Is It Still Worth Coming to Germany in 2026?

In these first days of 2026, with the beautiful snowy weather that's arrived, I want to answer one of the most frequently asked questions based on my own experience: is it still worth coming to Germany in 2026? There are plenty of positive and negative opinions about Germany out there, everyone has their own view. I've been here for close to a year now, not quite a full year yet, about eleven months in, and over this time I've started to form a clearer picture of what's actually happening in Germany and what's likely to come. I'll cover this under two headings: the economy, and other reasons.

Economy

Let's start with the economy. How much you earn in Germany actually matters less than it seems. Even on minimum wage, it's possible to cover your basic expenses here and get by without going into debt. As of 2026, the hourly minimum wage got a small adjustment against inflation; not a big raise, but still an improvement. Of course, only a small share of the population actually earns minimum wage here; even cashiers usually earn above it.

I compare this to my experience in Turkey, because there, even with an income well above minimum wage, we could barely make it to the end of the month. While my wife and I were both working, our combined income was close to three minimum wages, and we were still living paycheck to paycheck. Between rent, bills, and groceries, even the annual raise wasn't enough, and we couldn't get away from credit card debt. When we once calculated what we'd actually spent money on over a month, we realized we hadn't set aside anything for coffee, cinema, or any social activity at all, just rent, bills, groceries, and the occasional wrap sandwich. And even that wasn't enough.

Given those conditions, being able to live within your means here on even the lowest wage, buy a used car, live a bit outside the city or in a shared flat, pay your bills, feed yourself, and close out the month debt-free is genuinely valuable to me. You might not be able to save much, you might not be able to travel much, but you can have peace of mind, you won't live with that feeling of "no matter how much I work, it's never enough."

Of course, that alone isn't enough either; we haven't come this far, gone through this much difficulty, just to cover our basic expenses, we should want more. There are people who say "Germany isn't doing well," and there's some truth to that. The world in general isn't doing well, there's a global downturn. Germany's economy may be struggling, but compared to Turkey it's still in a far better position, and that needs to be underlined. Things like the war in Ukraine, the loss of Russian gas, the resulting energy prices, the flow of refugees, and the misuse of some state benefits are putting pressure on the economy. China's ability to produce both cheaply and with high quality is also challenging Germany's competitiveness; the old edge that Mercedes or BMW used to have is shrinking.

Volkswagen closing a factory got headlined in Turkish media as "Germany is sinking," but the reality is: Volkswagen isn't sinking, it's shifting production to countries like Poland with cheaper labor. Companies here aren't going under, it's just that easy money isn't as easy to make here as it used to be. In the same way, there are changes to state benefits in 2026 too; where rent used to be fully covered, there's now a cap, and people who refuse to look for work can have their benefits cut. I actually think that's the right call, encouraging people to work and discouraging abuse of the system is a necessary step.

Other reasons

But if you ask me, you shouldn't migrate to Germany purely for economic reasons. My own motivation to migrate was never "I'll earn more here." What matters most is being able to live in a safer, calmer place where justice actually functions. There's a real system here, and that system protects you, lets you live in a way that respects human dignity. Personal safety, safety of your property, almost no tension between people; no one's cursing each other out in traffic, no one's carrying a bat, a knife, or a gun in their car.

Rules are followed here. If a building is permitted three floors, no one adds a fourth; there's no building illegally and waiting for an amnesty in the next election like in Turkey. No cutting a support column to expand a shop. There's a story from Turkey I still can't forget: after rain in İzmir, a citizen stepped into a puddle and was electrocuted by a live current leaking into it, and another person who tried to save them was electrocuted the same way and also died. Two people lost their lives just for stepping into a puddle on the ground. The fact that a human life can be lost so "cheaply" still upsets me deeply, and no one is held accountable, no one resigns.

Of course bad things happen here too, this is a country of over eighty million people, it's not perfect. But it happens far less often. When I mention an incident here, I say "something like this happened a year ago," while in Turkey, this kind of thing happens every day. That means the odds of running into something bad are far lower here.

Honestly, I'm not always at peace on the issue of social justice either; seeing people close to certain circles get away easily with certain crimes makes me feel bad psychologically. But looking at the bigger picture, when I think about the demographic shift in Turkey, the uncontrolled migration, and the rising crime rates, I can say I lost my hope for the future there. My own migration isn't driven by economic worry, it's driven by having lost my belief that certain things about the future, about humanity, will get better.

Conclusion

Is it worth coming to Germany in 2026? I think it is, why not? But if you're going to come, your motivation for migrating shouldn't be economic concerns. Building your own life in a new country, learning a new language, understanding the system, all of that takes time; the first two or three years will genuinely be hard, you'll struggle a lot. What makes that struggle worth it has to be some other reason that keeps you here: your children growing up with a better future, your spouse or your child being able to walk down the street safely. If you come purely to make money, it might not be worth the struggle.

I hope the world becomes a better place, I hope our individual lives move in the direction we want. New year, new hopes, as I like to say.

Ferdi Şen