Do Germans still have a bad rep for being rude and cold and whatnot, or is there a generational shift? I’m just wondering how we are perceived these days because I have lots of internationally European friends and I must say, I still don’t think we are the rudest or stingiest or even the most direct. But I am very aware that we aren’t liked by a lot of people — and I don’t blame them. There are quite a few things I despise in people’s mindset here. However; it seems to be the case that the younger generation is better at communicating, being nice, and somewhat warm as well.

Are there any positive traits you associate with Germans (inter-personally, not culturally)?

Or name a few if you cannot decide just for one.

Get ready to hop back over to Europe this spring. Have been getting euros from various places (friends, eBay). Likely going to leave anything less than .20€ at home, but with the lower value coins piling up, don’t mind taking over sometime to give to charity or pay at a grocery.
Side note: I take it there are self-checkouts at big grocery stores that take coins, like here in the States. I take our coin jar with me about once a year to pour into the coin receiver at these checkouts. Get rid of coins, store gets coins for change, don’t have to pay a fee to change coins.

What is that one thing

I have been to a few over the years and always amazed by the people and their culture. I always wondered what it would be like to live for a little while and take in the daily rhythms of the healing waters and the overall peaceful lifestyle. I am not looking for just the flashy and famous places, but more of the true and authentic destinations and the experiences that the Europeans have been blessed to enjoy over the centuries!

Thank you all for your great insights and for the kindness of this community!

You all are appreciated more than you know! 🙌🙏🥰

Edit: Thank You All for the Great insights. This is why I appreciate the community. The people are knowledgeable and care about the good things in life. And so many of you are very generous with your time and recommendations!

Much Gratitude and Appreciation to you All!

Im really tired of scammers approaching me especially in Italy.. I was thinking on my next trip in such areas to bring fake money in my wallet, if they approach me I will happily give it to them and if they try to use it elsewhere they will get in trouble and finally get penalized.

Edit: i didnt mean counterfeit money.. more like monopoly money.. something that would not be obvious to them easily but pretty much obvious to everyone else

Hi there!

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It's common to listen in media that EU need to pull all it's power in the world, but when you see this discourse usually is in Brussels.

When they begin to take steps to raise money/power for this, member countries drag their feet, think only about the benefits they could receive (as a giver or a taker). Mostly trade deals, including the ones called "geopolitical strategic", got barred because the interest of one or other country and the countries that defend them usually have constitutencies that benefit directly. Even when european political leaders talk about power projection, its defensively: "against Rússia", "against China", etc.

So, are there any support of European Superpower project in the Europe population today or it's just technocratic babble? Does most europeans just like internal benefits of the Union?

What’a your most interesting antique shop find?

Can someone live their lives in your country without ever needing to own a car for practical or social purposes?

For example, in Turkey, Istanbul Accent considered as educated and proper way of speaking. But if you speak any other accent or dialect, you will generally considered as uneducated in the eyes of the public.

I'm wondering about this because when I was speaking with my Italian friend he told me that they don't really have that kind of terms and I'm curious about the other countries.

What's your "weird thing that happened at work" story?

We currently all (most) learn English in school, but it's a language with many exceptions, not clear pronunciation and other issues. Even after several school years, a lot of Europeans can't speak English (just one source, but there are many others) https://historiccafesroute.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/07/conversation-english-eurobarometer.jpg

Esperanto is a language that has been intentionally created to be easy to learn. It has no grammar exceptions, pronunciation is straightforward, and words are easier to remember than in English https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Esperanto#Vocabulary

There was a study that I read some time ago about a test project in Finland and Hungary, and it concluded that students become fluent in Esperanto much faster than English. So a lot of time and efforts could be saved for other things, and a greater percentage of people would become fluent in this common language, than currently with English.

It doesn't have to be Esperanto, it can be another language that is intentionally easy to learn. But the idea is to have a language that is both easy and faster to learn than English currently. More people would learn it, and compared to English, a lot of time could be saved for other things

I don't get why this isn't done, wouldn't most Europeans benefit from it?

Israeli here {:-)

So, I’m a very feminine man to the point where most strangers mistake me for a woman. In Israel I’m considered very exotic, not a day goes by where people aren’t shocked that I’m a guy

By contrast, wenether I travel to Europe no one cares in the slightest, it’s like they consider us common

so is it common?

Here in Hungary even if you BOTH work in the highest paying jobs (IT, doctor, etc.) it's pretty unrealistic to buy your own home without a large parental support or 20 year bank loan.

Just an example: at this age 1m HUF (2400 EUR) net puts you probably at the top 0,001% of the population. A decent flat in Budapest is 70M+ (170k EUR), and a small town house is about the same.

Lviv is definitely on my list. I’ve seen pictures and the architecture is just absolutely stunning, I’m surprised that more people haven’t heard about Lviv. I’d definitely want to visit once the situation with the war clears up.

I feel like Europe has a lot of cool cities that aren’t really famous like Paris, Rome or Barcelona, but are definitely worth visiting. What are some lesser known cities that are worth visiting?

Hi there!

Welcome to our daily scheduled post, the Daily Slow Chat.

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I recently found out that the Reichsbanner Schwarz-Rot-Gold, the paramilitary organization for the SPD in the 1920s and early 1930s, still exists and has their own website, and just celebrated their 100th anniversary

Say you are or have a child with a disability what kind of help or lack there of can be expected for them in your country?

What’s a spicy food you love?

In Ireland, it would probably be the disappearance of Trevor Deely. He was last seen on CCTV, walking home from a Christmas party. He was about 10 minutes from his apartment but didn't make it back and has never been seen again. All possible suspects have been ruled out and no trace of him has ever been found.

For me it is Slovenia, there is no particular reason but no desire to visit the country again.

Hi there!

Welcome to our daily scheduled post, the Daily Slow Chat.

If you want to just chat about your day, if you have questions for the moderators (please mark these [Mod] so we can find them), or if you just want talk about oatmeal then this is the thread for you!

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How do people in your country look upon nose piercings? I have a septum and a ring on one of my nostrils as well.

Any legitimate reasons?

You pop out a newborn baby in your home country how are you granted citizenship?

I realise that it depends on the brand and probably the country, but maybe someone here can share how long they were told they need to wait for a car ordered to a given configuration?

Please include brand and country where ordered.

To my knowledge, if you're a US citizen, you're supposed to file your taxes even tho you moved to a different country and are paying tax there too.

How do you deal with that? How do you actually do it (like turbotax or any free alternaties)?

The current stuff with Greenland made me think of this question. Coming from the Netherlands, we ourselves also have overseas territories, 6 islands in the Caribbean to be exact. These are part of the Netherlands (in different ways), but they seem so different to me, climate-wise and assuming culturally as well, that it doesn't really feel Dutch. I've never been there myself, so this is all based on stories from others who have been, and assumptions from far away. It's mostly treated as a holiday island, not unlike the Canaries or Balearics.

What product from your country was discontinued?