British Expats In Germany Disappointed And Sad About Brexit

Following the shocking result of the UK’s mid-December election and the realisation that Brexit is now close to being a done deal, British expats in Germany are sad and disappointed their hopes won’t now become reality.

Britons living and working in Germany have spent the last four years wishing and hoping Brexit would implode and allow their lives to get back to normal, hopes which are now permanently dashed. Even the possibility of a no-deal Brexit due to lack of a satisfactory trade deal just 12 months from now is back on the table, as the transition period as it stands is far too short to complete meaningful negotiations.

British expats in Germany realise there’s a degree of security during the next full year, but are still sad that their hopes of a Brexit reversal have now been finally dashed. One Welsh expat told the media it felt like the last stages of a broken marriage doomed to end in divorce. The fight to remain in the EU, he believes, was similar to an attempt to avoid a divorce by setting back the clock to happier times, yet knowing it can’t ever be the same again.

Many other Britons in Germany are feeling sad but calm, basically internalising their reactions and saying they now don’t recognise the country of their birth. Other descriptions of their feelings by Britons in shock included ‘ashamed’, ‘let down’, and ‘numb’. Many state the country they’d once known and loved seemed to have disappeared almost overnight, and have more confidence in the German government than they have in Johnson’s parliament. Many are concerned about their chances of staying in Germany, hoping against hope it won’t be just those with work visas who’re able to remain.