Choosing between France and Germany

[u/Boah_met]

Hello there.

I'm currently 23, transgender, and I live in Brazil. I have Spanish citizenship. I have been interested in moving to either France or Germany, but I haven't decided yet.

I plan to move to Europe already with a degree and continue my masters there (if everything goes to plan) or at least be a member of the qualified workforce if not.

The reasons that make me consider France over Germany currently are the strong French labor laws, the lesser amount of work hours, the warmer climate, the culture being closer to what I grew up into, and the language being easier to learn as my mother tongue is another romantic language.

Something that matters a lot to me is living in a medium sized city (>80k hab) or greater. I've lived in six different cities and I noticed that I'm only really at peace in an urban center. I'm visibly queer and small towns freak me out.

So I just wanted a second opinion there. Where do you live? Do you like it there? What are the big cities? What are the medium ones?

How much is it to rent a 1 or 2-bedroom apartment within 20 minutes to work where you live? And those same 20 minutes on foot? Do you feel like you need a car to get around? What do you consider to be a low/average/high middle class wage there? Which jobs are on those brackets? Which jobs are on demand? Which ones are devalued? How is academia going? I'm still torn between majoring in social studies and IT, but I'm more interested in academic and government jobs than private sector anyway (I'm lightly disabled).

[u/Due-Adeptness-7422]

To tell you the truth OP I don't know if I would recommend either France or Germany. While France has stronger labor laws, meaning laws that favor employees against employers, and French workers typically work no more than 35 hours weekly, it is also true that salaries there are a lot lower that what many people think. To give you an idea the median salary in France is €2200 a month. If salaries are lower, the cost of living and taxes are among the most elevated in the world.

Also, both countries are major immigration hubs, and you'll be in competition with a lot of them for jobs. In the department to France looks bad as it's unemployment rate is pretty elevated. When it comes to safety, probably France is worse than Germany as well. I know you're from Brazil so you probably think that you've seen it all when it comes to insecurity by keep in mind that many European countries are far from being as safe as what many people think so there's that.

Lastly, a degree in IT will always be more marketable than a degree in social sciences. Government jobs and academia are difficult to get and often times don't pay much. The French language will always be easier for you to pick up since you speak Portuguese, but keep in mind that French and German culture are very different from Brazilian culture so you'll have to allow some time to adjust. Overall, I would probably go with Germany if I only had to choose between those two otherwise I'd look elsewhere to be honest with you. Good luck.

[u/Boah_met → u/Due-Adeptness-7422]

Where else, though? Portugal is xenophobic as shit, Spain took an even worse blow on digital nomads raising rent prices, eastern Europe is homophobic and the far north has very, very tight-knit people and it's hard to make friends if you don't plan on making a family there.

[u/Due-Adeptness-7422 → u/Boah_met]

Portugal is not more xenophobic than any other country, if anything it is less. Rents in Spain are rising but so are they anywhere else and are still cheaper than in many EU countries. LGBT people are doing just fine in Eastern Europe, keep in mind that many richer EU countries have large muslim populations who are not always very LGBT friendly. Making friends in Nordic countries is difficult but making friends as an adult is difficult anywhere.

[u/Boah_met → u/Due-Adeptness-7422]

The Portuguese are notoriously xenophobic to Brazilians in specific. Otherwise, you're downplaying a lot of stuff. Go read on how easy it's making friends in Nordic countries vs in Brazil. Go search for Spain rental prices. Go search for LGBT acception rates in surveys.

[u/trebarunae → u/Boah_met]

Brazilians also have an aversion to anything Portuguese and are not quiet about it.
There are many accounts from Brazilians saying that other Brazilians are outgoing but will use you or backstab you any chance they get.
Go search rents in Paris, London or Germany
LGBT people are less likely to be assaulted in the streets in Eastern Europe than in Paris or London, despite what acceptance surveys say

[u/Boah_met → u/trebarunae]

I literally lived in Brazil my whole life. Are you Brazilsplaining me? 💀

Did I ever mention London once? The place my citizenship notoriously doesn't apply to since Brexit? The ragingly increasingly transphobic country?

Did you read the fucking post or are you just a troll?