23M from the USA studying my masters in energy engineering in Munich, Germany.

I have enjoyed Munich so far (1 year in) and made some occasional, hang out sometimes on the weekends type friends, but no close friends I can talk to daily or every other day about anything deeper than surface level stuff. I am scared this will just continue if I choose to live here long term, as making friends in Germany without speaking German is notoriously hard. If I were offered an internship or full time position, I would make it a priority to learn German.

I was planning to go back to the US to start looking for jobs after graduating, but I might have an opportunity to intern and then maybe work at a famous Bavarian automotive company as a battery engineer. I love the benefits of working here and work-life balance, even at a lower salary. The salary at this company is also a bit higher than other companies in the region for my position.

This has got me thinking where would you guys recommend to stay?

Weather is not an issue for me as I really enjoy Munich’s weather — it is pretty similar to the Northeast where I’m from.

Thanks!

  • HankMarvinNotBEnglish
    1·
    10 months ago

    There is a distinction in German(y) between Freund and Bekannter (aquaintance). In different parts of the US it is quite easy to meet people and call them friends immediately. Not so in D. Germans can be quite social (gemütlich), but less quickly. However if you make friends they more easily can be friends for life, that’s my take. Hang out, make a language effort, be gemütlich, friends will come.