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Comment by rglullis | Hacker News Reader

1) I am certified C1 German - studied in high school for 6 years. Granted, I don't like speaking German and will use English when possible, but it's not a matter of not being able to connect with them.

2) Shortly after moving in, I started dating a German woman. Lasted close to a whole year. That was more than enough time to meet a lot of her friends, I got to meet her family, etc. That was more than enough time and opportunities to get a good insight into "native German" lifestyle, culture and values.

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    > Granted, I don't like speaking German and will use English when possible, but it's not a matter of not being able to connect with them.

Why do you live in Germany? Why not somewhere else?

Because I have not been able to convince my wife to move to Greece.

Also, the fact that I am not integrated does not mean that I am unhappy here.

wowow C1 and dated a German? Sorry, you are basically a native

You take that back, right now!

You don’t know Germany, you know Berlin.

You don’t have insight into German lifestyle, you have insight into that one woman’s family’s lifestyle (and only less than a year, you’re not a family member at that point).

I'm not claiming that I know all of Germany or all Germans, I am just refuting GP's guesses.

Also, she wasn't the only German that I've met and it wasn't the case that I only met native Germans through her personal network. I also worked at Deutsche Telekom and Mercedes Benz. I've had the opportunity to interact with lots of people outside of the work environment.

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