I'm also a foreigner in Berlin, and my guess is twofold:

1. Their German isn't good enough, which limits the pool of people you can connect to

2. They only or mostly hang out in the expat-scene, which limits the pool of people you can connect to

▲ dathinab 2 days ago | parent | next [-]

no, it's the Berlin experience, even for many Germans

1. speaking German doesn't matter too much in Berlin, except older "Berlin Berlins" most people speak conversational English. I have even seen cases of _all_ personal in a caffe not speaking German..., more then once.

2. Over half the people in Berlin are "expat-like": ~20% of people in Berlin are not from Germany, 30-40% or so are not from Berlin and only there fro some years/decades to study or similar. And the distribution isn't uniform across Berlins, i.e. the areas you are most likely to end up as an (actual) expat (or similar) are the ones with way higher ratios. Like if you connect someone in such a area (weather physical or area-of-life) it's actually surprising if that person if "from" Berlin. Like you as a person "from" Berlin are more a special case then idk. someone from Poland ;).

▲

pizza234 2 days ago | parent [-]

> 1. speaking German doesn't matter too much in Berlin, except older "Berlin Berlins" most people speak conversational English

This depends on the context: it doesn't matter to speak German in the stage of life where one doesn't interface with the administration (and therefore, older generations). But for those who settle, and are past that stage, German is a requirement.

	▲	dathinab 2 days ago \| parent [-]
		> German is a requirement. should be, but de-facto isn't, like seriously you can live decades in Berlin without learning German. As a German I could fully stop understanding German from tomorrow on and in any situation except my parents it would work out, with only very limited issues here and there. Most which normally solvable with camera based translation apps (e.g. Google Lense), and some other by deciding which part of Berlin I spend my time in. and legally it's only required if you try to get a German pass

▲ rglullis 2 days ago | parent | prev [-]

1) I am certified C1 German - studied in high school for 6 years. Granted, I don't like speaking German and will use English when possible, but it's not a matter of not being able to connect with them.

2) Shortly after moving in, I started dating a German woman. Lasted close to a whole year. That was more than enough time to meet a lot of her friends, I got to meet her family, etc. That was more than enough time and opportunities to get a good insight into "native German" lifestyle, culture and values.

Want to try again?

▲ throwaway2037 a day ago | parent | next [-]

    > Granted, I don't like speaking German and will use English when possible, but it's not a matter of not being able to connect with them.

Why do you live in Germany? Why not somewhere else?

	▲	rglullis a day ago \| parent [-]
		Because I have not been able to convince my wife to move to Greece. Also, the fact that I am not integrated does not mean that I am unhappy here.

▲ platybubsy 2 days ago | parent | prev | next [-]

wowow C1 and dated a German? Sorry, you are basically a native

	▲	rglullis 2 days ago \| parent [-]
		You take that back, right now!

▲ eska 2 days ago | parent | prev [-]

You don’t know Germany, you know Berlin.

You don’t have insight into German lifestyle, you have insight into that one woman’s family’s lifestyle (and only less than a year, you’re not a family member at that point).

	▲	rglullis 2 days ago \| parent [-]
		I'm not claiming that I know all of Germany or all Germans, I am just refuting GP's guesses. Also, she wasn't the only German that I've met and it wasn't the case that I only met native Germans through her personal network. I also worked at Deutsche Telekom and Mercedes Benz. I've had the opportunity to interact with lots of people outside of the work environment.