While visiting Munich (twice), staying with a German family and studying at the Goethe Institut, I got a taste for life in Germany. The country’s ability to seamlessly mix the traditional with the very modern fascinates me, especially in today’s political climate. In this next post in my living abroad series, we find out what raising kids in Germany is like for a young family from the U.S. Thanks, Hayley!
Raising Kids in Germany as an Expat
I live in a little town called Konigstein im Taunus right outside of Frankfurt, Germany along with my husband, Phil, and our daughters, Allie and Claire. We initially chose this town for proximity to our girls’ school and my husband’s work, but we’ve absolutely fallen in love with it. It has its own castle, which we can see from our bedroom window, a charming old town, and we’re surrounded by beautiful German forests and hills. I share some of our life in Germany and our travels on my blog (becausegermany.com).
On the decision to move there:
We moved to Germany a little over two years ago. My husband had been working for a German chemical company for a few years in the US when he was offered an expat assignment near Frankfurt.
It was perfect timing for our family for a lot of reasons and we were definitely up for the adventure of raising kids in Germany and the opportunity to travel in Europe.
On the challenges of arriving in a new country:
Honestly, the process of moving and the move itself was incredibly tough for us. International moves are really complicated and we encountered delays. The kids and I ended up living separately from my husband for almost two months.
We also all got sick the day before our flights over to Germany and so were a mess, but we were immediately thrown into doing things like registering at the town hall, setting up internet, figuring out the grocery store, learning to drive, buying appliances, etc. It all just felt so overwhelming and intimidating at first.
I started feeling more comfortable with each new thing I learned to do. Once we got in our house and started to make friends and had time to begin exploring, we really started to fall in love with Germany.
On making new friends from around the world:
We’ve been very lucky to have a built-in community through our daughters’ school. It’s an international school so most of our friends are fellow expats, from the US and around the world.
On a typical day as a stay-at-home parent in Germany:
As a stay-at-home mom raising kids in Germany, my typical day here feels strangely similar to what is was back in the US. It has been a transition for me in the past year since both my girls are in school all day now. I’ve added in volunteering a lot at school (and some lunches with friends) to my daily rotation of driving the girls around, errands, chores, etc. since I currently don’t plan to work while we’re living in Germany.
On the slow life in Germany:
The pace of life here just seems so much more relaxing with a great work-life balance. My husband’s work hours and commute are much better and he gets six weeks of vacation a year in addition to 10 public holidays!
I also love the emphasis on spending time outside; our family has adopted the German habit of taking long walks every Sunday. I also love that we able to experience a new culture and to explore so much of Germany. It makes every day seem like an adventure.
On the challenges of living in another country:
The service culture here in Germany is just not the same as it is in the US. Something like getting a washer fixed can take weeks. The language barrier has also been really hard for me. German is a difficult language to learn and even after two years I don’t feel at all confident with my German.
On the pressure to follow rules:
Germans are definitely rule followers. For example, they will wait on a completely empty street for the signal to change before they cross the street! There are lots of rules for everything and they are not afraid to correct or stare down anyone who isn’t following them.
On the advantages of raising kids in Germany:
I love the approach to childhood here! Parents have a more relaxed and less worried attitude and I feel encouraged to let my kids take risks and be more independent. There is a lot of emphasis on kids playing outside: at school, my daughters have outdoor recess regardless of weather (and I mean it! 17 degrees and snowing? They’re outside!).
My older daughter’s kindergarten class has a forest day once a week, where they spend the day in the woods, playing in the creek, building with sticks, and looking for bugs. There is also absolutely no pressure on academics in German schools prior to first grade. I love that they are getting the freedom to just be kids.
If Americans would be like Germans…
It would be great to have this amount of vacation time back in the US! I also think Germany is much more environmentally conscious than the US, everything is recycled here. When we go home to the US, I’m kind of horrified now by the amount of waste!
Hayley’s top tips for visiting Germany:
Germany is an amazing place to visit. The big cities are great, but also be sure to make time to visit some of the smaller towns and definitely explore some of the country’s natural beauty- the mountains in Bavaria are stunning and so are the Rhine and Mosel regions. You have to see at least one castle. Burg Eltz is my favorite (even over the more famous Neuschwanstein).
And of course experience all the delicious food in Germany! The bread culture here is huge and a daily trip to the bakery is an essential part of German life, so a trip to a bakery to take in all the choices in a must.
On what’s next:
We will be living in Germany for at least one more year, but we’re hopeful for an opportunity to extend our stay a few more years. Ultimately we are planning to return to the US; as much as we’ve loved our time here, America will always be home.
Read more: What’s it like to live in Bonn, Germany? and What’s it like to live in Munich?
Find out more about what it’s like to live in another country in my Living Abroad series.
