Young male student wanting to move to Berlin

GSAA · 2010-11-01T21:09:57+01:00

Explore tips for young expats moving to Berlin for studies: housing options, nightlife hotspots, and community life in Prenzlauer Berg.

GSAA New member

Member since 17 December 2009

GSAANew member01 November 2010 19:09:57

Hello there Berlin expats, I'm a 19 year old Norwegian guy looking to move to Berlin to study next summer. This will be a Bachelor study in English for three years at an institution in Sch枚neberg. I speak very good English and relatively advanced german, enough to follow most German TV shows etc. and to go through life in Germany without a problem.

The three main reasons why i want to move to Berlin is its status as a major European city, its liberal attitudes and cheap rents in central areas. As a young guy who loves to party at nightclubs, I think Prenzlauer Berg, Friedrichshain and Kreuzberg seem the best places to live for me, eben though it would mean a long commute to U-Bahn station Bayerisches Platz.

I especially like the area between Eberswalder Strasse and Sch枚nhauser Allee U-Bahn stations in Prenzlauer Berg. If I'm not mistaken this is a central shopping district with many nightclubs and young residents, which sounds good. However, I'm afraid that most of those students study at Humboldt or Freie Universit盲t... Some sources claim that southern PB (around Ebersw. Str. U-Bahn) is mainly populated by expats, politicians etc., while the are around Sch枚nh. Allee is more "ghetto". Is this true?

I would prefer to live in an international area with as few etnhnic conflicts as possible, also the area should be populated mostly by whites (Germans and expats(. I have lived in a 95% non-white area before and it really wasn't my cup of ea, I guess this rules out parts of Kreuzberg and Friedrichshain since these areas have large Muslim populations?

My max budget is 700 Euro Warmmiete per month, I've looked at several sites and with this budget I can get a nice apartment which is more than big enough for one person, in a central area. However it's important to make friends in a new city, living in a WG is cheaper and can make me more friends but I suspect it's more difficult to maintain privacy when it's needed. Is it generally accepted in WGs to take other friends there, family sometimes, girls from a nightclubs etc.? Do you recommend living in a WG or by myself? Of course I don't want to get lonely but I also want privacy sometimes.

I understand that this is a lot of tect and questions but I'm really in a hurry right now, I'm thankful in advance to those who help me by answering some questions.

GSAA New member

Member since 17 December 2009

GSAANew member02 November 2010 23:23:36

Anyone?

ashleakelly Member

Member since 17 August 2010

ashleakellyMember05 November 2010 21:24:27

I'm moving to Berlin in two months so I have a lot of the same questions as you! Maybe I can give you some tips once I get there : )

workingberlinmum New member

Member since 03 December 2010

workingberlinmumNew member09 December 2010 19:28:23

Your message may have gotten few replies due to the ''the area should be populated mostly by whites'' comment. I must admit I find this a little difficult to read. However, in the effort to try and be helpful to others who may also need some of your questions answered:

Yes, Prenzlauer Berg is a very expat oriented area. Full of alot of Americans and Brits, English can be heard alot in the area and Eberswalderstr. is an especially vibrant part of the city with lots of bars, boutiques and clubs within walking distance. The area is of course more expensive because of all this and apartments in the area are very popular.

Kreuzberg started to take over in the area that Expats were moving towards with also a great range of bars (tending to the slightly more alternative crowd but I think this is changing slowly). It is a very multi-cultural area, I am not going to say any more then that as I find any more to be offensive since I myself am an Immigrant coming from the UK as I do.

Neuk枚lln, formally often called a ''ghetto'' and where I myself live is the new place to be it seems and has gone from an area people used to look down upon when I moved here 2 years ago to now somewhere where the young, hip crowd seems to want to be. Prices are going up and up here but still relatively cheap.

Sch枚neberg is a little away from alot of things and I know it as an area with a large range of gay bars and clubs but I'm sure there's a lot more to it and there are some really beautiful parts but it's pretty quiet.

Friedrichshain was always very studenty, lots of clubs and bars in certain areas ie. Simon Dach Str. but full of tourists.

That's a basic overview.