(Sort-of) Update: I came to Germany to study and I don’t want to leave

To those who didn’t read my old post, it should still be floating around here somewhere but the gist is that I, an American university student with an abusive family and a dead-end career ahead of me, came to a city near Munich to improve my B2 German but discovered that I really, really like it here. I can walk everywhere. I love the bread. I’ve made friends with other exchange students and even some locals. I can hike in the mountains on the weekends. And I can finally see how terrible my life back home was. I don’t want to return to that.

Thank you to everyone who gave me advice and support! I wasn’t expecting so many positive comments. It really helped me out. I’ve developed a tentative plan moving forward. Since I really can’t ask my family about this, I’m turning to y‘all for feedback.

I think right now, I will go home at the end of my semester. I’ll finish my last classes for my bachelor‘s degree and work full-time for a year or so. I have quite a lot of money in my savings and a CD that has been collecting interest for four years, but I want to add to that stockpile. I also want to adopt a dog at an animal shelter I worked at last year—which won’t help with apartment searches, but everyone at the shelter hated him, except for me. I included a photo for reference. He’s not the prettiest dog, but he’s good with other dogs and cats and loves to snuggle. He is also a small-ish dog, maybe 20 kilos? And he is a beagle, which as far as I know isn’t banned here. If he’s still at the shelter when I return from Germany, I am adopting him and bringing him here to Germany.

I plan on applying for an Ausbildung. I was studying to be a physical therapist in America, but I have lost some of that passion due to lots of cuts by the government making it harder for me to use federal loans and to even find a job, as many clinics in my state are federally funded and are closing due to these cuts. I could keep studying for that here, but I could also study for another medical job, such as a medical machine operator. If it’s in the medical field and doesn’t involve operating, it’s fine for me. I don’t care how much it pays. As long as I can live my life in relative comfort.

I know I won’t have as many luxuries as I’m used to in America, and that Germany is in a bit of a decline and all. But I don’t see myself having a great future in America. I don’t have much of a family. I’ll be in debt for 20-30 years trying to pay off a degree that might not even be feasible in the future. I would much rather trade that for the peace and comfort I feel in the simpler life here. If you have any feedback or advice, please let me know! Thanks!