From Four-Hour Workdays to High-Paying IT Jobs: Diverse Stories of Vietnamese Immigrants in Germany

There are the Stories of 4 Vietnamese  People Living in Germany, the Place of 'Four-Hour Workdays'

The first story is about a woman who is about 40 years old. She came to Germany through family reunification, but her marriage was not real. She doesn't have any qualification. Because she is not skilled and her health is not good, she only works four hours a day. This is just enough so she doesn't need to get social welfare. She also gets money for her two children, about 500 euros each month. After her divorce, she gets extra money for being a single parent, about 180 euros. Her parents are rich, so they gave her money to buy a house in Germany. She doesn't have to pay tax on this gift because of German law. Her life in Germany seems very nice. She has an easy job, lives comfortably, grows plants and flowers, and enjoys her life.

The second story is about a young man who went to Germany to study a trade. But he was tricked by an agency. After he paid the agency, the company in Germany worked with the agency in Vietnam to cancel his contract. He had to find a new contract so he wouldn't have to go back to Vietnam. His family had borrowed money to pay for his language classes and the agency, but now everything was ruined. After some time, he found a new contract and studied hard. He graduated and now works as a nurse with a steady salary. He married someone in the same job. Even though their work is hard, together they earn about 4,000-6,000 euros each month.

The third story is about a student who finished university in Vietnam. He was very good at his job and had many years of experiences in IT. He got a Blue Card job offer with a high salary of 70,000-90,000 euro per year. He brought his whole family to Germany with this visa. There are many other students in Germany with master's or doctoral degrees who earn salaries that even German people dream of. These people do brain work, which is less tiring. They earn a lot but also pay a lot of tax (35-45%). In return, they will get a high pension, and their taxes help support people with lower incomes.

The last story is about someone who has a permanent residence card in Germany. He asked for advice on how to tell his older uncle (who just came to Germany illegally) that he can't stay at his house without hurting his feelings. If he lets an illegal person stay at his house, he could be fined, sent to jail, or even lose his permanent residence card or citizenship. Older people who are in Germany illegally, like his uncle, or Vietnamese people from East German times, have to try very hard to get legal papers and fit in. They accept low-paying manual jobs. Some people work hard to study, get qualifications, or become business owners or restaurant owners. But most do manual jobs, like working in kitchens or restaurants, from early morning until late at night. When they get old, they just hope to retire and get a pension in Germany, but they plan to go back to Vietnam to spend their last days.

Living in a foreign country is not always as easy as some people think. The idea comes from looking at four different stories of Vietnamese people living in Germany. These stories show different ways people move to Germany, like getting married, joining family, studying for a job, being a student, working as an expert, or even moving as an older person without a degree.

The first story talks about a woman who had a very good life in Germany. But this is not common. Most Vietnamese people in Germany face situations more like the other three stories, which show more difficulties.

To live comfortably anywhere, you need to have enough money saved up. This means you need to be rich (or have rich parents), be very skilled at something, or work very hard to get through tough times. This explains why Vietnamese people in Germany often work so hard.

What about German people? Of course, some work hard too, and some prefer an easy life using government help. But that's a different, longer story. Basically, many Germans don't like doing hard, tiring jobs. This creates chances for people who want to move to Germany and are willing to do these jobs.

In the end, living abroad can be challenging, but with hard work or the right skills, it's possible to make a good life. It's important to understand that it's not always easy, but there are opportunities for those who are prepared to work for them.

Credit and source: Adapted from an article about "Đời sống|Life" posted on vnexpress.net .https://vnexpress.net/chuyen-4-nguoi-viet-dinh-cu-duc-noi-lam-viec-bon-tieng-mot-ngay-4801431.html