Hello,
I'm living in Germany and a couple years ago, I surprisingly managed to score a somewhat well-paid office job, even though I had zero qualifications. While most of the time, I've had enough income to afford a pretty decent lifestyle, buying property or having children one day has always seemed highly unrealistic, given the current hyperinflation and housing crisis.
Fast forward to today: Due to the current economic situation, the company I was working for ran into some financial trouble and had to let go of some of their staff, including me. My job there officially ends at the last day of July and I've been at home for the last two weeks now.
Now here's the good news: Germany is a bit different from the US and some other countries.
Since I've worked full time the last couple years, I am now eligible to receive over a year of unemployment payments (Arbeitslosengeld), that usually amount to 60% of the median monthly income after taxes, which in my case would be enough to afford an acceptable lifestyle and pay all my bills (recently moved into an apartment that's owned by a family member).
The Arbeitslosengeld also includes universal health care, taxes, etc.
So now I have pretty much two choices: Find a new job, work full time and probably earn around 70 to 90% of what I earned before, or simply take a few months of the 60% Arbeitslosengeld, while maybe making a bit of money on the side.
What would you do? Or is this simply a question of freedom vs. money? I probably wouldn't be able to go travelling a lot or buy many clothes and consumer products, but I'd have each and every day for myself, instead of sitting in an office all day, doing a job that feels repulsive to me, getting stuck in rush hour traffic twice a day, while burning over-priced fuel and still not making enough money to afford the lifestyle that was a regular middle class lifestyle just a few decades ago.
It's weird, but a part of me still feels guilty when thinking about the idea of just not working for my money, but I also know that this is just part of how I was raised and how I was conditioned to believe that I'm only a worthy human if I take part in this whole game and “contribute to society”.
On a side note, to earn the same amount I earned before or even a bit more, I'd probably have to get a “Mini-Job” (tax-free 520€ side job) on top of a full time job or just get really lucky (as I did with my last job).
Sorry for any grammar mistakes and thank you for reading!