Some further evidence from playing just now. My friend was sailing the ship and the wind was at our backs, he had to take a phone call so I took over and the moment I sat down the wind abruptly spun around 180 degrees and is blowing in my face. Aaaaaaaaaa

Oh I know about tacking and do that as much as I can, but still find it curious that the wind is always the exact opposite of my intended course lol

Of all the things that could be said about 2020, Biden coming into an unusually good situation is the most disingenuous, even if you are just talking about the economy.

Trump and Republicans blew an insane amount of money and had nothing to show for it among the general population, covid-19 was handled incredibly bad by Trump leading up to that point, and the lame duck president of the United States had just attempted a coup to stay in power.

Framing this time as anything but unprecedented and tumultuousis does not do it justice.

I went from north to south on my trip originally and I think I encountered exactly one German local who didn’t speak at least decent English the whole time. Also good to know about the accents! I thought I had learned how to say excuse me quite well but tried it in the south and got weird looks lol

Adding this place to the list then, thank you!

We stayed in Freiburg for a week and loved every minute of it. It was our first choice until someone started me on this idea of the south being conservative. I understand cities in general are more liberal, especially university towns, but I don’t want to live in a haven surrounded by bigotry once you leave the city proper

Edit: Im not saying that’s what Freiburg is, I hope it isn’t.

It’s much the same here, although some cities are more welcoming than others. The hard part is finding a rural or semi rural area that is also accepting but near to a city that isn’t also white suburbia

Partner is looking to go to university (for law) and I’ll be either looking for a programmer position or trying to figure out a freelancer situation. What I’m seeing is that pretty much anywhere in Germany is a step up from the sinking ship that is the US right now in terms of conservative insanity. I prefer a quiet life mostly spent at home with pets and family with the option to go out on the town for a good meal and fun once in awhile or attend a festival a few times a year. Nightlife is preferred as well, sun bad

I don’t necessarily need to me immersed in it, but having community and good food nearby is a welcome change. Especially being able to take a train into the city. Here you would need to drive 45+ minutes by car just to find a single gay bar that might be kinda shitty anyway. US cities are similar in that they are more welcoming but frankly, by all other metrics, our cities suck

If you find anything that would be greatly appreciated! Your response is encouraging nonetheless, the landscape is changing so rapidly here it is hard to know where is actually safe and welcoming to all the letters

From what I’ve seen and experienced in the US, poc and their communities tend to be more upfront and real with each other but thats very anecdotal from a non-poc perspective so take that as you will. White people, however, we are trained from birth how to participate in this “practiced” customer service speech. It is exactly as you describe and very deeply engrained

You hit on every topic I am considering, Berlin is sounding more in line with what I want. While I am not a poc I still have no interest in living around racists. It would be such a welcome change to be around more queer people, vegan options and a general sense of peace. I wouldn’t really consider leaving the US if it were not for the increasing sense of hostility around and the insane amount of anti-lgbtqia laws popping up. Workation is the next step I think, probably sometime around summer of 2024.

If I might ask, what is the acceptance of trans folks like within the queer scene in Berlin?

I’ve tried to write several responses defining how Americans talk to each other and it’s just so sad and hard to explain. “Small talk” is the phrase that comes to mind: obligatory, cliche, repeated statements with expected standard answers. It’s miserable

Honestly I’m fine with the frosty attitudes and being ingored compared to the super fake and passive aggressive bs from folks here in the US. Thanks for the insight

You know I went to Europe for the first time thinking I was hopeless when it came to foreign languages. But after spending a week in Germany I could use basic greetings, numbers and was starting to understand some common phrases; a very fun experience honestly. I regret not continuing to learn formally, but if we commit to Germany then I’ll have a few years to take lessons beforehand.

Ideally I want to live rural and work remote, same situation I have here, but I understand that is a rare privilege and hard to find everywhere.

That’s encouraging to hear. I’m just worried about moving across the world to a place I really loved only to get crooked looks from neighbors when they see my partner and I together, which is exactly the sort of thing I want to get away from. I’m a software developer so I’ll likely need to move to a city to find work regardless, but really do enjoy the more rural settings. Thanks for the insight :)