Why skilled workers come to Germany and then leave again • Hacker News Board

Re: Why skilled workers come to Germany and then leave again

#61

Post by whateverboat » Tue, Jul 07, 2026, 12:37 PM UTC

4gotunameagain wrote: post #41

whateverboat wrote: post #21

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I think this is the biggest factor. Ambitious people who want to become rich do not have any opportunities in Germany. It is good for people who are content with a middling but comfortable life. That's why most ambitious people leave.

This is not a bad thing. Wealth inequality is destructive for societies.

Yeah, these people are not looking to become super rich. They are coming from very poor backgrounds (compared to median wealth in Germany) and they want to reach upper middle class levels (wealth wise, not income wise) for those countries.

Re: Why skilled workers come to Germany and then leave again

#62

Post by polotics » Tue, Jul 07, 2026, 1:01 PM UTC

probably_wrong wrote: post #48

I migrated to Germany 10+ years ago and I'm still here. Based on my limited experience, there are two big issues. First, things are bad : trains are getting worse every year, the highways are in disrepair (ask me about Bonn!), overloaded doctors, impossibly slow bureaucracy, economic crisis, growing inequality, housing crisis, and so on. If you're a fresh immigrant who cannot find a job in an economic crisis (aka "mo…

There are sclerotic forces at work in Germany.

I sometimes wonder if the digestion of East-Germany hasn't somehow hurt a post-war rejuvenated Western&Southern German spirit.

Maybe it's just post-traumatic-stress from the Russian occupation still lingering: 1989 is not that far, generations-wise.

There is hope still... https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCT7MCko43YqeZ1x55O1DRtw

Re: Why skilled workers come to Germany and then leave again

#63

Post by zihotki » Tue, Jul 07, 2026, 1:07 PM UTC

parheric wrote: post #20

I've been here for a decade, and sadly I feel the issue is upward mobility for skilled workers. Unless you're working for an intl company, with ex-pats in positions of leadership, your chances of "getting ahead" are going to be limited, especially when you're competing against natives. The reason is sadly, the culture is very reserved and cautious, so as an "outsider" it's going to take A LONG time before you can be…

That resonates a lot with my experience in Netherlands. It's way friendlier for expats but the barrier is there

Re: Why skilled workers come to Germany and then leave again

#64

Post by rsynnott » Tue, Jul 07, 2026, 1:16 PM UTC

maccard wrote: post #56

sph wrote: post #39

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I remember visiting London and being surprised that pubs would close at 11pm and night life, outside of clubs, would pretty much die. In the largest city in Europe! Mad stuff. When I moved back to Italy I had forgotten that shops close between 13 and 15:30. Every country has their own little quirks

Yep! I used to live in Ireland and pubs being closed on Good Friday was like the end of the world.

Not just pubs; it was also off-licenses. The Thursday before at my local supermarket was always like the apocalypse, with people panic-buying booze.

There were some weird exceptions to the rule, too; in particular you could buy alcohol on trains.

Re: Why skilled workers come to Germany and then leave again

#65

Post by rsynnott » Tue, Jul 07, 2026, 1:21 PM UTC

ozlikethewizard wrote: post #11

simianwords wrote: post #4

Earlier quoted context omitted.

[flagged]

I think what its trying to say is race as a defined biological categorisation doesn't really exist, at least not to the extent its been described in past. The biological variance between humans is more of spectrum than categories. race as a cultural / social concept does exist though, and that biology certainly correlates to an extent due to geography and how human society has traditionally functioned. I.e, the corni…

Ah, but it gets messier than that. What's a Celt, anyway? It was traditionally believed that Celts were in some sense a single ethnic group, but the genetics don't _really_ support that, in particular for British and Irish Celts.

Re: Why skilled workers come to Germany and then leave again

#66

Post by disgruntledphd2 » Tue, Jul 07, 2026, 1:29 PM UTC

rsynnott wrote: post #64

maccard wrote: post #56

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yep! I used to live in Ireland and pubs being closed on Good Friday was like the end of the world.

Not just pubs; it was also off-licenses. The Thursday before at my local supermarket was always like the apocalypse, with people panic-buying booze. There were some weird exceptions to the rule, too; in particular you could buy alcohol on trains.

And in train stations and airports!

I kinda miss the old Good Friday laws, it made it a great day for parties as all the pubs were closed.

Re: Why skilled workers come to Germany and then leave again

#67

Post by sinuhe69 » Tue, Jul 07, 2026, 2:01 PM UTC

When people came to the country to work then retire somewhere else, isn’t it not a net benefit for Germany? Less burden on the social net, healthcare system etc.

So what the Germans did is right, not wrong!

Re: Why skilled workers come to Germany and then leave again

#68

Post by Arnt » Tue, Jul 07, 2026, 2:12 PM UTC

4gotunameagain wrote: post #41

whateverboat wrote: post #21

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I think this is the biggest factor. Ambitious people who want to become rich do not have any opportunities in Germany. It is good for people who are content with a middling but comfortable life. That's why most ambitious people leave.

This is not a bad thing. Wealth inequality is destructive for societies.

Uh-huh.

A small town where I've lived was very much like its neighbours, but one particular neigbour was different in two clearly visible ways: ① there were (still are) more rich people in that neighbour and ② it was much easier to get financing for starting and growing companies in that neighbour.

Re: Why skilled workers come to Germany and then leave again

#69

Post by happytoexplain » Tue, Jul 07, 2026, 2:17 PM UTC

dinkblam wrote: post #19

simianwords wrote: post #10

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Hard boundaries are not required for categories to exist. It is really surprising that smart educated adults don't see this. Will you suggest I'm sexist because I think male and female gender exists?

Colors are a a continuous spectrum, yet we put them in a bunch of categories.

It sounds like this is an analogy in support of the parent - is that the intent?

Re: Why skilled workers come to Germany and then leave again

#70

Post by throwawaypath » Tue, Jul 07, 2026, 3:17 PM UTC

probably_wrong wrote: post #48

I migrated to Germany 10+ years ago and I'm still here. Based on my limited experience, there are two big issues. First, things are bad : trains are getting worse every year, the highways are in disrepair (ask me about Bonn!), overloaded doctors, impossibly slow bureaucracy, economic crisis, growing inequality, housing crisis, and so on. If you're a fresh immigrant who cannot find a job in an economic crisis (aka "mo…

>First, things are bad: trains are getting worse every year, the highways are in disrepair (ask me about Bonn!), overloaded doctors, impossibly slow bureaucracy, economic crisis, growing inequality, housing crisis, and so on.

Any minute now those millions of doctors, lawyers, and engineers from the MENA countries that flooded Germany the past decade will fix all that! Any minute!