In Germany do I really have to hang my clothes outside to dry?

Question

Still making plans to move to Stuttgart in a few months from now. People tell me that I will not have a clothes dryer and I will have to hang clothes between buildings outside. Is that true? Are dishwashers common? Do people have Centrail Air Conditioning? Anything else really different over there that I should prepare for now? Thanks..Danke!

Answer 1

i grew up in germany, and let me tell you this. Germans prefer to hang their clothes outside to dry, because of the fresh air smell, not because they dont have dryers. And yes, german households have dishwashers, just like here. Germany is a great country and you can buy whatever you want. I hope you will enjoy germany. Good Luck!!

Answer 2

Hey!

I am German (currently living in the UK though). Don't worry: You can do with your clothes whatever you want to. There are clothes dryers that are affordable, only cheap flats or small houses don't have dishwashers, and no, people don't really have CAC. This can be annoying as summers do get quite hot sometimes (about 32*C), but that's what "Biergaerten" are for ;).

There are a lot of other things that are quite different: Meals in restaurants are usually much smaller, so are drinks.

Compared to the US everything's much closer together. Might make you feel a bit claustrophobic at first. But you'll get used to it.

I don't know if that concerns you but schools are very different! School starts at about 8 and finishes between 1 and 2. And there's a selective system.

Here's a link to a site that has a lot of information:

http://www.tatsachen-ueber-deutschland.d...

And you should really visit Freiburg and some of the "Straussen" restaurants in that area (not too far from Stuttgart). They're really worth a visit! They produce their own food and are often situated in a wine cellar or next to a field. (My personal favourite: The Kaltenbach Strausse in Schallstadt (Ölergässle 2)).

Oh, and Freiburg itself is really beautiful too! It's a small charming medieval town.

So, that's it! All I can say is Enjoy yourself! Hope you find new friends quickly! Good luck!

Answer 3

Brace yourself.....you are in for a culture shock. Most people do not own clothes dryers, as electricity is quite expensive and so is water. Normally your clothes washing machine will be in the kitchen. This also answers your question about dishwashers, snap on the rubber gloves and get to work on washing your dishes. A/C, no way, maybe a stand up fan...there is no way you can have Air conditioning as there is no forced air in the houses, only heated water wall heaters. Shopping is another experience, don't expect any bag boy to be standing at the end of the check out counter. You buy it, you bag it, and pay for your own bags. I live in Germany, and anything else you need to know email me. [e-mail]

Answer 4

I am an American living in Germany for 10 years now - and I have a lot of other friends who have moved over here. I've seen a lot of people come here - many hate it and can't wait to go back, and others love it and don't want to go back!

If I can give you one piece of advice - don't try to make Germany like home. It isn't. You'll just be disappointed, because there are a lot of things here that aren't like there.

But - look for things here that are different, and that you like! Rather than worrying that you can't get central A/C, look at how nice it is that restaurants, cafés, etc. all hae outdoor seating, and how nice it is really to enjoy summer without being cooped up in somewhere air-conditioned where you have to put a sweater on!

And look forward to enjoying the food - you can go to any bakery and get so many different kinds of wonderful fresh bread... Or the little Italian restaurants where people from Italy make their mothers' recipies, and write the menu on a chalkboard instead of printing them on plastic menus... Or insted of worrying about the price of gas, see how great it is to use public transportation and get anywhere you want quickly, easily, and without getting stuck in traffic...

I could go on and on about what I love in Germany - things that are different than in the USA - but I'll stop now, and hope that you have fun discovering your own favorite things!

Answer 5

It really depends on where you live and how nice it is.

You could try and find a laundromat/coin laundry. I'm not certain how common they are, but that sounds hella better than hanging stuff out to dry. That just sounds utterly repellent to me. Or maybe a laundry service if you can afford it?

Anyway, just be grateful that temperatures in that part of Europe are cooler than in the states and that cheap ice cream can be bought on many street corners.

Answer 6

Wow - the only thing I can agree with about angelhimm is that you are in for a culture shock.. but it might not be a bad one! Why so negative???

I know tons of people who have dryers, washers, dishwashers and even AC..hmm.. and yes, they do live in Germany :-D

Actually, I have all of those things, too.. my AC does not get turned on very often though and I´ve survived just like the other 80 - 90 million people living here :-D

It might not be the most common thing to have AC but it is generally not necessary except for a few days/weeks (depending on how great the summer is) in July and August. The reason is not that Germany still is in the Neandertal age but the waste of electricity that germans get particular about. You don´t let your car sit and run for 20 min in the winter either just to let it get warm, you scratch the windows free, start it up and go... much more economic and environmentally friendly!

I definitely agree with Acetyline, Ebie and Bina - you might just love it over here and take the good with the bad!

Just imagine, you can wear your best jewelry open on the street without getting shot or mugged, your chances of being able to walk home without anyone bothering you even at 2 in the morning are really high - your children (if you have any) can play outside without you having to monitor every second and so on...

So just get there, settle in and you´ll see what the place you´ll be living in is accomodated with. I hope living in Europe turns out to be among the best years of your life and you can enjoy it thoroughly!

Answer 7

It depends on where you live.I know people in germany(frankfurt, and darmstadt) and they do have a cloths dryer, but they dont have a dishwasher. they also have heat and air. you have to think to that for an american going to germany it will be more money for us cause we have the us dollar which is lower then an euro. but for a german coming to america using euros it will b cheaper.

Answer 8

Depends on if you want to shell out money to buy your appliances and pay for electricity. :-)  I am living in Frankfurt, Germany, and I have a dishwasher.  I don't think it works as well as my dishwasher in the states.  I have a clothes washing machine but no dryer.  However, I have friends with dryers so you can buy them.  The spin cycles on the washers are crazy fast, so my clothes are mostly dry by the time I take them out and I just lay them out to dry on a rack inside.  Central Air- probably not unless you build your own house.  I do not have central air.  But, you really don't need it.  Just open the windows.  It is really pretty mild overall and central air would just not be worth it.  Oh, and do prepare to spend the equivalent of at least $6-$7 for a gallon of gasoline.  (It is sold by the liter- but that is what it would come out to.)  Another thing really different to me is that the stores close at 8 PM on weeknights, close at 2 or 6 PM on Saturday (depending on big city vs. small town) and the stores are not open on Sunday.  So plan your grocery shopping ahead of time!  Oh yeah, and the language is quite different. ;-)  Bitte!

Answer 9

Yes! But only in the summer that if you don't want the electric bills to go up....just like we do here in America

but they had  washing machine there. I was living there and i used machine

Good Luck

Answer 10

Angelhimm pretty much covered the answer. One thing I would like to add though. Yes, there is no A/C and the summers CAN get as hot as they do in the U.S. My second summer in Germany, Europe had a heat wave and the temp got up to 105* F. How we survived was we bought ALOT of stand up fans and aluminum foil. Place the aluminum foil on the windows (I know this looks tacky) and it will decrease the room temp by 10 degrees. You don't have to worry about heating in Germany (at least I didn't) their heating is very good.