Berlin is an expat's playground, says the IHT

Berlin, playground of expatriates

I came for the better supermarkets

I came for the clean streets where dogs are not allowed to mess and not a single piece of grafitti in sight. That plus the gentle, polite and friendly locals. Oh and the dynamic economy and ample job opportunities!

Don't forget the lower tax rates! And the ease of learning a language that just flows off the tongue (not like some of those other languages where it feels like you're always angry and/or spitting in someone's face).

I came for the beautiful weather, just sun and clear skies all day long...every day.

Don't forget the presence of a high quality english language magazine which eschews scenester frivolity and the sort of navel-gazing "me too!" editorial policy you get in some other cities. We're all urbane penner now.

Is that supposed to be ironic??

is that?

In all fiarness, coming from Dublin, it could have gone either way. At least Berlin grafitti is better quality.

I'm here for the friendly people you meet on this Forum

I came

O_o

for the beer

But don't let on how good life is here in Germany, particularly in Berlin! Otherwise they are all going to want to come over too and then there will be overcrowding. I think Berlin is really great. Affordable housing, extremely good and reasonably priced public transport, a big city that is accesable and easy to live in, lots of culture, multicultural society, what more does one really want?

Not that multicultural really compared eg to London or NYC. In fact, its actually a very white city. And doesnt even have a Chinatown. And Id prefer fewer neo-nazi skinheads and narrow minded local proles, less "Ossiementalität" in the eastern and surrounding areas. Better job opportunities. Improved service instead of Schnauze-snarl responses Plus a general tidying up of grafitti and dog shit wouldnt go amis.

So, Berlin - could do better!

ive seen a small Chinatown in Lichtenberg, and a lot of Asian people in that area...

I love Berlin so much I'm renting an apartment there for a month in late June just to hang out. My little town I live in is just not cosmopolitan enough for me. I really need a world class city and Berlin fits the bill!

I'm coming because the UK is sinking?

What do you mean? I thought the UK was booming!

Booming? Can you here the cannons from there?

No its not doing so good, weve got kids stabbing each other, the property market has turned "tits up", the gas is expensive, the petrol is expensive, the foods gone up at least £20 a week for a monthly shop and on top of that the Prime Minister (a miserable scotsman) is useless as well?!

So unless you're a member of the current government, in which you would paint a lovely picture from that info, no its not.

Oh and I forgot to mention I got made redundant the other week so I have no job?

Berlin, Germany now enjoys the Global recognition of being one of the most dynamic cities in Europe, with overwhelmingly being the most diverse, progressive, cultural city within Germany! Love it! now if we could just get a competent, intelligent city government here...

is it not full of steamers?

I always wondered who read the IHT.

I'm mainly here for the mountains.

Well there is a nice view of Berlin from Teufelsberg

I'm here for the beautiful people. It's really warmed my soul. And the weather can't be beat!!!

Das Bier is what lured me in No but seriously, I used to hang around as a youngster in West Berlin while Die Mauer still stood, and having later grown into a WWII / cold war (political) history buff I of course had to come back...

I came to Guard The Wall?

Hey, better late than never Where're you stationed, at the East Side Gallery?

if you think all of these (Except the bit about being led by a scottish bloke) are unique to UK then you need to take the rose tinted specs off for a while maybe.

You'd rather have someone flashy with no actual substance as PM then? Says more about you than the PM really

i came for the music and the people and the culture. America is such a monumetal joke right now, artistically and politically, that it's depressing. bad hip hop and christian fundamentalists are running rampant. even if they somehow fix the hole in that ship with that big ass $700 BILLION patch, it still doesnt fix the root causes (credit addicted populace that feels that they deserve things they cant afford because they watch too much consumerist propaganda on TV, a mounting and growning war against reason and common sense, and an unrepentantly, narcissistic business class who see's the american people as something to be exploited relentlessly, to name a few off the top of my head).

I lived in London for a few years and loved it. yeah the police are pussies and they depend on those useless cctv cameras too much, but the people are great and truly the most diverse in close proximity mix that i have ever experienced. i never had so many different types of close friends ever, anywhere else. the music culture is world class and world altering.

and yeah, berlin is very white, but in my brief time here so far (3 weeks and counting) i find the people to be very friendly as a rule. I think its our job as expats, to remember that we are in their home, and treat it with respect, but also to remember that we are ambassadors for whereever we are from. although I am not the most patriotic american, i am still an ambassador for it, whether i want to be or not. my actions will be judged in that context.

all that said...damn! i just found out i can BUY a flat for like 20k euros! i cant buy an old prius in the US for $20k! every club i went to this weekend was open til 8-9am or later! i have subsisted on about 50 euros for the last 3 weeks! $50 would last me about 3 days in san francisco. i love being able to work on music all day without worring about ridiculous rent or breaking some ridiculous law written by an over zealous fundamentalist regime. to me, berlin is not a playground. this may well be home.

I came to Berlin with my girlfriend, she's doing an internship here and I came along for the life and work experience.

Though I've been here almost 4 weeks now... and I gotta say, I really enjoy Berlin BUT... it's really freakin' difficult to find a job here... or is it just me?
I've been writing /calling/emailing with companies etc etc... but so far no damn result whatsoever!
I'm from the Netherlands so I understand German better than most British/American people would, but yet I don't really speak it fluently.

Well, hopefully I will find something soon... I gots to earn some money at some point (being homeless and begging on the streets just aint my bag...baby )

I came to Berlin because of Margaret Thatcher!

no, its not you. Speaking as an ex-Berliner (who saw the error of his ways some years later), Berlin might be Alice in Wonderland rent-wise, but when it comes to decent well paid jobs its a different story.

How about trying the temping agencies (Zeitarbeit) eg Adecco, Manpower etc. Thats how I started off.Good luck!

Indeed. The "expat's playground" of the title usually means "it's cheap".

Often said by astonished Brits, often with reference to the average UK house prices of c. 200,000 GBP (but not the 14% unemployment, absence of "free at point of use" healthcare, high direct taxes etc).

Its cheap- lets admit it... and we're not forced into buying a house and the burden of a massive mortgage - here tenants have rights and leases are long term!and the rent is way cheaper than comparable international cities of western europe.
Despite the very liberal atmosphere it is a very white city. If someone has to go to Lichtenberg to find a Chinatown (doesnt exist) we're talking desperate!!! Lichtenberg as a multi-kulti heaven- i think NOT!! German border controls are the strictest and most thorough in all of Europe :-(

Crossed this this border twice today ... didn´t notice any controls on either side

I have never had my passport checked when coming into Germany even of flights to Hungary and return.

Schengen Agreement

Welcome to Berlin, now go back to Brooklyn.

Where they can check passports they do and HOW...i fly to and from the uk and ireland regularly and the passport controls there are much faster and less thorough.
The passport queues here in Germany are awfully long and slow- always.
It pisses me off that i have to show my passport to german police even when LEAVING the country-for uk/irl.FFS- its the EU! Schengen or no Schengen.
But thats typical of german thoroughness i spose. Hence the GREAT PUBLIC TRANSPORT! you can't beat it :-)
For every disavantage theres an advantage... its hardly all negative. otherwise i wouldn't be a wahlberlinerin!! Its a great european city.Probably the best.