Founder of Hypofriend: Helping Homebuyers Find & Finance Real Estate in Germany. From 🇳🇱 Building in 🇩🇪 for a Better Europe 🇪🇺
𝗜’𝗺 𝗽𝗮𝗰𝗸𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗺𝘆 𝗯𝗮𝗴𝘀 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗹𝗲𝗮𝘃𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗚𝗲𝗿𝗺𝗮𝗻𝘆. At least, that’s how it feels some days. • Tired of the Bürokratie. • Tired of the negativity. • Tired of a system that feels like it’s punishing ambition instead of rewarding it. But I’ve lived long enough abroad to know: 🌱 The grass isn’t greener. It’s just different. Take the U.S. Yes, it’s fast-moving, opportunity-rich, and on paper, built for the ambitious. But peel back the layers: • Politics feels like reality TV • Immigrants (legal and not) being deported • No healthcare safety net • No parental leave, no real social security • Entire families working 2–3 jobs just to afford basic life It’s built for the healthy, wealthy, and highly educated. And even then, just barely. 🇩🇪 Meanwhile, Germany is sitting on world-class education, healthcare, and infrastructure, but wasting its potential with outdated tax codes, perverse incentives, and digital infrastructure from 2003. If I were to redesign Germany’s system? • Reward families for having children, not punish them • Incentivize & support mothers to return to the workforce • Streamline taxes to encourage, not penalize, upward mobility • Teach financial education early—banish the taboo around investing • Build capital market access into the pension system, not just for the rich • Invest in digitalization like we’re living in 2025, not 1995 Let Germany be a place that supports families AND celebrates ambition. Where stability doesn’t come at the cost of opportunity. And risk is normalized, and entrepreneurship is applauded. Sometimes I think the only way this changes is if we go into politics ourselves. But who’s got the time? PS - like a very good German, I'm working from Mallorca right now 😇
Spain is much behind on all areas you mentioned. However, living in Mallorca while on a german salary, you are potentially worsening the housing situation Spaniards have due to limited renting, or buying opportunities and a massive price increase. If you are actually moving to Spain, live on a Spanish salary and thus the real Spanish experience.
Come to Poland. * Reward families for having children, not punish them President just proposed 100% tax cut for couples with 2 or more children. You also need to ensure that making kids doesn't turn into a business model. It is a provocation by a frewheeling political agent and will never come but might lead to a law in that direction. • Incentivize & support mothers to return to the workforce See above plus 800 Zl. Kindergeld plus up to 1500 Zl. coverage of private childcare (nanny or daycare center) if, and only if, both parents are working. Again "fördern und fordern". • Streamline taxes to encourage, not penalize, upward mobility 2-step model with simple rules 18% on first 80K Zl, 32% for everything above. No complicated rules for commuters or other deductions. • Teach financial education early—banish the taboo around investing 86% of people own the house they live in. Mic dropped. • Build capital market access into the pension system, not just for the rich Obligatory 2% in capital-based pension scheme plus additional 1.5% from employer. Voluntarily one can pay in up to 4%. Over 50% of people participate, quarterly gains are between 1.6% and 5%... • Invest in digitalization like we’re living in 2025, not 1995 ✅
just out of curiosity - how does Germany punishes families who have kids?
I admire you’re relentless efforts to advocate for Germany, Nick Mulder - but let’s be real about this: „Germany is sitting on world-class education, healthcare, and infrastructure“ That’s a historical truth. Not a current, and the trend is negative. Education: some clusters of excellence, but needs systemic overhaul, not fit for future (or present). Healthcare: strained under high cost, inefficiencies - generally under systemic strain Infrastructure - that one baffles me. We’re managing past glory, that’s really all. Decades of neglect are showing. And it’s not just the Deutsche Bahn
I agree with you on most points, but the German tax system does support families in the sense that, as a single person with a high income, you are in the highest taxed bracket. If anything, the system penalizes single people, who also have higher expenses (e.g. paying a full rent vs splitting with a partner). So I'm not sure what you're advocating for. Zero tax for families with 2 kids or more like in Poland sounds excessive on the other spectrum.
Thank you for sharing, Nick. We are having similar thoughts apparently. As a non-white German professional, I can only add that, in Germany, I am faced with a Chancellor who does not accept me (at least in large cities) for my appearance. I hope this one is a short-lived experience though.
Nick Mulder have you considered joining a political party in Germany or even go solo? 🙈 You'd have my interest!
You should stay. You are having a positive impact on Germany. If you really want to leave but stay in Europe I'd reach out to Dr. Carlo Velten and make a move to Lisboa.
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2wGermany isn't sitting on world-best education: take one look at Pisa results and you'll reconsider. Germany isn't sitting on world-class healthcare: at least in the services department. Try to get a Roentgen, MRT or even worse, an appointment at a skin doctor. You'll wait, sometimes for months, even in larger cities. There are structural problems with no solution in sight. World-class infrastructure is debatable. There are things that work really well, DB for example provides something that is really good. On the other side, you've got better internet & mobile reception in the gulf of Thailand on a boat then in most of Germany. Some of the people I'm on video calls with regularly who are in Berlin don't have stable internet connections in their home either. I'm German & I love Germany. But we're not world-class in almost anything anymore and that is sad.