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The Differences Between Germany and the United States

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Re: The Differences Between Germany and the United States

#61

Post by fab1an »

anamax wrote: post #54
Argorak wrote: post #41

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Germany also has a diverse culture, especially because it wasn't a unified state until the end of the 19th century. So the generalization is on both sides.

> Germany also has a diverse culture Compared to what? Compared to Madison Wisconsin, maybe, compared to all of Wisconsin, probably not, compared to Texas or CA, not a chance. Heck, South San Jose is more diverse.

It depends on whether you define diversity as being 'ethnically' diverse or culturally diverse. Obviously, Germany is ethnically less diverse than, say, California, just as much as any American city is ethnically less diverse than London. If we're talking about 'cultural' diversity the regional differences between southern, northern, eastern and western Germany can be extreme, yet maybe difficult to notice for someone who has not lived there for at least a bit.

In my personal experience (I grew up and spend most of my time in different parts of Germany and Europe, but have worked and lived in Boulder, CO) there is a very distinct and unifying American identity that you do not find like that in Germany. A lot of Germans in the south will define themselves first and foremost by their regional identity, the same is true for people from Hamburg - and the differences are striking, as most Germans from who are from one region but have lived in another will confirm.

That said, comparing whole nations in this manner is entertaining, yet rarely a really fruitful enterprise. People in Wisconsin probably share more similarities with people in Meckelenburg-Vorpommern than they do with New Yorkers, the latter being more similar to people in Berlin etc etc.

Re: The Differences Between Germany and the United States

#62

Post by yummyfajitas »

r3m6 wrote: post #42
yummyfajitas wrote: post #29

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The German approach in my opinion does more to alleviate outcast-scale poverty. I'd be curious how this actually plays out in practice. In the US, we have a great document called the American Housing Survey. It breaks down what percentage of poor people (and non-poor people) own various goods - e.g., 75% of poor people own a car, 65% own a washing machine and 45% own their home. http://www.census.gov/prod/2008pubs/h1…

The key is that the basics are covered (like in most of Europe) 100% of poor people in Germany own a health insurance 0% own a house (you have to use up your own money first) 100% own a washing machine (paid for by the government) 50& own a car (my guess, but you dont really need it in big cities)

Do you have actual stats on this, or are you guessing?

Also, access to financial services (e.g. health insurance) is irrelevant. Financial services are intermediary goods (like education or business suits) - irrelevant by themselves, but sometimes useful to get other things you really want.

Re: The Differences Between Germany and the United States

#63

Post by tseabrooks »

The article is interesting even if bits and pieces are out of date. It's nice to see other's viewpoints.

My one complaint about this article, and a lot of articles of the same ilk, is the part where Americans get criticized for not "traveling abroad" and not "seeing foreign countries".

I suspect most american's will travel more MILES than the average european without ever seeing another country. It's far far more expensive for an American to visit other western countries than it is for the average European. We'd absolutely LOVE to be able to fly to France for the price of train ticket from London to Paris. Sadly, the price of oversees airfare is pretty damned high.

I know visiting different states isn't the same as visiting countries but I think people living outside of the U.S. don't understand just how different various U.S. regions are from each other. Really, you might say it's a bit silly to go visiting foreign countries when you haven't even experienced all of the diversity in your own country yet.

Re: The Differences Between Germany and the United States

#64

Post by maratd »

tseabrooks wrote: post #63

The article is interesting even if bits and pieces are out of date. It's nice to see other's viewpoints. My one complaint about this article, and a lot of articles of the same ilk, is the part where Americans get criticized for not "traveling abroad" and not "seeing foreign countries". I suspect most american's will travel more MILES than the average european without ever seeing another country. It's far far more exp…

> It's far far more expensive for an American to visit other western countries than it is for the average European.

Well, yes. Then there's the enjoyment factor. Personally, I've been to Europe multiple times. Hell, I was born there. And frankly, I enjoy going to the Caribbean, Bermuda, and Mexico much more.

> I know visiting different states isn't the same as visiting countries but I think people living outside of the U.S. don't understand just how different various U.S. regions are from each other.

Also spot on. If you live in NYC, going to NOLA is plenty exotic. Vice versa as well. Air fare is almost nothing compared to going to other continents.

The only people who might truly be able to relate would be from China and India. Both countries are large and diverse enough that traveling inside of their borders becomes a rewarding experience.

Re: The Differences Between Germany and the United States

#65

Post by stupandaus »

activepeanut wrote: post #7

Americans living abroad are not even allowed to give up citizenship to avoid paying U.S. taxes. That's wrong, along with many other facts in this article.

I think he meant that if you want to avoid paying U.S. taxes, you have to give up citizenship, which is true to my understanding.

Re: The Differences Between Germany and the United States

#66

Post by DirtyCalvinist »

tseabrooks wrote: post #63

The article is interesting even if bits and pieces are out of date. It's nice to see other's viewpoints. My one complaint about this article, and a lot of articles of the same ilk, is the part where Americans get criticized for not "traveling abroad" and not "seeing foreign countries". I suspect most american's will travel more MILES than the average european without ever seeing another country. It's far far more exp…

I once had a conversation with a Frenchman (in France) about how he had berated some poor American girl (also in France) for not knowing that Zurich was in Switzerland. I promptly quizzed him on which states 5 American cities were in, all larger than Zurich. He failed miserably.

The United States is geographically almost as large as the whole of Europe. The closest foreign border to me is Niagara Falls just over 400mi away, and even if I go there, they still speak my native tongue with pretty much the same accent. I don't think there exists any point in Germany that far from another country.

Re: The Differences Between Germany and the United States

#67

Post by NameNickHN »

gegenschall wrote: post #39
subpixel wrote: post #25

I've lived in Germany for 5+ years and believe humor to be one of the widest cultural gaps between Germany and the US. To wit: http://artsbeat.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/11/02/what-makes-germ...

Disclaimer: I am German and I actually saw and liked 30 Rock (in English) ;-) As for 30 Rock: The problem with English shows on German television is that they are all dubbed. I won't say that they are doing a bad job (c.f. eastern european countries) but sometimes they are missing out puns and jokes which "can't be translated" without losing meaning. In the end this can make a funny TV show unwatchable. On the other…

> I won't say that they are doing a bad job

I do. I watch American shows and films exclusively in their original version because of the really bad job they do with the translation. From time to time I catch the dubbed version by accident. Mostly I just cringe and make it go away.

Re: The Differences Between Germany and the United States

#68

Post by derleth »

Argorak wrote: post #59
anamax wrote: post #54

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Germany also has a diverse culture Compared to what? Compared to Madison Wisconsin, maybe, compared to all of Wisconsin, probably not, compared to Texas or CA, not a chance. Heck, South San Jose is more diverse.

I din't compare anything. Also, it looks a lot like you never travelled through Germany from north to south. Every piece of Germany has different traditions, dialects and food. I am from a place where I cannot understand people from the next village. Also, all those parts are pretty vocal: I think Germany is the only country that has developed regional Wikipedias (at least Bavaria, Palatinate and Northern Germany).

> I think Germany is the only country that has developed regional Wikipedias (at least Bavaria, Palatinate and Northern Germany).

Different varieties of English could do that, but English tends to center on an American/Commonwealth divide with only the two prestige dialects everyone else sees as the only 'valid' ones.

Re: The Differences Between Germany and the United States

#69

Post by sciurus »

If you like this, you may be interested in these comparisons of the US and Germany.

http://www.freedomhouse.org/report/freedom-world/2011/united...

http://www.freedomhouse.org/report/freedom-world/2011/german...

http://www.heritage.org/index/country/unitedstates

http://www.heritage.org/index/country/germany

Re: The Differences Between Germany and the United States

#70

Post by rustynails »

gegenschall wrote: post #39
subpixel wrote: post #25

I've lived in Germany for 5+ years and believe humor to be one of the widest cultural gaps between Germany and the US. To wit: http://artsbeat.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/11/02/what-makes-germ...

Disclaimer: I am German and I actually saw and liked 30 Rock (in English) ;-) As for 30 Rock: The problem with English shows on German television is that they are all dubbed. I won't say that they are doing a bad job (c.f. eastern european countries) but sometimes they are missing out puns and jokes which "can't be translated" without losing meaning. In the end this can make a funny TV show unwatchable. On the other…

I'm from OZ, and to be honest, I need the canned laughter when watching US comedy - because the humor is not obvious (eg. Will and Grace- canned laughter when a dog walks across the screen ... Ahh, Americans find that funny... Ok) Now British humor? I get that without canned laughter.
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