Very interesting article
I am German and moved to the UK 7 years ago, for similar reasons, at a similar age, and with similar backgroud. It's just an hour flight, but indeed very different in so many ways.
It's interesting to see how an expat sees the country I left.
He's spot on with his observations regarding certifications. In Germany, HR like to cover their backsides, so that they can say "but he seemed to be the perfect candidate on paper", if things don't work out.
In the UK on the other hand your work experience is much much more important. You get a chance to prove the claims you made in your CV much easier here than in Germany. The job market is much more... flexible. For better or worse, as you don't have notice periods of 3 or even 6 months (depending on how long you have been in your job), and if the employer doesn't think you are a good fit, you can be shown the door almost as fast as you walked in through it. In Germany it's harder to get rid of an employee, and therfore often harder to get your chance, too.
(By "in the UK", I mean the Greater London area -- I shouldn't draw conclusions for the rest of the country)
The costs of living differ greatly between different regions and cities. The North-West corner where Bosseln is played, is comparable to Scotland outside of the two major cities. How else would you explain that you can play such games on open roads? :)
Seriously, it is one of the cheaper regions in Germany. But nonetheless a nice area. I'm a Fishkopp myself ("fish head", as southern Germans like to call people from the north/seaside)
If you go into cities like Berlin, Hamburg, Cologne, Munich, and these days also Dresden and Leipzig, you'll find much higher costs of living, albeit not as extreme as London or saught after areas in other English cities (in particular the last few years).
I found his claim funny, that almost any activity leads up to having drinks. That's actually very true in several German places, where communities are stronger (typically more rural areas). I'm glad that he put himself out there trying to blend in! That's super important in those communities. If you don't do that early, you're very quickly "the odd one out" and have little to no chance at all to rectify that later, unless you move elsewhere in the country and start over.
I used to live in the deepest and darkest parts of Bavaria for a while. Not only could I barely understand them -- their accent is much worse compared to "Hochdeutsch" than Scottish accent to "Queen's English", if you like. Also, they are so ridiculously close knit communities with very weird traditions, that it's very hard even for a native German to blend in and be accepted by them. (Unlike the typical tourist hotspots there, where hospitality will be offered to those who bring enough coins.)
Every community in every area has its own traditions and (often seasonal) activities. They are to be marked in the calendar and to be attended at all cost, whether you like it or not. You will be expected to show, if you live there. But... booze is usually cheap, and everybody will have lots of it, which helps. :)
Anyway, good luck in Germany! I don't envy those who have to learn German. It's a ridiculously difficult language, which most native speakers haven't mastered. (At least you live in an almost accent-free area.)
Biting the hand that feeds IT
