Americans - How long have you lived in Germany?

Just curious.

1. How long have you lived in Germany?
2. What one item from home do you miss the most? (I'm not talking about friends and family here as I know that everyone misses their friends and family. I'm curious about things/experiences that you can get in the States that you can get/experience here).

I'll go first:
1. Only four and a half months
2. Country music

1. I have been here for nearlly a year
2. and the thing i miss the most are 24hr Shops, being able to buy stuff at any time of the day, or night, i miss that loads.

1. 1 year & 8 months
2a. What item (i.e. tangible put your hands on kinda thing)? Food, specifically the variety and quality of restaurants in the US (especially Houston)
2b. What day to day thing? I miss taking home 72% of my salary
2c. What experience? Live jam rock. The concept of going to a show to hear a band play something differently than how they play it on their CD is non-existant here.

Sorry, I know that's sorta a shotgun approach but I wasn't sure what you're asking specifically; item or thing.

2d. I miss the part about you being an American!

I miss Bud light

Is that US humour? I don't get it.

I've been here 4 years (on August 31!) and I miss being able to shop 24/7. I've gotten over the other things, but that is a major inconvenience. So, I miss the little conveniences.
And, the Boston Red Sox and American TV and radio - both leave a lot to be desired here.

1. about 1.5 years
2. i gotta fully agree with judders and DW's votes. i also miss having an airport a quick 10 minutes drive from my front door. i find myself appreciating a lot of things about munich that more than make up for the few things i really do miss.

@kit kat... I MISS THE RED SOX AND PATS GAMES!!!

@DW i'm like a total American Wannabe

Ditto to Izabella. i miss having a city airport, especially now that the big dig is dug.
Ditto to DW, i miss some of the food esp from Austin and SF.
I miss the non-smoking places
Can do without the 24 hour shopping but do miss some stores in particular.

Move to nearer the airport would be a good idea then. Cheaper housing too. Of course, we don't have shops out here, but even if we did, they'd be German and not stock "cheese whiz", 400 marginally different brands of hot chilli sauce, or other essential "foodstuffs".

a year and a half. of course there are many things I miss, and many things are great here. what's hitting home recently is the 24 hour shop, or at least the Sunday shopping. Saturdays have become this stressful, manic, run-a-round to get it all in day. I miss window shopping, shopping for nothing in particular, and people bagging my groceries. To quote JML, "I love that bag."

edit: big ol' "BITE ME" going out to don riina

1) one year
2) blackberry dogs**t and my onie

Wazzup with all the bitchin about 24 hr shopping? You peeps really shop 24 hours all the time? Look at it this way. If it ain't open, you ain't buyin. Saves you money. A dollar saved is a dollar earned. 3 dollars saved is a beer earned. Easy peasy.

1) 9 months
2) shopping in general - open hours/convenience (not having to hit 3 stores to make something out of the ordinary), cleanliness/layout (anyone been to a Whole Foods will know what I mean), selection, quality (of fruits n veggies for example - CA perspective). Shopping is just a miserable experience here.

hey all, been here since Feb '04.
@judders, convincing british accent for an american, mate!

anyhow, guess the things i miss most are...

- red sox games (in channel 5's skybox!)
- patriots games (in channel 5's skybox!)
- the ocean
- good seafood
- occassional appearances by "the sun"
- good black licorice
- food shopping at midnight
- public golf courses
- occassionally passable radio play & tv shows

(hmm, maybe i should get back to work?)

regardless, i still love munch

I've been here for just over a month, and so far I don't miss a damn thing.

1.5 years

I miss people who can manage to stop "taking the piss" for one night and just can have a dull conversation instead. Actually, I miss normal people generally. Expats all seem to have some sort of personality disorder (easy trigger, I'm an expat as well).

1) 10 years, 1 month
2) I forget

been living in Germany for a year and four months.

right then, what I miss...well the posts above have hit most of the obvious;

the food...miss the steak and lobster carnage. Have yet to have a decent steak over here.

American football...particularly getting the crew together and going to an SEC or Big 12 game and tailgating all day and then recovering on Sunday with the NFL.

Most def the 24 hour shopping. I would settle for 16-18 hours even!

But as strange as this sounds, one thing that I miss a lot is the red clay of my home state Mississippi.

Okay, okay, Blitz did hit on one thing I suspect I will sorely miss - SEC football! I know it's possible to see it here, but somehow I don't think there's anyplace I can go wearing my Georgia Bulldogs T-shirt without getting seriously stared/jeered at. Somehow I just don't think it will be the same

I miss grocery stores, Alex Trebek and Howard Stern.

2 years in Sept.

At the moment missing:

Bars with good music in the juke box, $2 you call it's, and coin operated pool table...

Also miss the 11 o'clock phone call from friends to F'off the afternoon and go to the golf course!

1. One year
2. I too miss the shopping, Red Sox, football and the variety and quality of food, especially seafood. But I am just back from a visit to Cape Cod and Boston, so have had my fix for a few months!!!

exactly how many TT Bostonites are on this forum anyway. Quick start a poll!

1. 3 years and ...4 months
2. My family + friends , stores being open 24 hours or at least reasonable hours for working people, good supermarkets, and...well that's it.

@Blitz: I think we could probably get some of the TTMFFL people together for some extended football (NCAA/NFL) viewing this fall. It won't be the same, but it'll be better than nothin'!

1) 3.5 months
2) Sunday shopping & Jif reduced fat peanut butter

I am a Mainer (born in New Haven), but lived in Boston.

1.) 8 years in Germany (7 in Cyprus, 2 in Nepal)
2.) Fenway Park and Lobster, scallops, and clam juice (to make chowder).

I've been in Germany for 2+ years, before that 2 yrs in Holland, before that 6 months in UK.

definately miss:
- the more casual / friendlier / more fun work environment. It is so frustrating that I have to make a formal appointment with co-workers for what would be a 5-10 min. chat session.

- the variety of restaurants (this is definately a Chicago thing - the restaurant scene in Chicago is beyond compare).

- cheap phone calls.

- batting cages. especially the open-air, open-field batting cages in my hometown.

- crime reports in newspapers.

- having "personal" conversations with complete strangers. yes, this is a very American thing to do. Within 10 minutes of meeting someone, we openly talk about our cousin running off with the minister's wife, or some other such bits, which most Europeans would consider family secrets which must never be revieled, even under torture. This is why Americans make such poor spies.

I got called " some Country and western" once... Or was it "some C**t from Preston" I cant remember

Ditto to above. I have been here 5 years, and it is the American spontaneity I miss. I don't laugh nearly as much over here.

I also miss good Mexican, of which I have never found over here.

Quick drives to the beach.

More cultural diversity

A job in my field

However, the pro's way outweigh the cons to me in Munich. The lebensqualitat is pretty high here. Planning on returning next summer, and it will be a big adjustment.

Try Tacos y Tequillas. Run by a Mexican guy. Not as good as you may find at home, but the best in Münich IMHO.

I like Chicago's point about how easy it is to strike up a conversation with just about anyone in the US. Non-USians often think of it as shallow and superficial, I just think that it's being friendly.

been here for 6 months, lived in san francisco half my life, born in russia,
don't know that i miss anything specifically "american," such as sports...could care less, but i do miss SF-
- seedy, decadent rock'n'roll bars, a huuugge variety of bands and various "scenes" (as corny as it may sound, i don't know how else to put it, and Atomic Cafe just does not measure up AT ALL), something besides the sparkly-top-yuppie-crowd which runs munich it seems.

- cheap sushi and mexican, both on an AMAZING level ( i think that's the only food-related lament i have though, since i think food here tastes much, much better, especially fruit (i feel weird eating strawberried back in CA, the size of an egg...you know?)

- good hairdressers and pedicures that don't cost 25 euros (that's over 30$!!! and what's up with charging separate price for nailpolish applications??!) nice diversion from all the football talk

- i could care less for the 24-hour shopping, but i do miss certain aspects of shopping in SF too though...specifically vintage items in the haight and mission, where "vintage" doesn't mean a polyester 70s shirt.
cultural variety and craziness of SF i guess, in general

8 months

1. cheap computer parts
2. customer service
3. KING BUSH and cronnies
forgot one thing ...
4. televangelists begging for money on tv

I have been in Germany for 7 years...before coming here I lived in San Francisco, and now I think it is the only city I could go back to. . .

I miss wierdness. The intentional , sweet wierdness that seems to exist only in the Bay Area. I miss feeling completely relaxed . I miss American superficial friendliness. It beats actual grumpiness any day in my book. Oh, and my husband just reminded me. I miss Odwalla juices, and the PRODUCE. Real Foods.

Even so, Germany has spoiled me in so many ways. I now have three kids, so forget about living in SF. That just leaves the rest of America, shopping malls and no sidewalks. I read a statistic that said only 40 percent of American kids between 7 and 11 years old had ridden a bike more than three times in the last year. This makes me want to stay here for a good long while.

Sorry for intruding... if this is only meant for the Americans. As USA is my most visited (more than 10 times) countries in the world how could i not comment!

I miss crystal burgers in orlando

Popeye fastfood (their biscuits!!!)

Genuine american walmart

Ahi tuna (gosh i am addicted!)

Boston lobsters

beautiful view when driving from miami to keywest!

That metre long tiger shark that was an arm length away when i was standing in the water (keywest)

The most welcoming atmosphere ever when visited montana this year

New york shopping (Saks, Marcus newman etc)

Las vegas madness and their smoke all you can policy in the casino (choking!!!)

I miss chinatown in NYC and SF!!!

and alot more...etc

1. 10yrs 8 Months
2. Cheap prices, 24hr shopping,LESS TAXES!!!

I've been here four years. Like everyone else I miss the variety and ease of grocery shopping in the US. But more than anything I miss the wilderness...vast deserts, mountains full of secrets, places where the only paths are made by walking...

I miss my giant 130lb retreiver (apropriately named Kiwi) stupid ex has custody

3 years, 1 month and 9 days.

I miss root beer and San Francisco sourdough. I miss midnight skinny dips in the freezing northern California Pacific. I miss greasy 3am diner meals after a night out, followed by a game of pool in the garage and a soak in the hot tub until sunrise.

Most of all, I miss the smell of the redwoods.

California, here I come, right back where I started from...

I'm not an American citizen per say, but I have a green card, and was married to an American woman for a nearly 7 years. I have lived in Germany for 10 months so far since I split with my ex.

I will start with what I don't miss about the US:
1)My ex-wife.
2)My mother-in-law.
3)The chorus of my nagging wife and mother-in-law on Sunday mornings.

What I miss about the US:
1)My siberian husky which my wife took from me.
2)Grimaldi's pizza in New York City, its actually in Brooklyn in DUMBO.
3)Cheap gas(at least in relative terms).
4)Cheaper cars, electronics, food, etc.
5)High speed internet access, especially Roadrunner, there is nothing like it in Germany.
6)The American highways, I don't care what people say about the Autobahn, the lanes are too narrow and Germans drive like psychopaths, I used to drive an SUV, so I prefer space over high speeds.

thought i'd jump on:
1) 6 years July
2) A pleasant good morning or greeting to neighbors in the stairwell
3) Breakfast tacos
4) The spontaneity and silliness of being American. Probably a reason it didn't work out with German bf. When I behaved as such, he would roll his eyes and just criticize.
5) Bar hoping. With Germans you develop a "meat seat" (Sitzfleisch?).
6) Fresh veggies at 7:45 p.m.

1. 4 1/2 years
2. Customer Service

1. 2 months
2. My Angels Baseball Season tickets, Banana Republic, and In 'N Out Burger (however this last item is only applicable to California, Arizona, and Nevada residents)

1. Four years
2. hellman's mayo. They don't sell it anymore at Hertie

@MoiLV you can get Hellmans Mayo in Walmart in small jars or HIT in Laim now do it in the squeezy bottles.

Nah, I don't miss Hellmans that much to go to Laim or way the f**k out to Walmart.

But thanks for the tip!

6 years

Tim Hortons Coffee (opps is this for americans only)
Shopping!! (who doesn't)
Cheap Newspapers ( I usually buy 2 ro 3 a day National Post Globe Star etc)
Breakfast: Bacon Eggs Hashbrowns, bottomless coffee toast jam

After about 3 weeks in Canada I'm ready to come home.

What I don't miss

High Taxes
Endless Waiting Lists for Health Care
Sales Tax add to price
Bland County side
Urban Sprawl
Low Wages
High cost of living
Massive Trucks that act like they rule the world
Boring Chain resturants

What I miss most of all is being able to drop by family or friends on a moments notice.