Scooterscot's love affair with the Germans - how long will it last?

[Pondlife]

Just being risk averse: realising I don't need or want to take risks anymore.
Plus I'm looking at buying a property in Oporto and that's difficult enough

PS I still like Berlin though.

Fair enough.

I've never been so can't comment.

[sasguru]

Fair enough.

I've never been so can't comment.

You ought to go. If you like a good nightlife, good beer, good food and a relaxed atmosphere then its great for a city break.
Although there are prettier and more cultural cities.

[chef]

Just curious, why do you see Germany due to have a big failure when the German culture from givernment to the average man on the street works under a very prudent risk averse mentality whereby credit cards are directly linked to bank accounts and paid in full at month end, overdrafts are seen as "not my money" and it is seen as normal to rent for most of one's life or otherwise buy a property and move/sell only when necessary giving the country a good point to avert the downturns and prudently plan for the future. In manufacturing terms, Germany has not sold all assets and manufacturing is proving a good source of GDP.

Compare the above to the uk where it is society norm to have thousands in loans and on credit cards, many only repaying the bare minimum and therefore paying huge amounts of interest, the majority of people buy houses to the value of 4 or 5 times there yearly income when credit is cheap on the gamble that they can sell and make a profit and move up the ladder with ease and when a financial crisis occurs therefore those that have borrowed big on houses or have a lot outstanding in unsecured loans and credit cards feel the pinch more. In manufacturing terms, erm the uk has not real manufacturing or production anymore, not enough atleast to keep the country afloat.

Agreed it is unlikely (or atleast shouldn't be) the majority of those on this board but I wouldn't say we represent society as a whole by any means.

Agreed Germany is the EU leader and therefore is expected to pay the lions share of any EU bailouts, but, isn't it possible that Germany could leave the Euro being the strongest and not suffer the same money drain on all bonds etc. that would occur if one of the weakest countries were to leave? and also don't forget that the Uk is not by any means immune to any EU bailouts, I can't find any figures so far but it would be interesting to see how much teh Uk and Germany have committed to this "EU problem only" to date.

[DimPrawn]

sasguru showing himself as the Cretin he really is.

He thinks the magic money printers in the City are better wealth generators than world beating engineering companies in Germany and that the average up-to-the-eyeballs debt ridden illiterate Chavs we have here as a workforce are superior to hoards of educated German engineers.

No wonder he's banished to a tacky overpriced shed at home.

[sasguru]

sasguru showing himself as the Cretin he really is.

He thinks the magic money printers in the City are better wealth generators than world beating engineering companies in Germany and that the average up-to-the-eyeballs debt ridden illiterate Chavs we have here as a workforce are superior to hoards of educated German engineers.

No wonder he's banished to a tacky overpriced shed at home.

hordes.
You may be right about the illiterate chavs, since you clearly are one.



The City has been a brilliant wealth generator for me. That's why I can spend £50K on a posh shed in the garden of my £1million + home.
HTH.

[sasguru]

Just curious, why do you see Germany due to have a big failure when the German culture from givernment to the average man on the street works under a very prudent risk averse mentality .

Perhaps in the long run the Germans will have a big failure precisely because they are risk averse.
The Uk was the first developed nation to have a post-industrial economy just as it was the first the first to have an industrial economy. Germany is always about 50 years behind.
I predict in 50 years, the share of manuafacturing as a percentage of the German economy will fall drastically*


* since automation will erode any cultural competitive advantage the Germans might have. Companies are already building reliability into the manufacturing process so that you can build a reliable car anywhere in the world from India to Africa. The process can only accelerate.

[Clippy]

Scooter is the modern version of Christopher Columbus.

Now that he's discovered Germany, I wonder what he'll find next?

His ar*e or his elbow?

[doodab]

Rates here are generally higher than in the UK which more than cancels out the extra tax. Not to mention that if you are married and have a family you're actually going to pay less tax overall than you will in the UK. A lot of stuff is also cheaper. The end result is that if my family moved here my disposable income would have been about €2000 per month higher than in the UK.

Having to go back is a PITB.

[sasguru]

Rates here are generally higher than in the UK ....

Really? Higher than London? In what areas?

[MarillionFan]

Really? Higher than London? In what areas?