The German Way: Life in Austria, Germany, Switzerland

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It is only when you leave your own country to live in a different one that you fully appreciate how much we humans are not only creatures of habit, but also of culture. Expatriates in Germany or other countries can suddenly lose many things they once took for granted. The most significant of these are language and daily culture.

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Even buying a cell phone (ein Handy) can be a challenge in a strange land. > Large view
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Where you once knew how things work—at the bank, while shopping, at work, on the road—now you’re in unfamiliar territory. Where once you knew how to read a menu, now you find strange German dishes you can’t even pronounce. Where once credit cards were taken for granted, now you have to make sure they’ll be accepted—even in a restaurant! Where once you could read package labels at the grocery store, now you can’t.

But you also gain things you didn’t have before. You not only learn a new language and a new culture, you also learn a lot about yourself and your own culture when you live in a foreign country. Viewed and handled properly, an assignment in German-speaking Europe can be a wonderful experience. And others have gone before you—and not only survived, but thrived. True, some people handle culture shock better than others, but these German Way pages are intended to make it easier for anyone to have a better experience in German-speaking Europe. Knowing what to expect can be a big help, and that’s what you’ll find here: information and resources for Americans and other English-speaking expats in Germany, Austria, or Switzerland.

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Expat checklists
To help you prepare (or cope, if you’re already in Europe), we’ve provided three expat checklists with the most vital topics that expats have to deal with. This list comes in part from current and former expats, some of whom learned these lessons the hard way. Now you don’t have to. Read on...

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Original Web content ©1997-2009 Hyde Flippo | Graphic design by Erik Flippo www.erikflippo.com
Hyde Flippo is solely responsible for the content of this site and, other than permission granted to publish copyrighted material, McGraw-Hill/Contemporary Publishing has no direct involvement, financial or otherwise, with this site. When in Germany, Do As the Germans ©2002 McGraw-Hill; The German Way ©1997 McGraw-Hill/Passport Books. All rights reserved | Site Map | Advertise with us!