Plus Forty Nine is the ultimate podcast for internationals and expats living in Germany. Each week we dive into the personal stories and experiences of other expats. Together, we look back on their unique journey and explore how they have adapted to life in Germany. We address key challenges, offer practical solutions and valuable tips to help you truly feel at home here. In addition to these conversations, we offer you a select news section, up-to-date information on local events and our ASK a German segment, where we get answers directly from our German friends to bridge the cultural gap. Whether you've just arrived or have lived here for years: Plus Forty Nine is your guide to life in Germany.
Week 5: From Public Policy to Impact Communication: Finding Purpose, Honesty, and Boundaries in Berlin
In this episode of Plus Forty-Nine, we speaks with Yash Das Sharma, a marketing and business development professional originally from Kolkata, India, who has been living in Berlin for six years. Trained in political science, international relations, and public policy, Yash’s path into communication was anything but linear.
The conversation explores how Berlin shaped his professional identity, the role of brutal honesty in German work culture, adapting to direct feedback, and the challenge of setting boundaries in environments that reward efficiency over people-pleasing. Yash also reflects on leadership, migrant work ethics, failure as a learning tool, and the question many internationals quietly ask: why punctuality matters so deeply in Germany.
An honest, thoughtful episode about growth, resilience, and learning how to communicate impact without losing yourself along the way.
30 Jan 2026
Week 4: God Has Done Well: Directness, Belonging, and Building a Life in Germany - Chiemela O.
In this episode, we sit down with Chiemela, a product manager from Nigeria living in Berlin, whose name means “God has done well.” What starts as a conversation about moving to Germany for work quickly becomes a deeper reflection on language, cultural adjustment, community, and the quiet ways belonging is built over time.
Chiemela shares what surprised him most about German directness, why adapting your communication style matters more than changing who you are, and how finding community through work, faith, and friendships makes life here feel grounded. We also talk about winter survival, vitamin D, Germany’s love of paperwork, and whether this country is really as automated as it thinks it is.
The episode closes with a reflection on German honesty: where it comes from, why it’s not meant to be rude, and how learning to read it differently can make life here a little easier.
22 Jan 2026
Week 3: Germany Didn’t Choose Me. It Happened to Me - Laura Soto
Laura Soto never planned to stay in Germany. Like many internationals, she arrived through love, stayed through circumstance, and slowly built a life through resilience, curiosity, and openness to change. In this episode, Laura shares how Germany became home after heartbreak, bureaucracy, a second master’s degree, and an unexpected journey into entrepreneurship.
As a Colombian founder working in Germany’s startup ecosystem, Laura reflects on cultural differences between Latin America and Germany, why migrants often thrive in innovation, and how learning not to “submit” to perfection became essential to her confidence. From navigating German structure and skepticism to embracing risk, failure, and difference, this conversation explores what it really means to belong without losing yourself.
It’s an honest, warm, and practical reflection on building a life between cultures and learning to take the best from all of them.
Who has been a guest on PlusFortyNine Podcast
Names identified in recent episode analyses. Showing up to five guests.
Theodora
Joanna
Tuğba
Zeyu
Asheka
Reach and audience
Public platform figures. Ratings count people who left a rating, not total listeners.
YouTube views
108
Score snapshot 15 Sept 2025
Spotify
5.0 / 5
3 ratings
Podcast Authority Score: 60 / 100
A composite of feed quality, social presence, YouTube performance and engagement. Read the methodology.
Quality
81
Social presence
0
YouTube
64
Engagement
32
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