bluewatersail

I guess being of jewish ancestry makes me a little overly sensitive and I don't laugh such things off as easily as most of you. I just remember things my grandfather told me -when this man used the word "foreigner" it stung. I don't know if my last name was a marker or what, I don't even know if the last names that are considered jewish in the US are considered jewish in Germany. It might be refreshing to some, but disturbing to me. I don't know how refreshing it would be to an Asian or African immigrant.

The home is in Munich and is quite elegant. Most Germans cannot afford it and those that can will say it's overpriced (according to the agent.) The house had been listed but for some reason the agent didn't want to give any info on it but I got the contact # anyway.

By the way, what is the risk in renting to foreigners? In many countries people WANT to rent to Americans rather than locals.

GodOSpoons

Yeah. I'm only disappointed that I didn't even get a chance to answer.

Timothy

But I feel like I should add something to this that answers the TITLE. Germans and, even more so, Austrians are incredibly charming people. However, they do expect a certain amount of order--all of this manifests itself in little things.

To Wit:

o People stay to the right on the Autobahn unless they're passing, signal clearly and respond to prompting (flashing lights to pass) enabling the extremely high speeds... try to find this on a US highway
o People won't cross the road unless the indicator says to walk, which contributes to pedestrian safety
o Beer is filled to the line on the glass, no higher, no lower... this way, you never get screwed out of a yummy beer
o Your rental car is examined from end to end on departure and return for any and all damage, as it's the rules and any damage must be paid for

Go to Oktoberfest and have a beer, go to a Christmas Market and have some Glüwein or just sit in a neighborhood Biergarten and drink. Say "Bitte!" and "Danke!" a lot, expect very precise questions and answers (even in English) and find an optimal balance between suspicion and Spaß.

mosburger

Still convinced that a person from any given country can get along and prosper anyhwhere, I proudly present my five reasons to like Germany and Germans:

1) The unbelievable variety in (organic) bread, ham and meat in general. Cheese might be better in France or Ireland, vegetables in Italy and fish in Greece but no European country beats Germany when it comes to a tasty Schwarzwaelder Schinken on Bauernbrot. ^

2) The train system. Ah, those ICEs and Metropolitans, only the Nozomi in Japan can keep up in comfort and speed. And the airport stations at CGN, DUS and FRA make life so much easier, including the 1st class lounges.

3) The strong presence of local cuisine and beer. The everpresent Kebab grills and fast food joints have left a thriving regional cooking intact. From herring and Labskaus in the north to the Haxes of Bavaria and Sauerbraten of the Rhineland.

4) The numerous Opera houses and Philharmonic orchestras. I think this kind of devotion to classical music is unparalleled in any other country.

5) The Deutsches Museum in Munich. Fond memories of visits during childhood travels trying all the gadgets.

Daydream

You already gotten all the right answers, but, keep in mind that Munich is the most difficult rental market in Germany. I have a house there that I shared with 4 others (and now sublease my rooms there), and I had at times 100 phonecalls for one very mean written add for a rather high priced room....when my mom rented out that house years earlier we had people sending us gifts, bank statements, and even a home video just to rent that place.

Also,we people from Munich are very tolerant and open to visitors. Having said this, I am not sure if I would rent to Americans... if they dont pay they can just leave the country and flee... and than they sue for everything, I would be scared to be sued for stuff in my house (and the German law is totally pro-renter, so I would have bad luck). It for sure has nothing to do with your religion!

RichardInSF

It's difficult to make cultural generalizations and know if they are valid or not. In Japan, for example, most Japanese will not rent to a foreigner -- even Bill Gates -- without a Japanese "guarantor."

When we rented our second, larger company office in Japan, we had two years history of paying our rent on time, a couple of million dollars in our Japanese bank account, a Japanese realtor, and an entirely Japanese staff -- and the landlord wouldn't take the lease until one of our Japanese employees PERSONALLY guaranteed it!

Aviatrix

THAT, I think, is the real explanation. Nothing to do with racism or xenophobia... just a fear that someone who is non-resident can just "do a runner" and disappear back to their home country leaving large unpaid bills.

ILuvParis

Perhaps you don't understand how silly this sounds. What you are effectively saying is: Oh no, we would not discriminate because of religion. Not in Germany. National origin? Of course, and let's stereotype all Americans while we're at it.

ifii563

Going back to the original theme in the thread ..

I rented several different apartments in Germany. I found the best way to gain the respect of the landowner was to employ a Makler (an agent). Using a Makler seemed to persuade the landlord of my permanent intentions and financial stability, making it a good bet to choose me (a foreigner) over possibly another german.

The problem though is that a Makler can cost a chunk of change .. but it is worth it, when otherwise I had to spend all of my free evenings looking at apartments and always being rejected because there were other germans interested in the apartment .. and I as a foreigner stood little chance, though I speak german ...

Rob

Snoopy

I had a similar experience quite a few years ago when I was posted to Munich. I would scour the paper early in the morning and call. Invariably the places were rented already. I couldn't figure out how this could be at 9 am already!! Finally I asked a real-estate agent. She told me that having a German name but a foreign accent, most landlords were afraid that I was an "Aussiedler" (my simple - and maybe incorrect - definition for that would be someone of German descent, not living in a German territory since the end of WWII). For some reason these people are extremely unpopular and landlords just didn't want to rent to them. In the end, I managed to find a place out in the country (near the Tegernsee) and lived happily ever after until (MUCH too soon) my posting was over....

Don't take the foreigner bit to heart too much...Virtually all the countries I have lived in have some sort of mistrust of foreigners (and that includes the US to a certain degree). Whether one is a Gaijin, Gwailou or Auslaender...it all boils down to the fear of misunderstanding a different language or culture.

USAFAN

Not true! The real estate agent was telling you baloony... Most of the landlords would rent to foreigners, especially when you work for a company.. they assume you will have the money pay etc....
Next, when I wanted to rent a place in Frankfurt ... many years ago ... I went to the place where they distribute the newspaper (=Frankfurter Rundschau) at about 10:00 PM (evening before ...) and call ASAP.

bluewater... couldn't rent because the landlord did not want an "American Tourist"... or he had other reasons ... or bluewater.. didn't pass the "smell test", who knows. But that's NOT a general pattern for Germans! BTW, "Charge it on Diners (credit card)" doesn't open any doors ... or buys any trust!

GradGirl

Um, I've lived in America all my life, and I would also consider "Gimme ... " or "I want .... " to be very rude. I apologize on behalf of the Americans who order this way. I think "Can I please have the eggs and toast?" or "May I get the chocolate cream pie?" is the polite way to order in either country.

(Unless of course, these Americans said the phrases in Dutch and this is the best they can manage. If I heard a clearly non-English-speaking visitor try hard to say "I want eggs and toast" in my language, I think I'd give him extra points for effort.)

Sorry for derailing the discussion - Germans I've met are very polite people.

Snoopy

Well, actually, I'm not sure that it was baloney....many people I met later during my stay in Munich confirmed that these particular foreigners (Aussiedler) were really unpopular (nobody ever actually explained to me why). I found that people changed towards me when they discovered that I wasn't actually an Aussiedler, but British. The hard part was always getting past the phone grilling, and of course not being face to face with the landlord was a problem when it came to passing the "smell test" as you put it.

Also bear in mind that Bavarians are a law unto themselves and are different from the rest of Germany.

netsurferrr

I had a priest as the guarantor for my apartment in Cologne. The real estate agent (makler) and later the property manager just explaint to me and the priest what they needed to clarify. That was it!

Are Americans really that friendly when so many of them these days rush to give you a lesson of "friendiness" & "respect"?

Things simply work differently in each country, that´s it! Americans are so spoiled by their standards in their geographically isolated and huge country. The fact that the Canadian standards are identical to the American standards does not help at all.

Referring to some comments made earlier, I would like to remind you all that the US sent boatloads of Jews back to Europe before the US involvement in WWII. I do not even want to go through the latent discriminations the American society still has against Asians these days.

Living in most parts of Germany these days will probably deliver you a higher standard of living than 80% of the US areas.

Zarcero

I lived in Germany for three years. In the town of Aschaffenburg. I lived in two different apartments and had no troubles at all. In fact the owner of the first unit I rented not only still sends us Christmas cards, but also calls occasionally. And it has been over twenty years! She also owns a pub there called Dreimaedelhaus.

I have found the Germans to be very polite in all instances. And the same goes for other Germanic countries like Austria, Switzerland, etc.

Z

Analise

People of all nationalities can be rude so why single out the Germans? Individuals are responsible for their own behavior; don't blame their nationality.

Does German law (or is it EU law) protect people from being discriminated against by landlords because of race, sex, nationality, religion, or sexual orientation?