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I’m German.

I used to be poor as fuck, didn’t have a job, had lots of medical issues due to being very overweight, was depressed and dysfunctional, also a stoner on top of all that. That was in 2009.

But the state paid my rent and gave me some money so I could at least live. And then, a guy at the “Jobcenter” said hey, wanna have a two-year state sponsored job training? It’s 18k Euros, but the German state will pay for it. All you gotta do is see a doctor every month and have him certify to us that you’re off drugs.

I said fuck yeah, let’s do it. Last chance to get my life back on track.

Fast forward to today… I’m married, have a well paid job as a software architect, earned enough money I could live independently for over two years, have a handsome ETF portfolio.

In America, I would have been fucked. If you’re poor in Germany, there’s always a way out if you just get your shit together.

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Tencho@lemmy.world ⁨2⁩ ⁨hours⁩ ago
Heart warming. Are they this kind to immigrants? I’ve been thinking about heading that direction for a few years. People keep telling me EU is in decline. But they still seem nicer than the Americas

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- TheJesusaurus@sh.itjust.works ⁨26⁩ ⁨minutes⁩ ago
  People are kind, a state can’t be kind, it just is.
  
  I’m sure Germans are generally kind of folks but by and large states do not extend social welfare benefits to non-citizens.
  
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- glorkon@lemmy.world ⁨35⁩ ⁨minutes⁩ ago
  Well, I’m not quite sure which requirements there are for immigration to Germany, and which conditions there are on getting welfare once you got here. They obviously would like to avoid having people immigrating into the welfare system.
  
  And of course, Germany isn’t the land where milk and honey flow either, many people struggle too. I had a bit of luck for sure. But I very much feel Germany is a much more forgiving place to live. That’s why I would never move to the US under any circumstances, even for a tripled paycheck.
  
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Strider@lemmy.world ⁨3⁩ ⁨hours⁩ ago
Gratuliere, freut mich. Solche Geschichten hört man viel zu selten.

Nur den Mythos der Sozialschmarotzer der immer gerne genutzt wird.

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- glorkon@lemmy.world ⁨2⁩ ⁨hours⁩ ago
  Danke dir. Ich hatte natürlich sehr viel Glück, dass sie im Jahr 2008 gerade Geld im Topf für sowas hatten - und dass ich einiges an IT-Vorkenntnissen hatte. Sonst wäre der Jobcentertyp nicht auf die Idee gekommen, mir das zu bewilligen. Aber ich bin dem heute noch extremst dankbar für die Chance.
  
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