Hallo Leute! Ich heiße Andrew und ich komme aus England. I’ll spare you the A1 level Deutsch.
I apologise if this isn’t the right place to talk about this but I thought whoever is here are the people I want to be talking to — I’m a graphic designer/web developer and I’m wanting to take the plunge and move to Berlin later this year.
I guess I’m just looking for general advice and to get a feeling of what to be aware of when I’m doing so, are some places better to live than others now? What’s the feeling for tech/design jobs currently?
It would be great to have discussions with people currently living in Berlin and hopefully make some new friends — I’m looking to visit next month for a week so will be looking to visit design studios and make general connections too.
Vielen dank, andrew
I guess I’m just looking for general advice
I find it hard to say much, because I don’t know what you don’t know. This stands out though:
are some places better to live than others now?
The literal answer depends mostly on your needs, but what’s important to keep in mind is that with very rare exceptions, you don’t get to choose where you live. The housing supply is extremely tight, even for relatively high incomes, so you get very little agency in the whole thing. You get one, maybe two offers, and you have to decide a day or two later otherwise there’s an army of other people ready to say yes to the landlord.
A better approach is to make the best out of the neighbourhood you end up in.
Thanks for your response @[email protected] — I think I’m just looking for things people might think are important? I don’t know what I don’t know either — I’ll be moving in October/November time so I’d like to think I have a while to get everything arranged.
Good to have a heads up on the housing — I’m probably going to have to come over for a week at some point and get something signed, are there any areas you’d recommend not to be? I have heard it’s pretty crazy at the moment. Either way I think it can’t be much worse than where I am now.
are there any areas you’d recommend not to be?
Berlin is really safe for a capital city. So that really depends on your expectations and what you can tolerate. For instance, do you have a problem with homeless people or with people smoking weed on the street? Do you want a calm neighborhood or do you want to live in a center of the nightlife?
This is good to know, I don’t really have a problem with any of that — I just know that in London for instance there are places you really wouldn’t want to be on an evening.
Berlin has some spots like that, parts of Neukölln, Kreuzberg and Wedding come to mind. Many people like to think Berlin has no violent crime, but that is not true.
undefined> I think I’m just looking for things people might think are important?
In that case, I’ll share something that was crucial when deciding between the two offers I had when I moved.
It was a choice between a place served by one S-Bahn (commuter rail) line, and one that was served by two tram lines and a bus. You may get the advice that it’s best to be closer to the S-Bahn because it can get you more places faster - but it was the only way out of that area. If for any reason the S-Bahn was delayed or not running, I would be stranded (since I also do not drive). Trams and buses may be slower, but they are three different lines offering redundancy.
Since you are also in for a car-free experience, looking at the public transport options in depth is a good idea. Berlin is big; if you don’t have a car, you need public transport options.
are there any areas you’d recommend not to be?
Nothing to do with safety, but I consider Spandau, the western-most borough of Berlin, to be extremely out of the way. It feels less integrated into the city than even some outlying towns like Oranienburg or Teltow.
Others already said that that housing is tight but some general notes:
- looking outside the S-Bahn-Ring makes finding something much easier, but you will be further away from the center
- the “center” of Berlin is mostly for tourists. No need to go there on a day by day basis. There are many Kiez (city block) centers that are much more interesting.
- take stock of public transport stops in the vicinity of potential appartments as having a metro or S-Bahn nearby makes getting to places much easier
- if you are looking for cool, artsy, hipster stuff, go east. If you are looking for steady, German stereotype, go west.
- try not to rely on a car. Public transportation and bikes will get you to all places much faster most of the time.
- tech jobs are abundant. For design, I don’t know.
This is very helpful, thanks so much. I did think about going further out just to get my foot in the door so to speak — I’ll take a look and see what the east has to offer. I can’t drive either way so I’ll be getting a bike when I’m there. Also great to hear about tech jobs — I’m hoping to find something that combines the two in some way. Really appreciate it!
