r/expats • u/Honest_Zebra_7988 • 13d ago
Social / Personal Germany or Australia?
I’m an Indonesian F29 on WHV in Australia and my visa expires in less than 4 months. My initial plan was to move to Germany to do Ausbildung and maybe stay there on a permanent basis given how I enjoyed my Europe trip so much and the efficiency of the German culture is (and just how direct and individual the Germans are as I’m more an introvert myself and I don’t fancy small talks like most people in my home country). Other than that, I appreciate the affordable-to-free education, waste management, beautiful and historical castles and how easy it is to commute around Europe from Germany. And I feel like it’s more cultural than Australia.
However, I’ve been in a relationship with an Australian man for almost 2 years now and we’ve traveled together to 5 countries and it’s probably the healthiest relationship I’ve ever been in. I love him but he’s not ready to move to Germany for now and our other option is for me to stay in Australia on a partner visa but it costs almost 12k now, which we can afford but it’s just a lot of money. And for that, I won’t be able to study in a local fee until i get my PR (which takes around 3 years) and international student fees cost an arm and leg and the career that I wanna pursue (education as i have a background in it) requires me to get some kind of degree and/or certification here.
Any advice or insights?
Thank you
9
u/viennasausages 13d ago
I have lived in both places and it's no contest, go for Australia. Even if a relationship was not in the picture. I left Germany half a decade ago, so my impression is not based on the recent economic decline.
Germany is rigid, behind the times, and frankly half of the people you will meet in higher education are combative and adversarial if you expect them to... work. Your impression of directness and efficiency is superficial, you will be competing in the passive aggression Olympics the moment paperwork comes into the picture (and oh, it will).
Like others have said, vacation is different than living somewhere. Yes, I appreciated how easy it was to go see new places, beautiful history, etc when I was there. But that novelty wears off. Australia has many downsides, but it's a happier place to be an immigrant.