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[–]begonia_skies 5 insightful - 1 fun5 insightful - 0 fun6 insightful - 1 fun -  (5 children)

This is my fear, I'm moving to the DC area soon and I have no idea what to expect. I currently live outside the US and have not actively dated in some time (I was in a relationship for several years, broke up, then met someone organically, and recently broke up). I mean I think I'm a good catch, but a lot has changed since I have been out of the US and I really don't have any interest in dating someone that is "F T-RFS" and that sort of thing, le sigh I guess I'll see how it goes. I was actually very close to moving to a position in Seattle so maybe I'm glad that didn't work out!

[–]Elvira95 6 insightful - 1 fun6 insightful - 0 fun7 insightful - 1 fun -  (4 children)

You said you lived in Germany. Is the language barrier very difficult to handle?

[–]begonia_skies 4 insightful - 1 fun4 insightful - 0 fun5 insightful - 1 fun -  (3 children)

Hmmm, yes, German is not an easy language for a non-native speaker and Germans seem to love correcting you when you speak German incorrectly. I also speak Korean (not as well anymore!) and it was kind of the same, like if the sentence isn't said perfectly they act like they can't understand you. It is frustrating, but I'm assuming they aren't used to hearing people speak with an accent or with less than perfect German. Maybe since I'm American I am used to hearing accents, but the Germans I live around can't stretch their ear around an accent even if I am blatantly pointing at what I would like to buy. However, I think the cultural differences are the most difficult, in my opinion. Germany seems a lot more insular than the US, a "foreigner" just feels not welcome here. There are several surveys done on expats that rank Germany quite low in terms of "ease of settling" I think one of the lowest in Europe and I personally can attest to that. Maybe in a more diverse area like Frankfurt it might be more open and fluid, but I live in a small area so your mileage may vary. Why do you ask?

[–]Elvira95 6 insightful - 1 fun6 insightful - 0 fun7 insightful - 1 fun -  (2 children)

Oh well, yeah, I guess cities are more open to outsiders, that's also make a big difference, I guess. In the future, I will have to emigrate, and Germany is one of the prospect, although I much prefer the Uk and hope I can get there. But with brexit and all, it isn't sure, while Germany would be easier. So I wanted to know how hard it is. Culturally speaking, nordics countries are very introverted, but I'm loner/introverted by nature, so it isn't really a negative for me, better than extroverted culture with strangers bothering you. But you also talked about difficulty in understandign each others because of language. That's more of a problem

[–]begonia_skies 4 insightful - 1 fun4 insightful - 0 fun5 insightful - 1 fun -  (1 child)

Honestly, it's a really nice place to live. I think it's just a lot of little things that have built up for me personally that perhaps make me biased; however, for every negative feeling I have there are probably two or three positives. I think maybe I'm not a great resource since the honeymoon phase of moving abroad has faded into the stark reality where I don't feel like I fit in here. I live in a small town so definitely not anyone nearby to date, so I'm lonely, and I'm feeling burnt out from my job - so please take my considerations with a grain of salt! I'm sure when I'm back in the dumpster fire that is the US I'll wax poetic on my European adventure, lol!

[–]Elvira95 6 insightful - 6 fun6 insightful - 5 fun7 insightful - 6 fun -  (0 children)

Yeah, definitely living in smaller town makes things worst. People there are definitely less open to non-germans, and as a lesbian, you also have to deal with limitated dating poll which also concentrate in bigger city. Quality of life wise and for a less stressful existence, Germany still wins over USA