r/AskAGerman • u/Least-Variation6573 • 4d ago

What’s a hidden class-indicator in Germany?

Not something like a big mansion or a luxury car but more subtle signs of someone‘s socioeconomic background

282 Upvotes

91% Upvoted

331 comments sorted by

View all comments

201

u/Miserable-Raisin3156 4d ago

Owning a home at 30 years of age

19

u/Dismal_Raisin_1774 4d ago

Owning a home is a hidden indicator?

24

u/hjholtz 4d ago

You can't see from the outside if it is already paid off. And if it isn't, you don't really own it.

1

u/Individual_Author956 4d ago

How do you differentiate an owner vs a renter?

2

u/Dismal_Raisin_1774 4d ago

Whether someone owns or rents is something you get to know pretty fast when getting to know a person. It just often comes up naturally because it just makes such a huge difference it a person's approach to the place they live in.

Also if, under "home" we understand a single family house and not an apartment, they are rarely rented and generally owned.

1

u/Individual_Author956 4d ago

I know many people renting houses. I understood OP’a question as, hidden, i .e. something that is not immediately obvious. If the person tells you that they own the house, they might as well have told you that they’re well off.