Live data from Hacker News

Why skilled workers come to Germany and then leave again

dw.com

401–410 of 891 posts

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

#401

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> The whole immigrants who don't integrate seems to be a constant issue in every developed country across the globe I can't speak for the other countries, but in the US it's almost entirely an agenda being pushed. When I hear people say this, it's not because of any experience they've had, but just a repetition of talking points. Virtually none of them had a negative story to tell. I've heard far, far worse stories i…

There are notable issues in the Southwest in the United States where people don't speak any English at all, and speak only Spanish, suggesting they are legal citizens born of illegal immigrants, or are still illegal immigrants themselves.

I don't doubt they speak only Spanish, but this is the part I contest:

> There are notable issues

What are the issues? Which (English speaking) Americans have been so negatively impacted because of this, and how?

I don't live in the Southwest, but we have them here as well. They speak little/no English. Yet both they and the people around them live just fine.

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

#402

Earlier quoted context omitted.

There are shared values in the US, but not many. Love of the US, and 'freedom' is about all, for the later we don't agree in what freedom means. There are many different distinct cultures in the US. Cowboys from north Dakota and Texas are both cowboys but have little cultural connection, and the hill billies Tennessee are very different from each.

The same can be said about Germany.

Very true, but Germany has a much smaller country, both in population and geography. This also has a lot less influence by people from different continents that immigrated not very far back in history.

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

#403
post #367
post #347

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Well, why is „learn the language“ not a rational and pragmatic requirement? Seems rational to me. Want to live in country X permanently? Learn language X.

I mean, when you have already proven that you are net positive for the state, and continue doing so, requiring you to pass some exams is not rational. PR != citizenship. Will I have a bit difficulty buying some groceries in a local market? Maybe, but that shouldn't bother the state. Also, you can live permanently without PR. PR unlocks some additional perks, which again, have nothing to do with linguistics.

You can be a net positive one day, next day you lose your job and are not. On the other hand, permanent is supposed to be without end. An unemployed worker with no language skills in the local language quickly becomes a burden

Residency while employed is rational. If you want to stay longer, learn the language

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

#404

Earlier quoted context omitted.

sad to see this downvoted because it is very much true. European society loves to pretend that they are these progressive, enlightened people. In reality, what they are is just better at hiding their racism and xenophobia. Your last point is largely wrong. The primary difference between immigrants to the US and to Europe is in qualifications. The majority of US immigrants are skilled. The majority of immigrants to Eu…

>In reality, what they are is just better at hiding their racism and xenophobia. It's not xenofobia, it's just a rigid caste system with little to no upward mobility for immigrants, setup for the economic benefit of the locals at the expense of most immigrants. Sweden and others for example has no inheritance taxes so locals inheriting property and assets get a massive leg up at advancing in society with little effor…

> The difference is EU doesn't do deportations and instead showers illegals with welfare

I don't even know how to begin to respond to such nonsense.

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

#405

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The difference is that - excepting about 1.4% of the population - everyone here in the US is either an immigrant or descended from immigrants. Most of them long after the Mayflower sailed. However long it takes to create a new capital-E Ethnicity, it hasn't been long enough.

And that is what binds them together, they all took the leap of faith, they all seperated from the old world, they all brought only their work and their spirit. The us is a phyle of choice and you must have made that choice to belong to it. This Choice is also the freedom so often referenced. Which also means you can leave the us by abandoning its values.

> The us is a phyle of choice

Well, except for the people who didn’t have any choice.

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

#406

Hi everyone I don’t usually comment on topics like this because there are so many biases and different perspectives involved. In the end, I believe only the person who has actually gone through the experience can truly understand it; otherwise, it often becomes just another judgment. We are an ASEAN family earning more than €200k gross annually (sorry for mentioning the TC, but there is a reason for it—please keep re…

If you cannot be bothered with learning our language, and think that being rich somehow makes our country owe you its citizenship — then yeah, maybe Germany isn’t for you.

Permanent Residency -- not citizenship.

Residency is purely about taxes, health insurance and right to work. You e.g. don't get voting rights in national elections.

EU citizens automatically get permanent residency in any EU country regardless of language.

E.g. I'm a permanent resident in Germany as a Dutchie.

(However I did end up picking up German and speak it now. But never had to do a language test)

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

#407

Earlier quoted context omitted.

B1 is a completely fair minimum standard. It's normal for many countries to expect residents to have basic conversational adequacy. It's also the kind of requirement that's made explicit on government information about residency. So it shouldn't have been a surprise.

Like, I imagine if I moved to a country and couldn’t do the B1 things in their language, I would have daily obstacles doing basic life things.

That is not true for many countries, especially in EU, and especially when you move as a skilled worker.

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

#408
post #296

Berlin is one the cheapest capital cities in Europe. As such it attracts a huge amount of immigrants. That low cost is reflected in the pay. An experienced full stack developer would be fortunate to get 90-95k euro annually. That is plenty of money if you intend to stay in Berlin, but is not something you can save up and build a future with or transfer to another country. Also, housing is a huge problem there and it…

Your first sentence is a bold claim considering the current state of the housing market

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

#409

Earlier quoted context omitted.

As someone who lived in the US briefly, I found Americans are just a lot more hospitable to foreigners, than Germans and most other Europeans in general. Probably because there's no such thing as an US-American ethnicity, but there definitely is at least one or more unique and very distinct ethnicities and cultures for every European country, and simply getting the passport as a foreign adult, does not also buy you i…

sad to see this downvoted because it is very much true. European society loves to pretend that they are these progressive, enlightened people. In reality, what they are is just better at hiding their racism and xenophobia. Your last point is largely wrong. The primary difference between immigrants to the US and to Europe is in qualifications. The majority of US immigrants are skilled. The majority of immigrants to Eu…

> European society loves to

The idea that there is a single European society is laughable to anyone who has visited more than one European country.

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

#410
post #282

Earlier quoted context omitted.

In practice, even the Trump administration is far less hostile to immigration than their rhetoric would betray.

ICE agents are arresting people when they show up for green card interviews.

ICE agents arrest _people who committed crimes_ at green card interviews (including "entering the country illegally," which is a crime.)

As I said, the United States is very welcoming to foreigners who are willing to follow the laws.

Post reply on HN