Germany is an amazing place for a vacation. There are the fairytale castles in Bavaria or you’ll be able to try your luck at Berghain in Berlin. The country has something for everybody.
But everyone knows that a much-needed break and everlasting relocation are very different propositions.
So, what’s it actually wish to live there? And is it higher than the UK at once? Alex Ahom, a Brit from London, definitely seems to think so.
Alex, 45, moved together with his wife and three kids to Hamburg, Germany, 10 years ago resulting from feeling like there was a scarcity of opportunity within the UK.
Since biting the bullet and booking the one-way flight, Alex hasn’t looked back, saying he found Germany each cheaper and safer, with overall higher advantages. Though there’s one thing he misses.
He said: ‘I feel there’s a trend of individuals leaving the UK because they usually are not joyful with the federal government, Brexit, and a number of persons are unhappy with things like immigration.
‘We desired to try something different. I felt that the opportunities in London were few and much between.
‘We’ve a pleasant place here, two cars, a few holidays a 12 months, because life is cheaper here so we will try this.’
Alex explains that the rent for his 2,000-square-metre house in considered one of the nicest parts of Hamburg is half of what they paid for his or her small Shepherd’s Bush flat, which they now rent out.
In addition to this, Alex has found that on a regular basis costs are cheaper in Germany. He says a loaf of bread costs lower than one euro and a litre bottle of water works out at around 30p.
Salaries are also higher in his experience – though Germany is understood to have higher taxes than the UK – and most firms offer at the very least a 12 months of paid maternity leave.
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Add to that more green spaces for his children to play, and Alex says it’s a really family-friendly place.
The dad also maintains that safety has played an enormous part in why they like Hamburg over London.
He recalled sooner or later of their latest home where he left his son’s backpack in a park, and a bunch of teenagers found it and handed it in to the police — which he says he wouldn’t expect within the UK.
In contrast, he says his kids don’t remember much of the UK and examine it as ‘scary and dirty’ after a nasty experience when any person broke into their automobile during a return visit.
He added: ‘If you happen to get accustomed to living in a palace, you usually are not going to need to return to living in a shoe box.
‘I miss home, but it surely doesn’t make sense moving back to a spot where we couldn’t afford half of what we now have here. You do feel safer. Women do discuss how they’re more comfortable walking at night. When you’ve gotten kids, you do consider these items more.’
It isn’t just the chance for extra space and a protected environment for his kids that meant they haven’t considered a return to London.
Alex said his relations within the UK need to wait as much as two years for surgery, vastly different from his experience of the German health services. ‘On my road there are greater than 30 doctors, and it is vitally strange that you just would need to wait greater than a day or two for a health care provider’s appointment,’ he said.
‘Once you weigh up the sensible belongings you begin to wonder why you’ll stay within the UK.
‘The home is cheaper, the automobile is cheaper, healthcare is cheaper, all schools are free, university is free. Individuals are moving to Germany because they need to offer for his or her families and it is simpler to try this here.’
But, after all, moving to a distinct country is just not all the time going to be smooth sailing.
Food, for instance, is a bit hit and miss for Alex as he misses the range and range of food in London, saying he struggles to seek out meat that isn’t pork in Germany.
The personality of German people was also something that stumped Alex, as he says it differs hugely from ‘polite’ British sensibilities — being more direct of their communication.
Alex, who used to work for Apple, says people at his job seek advice from everyone by their surname, and it’s unusual to change into friends together with your colleagues.
He also recalled one time when a friend who came around was yelled at by a stranger because he didn’t have a hand free to cover his nose and mouth when he sneezed.
He said of the culture shock: ‘It was a giant adjustment, much greater than I had expected.
‘English people have a status of being polite globally. German persons are on the alternative side of that spectrum. It’s a really different culture.
‘Within the UK we just mind our business, you wouldn’t approach someone to call them out, partly because I’m from London and you would possibly get stabbed.
‘We see things in a distinct light. It’s a giant culture shock. Some people I do know can’t manage it. I actually have friends who’ve moved here from the UK and might’t handle it.’
Nevertheless, though he misses the food in London, Alex seems to have decided that the advantages to moving to Germany far outweigh the negatives.
Many other Brits are making similar moves. Despite it now being far trickier to relocate to other countries in Europe following the tip of free movement after Brexit, persons are still looking for a move abroad.
Total UK emigration numbers jumped by greater than 6% in 2025 in line with the Office for National Statistics, with 252,000 residents leaving the UK and only 143,000 people returning.
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