Ask überlin… ANYTHING!
by James Glazebrook
We know that a lot of you come to überlin for practical advice about moving to, and living in, Berlin. That’s why we started the Ask überlin series, where we publish reader’s questions and our responses. But, Schade on us, we’ve slipped back into answering people’s questions by email – which is no good for the rest of you, now is it?
As a way of helping as many of you as possible, we thought we’d collect everyone’s questions here. Then we’ll attempt to answer as many of them as possible in one or more upcoming posts.
So jump into the Comments box below and ask us ANYTHING!
Obviously our “expertise” is Berlin – what it’s like to move and live here, and things to see and do when you visit. But feel free to get “off topic” and ask us about our other interests (music, fashion, coffee…), our day jobs (Zoë loves the camera kit questions!) or everyone’s favourite subject, Olive. She’s all ears.
Gratuitous puppy photo
Also, feel free to chip in with answers for other people’s questions. A lot of the things we’re asked are a matter of opinion, and anyway, we don’t have all the answers!
We’ll start you off with some questions we were sent recently. Have you got an opinion? Or a question of your own? Drop us a comment below…
- How does Berlin compare to London (in terms of creativity, music variety, peoples’ attitudes, etc)?
- Does having an English degree carry any sort of advantage when applying for jobs?
- What are some of the best sites to look for jobs?
- Is there a Drum ‘N’ Bass/Jungle music scene out there?
- As English people, do you feel like you fit in, or is there a sense of being REEALLY far from home?
- Can anyone recommend a shipping company that caused you medium-to-low trauma (from London to Berlin)?
- Does anyone know if there are nursing/healthcare jobs available in Berlin? And what level of German is required to work in them? And is it true that Germans don’t think much of their nurses?
- What would you say the minimum amount needed to survive in Berlin for a year?
- What are your thoughts on renting houses as opposed to apartments? Is it easy to get garden flats? Do you know of any areas where it might be easier to find them or a house? Or as soon as you hit areas which have houses does it suddenly turn boring?!
- In which area should I stay when I visit? Where should I live when I move here?
Love your blog! I’ve been to Berlin a couple of times, fell in love with the city, and am now saving to move there from the US. I recently received Italian dual citizenship, (my grandfather was born in Italy), in hopes that it would make moving, and working in Berlin easier with an EU passport. I am a hair stylist and was wondering if you have any tips/information on what I should do to acquire a job as a hair stylist (or apprentice if necessary) and where the top salons are. I am going to try and learn a bit of German before I move in hopes I could provide better customer service. Anyway, ANY help or advice is greatly appreciated!
I want to study for master’s degree in engineering in berlin.
At the same time, I also want to earn about Euro1500 per month.
How is it possible?
I am form India.
How easy or difficult it is to get a job on student Visa from India?
thanks
Hi,
A few months ago I speculatively applied for a on an English Masters at Berlin Free University. Turns out this week, I got in. Then I realised, shit, I don’t know anyone there and I don’t speak German and how the fuck am I going to get a job to support myself and even find somewhere to live?
At best I think I can arrive in town with about £2.5 k. This sounds like it’s doomed to me. Amirite?
H
[…] their city. But we were taken aback by the vitriol behind John John’s comment on our original Ask überlin… ANYTHING post: Did you notice that the Graefekiez is now Berlin’s most expensive area ? That many people […]
Where are some of the best beer brewery and micro brewery tours in Berlin?
Hi Drew, I don’t know of any off the top of my head, but Gidsy is usually a good place to start.
…or this meetup group: http://www.meetup.com/Berlin-Craft-Beer-Group/
awesome blog guys!
i am visiting Berlin the last week of november
and i’m trying to make the most up to date guide!
as if I was a local who adores exploring the thing that everyone does some time after (oh that is a bit sick)
could you please tell me what is the hippest thing (in your opinion) about:
-food (not too expensive)
-coffee (heard that berliners tend to be experts on coffee)
-art (like hottest exhibition or sth)
-outdoor spot (with lots of young people)
-bar (what is the new entry in the berlin bar scene)
-parties (what is the latest hot party or party team in town)
-lives (are you aware of any good live concerts that week)
-other (anything that you think is cool)
you do not have to write a lot, just 1 (or 2) things for the ones above
sorry if i am bothering you
and many many thankses!
cheerios
[…] looking for an apartment, as Patrick Wilken points out in his excellent response to the original query, a good price in Berlin is roughly €10 per square meter “warm” (i.e. […]
Hi, guys! Any advice for the club where they play fine techno?
Really great blog, I’m so glad I found it!
I have many questions, but I’ll limit it to two. I’m wondering whether it is advisable to move to Berlin without having secured a job first? I am a web designer, and have noticed a lot of startups have vacancies in this area. But not sure whether it would beneficial to be in Berlin already. I speak decent German, which I’m hoping will help.
Also, would it be a terrible idea to move to Berlin during the winter?
Any advice would be greatly appreciated, thanks!
Hi Mathias,
I’ll take your second question first: don’t let winter put you off. We, and plenty of people like us, moved in the winter months and we survived! If you plan to be here for a while, you’re going to have to experience the cold at some point – you might as well get it over with ????
As for having to be based here to get a job, I don’t think it’s necessary. We’ve heard of designers and developers flying in for a week of interviews and then going back home to wait for the outcomes. If you’re already in the EU, you’ll be fine, but if you come from somewhere else (like the US) you’ll usually need a job to get a visa. Having said that, a lot of jobs ask for candidates who already have permission to work in Germany. But as long as you’re allowed to work in Germany, I don’t think you need to be here in order to get a job.
Hope that helps!
James
Thank you James, much appreciated!
[…] of the respondents to our recent Ask überlin… ANYTHING! post have stumbled upon a Berlin paradox. Everyone wants to move here, but they can’t […]
[…] all the questions to pop up in response to our recent Ask überlin… ANYTHING! post, the one that really jumped out was Nana’s: Is it possible to live in Berlin without […]
Does anyone know a good website where you can stream German movies with English subtitles? Trying to show my boyfriends some German movies in prep of our big move but it’s hard to find sites that host movies with voiceover / subtitles. Any recommendations?
any suggestions on how to “fit in” (ie not seem like a typical American/Brit/whatever living in Berlin)? I have a good comprehension of the language, but really want to try to assimilate as much as possible.
I am not sure if that’s a serious question. If you speak German already you are NOT going to appear like a typical tourist. If you want to fit in, go to cultural events that are in German (readings, talks etc).
Hi Alex,
Our latest post contains a couple of tips about fitting in with the locals:
http://www.uberlin.co.uk/ask-uberlin-do-i-need-to-learn-german/
Hope it helps!
What do you recommend doing in Berlin during the long winters?
What do Berliners like about currywurst?!?
Personally think if there is a signature dish for Berlin it would be the doner, not currywurst, but it depends on your culutral allegences a bit.
Berliners are generally poor, and cheap food is popular.
Do you (or anyone else who may be reading) have any tips or recommendations for cheap, relatively hassle-free German health insurance?
Hi Ryan,
We don’t have an answer for you yet, but our latest post might attract some good advice on health insurance:
http://www.uberlin.co.uk/ask-uberlin-how-do-i-find-a-job-in-berlin/
Best,
James
Is it possible to live in Berlin without knowing a word in German?
It’s possible to live with very limited German, certainly the sort of German you can pick up in a month or two, but for certain things (e.g., governement offices, leases and other sorts of contracts) you’ll need German or at least a good friend to help out.
There are lots of people here who live in Berlin for years without learning more than the basics of the language. Of course your ability to work and interact with people is going to be much more limited.
Hi Nana
We’ve answered your question here: http://www.uberlin.co.uk/ask-uberlin-do-i-need-to-learn-german/
Hope this helps!
Just wanted to ask about getting a Job in Berlin. My wife is from Spandau, now we are having a baby, I think Berlin would be a good move.
I just wanted to ask how I would go about getting a decent career in Germany. I am a graduate with 16 years experience. I have working as a Careers Adviser, but know nothing about job seeking in Berlin. (Although my wife does say there is a lot of red tape in Germany!!)
Please help me!
Thanks for asking Chris. We only know about the small world in which we move – media, design, tech etc. – so I’ve no idea about real jobs, or careers! But I’ll ask around and see if anyone can help out with this.
Chris, if your wife is German you shouldn’t have any trouble getting residency even if you aren’t an EU citizen. There is some red-tape, but personally I don’t think it’s as bad as people make out (I guess it depends on your, or your wife’s, tolerance).
If you don’t speak passable German I think your options are pretty limited though.
Hi Chris,
Our latest post is all about finding a job in Berlin:
http://www.uberlin.co.uk/ask-uberlin-how-do-i-find-a-job-in-berlin/
Hope it contains some useful information,
James
I’d be interested to find out what anybody knows about the rough prices or best services for shipping things here from abroad? (London to Berlin, especially!)
Thanks!
It’s weird given it’s only an eight hour drive from London-Berlin, you would think it wouldnt’ be so expensive, but my impression is that it’s in the thousands. I think we paid about 3500 Euros to ship from Berlin-London a couple of years ago. In preparation for the move back we simply sold all our furniture and only kept what we could carry or mail.
I’d love to know a cheap solution for shipping too.
I don’t think it’s only an 8 hour drive to be honest!
It’s nearly 8 hours from Berlin to Frankfurt, haha.
But Patrick is right, shipping costs are really high. I am currently planning to move back to Berlin (from London) and I’ve enquired from a couple of shipping companies. Prices start at around 2k Euros, depending on how much you need to ship obviously. Might even be cheaper to rent a van and driver it yourself
Paula: Eight hours to Frankfurt seems a bit long! Google lists the time between London and Berlin as 11-12 hours. For some reason I thought I had had friends do it quicker. ???? Perhaps I was just thinking of Melbourne-Sydney.
I guess the question is what do you need to bring? You’d probably be better off getting rid of most of your stuff or putting it into storage. I currently have about 18 boxes of stuff in long-term storage in London for 48 Pounds/month.
I am really curious to how much an apartment costs. And like any city there is certainly a range, but if you could shed some experiential advice about monthly rent, good areas for english speakers, bad neighborhoods for english speakers, and anything you think might be useful on the topic of a room.
Two weeks till I touch down!
Matthew: (Pre-)welcome to Berlin!
Rental costs are calculated by the square-meter. The standard price in most areas you would consider seems to be about 10 euros/sqm (plus or minus a euro or two). A reasonable one-bedroom apartment might be 60 sq/m, so about 600-750 Euros/month.
Prices can be either ‘cold’ or ‘warm’; warm includes the costs of heating and council taxes for collecting rubbish etc, but not electricity, Internet etc. In terms of apartments you can either have: ‘alt-bau’ (the most desirable – older style with high-ceilings etc); ‘neu-bau’ (literally new – with lower ceilings); or ‘platten-bau’ (the ex-council estate style – that refurbished can actually be good value though hardly anyone goes for these).
I don’t think there is any area that is particularly bad/good for English speakers. Of course, Mitte, P’Berg, Kreuzberg, Neukoelln (mostly the border with Kreuzberg), Friedrichshain are all popular. You might also want to consider Moabit/Wedding that is not as popular now, but coming up quickly, and might be a little cheaper than the other areas.
Rather than trying to get an apartment immediately, I would suggest looking for a sublease on an apartment, for at least a month or two until you know where you want to live. Craigslist is a good place to start if you can’t do German. There are a lot of people who have old leases in the city, who want to keep an apartment, even if they don’t use it (either because they live elsewhere (e.g., Hamburg) or have moved in with their bf/gf). The beauty of the sublease is that these people often pay old rents, so you can get real bargains if you look. I was paying 400 euro all inclusive (i.e., warm++) for a smallish apartment off Weserstraße in Neukoelln this summer; I just took out an indefinite lease on a 60 sq m furnished sunny apartment in Neukoelln for 550 euros/month (all inclusive – heat, electricity, fast Internet), because the owners were journalists who are moving back to Central Asia and just wanted someone to cover their costs of their apartment here in Berlin. Be aware that some people are asking stupid prices now in Neukoelln and elsewhere so if they want much more than 10 euros/sq.m. you are being ripped off.
Good luck!
Did you notice that the Graefekiez is now Berlin’s most expensive area ? That many people are leaving because they can’t afford it ? Did you notice that Kreuzberg is NOT cool anymore ? Don’t you feel responsible for the gentrification nightmare of your Kiez ? How much did you purchase your flat and how much do you expect to sale it ? Do you still feel welcome in Kreuzberg despite the fact that most people there obviously hate the kind of person you represent – long-term tourists with no connection to Germany or Berlin ? Are you aware that Berlin is QUICKLY losing all the things that made the city special ? How does it feel to be an english hipster caricature in a city where english hipsters are not welcome anymore ?
John-John: Was your comment referring to me or John and Zoe?
I am not a hipster, and I am not English, and in fact have German family.
Gentrification is a complex question. I think it’s way to symplistic to blame English hipsters for it. There is a huge problem with urban planning in Berlin, but for that you need to blame 2nd-rate local German politians. There was an interesting article in Zeit by Harald Martenstein last month you might be interested in:
http://www.zeit.de/2012/38/Berlin-Aera-Wowereit
When is your dog having offsprings? ????
How does a Berlin winter compare to winters that you’ve experienced in other locations?
By the way, I love your blog!
As a Frenchperson with seasonally affected disorder and family in Sweden, here are my two cents:
– less killer than the ones in Stockholm, but almost as long
– no matter how mild it can get (i.e. not below freezing), the sun will always, always begin to set at 3pm in December. So overall, darker than in France.
– BUT: the array of things to do/experience in Berlin even after nightfall makes it feel bearable. Also, everyone else hates the early night as much as you do, so you’re in good company.
Overall: I should hate the winter months, but usually only February is truly terrible. Hasn’t been a deterrent for me.
Wolfram Alpha let’s you compare weather across cities. A quick look at London vs Berlin, shows that while summer temperatures are about the same Berlin has been much colder in winter:
https://www.wolframalpha.com/input/?i=weather+london+vs+berlin++2001+to+2011