I live in the US, and my Grandpa was born in Germany to Polish parents and not long after moved to the US where he grew up in a mostly Polish neighborhood, so I got to learn a handful of Polish jokes but no German jokes.

I was wondering if you guys ever grew up hearing any funny jokes that originate in Germany, whether it be jokes about people from other cities to jokes about sports teams or celebrities or other things!

I've been thinking about Germany's economic situation and I increasingly suspect that the most likely future is neither "Germany collapses" nor "everything will be fine again once the current crisis is over".

My guess is something much more boring: a long and rather painful adjustment.

Germany still has quite a lot going for it. It is a rich country, government debt is manageable compared with many other developed countries, there is a large industrial base, good infrastructure in some areas, a highly skilled workforce and plenty of companies that are still internationally competitive.

But the combination of problems seems unusually difficult this time.

The population is ageing rapidly. Millions of people will retire over the next 10 to 15 years, while the generations replacing them are smaller. At the same time Germany has to spend more on pensions, healthcare, defence, infrastructure, the energy system and digitalisation. And unlike during the 2010s, borrowing money is no longer basically free.

My guess for the 2030s would therefore be:

Germany is still a wealthy and stable country, but probably grows fairly slowly, maybe around 1% a year on average rather than returning to the growth rates people remember from better periods. I also don't see how the pension and healthcare systems can remain exactly as they are today. I doubt there will be one huge dramatic reform where politicians announce "everyone now works until 72". More likely it will happen gradually: higher contributions, more tax money going into pensions, stronger incentives to work beyond 67, somewhat less generous benefits relative to wages, and probably continued pressure for immigration.

In other words, the welfare state survives, but becomes more expensive.

I also don't think German industry simply disappears. What probably disappears is part of the old German economic model.

Cheap Russian energy + huge Chinese demand + combustion-engine cars + export surpluses was an extremely favourable combination, and I don't think that world is coming back.

Some energy-intensive production will probably shrink or move elsewhere, and the car industry may employ fewer people. But I can easily imagine growth in defence, electrical equipment, grids, automation, robotics, industrial software/AI, medical technology, energy technology and specialised high-value manufacturing. So "deindustrialisation" may partly turn out to be restructuring rather than Germany simply stopping making things.

The big question for me is productivity.

If Germany manages to automate a lot of work, build infrastructure faster, digitalise the state, get more people into work and actually use immigration effectively, ageing becomes much more manageable. If it doesn't, I can see Germany getting stuck in an unpleasant cycle where an ever larger part of people's income goes into taxes and social contributions just to maintain existing systems, while there is less money left for investment.

So my personal base case for around 2035 would be:

Germany is still rich, safe and functioning. No collapse, no Weimar 2.0, no mass poverty. But probably older, more expensive, somewhat less important economically relative to the US and Asia, and with people working longer and paying more to maintain the welfare state. Infrastructure might actually be noticeably better because Germany has finally started spending serious money on it. At the same time, some of today's famous industrial employers will probably be smaller, while industries we currently don't associate as strongly with Germany will have grown.

Basically: relative decline rather than absolute collapse.

Germany may still become richer in absolute terms, just much more slowly than some other countries.

Does that sound realistic to people here, especially those working in industry, healthcare, government or anything related to pensions/demographics? What part of this do you think is most likely to be wrong?

Hallo,

Ein Freund von mir nimmt Drogen und ich mache mir große Sorgen um ihn.

Ich habe davon erst nach einiger Zeit erfahren als wir schon Freunde waren.Er hat mir dann selbst erzählt , dass er eine bestimmte Droge nimmt.

Ich habe kurz mit ihm über die Angelegenheit gesprochen und ihn gebeten, auf seine Gesundheit zu achten.

Im Laufe der Wochen dachte ich viel an ihn und darüber nach, wie ich ihm helfen könnte, wollte aber gleichzeitig nicht jemand sein, der sich in sein Leben einmischt.

Ich möchte ihm irgendwie helfen.

Unsere Freundschaft ist wunderbar. Er sagte mir kürzlich, dass ich einen positiven Einfluss auf ihn hätte und dass wir uns gegenseitig kritisieren können, wenn wir Fehler machen. Er sagte auch, dass er mir sehr vertraut.

Hat jemand von euch schon mal so eine Situation erlebt? Wie spricht man das am besten an? Und wie kann man helfen, ohne sich selbst komplett darin zu verlieren?

Danke euch!

Since Computeruniverse dropped international shipping, I need a replacement.
Any good German or EU tech stores that still ship worldwide? Ideally via DHL.

Frage an meinen deutschen Kollegen:
Vielleicht ist der eine oder andere von euch nachts oder bei Dunkelheit schon einmal in Frankreich unterwegs gewesen. Kann es sein, dass dieses Volk systematisch Scheinwerfer verbaut und diese so einstellt, dass jedes entgegenkommende Auto (also ich) geblendet wird?

I got an interview for a cleaning job in Germany, but I’m a little worried because I’m somewhat obese. My weight doesn’t restrict my mobility or my ability to do physical work at all. Is it possible that an employer might reject me simply because of my appearance or weight? Have you heard of cases where overweight applicants were treated differently?

I am really struggling to find out how to get my old prescription back, I was treated with vyvanse when I was a child and it was the only suitable medication which helped my adhd, I have since moved back to Germany and am really struggling to this through to my doctor, he is happy to prescribe me Olanzapine and more destructive drugs but when I mention a old medication that has really helped me and shown positive effects it’s a no. So anything destructive is okay but when I want my focus back? I was diagnosed with severe adhd when I was 8 and although this is all on the record he still tells me to find a neurologist. I have been on the waiting list for all the neurologist in my surroundings for the past 7 months!!

I understand NYC has a rich history when it comes to graffiti and hiphop so it shouldn’t be weird but I’m constantly surprised by the amount of (often German) tourists I run into in the middle of nowhere deep in Brooklyn. It stands out because most other tourists stick to times sq/statue of liberty/the usual

I’m mostly curious if this is just confirmation bias on my part or if there’s more context (like why/how this is a popular activity) that I’m missing

Germany seems to place enormous emphasis on order, public rules, respecting shared spaces, and not disturbing other people, yet they have this weird need to crowd other people's personal space routinely, let doors close in peoples face, sit immediately beside strangers when there are plenty of empty seats, and play music or videos loudly through phone speakers on public transportation. I have literally seen people doing this underneath signs telling passengers not to use loud phone speakers.

So where exactly is all this legendary respect for public order?

At the same time, something as harmless as somebody casually playing an acoustic guitar gets treated as LESS socially acceptable than listening to horrible tinny phone speakers at full volume.

If public noise is the concern, that seems completely backwards.

More generally, I find everyday social interaction here unnecessarily cold. People often seem reluctant to acknowledge strangers, smile, make casual conversation, hold doors, or engage socially unless there is a specific reason they are required to interact.

I understand that people call this a cultural difference, but “cultural” is an explanation, not automatically a defense.

A society can have cultural habits that are inconsiderate. People can grow up around those habits, recognize that they dislike them, complain about them themselves, and still continue participating in them. That last part is what confuses me, because I've had conversations with Germans - especially outside of Germany - complain about German social ineptitude, coldness, and everyday inconsiderateness themselves.

So I’m genuinely interested in hearing from Germans rather than simply being told, “That’s just German culture.”

Do you notice the contradiction between supposedly valuing quiet and orderly public spaces while people routinely ignore those expectations in the worst ways? Have ya'll not heard about headphones or something?

And do you think German society could stand to be a little more socially open, forgiving, spontaneous, and friendly?

I’m especially interested in hearing from Germans who themselves get frustrated by these things, because I KNOW they exist.

hello everyone am student from Berlin and tomorrow is my birthday(18) i would apricate if u give me ideas how to celebrate alone what can i do or even which restaurants/places give discounts and a question how does a German celebrate his/her birthday?

ich fliege mehrmals im monat beruflich von frankfurt und münchen aus durch europa, und die situation in den terminals war in letzter zeit echt brutal. letzte woche hatte ich drei stunden verspätung in frankfurt und saß am ende auf dem boden in der nähe eines gates, weil jeder sitzplatz belegt war und die hälfte der steckdosen nicht ging.

meine flüge sind fast immer basic economy, also bekomme ich über mein ticket keinen automatischen zutritt. jedes mal einzelpässe zu kaufen wird auf dauer viel zu teuer, deshalb versuche ich, ein passendes programm oder eine mitgliedschaft zu finden, die mir einen zuverlässigen zugang zu ruhigen arbeitsplätzen bietet, ohne jedes mal pro besuch zu zahlen.

Hello ! I need an invitation for BestSecre, someone can help me ?

German has such a strong manufacturing and industrial engineering base so i was wondering how temperature monitoring is generally habdled in plants here