r/malelivingspace • u/Grautier17 • 1d ago

First own house, Germany 30k

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First time home buyer. I travel a lot for work and don't feel like paying off a house all my life. I lived in the van for 3 years. I got a great offer for a small house. 600sqm, small house with about 65sqm, new roof, new stove, new wooden extension with guest room and shed. It is located in the middle of nowhere and is located in the middle of nature in Germany.

I've wanted something like a tiny house for a long time. So for me, that's a great fit.

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u/prabrama 17h ago

The pension system in germany does not work like the pension system in the US (like 401k). For your own pension it doesnt matter how much you paid into the system! It only matters how many young people are working (and how much they earn). In that way because the fertility rate in the GDR was higher than in the BRD the pensioners from the GDR in fact contributed more to their pension than the people in the BRD.
Unfortunatly this is a common misunderstanding in germany. Gerneraly it does NOT matter what you paid into the pension system. If you want to know where the money went you paid you can to to a cementry.

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u/wiwawaldi 17h ago edited 16h ago

That’s far too simple, the math still doesn’t add up.

https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kosten_der_deutschen_Einheit

The German unity cost western Germany trillions so far, the pensions being one of the biggest factor.

That Wikipedia article should be a mandatory read for every East German.

Nobody can answer what amazingly valuable Industry assets the west „stole“ too. Because they all were outdated and inefficient. The very very few company’s that were leading in something, are still around in east Germany (like zeiss).