Germany

How many people speak English: 70%

What it's like as an English speaker: After living in Berlin for over a decade, my German went from being basic to a more advanced basic. Buying a house, getting a job, starting a company, and making friends, although challenging, proved doable for an Anglophone. This is because most Germans are proud of their English and love using it when possible. Try out your German to someone in Berlin, and quite often they'll reply in English. It's taught from an early age, and like English, it's a Germanic language, with many similar principles. It is also the language of academia and international business, which thrives in the leading European country.

What Germany has to offer: In Berlin, like many of the other big cities -- Frankfurt, Hamburg, Munich -- English will get you far. Go on a guided tour, eat some schnitzel, go hiking, or hit up your favorite nightclubs, and you'll meet so many young, friendly Germans wanting to perfect their already impeccable English, you'll forget that you're in a country that invented such words as quietscheentchen (rubber duck) and streichholzschächtelchen (match lighters). Once you're done in Berlin, simply book a train ticket to your next destination with Bahn.de, the national rail service whose 

...[ Continue to next page ]

Share This Post