I am considering moving to Germany and was told that regions in the south are more conservative, so much so that an acquaintance ex-pat said they would never want to live there. Looking online there are some sources to support this notion but nothing concrete. I am wanting to move mostly because I loved the country and the people I met while traveling (specifically in Munich and Freiburg) but was hoping to land somewhere that queer folks are more accepted. I didn’t get any bad vibes while traveling but that was nearly a decade ago now.
Another German friend recommended moving to Berlin for these reasons and I’m wondering if German conservative is anything remotely close to US conservative. The conservatives near where I live now fly Trump and confederate flags, love to put those “I did that” Biden stickers on the gas pumps when prices go up, and the local schoolboard managed to pass anti-trans bathroom policies that affected something like 5 students in the entire district. Is it anything like this in parts of Germany?
It is more conservative than the north but German conservatism isn’t quite as vile as the American flavor.
“Conservative” politicians here want to keep taxes for the wealthy low, suck off car manufacturers, keep marijuana banned (“it’s forbidden because it’s illegal”). In Germany, trying to enact an LGBTQ genocide is not really an ambition of the conservatives but of the fascist AfD which is strongest in eastern Germany but in recent polls got an uncomfortable 20% nationwide.
“Conservative” people in southern Germany will go to church, give you a weird side-eye if you work on a Sunday or have dyed hair, wear checkered shirts and get shitfaced at the biweekly state fair. Most are quite nice personally.
The towns and cities are way more progressive than the countryside and especially Munich which has had a socdem mayor for quite a while now. Hell the last csd had like half a million people, that’s nearly a third of the population.
Best summary of south Germany in one sentence
That’s basically the perfect answer already. I just want to add that OP might want to prefer a city with a university as they are usually even younger and more progressive than others. While I haven’t lived in Freiburg, it certainly would be a good choice if you value that.
Whats wrong with checkered shirt?
It’s much the same here, although some cities are more welcoming than others. The hard part is finding a rural or semi rural area that is also accepting but near to a city that isn’t also white suburbia