Скачать или смотреть Germany Is Not Cold – Americans Just Misread It

Germany is often described as cold, distant, or unfriendly. But what if that perception is less about German culture and more about how Americans and other expressive cultures interpret warmth?

In this video, I share my perspective as someone who grew up in the United States, lived there until my mid-twenties, and has now spent over ten years building a life in Germany. I am both an American and German citizen, and this reflection is shaped by lived experience navigating both cultures side by side.

This is not a video about judging cultures or claiming that one way of living is better than another. It is about understanding why Germans are so often misread as emotionally distant, and how deeply different cultural assumptions about warmth, trust, and connection shape our interpretations of one another.

American culture often values quick friendliness, expressive communication, small talk, and emotional reassurance. German culture, by contrast, tends to value boundaries first, depth over performance, honesty over exaggeration, and consistency over instant closeness. What feels “cold” to outsiders is often simply unperformed warmth, not a lack of care.

In this video, I talk about:
• Why friendliness is not the same as closeness
• How German directness is often mistaken for rudeness
• Why emotional restraint does not equal emotional absence
• How trust, loyalty, and long-term commitment function differently in Germany
• The role of community, social structures, and work-life balance in shaping relationships

If you have ever lived in Germany, moved abroad, or felt confused by cultural differences in communication, this video offers a reframing that may fundamentally change how you see German people and German culture.

This is about learning to read the language beneath the language.

If this perspective resonated with you, feel free to share your experiences in the comments and subscribe for more reflections on culture, identity, and life between worlds.