American Reacts to German Homes: How Germans Live

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[gregclark]

The no kitchen thing bothered me at first but I realized this way I have my own appliances and can set up the kitchen the way I want. As for the noise it is very nice to know that you can depend on it being quiet at night and even from 12 noon till 2 pm.

[HenryLoenwind]

Just imagine flats came with built-in desks and computers, TVs and stereos, and you had absolutely no control over them. People feel the same about their kitchen appliances.

[vomm]

The Tiny House thing was made a little too big in the video. This movement may exist, but almost no one buys Tiny Houses in Germany. That's not really a thing. And yes it is absolutely common for rental apartments to not have kitchens (but it does happen). This is also the reason why I never had a real kitchen in my whole life, because I was always too lazy to take care of it and I didn't feel like having to take care of it when I move out again. But it's common to have at least a stove and a sink with base cabinet in the kitchen in every rented apartment. Also, depending on the landlord, sometimes you have the possibility that the next tenant will take over a kitchen, but this is not the rule.

[Blvckbirdz]

The noise level probably won't be controlled by anyone as long as you don't annoy your neighbours too much. So it may be written in the contract, but will under normal circumstances rarely lead to consequences. Usually your neigbours will be tolerant if you for example have a birthday party with loud music, cause they will do the same in some occasions. But, of course, if you permanently make loud noise everyday, someone will get annoyed and complain.

[ZerosWolf]

About the kitchen thing: Some apartments do come with a kitchen, but it is not the norm. Having your own kitchen is neat, especially as it is really yours and have a design you like and the appliances you want. My current kitchen is all white and I really dislike it and I would LOVE to exchange the oven because it's handling is complicated (Ikea). I brought my own fridge with me because the installed one was just too small, especially the freezer part. The built in one now serves as a cupboard.

About the noise: This mainly refers to nighttime. It's german law to keep the noise down between 10pm and 6am to not disturb your neighbours nightrest. If you disregard this rule, your neighbours can call the cops on you. During the day, you have the right to be as loud as possible though, but that also depends on whether you want to be liked by your neighbours. Being blasted with music all day will not make the your friends and it is always a good idea to be cordial with your neighbours, as a good neighbourly community can sometimes save the day.
Houseshoues for example have softer soles as outdoor shoes, so they make less noise on the floor, which could be heard by the neighbours below. I once had an upstairs neighbour that liked to wear high heels at all times of the day and sometimes I felt like ripping her feet off.

Edit: The painting is in case you painted the walls a different colour, or habits of yours (like smoking) have heavily effected the colour. For example, my living room currently has two turquoise walls and my bedroom two yellow walls. Unless the next renter does not tell me specifically to leave it to them, I will have to paint them back to white when I move out one day.

[blondkatze]

Hey Joel, when you live in a multi-family house, there are always fixed quiet times that you have to stick to. Where we used to live in the city was from 10.p.m. to 6 a.m and from 1 p. m. to 3 p.m which was really good if you had a small child at the time who was taking a nap. Meanwhile we have been living in our own house in the country for 26 years. Here the neighbors don`t take it so seriously if you hear loud music.But on Sundays and public holidays of course, you stick to the quiet times such as no loud music, moving the lawn, etc.

[mel_ooo]

"too much noise" are things like drilling a hole into the wall at 3am, mowing your lawn at 5am, deciding to have a piano lesson at 11pm etc. it's all common sense but sadly you can't always rely on people to have that so instead we have rules. i have a friend who lives in nyc who's constantly complaining about loud construction at night and loud neighbours that keep her up. it's nice not to have to worry about that type of stuff. usually your neighbours will be fine if there's a special reason to be loud, for example my neighbours host one big party every summer and they always let the rest of the house know several days in advance and no one here would get mad at that, it's just about respecting each other in a shared space like an apartment building

[andrewcoogans]

The conditions are really good for renters. In the UK, I have been used to landlords having lots of power in a contract, but in Berlin my landlords are so helpful and responsive if there is anything wrong. They seem to take an active interest in my wellbeing, and I like this situation better!

[Ana_SchiSchi]

How loud we are allowed to be in our homes is (of course) regulated by law in Germany. The guideline values are:

- 40 decibels for daytime
- 30 decibels for nighttime (between 10 pm and 6 am)

And yes, some people have a decibel meter and check the volume of their neighbors when they constantly violate quiet hours. "Ruhezeiten" are taken very seriously here and I think that's perfectly fine.

[DaGuys]

Since most people don't move too often the kitchen is usually in kind of a bad state whenever they do decide to move out (obviously time is not too kind to structures that are used daily). So it makes sense to just buy a new custom-made kitchen whenever you move.

[thisismetoday]

You can literally call the police if ‘Nachtruhe’ [lit. night silence] isn’t respected. Tbh, it’s very rarely breached, and it actually makes for quite a respectful community, because the idea behind the rule - of course - is to not bother your neighbours with your noise.

[michaelh.]

Many people let the kitchen furniture in, because it wouldnt fit in the new flat or it could get broken when take it out again. Dependable of the age and quality the next pays a tip for the old ones, so he/she doesnt need to buy.

[Attirbful]

What about tastes and styles? If you live in the same kitchen that was put in by the landlord, you would expect it to be rather cheap and possibly in a color or set-up you hate. Or a previous owner put it in and it is horrifically old-fashioned or, again, in a color you hate, or it only has small cabinets but you’r prefer bigger ones, etc…. When I moved into my first apartment in Germany, I loved the fact that I was able to install a gas stove, for example, and that I could choose the exact types of cabinets I needed and did not have live in the ones, someone else picked years and years ago for the amount of stuff they had back then…

[felixg.]

just discovered ur channel i love u bro ur such a likable person and ur videos are entertaining. greatings from Austria (next to germany)

[corinnaschmidt]

In Germany there are so-called rest periods. During these times, some things may not be done. They vary from municipality to municipality, but generally there is a midday rest between 1 and 3 p.m., night rest between 10 p.m. and 6 a.m. and all day on Sundays/holidays. During these times, for example, no leaf blowers, lawn mowers or noisy tools (cutting machines, etc.) may be used. Otherwise, you shouldn't bother your neighbors with noise at other times either.

[LadyLaduga]

With the kitchen it depends ... some appartements come with a whole kitchen, but it's not that common. At least in my experience (may also depend on the city/region you live in). The city I live in now you have at least a stove and a sink in it, but you have to take care of the rest yourself. So either bring your old kitchen from the appartement before or buy a new one. The city I lived in before the kitchen had actually nothing in it (and that was the case in all 3 appartements I had).
For the "noise making": it's actually like you can't/shouldn't make any noises louder than "household noise level" after 10 or 11 pm til 6 am. Meaning for instance no over the top loud music or drilling at those times. And ofc on Sunday you shouldn't do that at any time. If it happens only once that you make loud noises in the "forbidden times" I guess no one will complain. But if you do it regularly others will certainly complain with the landlord.

[Kris]

Renters are very protected in Germany and cannot be kicked out easily. Many livebat the same rental for 20-30 years…and the rent cannot be easily increased on an existing rental agreement. So the longer you live in a place the cheaper it gets. If you live in a place long term you want to determine the style of your kitchen and not get something cheap your landlord chose.

[lorenzsabbaer]

you look after your kitchen quite more than a rented one! its the same with cars. you get 3 warnings when u are too loud with the 4th you get thrown out.

[Ijanon]

6:35
The repaint part of course only applies if you painted your falt in a "non neutral" color during your time there.
Also the air out part is to prevent mold

[PokhrajRoy.]

I love unwieldy and squashy pillows. They’re my favourite kind.