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New in Berlin? This is what you need to know...
Every newcomer to Berlin will soon discover: This city is unique! For some it’s a bureaucratic metropolis, for others it’s a city of violent protests or a first-rate party location. Bizarre things flourish in Germany’s capital, right next to idyllic, provincial neighborhoods, international business and world politics.
Yet for most Berlin people, home is just a small section of their home town – their Kiez or neighborhood. In Berlin, the word neighborhood still means something. Residents and local business people organize street parties together, and if the pipes burst, they call a plumber who lives down the next street.
Finding accommodation – your first Berlin apartment
About 90 percent of Berlin’s residents live in rented apartments and they mostly pay lower rents than people in other European cities. However, rents and property prices are rising in popular areas such as Mitte, Prenzlauer Berg, Charlottenburg, Wilmersdorf or even Kreuzberg kräftig an. A few years ago the high number of empty homes had a decisive effect on Berlin’s property market. Nowadays, you’ll have to spend more time to find a suitable place to live in a good area.
Stopping restrictions, mail, telephone in Berlin: easy moving
After you’ve found your new home, you’ll want to make your moving day a success too. In addition to many helping hands and packing boxes you will need a furniture truck and, of course, free parking space in front of your old and new place of residence.
Registered already? This is how you become a Berlin citizen
Put your name here, your address there, then sign on the dotted line... If you want to be able to watch TV in your new home, make a phone call, you have to fill out lots of forms. The trip to the Einwohnermeldeamt – Residents Registration Office – should be one of the first things you do.
Literally great – language schools in Berlin
While men tend to be lost for words when they see a Ferrari, most women are speechless when it comes to choosing a new pair of shoes.
Get busy – how and where to find a job in Berlin
Berlin’s economy and labor market is in a difficult situation. Like no other German city, the once divided metropolis still struggles with the after-effects of the Cold War. Yet it’s remark able how much has been accomplished over the last fifteen years.
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