Newbie self-introduction

Hello everyone!

I just left my job with a US defense contractor at a US base, but have no intention of returning the States at the moment. I prefer the laidback lifestyle here!

Anyway, I'll be browsing Toytown to keep my head above water to see what I need to do to keep myself in good graces with the law.

C'ya

Regards -- Tahut

Interesting - in what ways is the lifestlye here is more laid back (than the US, presumably)?

I think he wants to work for government.

He is probably referring to the work to live mentality here, rather than the live to work. Working here is a lot more laid back than in Australia for me anyway. I don't know about America, I have never worked there, but considering most people get 6 weeks here + 13 public holidays compared to the US with an average of 2 weeks, it's probably the same shit.

Laid-back in Germany vs. America could mean a lot of things.

As Hutcho mentioned, the workplace atmosphere in the US can be very cut-throat. When not only your salary, but your health care benefits and retirement benefits are riding on your employer, many people will do any amount of overtime, skipping vacations, coming in on weekends, working on holidays, bringing work on vacations, etc., to avoid looking like a slacker and being the first to lose their job to layoffs. When everybody does this, as they do in certain industries and certain regions, it can get pretty high-stress.

Store closings on Sundays and holidays can contribute to the overall laid-back vibe. In Bavaria anyway, it's considered normal to consume much more alcohol than would be considered normal in the US. The lower crime rates in major German cities is also one less thing to worry about. Food on the run (like take-out coffee) is not really the "done" thing in Germany. A lot of those little things add up to what an American might consider laid-back.

Cinzia, anyone who has experienced "job mobbing" in Germany would probably disagree that their work situation was "laid back". Although a lot of people working in the US do face a lot of uncertainty as far as their jobs go, I have never heard of someone in the US having to pay more for health insurance because they worked overtime, and (in the case of those paid more for working overtime) generally speaking, don't face as high of a marginal tax or social charge as their counterpart does in Germany for working extra hours. Managers in the US tend to be paid significantly more than their counterparts in Germany, so that should be taken into consideration as well.