, bar stools that would eject their occupants at the push of a button from across the warehouse, couches that caved in and dumped you into a secret room, beds that could be driven around the party and through the walls. It was an incredible event that would have never been allowed to happen in the US because of all the safety violations — someone could hit their head, fall off a bed, get whacked in the eye. And it was one of the best parties I’ve ever been to.

4. Assumption of others’ guilt
Unlike Americans, Germans are often more concerned with protecting others than they are with shielding themselves from the mistakes of other people.  When I was filling out rental paperwork for my first apartment in Germany, one of the secretaries in at my office asked me if I’d purchased insurance yet.

“Oh no,” I said, “I don’t really own anything worth insuring, to be honest.”

“It’s not for you,” she replied, puzzled. “It’s to protect other people, in case you damage their property in some way.”

5. Frenetic pace / work above all

Moving to Germany meant an inexorable slowing of the pace of my life. Particularly in Saxony, there are strict rules about when stores can remain open. Most businesses are closed in the evenings and all day on Sunday. Additionally, Germans benefit from frequent holidays and typically at least a month of paid vacation.
This gave me some anxiety at first, particularly when I forgot to leave work early enough to get groceries or didn’t have time to go to the bank. Over time, however, I learned to both plan my days and to enjoy the break from chores rather than obsessing over lost time. After a few months, I was occasionally leaving work at 3pm to go watch the football game with friends instead of trying to cram in a few more hours of work. I still got as much done as usual, but I felt much happier and less burned out.

6. Rule breaking

In Boston, jaywalking is a way of life. The streets are so crazy and the lights so uncoordinated that you’ll die of old age waiting for the crosswalk. When I moved to Germany, I took this attitude with me but quickly found that it was not a universally acceptable behavior. Even if it’s late in the evening and no cars are in sight, crossing the street without the right of way will get you some heat from native Germans, with “Think of the children!” being the top rebuke hurled your way.

Same deal with “forgetting” to pay your tram fare — if you get caught, the icy stares heaped upon you by an entire car full of people will be enough to freeze your blood. The German system relies on people contributing to the common good even when no one is watching, and so freeloaders and rule-breakers are heavily sanctioned in German culture.

7. Buying on credit

Credit cards are also virtually nonexistent in Germany. This presented a problem for me when my American bank account decided to shut down after my first “suspicious” attempt to withdraw money in Leipzig, but once I got that squared away, being required to plan my expenditures and live on a cash-only system helped me keep my finances under control.

8. Assumptions about Germans

A few months into my time in Leipzig, I started really feeling like I had the hang of things. I knew my way around, I was pretty well set-up at work and home, and most importantly, I felt like I had the German attitude figured out.  One morning, I was biking to a conference and felt like it was unusually difficult to keep the bike moving. “Whoa, I’m out of shape,” I thought, heaving my shaking legs around the wheels as I tottered slowly down the street. While I was waiting at a red light, a man on the sidewalk flagged me down.

 “Ich spreche kein Deutsch,” I hissed, tired and irritated.

“Your tire is flat,” he said in perfect, clipped English, gesturing at my pitiful heap of a bike.

“I know that,” I lied, aggravated by this typical German statement-of-the-obvious. I tensed my foot on the pedal, ready to hurl myself forward as soon as the light turned.

The man paused and looked at me for a moment, unsure of whether to continue. “It’s just that, I have a pump,” he finally stammered, waving his hand almost apologetically at his backpack. “I could pump your tire for you.”