Construction costs are currently skyrocketing

Do so many people here really think it's cool to live and support the old patterns? Man works and woman takes care of the children and household?

Well, my girlfriend has been working again since our daughter was 1 year old. I spent my parental leave settling her in with the daycare provider. So you absolutely don’t need to accuse me of narrow-mindedness and 1950s role understanding just because I don’t share the "everything for free" mentality.

I find absolutely nothing wrong with paying a few euros for childcare when it is good. It doesn’t have to be 500€, but the 110€ we paid for 20 hours at the daycare provider, I find quite reasonable. That is just about 1€ per hour (!!!) for 4.5 weeks per month and, even in total over the years, absolutely manageable. If you compare that to what some people spend on purely aesthetic gimmicks on their facades, e.g., rhombus cladding (as a randomly chosen example ;) ), then it still isn’t a significant amount. And there is still the possibility to introduce social clauses that exempt certain children from fees. As an ordoliberal, I don’t see the state as a big caretaker but as an organization that ensures fair opportunities. Those who are capable of contributing may certainly do so when receiving services. Otherwise, you have massive misallocation, and yes, that happens in childcare too.

One problem with our now ex-daycare provider was exactly that. She had other children who barely made use of the booked hours. I then encountered little enthusiasm when I wanted to come at 8:30 in the morning and not like others between 9 and 9:30. Right now, we are juggling childcare with grandma (1.5h drive...) and childcare at my home office until the summer holidays and hope that we will have care again afterwards. By the way, that much again on the topic of breadwinner and homemaker…

To the novel writers here: Are you all on vacation? Oh no, [HomeOffice] :D

In the city-state of Singapore there are also many skyscrapers, along with a lot of greenery in between and good infrastructure, all of which is well maintained/clean. The standard of living is comparable to Germany (or higher/more advanced, keyword digitalization). The middle class lives like this there and is not dissatisfied, but there are hardly any alternatives and the government is rather paternalistic, which the population accepts because stable and secure conditions prevail and the standard of living is very high. It certainly cannot be easily transferred to Germany, but it shows that it can work.

Sure, and a car costs more than an apartment and may only be used for 10 years. Otherwise, you have to pay again. Singapore has very low taxes. Health insurance and a kind of building savings plan are deducted directly from the salary. The ratio shifts as one gets older. There is enough revenue for state construction. Due to the mandatory deduction, there is also a high ownership rate, but privately financed properties are unaffordable for almost everyone. The population is very hardworking and there is no unemployment assistance or anything like that. Thus, the unemployment rate is quite low and no “Harzer” are bred... Singapore lives off the financial sector and also has many tourists. Everything else is imported and is currently problematic. With water and energy, efforts are being made to become more independent. Much is advertised with sustainability and it is clean, but if more space is needed, it is simply taken from the sea. So it cannot be transferred to Germany in any way.

The population is very hardworking and there is no unemployment benefit or anything like that. Therefore, the unemployment rate is quite low and no "Harzer" are bred…

Well, I know a few Harzers who all work, and the Harz itself is also a nice region.

nice to read from you again, I was already afraid you had also disappeared. :)

I can currently contribute little regarding the construction costs, windows (plastic, ohwohow :-) ) with Venetian blinds or roller shutters, 1 lift-and-slide door and an aluminum front door with fingerprint cost about 40k for our renovation. We found that quite okay and hope that the stuff arrives on time. Alleged delivery time: 10 weeks. That would be great, so I don't really believe it ;-)

I can contribute something towards the construction costs. We have an extension project in the family that probably won't be started now. Here in southern Germany. Roughly estimated with all the offers between 5k-6k per sqm.