Loving his life in Germany and Proud to be an American
by Adrianne George
Mirco Richardson was born in a US military hospital in Orleans, France. He started traveling at 6 months old when his parents took him with them on a trip to Ibiza.
A Product of the US Civil Rights Movement
Although Mirco was raised in France and Germany it was the assassination of Martin Luther King, Jr. that changed his life forever. “After MLK was shot, my father lost all hope to go back. He did not want to submit his family to the real life of having to enter different doors or restrooms, because of a different skin color”, he explains. “So even as a kid I knew that if I didn’t want to experience problems because of my skin color, then on the whole, Europe was the right place to stay”.
Mirco eventually went to live in the US. He joined the Army in 1981 and was sent to basic training at Ft. Benning in Georgia. It was in Georgia that he realized he was destined to live his life in Europe. “I knew that I wanted to return to Europe when after various racist experiences in basic training I was told that I was about to be stationed in the South, so I decided to return to Germany”.
However Mirco still misses the courteous ways Americans treat each other in public, the smell and taste of Cinnabons, shopping on Sundays and standing in line “in a disciplined manner”. But he has readily adapted to the German way of life including the insistence on punctuality, football (soccer) as a religion, the European Cup being bigger than the Olympics. Mirco even had the rare privilege of holding the 2006 FIFA World Cup during a chance meeting at Coca Cola Germany, the World Cup Sponsor.
Bitte and Danke are not enough
Mirco is adamant that expatriates in Germany must become proficient in German. He warns against being comfortable with speaking English to the Germans while their English improves and your German remains non-existent. He advises, “Learn German well; all the way; invest in that. It’ll show your children and your relatives that languages are powerful weapons”. Being fluent in German has even helped Mirco find great housing. “On two occasions I have beat about 30 Germans in getting a coveted living place. Why? In both cases the owners were fascinated by the fact that I spoke German without accent”.
He has made friends by seeking out and attending social functions such as the beer festival in the local village. “You may scare the living daylights by saying a simple “Hey, how’s it going?” to a stranger in the street”, he jokes. But by being social and taking part in local events, “you could make friends for life”.
The modern design Cityhall contrasts with houses built in the ancient city walls
And living anywhere outside of your native country has its advantages. Mirco says he is, “ready and able to mingle in any culture in the world with gravity and self assurance without making a fool out of myself and ensuring that the famous call sign ‘ugly American‘ becomes true”. He advises active duty military, students studying abroad and trailing spouses not to “clam up and live in a shell until their tour is over”.
Take the plunge
When asked what he would say to a friend or relative contemplating a move out of their country Mirco replied, “DO IT – WHATEVER they tell you back home. Look at it this way: how many people lay on their deathbeds and say: I experienced too much in my life; too many countries; too many cultures; too many languages? Good. Now ask the contrary”.
In fact Mirco has decided that he will never return to full time life in the US. He explains that, “even though I’ve lived and worked back home, the quality of life in Europe is so much higher, so much richer. Every 200 miles or so there’s a different culture, different language, different everything. It’s a lot more exciting”.
But Germany isn’t bereft of racial problems. “Skinheads are for real in too many places and you don’t want to take chances. They probably won’t mess with you if they know you’re a US citizen, but your skin color seems to be their problem”, Mirco warns. “With the notable exception of Berlin, I would avoid the East; it’s got beautiful scenery but ugly sideshows. As a Black person you always stand out in Germany; 99% of the population is White. The great thing about Germany though, is that they are extremely cerebral people. Once you speak their language in fluency, you are typically accepted, which I can’t claim for Black people in a country like France”.
The typical black expat in Germany may be a high profile athlete, corporate manager on assignment, artist or musician. Mirco credits the US media, movie and music industry for some of the stereotypes about blacks that Germans believe. “The US has done a great job exporting series like Cops and so on, where the Black criminal is a given. That’s what people get fed here: Athletes, actors, rappers and gangsters”. But he feels that all is not lost. “It’s up to you to bust the stereotypes and you will see that they will bust completely”, he says.
And the whole word saw the reception US Senator Obama, now US President Obama, received in Berlin during his historic campaign.
Reutlingen's Market Square and Marien Evangelical Church
Living and Spending in Reutlingen
At the end of this section you will find a global Currency Converter to calculate costs.
Monthly rent:
Count on EUR 1,000 warm, which is roughly $US 1,500 these days for any decent crib.
Cost for meals:
Easily around EUR 10 per meal.
Transportation costs:
In Germany it’s always better to get a monthly ticket or even a yearly pass. Saves tons of money and it is virtually impossible NOT to get public transportation everywhere. You need to plunk in EUR 50 for a monthly buss pass for instance.
Compared to your home country are most things cheap/same/expensive?
Because the Euro is so unbelievably strong right now it feels like one is paying out of the nose at every turn (when converting into US Dollars). On the other hand, everything back home looks really cheap now. It’s been the other around for tourists coming to Europe though for the better part of 50 years!
Recommended monthly living budget:
You need EUR 2,000 net for a somewhat appealing life in Germany.
How modern are basic amenities/infrastructure?
Germany’s infrastructure is the one the world tries to emulate. Nuff said.
Any legal hurdles all foreigners have to face to live there?
Yes, here in Germany it’s the Aufenthaltserlaubnis (residence permit). EU citizens get preferential treatment. On the other hand, if you are a US citizen you are usually well received and people have expectations that you will bring a hard charging attitude, pioneering spirit and solution driven management to their workplace. They typically expect that with you, things will become less complicated and a lot more humorous.
Top 3 things you would recommend someone to bring when they come:
Walking shoes, a vacation deal right from the first year on – 2 weeks min. and a deep willingness to be absorbed by the new settings and the new culture.
Top 3 things you would recommend for someone visiting or living here to do?
Northern Italy, Central Italy and Southern Italy; it is truly paradise.
A panoramic view of Siena in the Tuscany region of Italy
Top 3 hangout places:
Being a vegetarian the greatest place in the world (and I’ve been to veggie restaurants all around the planet) is Cassius Garten in Bonn. Culturally one of my favorite places is the Freilichtmuseum in Kommern (in Germany; roughly 45 min west of Bonn); it has an entire hall showing how Germans left the toil of Europe under squalid conditions to reach the Promised Land. They have wax figures of German settlers arriving and talking to Indians and in another hall they have historic scenes of the Rhineland; the occupation by Napoleon and a gut wrenching scene of a white Sergeant wax figure screaming at a Black private who is kissing a “Fraeulein” during WWII. That was the reality and I’m happy that Germans don’t tend to sanitize things as so often in the USA. If you want to hang out at night, Suedstadt in Cologne is THE place to be (soul heavy funk, old school nights, reggae, it’s all there).
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