The German Way Expat Blog

Where a House is a Home

August 10th, 2009

I’ve been living in Germany for about two years now. I knew things would be different here, but how things would be different was a big question mark. Although I had visited Germany a few times before, living here is a whole different ball game… as we Americans like to say.
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Categories: Daily life, Expat issues | Tags: daily life, Geoff, homes, neighbors, real estate | No Comments

Many kinds of noise - “vielerlei Lärm”

May 11th, 2009

Germans don’t mind noise — as long as you don’t make any.

I have no solid comparative data to back it up, but I would rate the German tolerance level for noise (Lärmempfindlichkeit) as among the lowest in the world. This is especially true for Germans living next door to you! German ears tend to be highly tuned to noise (hellhörig), especially what they consider LOUD: loud radios, loud walking, loud talking, loud music, loud lawn mowing, loud children, loud partying, loud sneezing, loud dogs, loud engines, or loud anything. Of course, almost anywhere, one person’s music can be another person’s noise. But in Germany, your music is much more likely to be noise to your neighbor than anywhere else. (more…)

Categories: Daily life, Expat issues, Tips, advice, suggestions | Tags: Berlin, expat life, Fußball, Germany, hellhörig, Hyde, Lärm, laws, neighbors, noise, Ruhestörung, soccer, Zimmerlautstärke | 1 Comment