Living in different areas of Brandenburg

Hi, I wonder if anyone has experience or advice about buying a house and living in the following areas:

- Zepernick
- Schönow
- Königs Wusterhausen
- Henningsdorf

We're going over to look around properties in these places at the end of March; forewarned is forearmed if anyone can tell us what it is like living in these places.

Many thanks

I've heard it's quite highly thought of. There's even a popular song by a well known singer:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uellmynA34U...feature=related

Maybe someone on this forum can provide a rough translation. Good luck.

From living in Teltow (which is at the end of the s25 line) other than the normal german culture stuff you may quickly learn the following:

a) Nothing much will be open past 8 or 9 pm. If you make noise, the neighbors will complain. Plan on it.
there will be very few if any english speakers/foreign immigrants (possible prejudice there)
c) you may have problems with mass transportation - very limited bus service on the weekend and/or none after 9 pm at night. Lack of mass transportation from train for trips and/or possible difficulty with flying from airports. Taxis to most will be over the top expensive. (ex. it's 25 eur from my place to Templehof - and that's the closest airport to me. Schonefeld /Tegel is really expensive.)
d) limited selection for shoes/clothes. I have a difficult time finding quality shoes/clothes either here - and have to trek to Berlin or Potsdam every time I need them.
e) If anything is picked up by customs from mail, you'll have to ludwigsfelde to get it.
f) If you have a car or anything that needs registered, like a work permit, you'll be going past potsdam to the most inconvieniently located offices. The people in these offices don't speak ANY other language than German. Take a friend too b/c if you don't go with a native, forget it.
g) There's not alot of employment in some of these areas - so finding a job may be difficult...

How's that for a few things to consider?

Oh - and Jeremy, yes. I agree with the video. It's pretty close to true.

I'm sure someone else could do it better, but I'll give it a go!

Brandenburg, Brandenburg.
In Brandenburg, in Brandenburg
ist wieder jemand gegen einen Baum gegurkt,
In Brandenburg, in Brandenburg
somebody is shagged against a tree again (I'm guessing 'gegurkt' is a sexual euphemism)

was soll man auch machen mit 17, 18 in Brandenburg?
What else should you do with 17, 18 (year olds?) in Brandenburg?

Es ist nicht alles Chanel es ist meistens Schlecker,
It's not all Chanel (perfume) it is mostly Schlecker (discount pharmacy chain),

kein Wunder dass so viele von hier weggehen,
It's no wonder so many people are getting out of here,

aus Brandenburg.
from Brandenburg.

Da stehen drei Nazis auf dem Hügel
Three Nazis stay there on the hill

und finden keinen zum Verprügeln,
and find nothing to beat up,

in Brandenburg, Brandenburg,
ich fühl' mich heut' so leer,
I'm feeling empty today,

ich fühl' mich Brandenburg.
I'm feeling Brandenburg.

In Berlin bin ich einer von drei Millionen,
In Berlin I am one in three million,

in Brandenburg kann ich bald alleine wohnen, Brandenburg
In Brandenburg I'm going to be living alone soon, Brandenburg.

Im Adlon ist Brad Pitt und der Washington Denzel,
Brad Pitt and Washington Denzel are staying at the Hotel Adlon (Berlin),

im Autohaus in Schwedt ist heut' Achim Mentzel, Brandenburg
Today in a car-dealership in Schwedt (town in Brandenburg) is Achim Mentzel (comic former-DDR folk singer)

Berlin. Halleluja Berlin, halleluja Berlin,
alle wollen da hin, deshalb will ich das aaaaaauch ...
Everybody wants to go there, therefore I will toooooo

In Brandenburg, in Brandenburg
ist wieder jemand voll in die Allee gegurkt.
Somebody is being shagged back in the alley again.

Was soll man auch machen mit 17, 18 in Brandenburg?
What else should you do with 17, 18 in Brandenburg?

Es ist nicht alles Lafayette es ist meistens Lidl.
It's not all LaFayette (French department store chain) it is mostly Lidl (discount supermarket).

Kein Wunder dass der Bogen nicht mehr fiedelt,
No wonder that the elbow no more fiddles (sexual euphemism?)

in Brandenburg.
Wenn man Bisamratten im Freibad sieht,
When you see muskrats in the outdoor swimming pool,

dann ist man im Naturschutzgebiet,
Then you're in the nature reserve (that is the...)

Mark Brandenburg, Brandenburg.
Province of Brandenburg, Brandenburg.

Ich fühle mich heute so ausgebrandenburgt.
Today I feel so Brandenburged out (pun on 'ausgebrannt' - gutted?)

In Berlin kann man so viel erleben,
In Berlin you can experience so much,

in Brandenburg soll es wieder Wölfe geben, Brandenburg
In Brandenburg it should be given back to the wolves, Brandenburg

Im Adlon ist heut Nacht Hillary Clinton,
Hillary Clinton is staying at the Hotel Adlon tonight,

in Schwedt kann Achim Mentzel das Autohaus nicht finden, Brandenburg
In Schwedt Achim Mentzel can't find a car dealership, Brandenburg

Berlin, Halleluja Berlin, Halleluja Berlin, alle wollen dahin,
Berlin, Halleluja Berlin, Halleluja Berlin,
alle wollen dahin, deshalb will ich das auch.
Everybody wants to go there, therefore I will too.

Lassen Sie mich durch, ich bin Chirurg, ich muss nach Brandenburg.
Let me through, I'm a surgeon, I must go to Brandenburg.

Nimm Dir Essen mit, wir fahr'n nach Brandenburg.
Take your packed lunch, we're travelling to Brandenburg.

Wenn man zur Ostsee will muss man durch Brandenburg.
You've got to go through Brandenburg to get to the Baltic Sea.

LOL, not quite. "Gegen einen Baum gegurkt" means someone crashed against a tree with his car. For the rest, great translation.

Whoops!

I thought 'cucumbered' against a tree, and so thought . . . well, never mind!

Try looking in falkensee.Been living there for the past 2 years - love it.
The population is 60/40 west /east. So enough good heads here.
The regional bahn will get you into Hauptbahnhof in 16 min,29 to ostbahnhof.
Lovely houses and sites here.
take a spin out and have a look around.
Also check the web,google immobilien falkensee and check the hits.
happy hunting...

Koenigs Wusterhausen;I don't live there but know it quite well;
generally speaking, a quiet and pleasant town; small shops and the usual necessities in the centre, schools, hospital;a few minutes away from the A10 shopping centre for bigger shopping and cinema and about 10 mins drive to IKEA, Hoeffner for furniture etc.
Good road/rail/air links;S Bahn and faster trains get you to Berlin centre in under 30 mins. Drive to Schoenefeld airport in 15 mins. Easy access to A13 motorway to Dresden and the Spreewald region if you like cycling, boating and the quiet life. A13 will eventually take you directly into Berlin. Easy access to A10 motorway to Potsdam or into Poland.
Definitely not particularly cosmopolitan or lively; few Brits around and a lot of Russians. Look on the town website for clubs, assciations etc. (Koenigswusterhausen.de). Big golf course at Motzen, riding. Still an area of high unemployment.
Nice houses around, cheaper than Berlin but would definitely advise renting first to find out if you like the area. If you're not familiar with the property market here don't make any assumptions about being able to resell a place quickly if you wanted to, or about it's value going up ...
Check out surrrounding villages/small towns, eg Bestensee, Zeesen,Wildau. It's very much a forested/lakey area around here.