Absolutely, yes.

Firefighters start around the age of 10 in Germany, where you compete with soccer clubs and other sports, later on, during puberty, people often lose interest, too...

It's not that easy to keep young people, but I find that more and more "older" people (like around 30) start with the firefighters because they want to take part in the life in their village and what not. So, there's hope.

Volunteering in rescue services (DLRG is another one that is particularly relevant in this disaster, and the German Red Cross (DRK) is another big one) is generally a great way to go out and meet people to be honest. I neither have the time nor physical fitness for it but I know some volunteers and they certainly know how to have a good time.

I think volunteering is also more common in rural areas. A lot of times volunteer trainings are done as youth activities (e.g. the DLRG does a lot of swimming related activities so it's a good option if you enjoy swimming as a sport).

> It's not that easy to keep young people, but I find that more and more "older" people (like around 30) start with the firefighters because they want to take part in the life in their village and what not. So, there's hope.

With a long life of "tech nomading" I'm pretty comfortable living alone and in strange environments. But the older I get the more I feel unfulfilled due to lack of real community around, contributing to it, taking ownership and responsibility in it. I guess that happens to those 30 year olds in Germany as well.

While moving around is getting more common, i think it's still way less than in US Tech. Also the distances are so much smaller munich - hamburg is only 6 hours.

My favorite "Americans vs Europeans" joke:

Q: What's the difference between an American and a European person?

A: A European thinks 100 km is a large distance. An American thinks a hundred years is a long time.

I definitely qualify as a European in this regard; "only 6 hours" is super long to travel for me.

I like that one a lot. My other favorite (as an American) is:

Q: What do you call a person who speaks two languages?

A: Bilingual

Q: What do you call a person who speaks one language?

A: American

I recently read it takes around 12 hours just to drive through Texas, the same time it takes to drive from Munich to Barcelona.

But "rural" Germany with its village structures are harder to penetrate if you move to a town, probably.

So either you join the sports club or the firefighters to find your place in the new town. ;-)

And your going to be the new guy for the rest of your live.

If only that... my parents moved into the village i was born in 40 years ago, and even I WAS BORN THERE i a am still one of the "Newwe" (the "new ones" in the local dialect)

Compulsory military service actually has not been abandoned in Germany, it’s still written down in the constitution.

It’s just put out of order for an indefinite amount of time.