One sec Erika Roberts She was a high school student growing up in the suburbs of Philadelphia, she participated in a two -week exchange program, which took her to Munich in Germany. At that time she did not know about it, but this experience would shape the rest of her life.
Quickly until 2016, when Roberts was a first -year student in college, studying biochemistry with concentration at Massachusetts. Even when she worked on obtaining a bachelor's title and attending a medical school, she felt unfulfilled.
“I was a young adult who wanted to experience the world and everything that came to him,” says CNBC. “All the places I toured in high school, promised diversity, community and personal development, but reality seemed different. I decided that I had to look for my own challenges if I want to really experience it. I just didn't feel that I was working on the future I was excited about.”
Roberts moved to Germany to attend a medical school.
Erika Roberts
At the same time, Roberts began to think about what life would really look like if she moved to another school, especially one in Germany.
Unlike the United States, you don't need a bachelor in Germany to attend a medical school. Instead, students sign up for a six -year program divided into three stages, with exams conducted after each of them.
Most public universities in Germany are either free or offer lower costs compared to other countries.
All these factors still influenced Roberts's thinking. She decided that this movement was her best option because she could become a dermatologist without longer learning.
Roberts again began to gather German after a short class at high school.
“I decided to challenge myself and meet people from around the world. This is definitely not something that you must get in the United States, unless you are in a big city,” he says. “It seems to me that Europe treats young adults better in a way that gives you responsibility, so you are exposed at a younger age, and you know what to do compared to the states, more waiting until you are 21 years old, and then suddenly all hell relaxes.”
Roberts tried to discuss attending a medical school in Germany with Dad, but rejected this idea. He wanted her to finish her education in the United States. But when Roberts finished his first year of GPa, her dad changed her mind and gave her a green light to continue studying in Germany.
“My dad thought:” Okay, if you think there is a really right direction. You tried a typical route and if you still think you have to do it, you can definitely try it out, “he says.
Roberts lived in this apartment with two roommates for five years.
Erika Roberts
Roberts graduated from a first year student in 2017 and registered at a language school, in which she also planned to live while settling in Germany.
Just a few weeks after registration, Roberts got on the plane and went to Germany. She lived in a dormitory at a language school for less than a year before she moved with her boyfriend in the family. This salon ended when they both fell apart. She moved to a shared apartment with two other people in which she lived for about a year.
Finally, Roberts landed in an apartment with roommates and lived there for five years. When she first moved in, she paid 565 euros or USD 648 per month. Before it moved out, the rent was 659 euros per month or USD 751.
Today Roberts lives alone, but it is not comfortable, revealing what she pays for the rent. Instead, she shared that her total expenses, apart from rent, are 749 euros or USD 859 per month.
According to documents checked by CNBC Make IT, these monthly expenses include 230 euros for food, 144 euros for health insurance, 24 euros for membership in the gym, 28 euros for a mobile phone bill and 38 euros for transport. He also pays 85 euros for tuition fees at a medical school and usually spends 200 euros going to food or hanging with friends.
“Taxpayers allow you to maintain such low fees of public universities, so I will have the chance to properly pay off my participation when I work here,” says Roberts.
Roberts studies as a dermatologist.
Erika Roberts
Roberts noticed that since his life in Germany he has been building his days differently, he has healthier eating habits and burden things much less.
“I think that the origin of my experience in Philadelphia willingness to be really individual and see how people exist here in the universe that he is not trying to do it, it balanced me,” he says.
“(This makes me confront who I am really except what the world around me says that I should be.”
Roberts has been in Germany for almost eight years, says that he loves a sense of security, access to good food and availability. Being there also forced her to learn how to adapt.
“Recognition of the environment in which you are, and the principles that decide about this environment, is really necessary to understand how to succeed,” he says.
“I definitely noticed how slowly for years, I adapted German culture more. I grew up here in so many ways. I grew up to the person I am now.”
Roberts says that in the near future he does not return to the USA permanently.
Erika Roberts
Roberts's family is mostly in us, so a return to the back will always be possible, he says. But for now he sees himself in Europe for a long time.
“I wouldn't think 10 years ago that I would live in Germany as long as I do it and how everything went. I wouldn't be able to predict where I am 10 years ago,” he says.
“I do not try to strictly predict where I will be 10 years old from today, but now I feel very happy and I saw how I stayed here.”
Conversions from euro to USD were conducted using the Oanda conversion factor of 1 euro to $ 1.14 on April 23, 2025. All amounts are rounded to the nearest dollar.
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