Construction costs are currently skyrocketing

I do a lot of business trips and the bureaucracy and payment issues are getting worse... because the low-cost competition and accordingly also the cost pressure are increasing. I guess many employers will react to your demand like this in the future: "Fine. Then we’ll move our office from Munich to Frankfurt Oder or straight to Warsaw." It still seems unclear to many what awaits the German location in the coming decades. We are way too expensive, whether in wages, energy, or environmental standards. When I look at what my company charges for me per hour... I’m not surprised that many are now hiring Eastern Europeans. They take longer, but only cost a third.

I don’t see things so black, on the contrary. I even see future "blossoming landscapes." This whole pessimism doesn’t correspond either with the past or with the future predicted by scientists (without tin foil hats). Moreover, it doesn’t correspond with my current perception (considering about 50 of our highest-revenue customers from my work area). Sure, some will be left behind, and maybe the social gap will (unfortunately) widen a bit more. But quite pragmatically considered, Germany will on average do economically better than other countries for a long time. Again, just my personal amateur opinion since my crystal ball is currently being repaired.

So when I look at where I started 12 years ago and what is possible today... I am by far not as pessimistic as all of you here.

10 years ago, I had a Golf VI, which could barely maintain speed. Today I have a Seat that I let drive itself on the highway over long distances using the lane assist and ACC. A Seat... just 6 or 7 years ago, that was only available in the 5 Series or 7 Series.

I assume that my 6-year-old daughter won’t need a driver’s license in 12 years. By then, autonomous driving will be standard and you will pay a lot, lot of money to the insurance if you want to drive yourself...

I don't only see less negativity, on the contrary. (...)

What do I see as negative? I am not prophesying the apocalypse. But I consider it an illusion that the promise "children shall have it better than their parents" will continue to hold true.

I don't know where you get your optimism from, but the young generation we get... when we get something "useful," it makes me very sad. No bite, no "passion for the job"...

You may be right about IT, everyone fights over the 9 to 5 office jobs. But in the field of global special plant engineering? Dark, very dark when it comes to young talent. This is how we earn a large part of our money in Germany. You only buy plants here if we also build them at the customer's site. If no one does that anymore... then you buy from those who do.

Oh man, that one can't just stay on topic for 5 posts in a row...

What do I see negatively? I am not prophesying the end of the world. ...

Here you see:

... Many still seem not to realize what awaits the location Germany in the coming decades. ...

So my bonus children are better off than me, my nieces and nephews are (in part significantly) better off than their parents, and it is quite foreseeable that my grandchildren will also be better off and the children of my nieces and nephews as well. What has happened in just 2-3 generations regarding living standards, education, earnings, and work performed is magnificent and astonishing at the same time. I see no reversal but certainly potential

Oh man, that one can’t just stay on topic for 5 posts in a row...

The problem is that the topic changes so quickly (sorry not sorry) Ok, once again construction costs: I recently had a garden landscaper (from England?!) here who gave me an immediate offer to pave the driveway with grass pavers (20mx3m). He wanted 10,000 EUR. I tried not to laugh and told him to leave me a flyer. Can that really be true?! Or did he expect me to negotiate? My neighbor now also wants to inquire about the driveway. We actually wanted to do it in EL, but we just never get around to it.