New territory comes with new cultures – how my experiences in Europe compare with America

by Dr. Samuel Osanyinlusi – November 15th, 2025

Over the last eight years, I have had the privilege of working and living in Germany and the United States of America (USA), and I must confess that in terms of cultural experiences and day-to-day life, there are notable differences with few similarities. So, if you are moving from one of these territories to the other, better brace up for the exciting changes.

Weather– Usually, I enjoyed cold winters mostly with snow in my city, Hanover, in Germany, and warm summers, which sometimes could be very hot. Not to forget mentioning the beautiful spring and autumn. There are no major differences across other cities or states in Germany, except that some cities may experience a bit less or more snow during the winter than others. Moving to Cleveland in the USA, the weather conditions are quite similar to Hanover – so, no weather ‘shock’ for me. However, the weather conditions in some states in the USA are more divergent, so check out the details and be prepared before moving. 

Language- In Germany, the majority of people speak only German, with only a few speaking English. So, in such an environment, basic understanding and speaking a bit of German helped me to integrate better. Usually, if you visit the immigration office or other government agencies, you could request the officer to communicate with you in English. I had a funny experience the first time I visited the immigration office. I had only just enrolled in a German class and could only understand very few words. I made sure I went for my appointment with every possible document they would need. Upon meeting the officer, she started communicating in German, and I quickly got lost in the conversation. She asked a few questions, and I was mostly nodding my head in agreement or saying ‘’ja’’ (meaning, yes). She looked at me and reasoned that I wasn’t really understanding the conversation, then she switched to English language. Since then, anytime I visited any such government office, I would usually first ask the officers if they could speak English as I would prefer that. In the USA, language isn’t in my list of things to think about at all. So, if you are coming to the USA, and you don’t speak English and you don’t learn it, you would have a hard time integrating into the system.

Transportation– Germany has an excellent transportation system comprising; trams, buses, U-Bahn (subway), S-Bahn (suburban rail), and Deutsche Bahn (for longer inter-city travels). I used all of them, and it was so easy to move around anywhere. The tickets are not expensive, so for me, there was no need to buy a car. Whereas in the USA, there are limited buses and subway connections in some cities, but overall, the common pattern is owning a car. Driving your car is the most effective means of transportation, so if you are coming to the USA, better learn to drive 😊.

Rent– Generally, I pay more on house rent, electricity, internet, and mobile phone subscription here in the USA than in Germany. The pay is a bit more in the USA. However, when you put your income side-by-side with expenses in the USA versus Germany, overall, there is not much difference in the outcome.

Attitude/lifestyle– Based on my own experience, I think people are more reserved in Germany, if you are a new person, you may not necessarily have people talk to you or greet you in public. In the USA, I have experienced the opposite; countless times I have had people say ‘’hi’’ to me while walking around, even without knowing them. On a few occasions, I have heard compliments such as; ‘’I like your shirt’’, ‘’I like your sneakers’’, or ‘’I like your smile 😊’’ (I smile a lot 😊), etc. Moreover, in Germany people enjoy walking around, especially during the summer period, more often in groups around the city centers having a lot of fun, enjoying their beer on the evenings of week days and weekends. In the USA, my experience is the opposite, people are mostly riding in their cars, with less walking around. Here in Cleveland, I lived in the downtown area for one year, and you would only see groups of people walking to the stadium anytime there was a basketball game. Otherwise, the downtown/city center is as empty as other parts of the city. This is not the case in bigger cities such as New York though. Personally, I don’t like living in highly congested big cities, so I enjoyed Cleveland with its moderate size and population. It is the best city to live as a family and raise kids. The city is beautiful, especially having a view from the ‘’Edgewater beach’’ area in downtown where you can also ride the ‘’Goodtime III’’ ship for sightseeing of the city at night. Other important things to enjoy in Cleveland include the ‘’Rock and roll hall of fame’’, ‘’the Cleveland orchestra’’, etc

Public holidays/Christmas market– The number of federal public holidays between Germany and USA are similar. In the USA, ‘Thanksgiving Day’ during the month of November is the most celebrated. In Germany, Christmas time is the most celebrated holiday and the most fun-filled time, with the characteristic ‘Christmas markets’. These run from late November till 22nd-23rd December. The Christmas market decorations, lights and popularly served ‘Glühwein’ (a hot, spiced mulled wine), across all cities is simply mind-blowing. I miss the German Christmas seasons a lot 😊.

Work-life balance– While in Germany, I see people work very hard when it’s time to work, and they also know how to enjoy themselves at fun times. People enjoy their vacations. While in Germany, I enjoyed 30 days vacation time, without questioning from my PI (principal investigator), and easy approvals. However, here in the US, I can only have 15 days of vacation, plus possible 5 days sick leave, although it is always a big task convincing my PI to get vacation approvals. Ensure you choose the right PI to work with. To conclude, at the institute where I worked in Germany, we usually enjoyed very colorful end of the year parties, with more fun times especially when the lab published a paper. In the USA, I think people generally work harder, with heightened expectations/demands, thus leaving little time for fun. Nevertheless, most people have personal means of striking a balance.