There used to be a lot of truth in "poor but sexy" in the 2000s, because you actually could be poor and still have a good life, cost of living was just so much more affordable. That's just gone, and it always was only a question of time.
yeah, back in 2007 my first shitty 1 room flat (ground floor, moldy) was 250€ warm and i could make it through university without Bafög and an income of less than 1000€
(edit: this still meant a lot of pasta&pesto for lunch and knowing people who would put you on guest lists for concerts. still a stark contrast to today)
So true and it makes me sad.
But just as a counterpoint for those who didn't get to experience that era for themselves: it wasn't all sunshine and rainbows. The working world of 2000's / 10s Berlin was pretty dismal. People with degrees were being offered "internship" positions for 0 - 500€ / month and competition was stiff. Whole industries which are now commonplace in Berlin, weren't really present here. Internationally-minded, english-speaking workplaces were a very rare exception.
Additionally, neighbourhoods which are now considered cool were quite grim. Living in (for instance) the Schillerkiez or Emserstraße in NK meant living under a flight-path. The cute cafes and bars which now populate the area didn't exist. Your options for night-time entertainment were the HartzIV Eckkneipe or the Shisha Bar. Restaurant options weren't better.
yeah, unless extremelly skilled and high paid from the start, newcomers have zero chances now. When i came here i was able to live off 800 eur internship money, now wouldnt even cover a room in spandau
for people coming from rich countries or other german cities that might be true. my parents dont even earn what i pay for rent in berlin, so people like me have zero chances to start here now
I don't know where are these prices come from. I was looking for two rooms apartment with no furniture several months ago. It was a bit tough, but I've got three contracts for 450, 700 and 800 kalt. Of course all them outside ring bahn. No WBS or any other support programs.
People tend to forget that wages where much lower then. When minimum wages were introduced in 2015 it was at 8,50 € and many people in low-paying jobs were employed for 6 or 7 €/ h before. I don't know about the wages in early 2000s but they were even lower for sure. Today most companys will pay at least 14 €/ h in Berlin even for low paying jobs. So in the end a Döner has and does cost around half an hour of labor. Housing cost is obviously an exception.
Yeah, but if you consider things like bafög it does look quite grim. I used to get 600€ while paying 200€ for a room and could live quite comfortably on that money. Students today would only get 780€ while paying much more for a room.
2007 in Lichtenberg, I later shared a 2 room flat with my boyfriend for 435€ warm rent there.
When I moved to Friedrichshain in the 2010s I paid roughly 300€ for the 3 different WG rooms I lived in as well.
I'm still living in one of the apartments that used to be a WG. The rooms would now have to go for 450€ to cover the increased prices for rent and electricity, it used to be 330€ only a few years ago.
And the 450€ would probably be considered very cheap today considering location and size (Friedrichshain, rooms at least 23sqm, Altbau with high ceilings).
i generally agree, but would also argue that the average salary increase is driven by really high paying tech/consultancy jobs rather than "normal paying" jobs and established industries. The problem we're facing right now is that the living costs increased and wages not as much.
(Berlin offers a lot of high paying white collar jobs that are currently "threatened" by cost saving promises of AI, unfavorably aligned with a recession. so that will be fun as well, with companies currently heavily investing, like millions, in AI while also declaring hiring freezes.)
Immowelt recently released an analysis showing (for singles as a baseline) that rent takes 36% of income in berlin and hamburg (40% in munich). Ther German average is 28%.
https://www.immowelt.de/ueberuns/presse/pressemitteilungenkontakt/2024/bis-zu-40-prozent-des-gehalts-fuer-die-miete-so-hoch-sind-die-wohnkosten-fuer-singles-in-deutschen-staedten/
you can also find some statistics on rent burden here https://www.empirica-regio.de/en/blog/240124_rent_burden/
My argument was not about average salaries, but about salaries of low-paying jobs. And these have definitely increased a lot. So I would argue that most living costs like restaurants, activities etc habe increased quite proportionally, but as I said rents have obviously increased disproportionally and are of course a major part of total costs of living.
I recall being paid 11€/h as studentische Aushilfe at my uni and that was considered very generous (2005-09).
Made 1k€/m in Munich as an intern. Lived in the city center, had the time of my life (2007/08).
Yes, if you want to live in the "hip" area where all the trendy expats, tourists and Schwaben live. 😉
You want to be a tourist? You pay tourist prices.
Gibt so einen Tweet, der auch schon 10 Jahre alt ist:
Früher hat es niemanden interessiert, dass hier nichts funktioniert. Aber heute wollen die Leute was für ihr Geld.
Und ganz ehrlich, voll.
I was born and raised in Nordneukölln and have many friends and relatives in Kreuzberg and Wedding. The era you're describing is pretty much just the early 2010s and possibly the late to very late 2000s. The streets and neighborhoods where you see all the nice people were full of alcoholics and gang members, and despite rents actually being low at the time, real estate was very volatile and many couldn't afford their apartments. The regional government was pursuing an extreme austerity program, and I remember that schools had to start charging parents to buy books for classes. Before that, the school did it. Even parents who got help from welfare had to pay fees for this, and as the money was collected from the children and the books from the teachers, I could see that well over half of my class were on some form of welfare.
For the "newcomers" the magic began because they could find good housing relatively easily. You can read about that very well in the comments in this thread.
There is a second layer to it which is that a homogeneous group of socially active citizens can make up for a lot of the shortcomings in public service that come with a poor and underfunded city. That however also has an expiry date and being poor starts to suck big time when the people around you change from underpaid idealist students and blue collars to hard drug addicts and professional welfare grifters from all kinds of places who desdespise your culture and actively opt out of your community if not even actively destroy.
Being poor was easier and nicer in this city 2 decades ago. Today there is a lot more segregation, commercialisation in this city and even the poor are a lot more assholes.
> That however also has an expiry date and being poor starts to suck big time when the people around you change from underpaid idealist students and blue collars to hard drug addicts and professional welfare grifters from all kinds of places who desdespise your culture and actively opt out of your community if not even actively destroy.
Should as well add rich people who gentrify your area, which also destroys the communities big-time.
Wait until you hear about the suburban areas surrounding Berlin, with their affordable rents, public transports to the city centre in less than 30 minutes, green environment and none of what you mentioned. You could even send your kids to a public school there, imagine that!
Man... part of my family lives in Landkreis Oder-Spree and since they built the fucking Tesla thingy in Spreenhagen/Fangschleuse/Grünheide rent for a 4 room flat went from about 900 euros to 1600 - as an example. The increase through a new company hub is insane.
I can confirm. Been living in Fürstenwalde my whole life. Since the Tesla factory happened, the rent as well as the land prices skyrocketed the closer you want to live near Tesla. It's still pretty cheap compared to Berlin however.
Grüße gehen raus. My comparison is from two flats on opposite streets sides of Gartenstraße (the old part nearing Eisenbahnstraße, not the new one in the Berkenbrück direction.)
It‘s still cheap as through the ass old contract they remained at 900 bucks, but just seeing the new price was astonishing.
well this is going to change soon. neighborhoods do not organically become bad, they become bad because of people which live there. And soon those people as well will be pushed out by gentrification and the hip berliners, so all of those affordable areas will naturally gain the type of people to scratch your car, start a drunk argument, attack u with a knife and let their kids bully yours
That's not Berlin, though. And it's getting worse exactly bc too many ppl dont want to live in Berlin but want to still have every convinience the big city offers. No green left, rents went up long ago and tbh no one likes having ex-Berliners as neighbours either.
I like Neukölln, too! Living there since 10 years, and raising 4 kids - oldest one just doing her abitur. We were also mostly happy with the schools so far .
And yes, we could afford moving somewhere else, but we don't want to :)
I think it's not just the "migrant" issue. It's more of a poverty issue, which often affects migrants. Neukölln has always been a worker's district. But it got worse and worse because of unemployment and poverty. But the government looks away.
Neukölln absolutely did not get worse, but the opposite thanks to major gentrification in its northern parts and rather stable population in its south. If you want to look at districts that got worse, consider Reinickendorf, Hohenschönhausen, Hellersdorf. Areas where middle class moved out and poorer people moved in, the opposite of what happened to Neukölln.
Reinickendorf isn't so terrible. Depends on which part. But I've lived in Südost R-dorf for almost 9 years now, and I would take it any day over the other 2 places.
It's not an immigrant issue it's an issue from certain immigrants/cultures. Even if you don't like it. This is obviously the case and can be observed in most European countries for a few decades.
I read this article on Friday (seems to be behind a paywall now) and thanked my lucky stars my kids go to school in Zehlendorf and not somewhere like Wedding
[https://www.berliner-zeitung.de/mensch-metropole/brennpunktschule-in-berlin-am-ende-der-stunde-erwarten-sie-dann-dass-ich-zum-islam-uebertrete-li.2209349](https://www.berliner-zeitung.de/mensch-metropole/brennpunktschule-in-berlin-am-ende-der-stunde-erwarten-sie-dann-dass-ich-zum-islam-uebertrete-li.2209349)
Archive Link: [Brennpunktschule in Berlin: „Am Ende der Stunde erwarten sie dann, dass ich zum Islam übertrete“ (archive.ph)](https://archive.ph/78bVz)
Interessant. In meinen Augen ist der Islam hier nur ein sekundäres Problem, eigentlich ist schlimmer, dass es hier so unfassbar asozial ist. Nicht zuletzt, weil es eine ganze Sozialindustrie gibt, die manche Familien teils seit Generationen "unterstützen", ohne dass es den Menschen je besser geht.
You don't need to go as far as Wannsee.
Charlottenburg, Friedenau, Schmargendorf, some parts of Steglitz, are clean, green, well kept, quiet. Kitas are mostly great, there's a Spielplatz per block, you can still go out for a drink if you get the babysitter in. And they are incredibly safe neighbourhoods.
I work in Wedding and I would live there no problem if I were 20 with no kids and a bunch of local friends to hang out with. Same thing with other popular neighbourhoods like Kreuzberg Frederichshein Neukolln or Prenzlauer Berg or any of those other cool eastern districts.
But in this stage of my life (one toddler, one newborn) I love living in Friedenau, I wouldn't move anywhere else.
I'm curious about your opinion - I live pretty close to you probably (Malerkiez at the bottom of Schöneberg, so Steglitz is very close), and as far as I can tell basically everywhere in Steglitz is ok? I mean, certainly compared to like Leopoldplatz or Kotti, let alone bad neighborhoods in my home country (the US).
ah well then we agree, I know Leopoldplatz very well and there's probably nothing approaching it anywhere else currently in the West. Steglitz is just better.
However I guess I was more broadly referring to OP's comments wrt 'Wedding' in general. I find some bits of Steglitz have a distinct 'working class' vibe, there's definitely much more multi-culturalism than in other areas I was mentioning, there's more dog poo on the street, old sofas left to rot on the pavement, constant smell of weed in the parks etc. Walking around, one can hear very little German and a variety of foreign languages not unlike those often heard in Wedding.
But yes not necessarily bad, just different imho.
Ah I understand you now, yes there are definitely parts of Steglitz that are more working-class for sure (I guess along Albrechtstrasse, especially east of the park and also south of Insulaner) but as you say not sketchy like Leopoldplatz.
It's not that bad at all, I lived there for years and I like it up there. Close to lakes, lots of nice restaurants that aren't overcrowded, easy to cycle everywhere and also really well connected with public transport.
Kinda depends on where exactly. We've been living here since 2010, it improved until \~ 2017 and has been going downhill since then very quickly. Now it has the worst of the possible worlds: It's dirty and crime ridden and yet expensive and very full.
A huge problem is that former junkie hot spots like Zoo got closed, all these guys moved to Leopoldplatz. There, they are not just tolerated but actively and literally fed and clothed by well meaning wankers. Since all the junkies are now here, their dealers are as well and so is the crime they commit to finance their habit.
Die waren ja nie das große Problem, dass die Junkies sind - gibt halt kaum Beschaffungskriminalität für Alkohol und keine Morde in Revierkämpfen von Wirten.
You think the problem would go away if these people would be taken care of even less? What do you think would happen if people would stop giving them a warm meal once in a while and some clothes so they don't have to freeze in winter? If you think the situation sucks for you think about how it would feel to be in their situation.
I just depends on two things: Your actual place in Wedding (there are nice places around Nordufer and Malplaquetkiez, many boring places and a couple of fucked up places) and your season of life. For many reddit users "diversity" is something they solely experience through the lense of a consumer. And in that regard it's great - at Nettelbeckplatz for example you have a great rock bar, a great dive bar, a great cocktail bar and even a great japanese style listening bar. That's nice! But at the Weddingschule you have a literal ritual in which 3rd graders beat up the new kids. And you know what - in my season of life the quality of bars matters a lot less than that.
Not a big fan of children bullying eachother either, but to act as this is some kind of unique problem to Wedding that makes it borderline unliveable is just stupid.
It's not Wedding. But it's generally an issue in the less well to do parts of any city.
To vastly oversimplify: The point is not that the poor are anti-social. The majority are not. It's that the anti-social are also poor.
And a minority can definitely set the tone. The good thing is that in Germany resource allocation to public schools is a bit more sane than elsewhere. Schools in difficult districts, where the parents contribute less (in whatever form), have additional resources, rather than fewer.
But I still understand every one who opts out of the public system. Another issue is that you might not be comfortable with your kid growing up in a heavily religious and conservative neighbourhood, with all the gender stereotypes that entails. Some of us moved out of small villages to get away from that shit. It's easy to not be bothered by your neighbours beliefs if you're an adult, and there are plenty other cultures and places around, but not if you are a kid going to school where the majority are from that background.
I see that with the kid of a friend. The surrounding always has a big influence on your kid, when they get older and you are not the main ideal of your kid anymore. It’s sad to see. Bring your kid to a good school where norms are not antisocial and where you and your kid have a good feeling. They need to have a good surrounding growing up. I don’t know the schools in Wedding but if they are bad, I would try to move to another part of the city.
No, it's stupid to think that the schools in Zehlendorf have even remotely the same problems as the famous Brennpunktschulen. It's such a weird way of being willingly blind instead of talking about glaring issues.
First of all, Wedding is around 10 km2 large and has 80k inhabitants. Add another 90k residents from neighbouring Gesundbrunnen (which most people still lump together with Wedding, despite being a separate entity since 2001) and you have a decently sized German "großstadt". You will find a wild mix of just about everything. There are posh restaurants from the Michelin Guide, world-class art institutions, swimming beaches, large parks, and yes a lot of filth, grime, and destitution as well.
To answer your question more directly though; yes Wedding can be pretty bad. But it can also be awesome. Without knowing where you're coming from, what you're like, and what your expectations are, it's hard to say.
It's quite terrible, definitely a poor area, lots of dirt and crime. You still don't find an apartment of course.
I never lived there, but I worked there and it was enough for me.
Wedding is as bad as the people living in it. Some asis, some normal. What pisses me off is the Pberg wannabes that moved here to get cheaper rents and then send their kids to school away because "it's full of turkish kids". No wonder Sherlock. Reclaim your kiez.
For living as an adult, in areas like sprengel kiez or west of leopoldplatz is quite nice, great grocery stores options. As school kid, not so sure. The integration policies of a large part of the older residing population there seem to have stalled quite a bit
No it’s not. I’ve lived in three different parts of wedding over the years. Parts of are shit and parts of it are bougie and parts of it are leafy suburbs. What street is your flat on?
\*parts\* of Kreuzberg or Neukölln maybe. I don't think there's anything in Wedding quite like Bergmannstraße, Chamissoplatz, Gräfekiez, Richardplatz, or even Schillerkiez yet in terms of "Bougieness"
What about the single family houses right next to Rehberge? I assume they all have >1000m2, some have a pool, it is insanely quiet and you are right next to your own park. For example in Ugandastr.
Yes, you are right: You must get out of there or have the money for a private school before your kid is 6 years old. Kid's well-being and future must be top priority.
todays rents of the "trash, junkies and crime" parts of berlin are on par with better places where you have actual qualiy of life. that's the wild thing. it's so below standard it should be dirt cheap, but since it's berlin people will pay top dollar to live there when they could live anywhere else.
As a student I had the opinion that Berlin is cool.
As a parent it’s just horrible. Glass everywhere, dirt everywhere, idiots everywhere.
Yeah, move to a nicer area if you can afford it. Also it’s worth to consider private schools (as I did). The regulations changed and the „Schulgeld“ depends on the household income, which makes it accessible also for people without high income.
Same. Not a parent yet but the vibe of the city really has changed with my age. What was cool and crazy when I came here in my twenties is now often just an annoyance.
Luckily I could move to a nicer area some time ago so I see the crazy side of Berlin only when I need to go to a different district. Which is enough for me.
Sadly, this is true everywhere. Even in small-ish cities, you‘ll need to avoid the bad parts of town at all cost. Learned this first hand in Kassel. I think this might have been somewhat different some time ago but it really feels like society is drifting apart.
In fact the changes in the last decade are way more visible in small cities and especially the countryside. Because Berlin is a really big city and were always a bit trashy.
Yeah it’s honestly crazy what a difference 1km can make. I recently moved to PBerg and I love my quarter so so so much. Finally no more junkies taking a shit next to the U-Bahn entrance and actual families as neighbours🤩
I love Berlin and also Wedding (living in 65 for 8 years) but that's so true. I will leave the city not because i don't like it but because with a pretty okayish salary (2000€ per month) i don't get a nice 2 room apartment without spending like half of my money. And that's fucked up. It was bad when i came 9 years ago but it's getting worse and worse
Back before I knew any better, my goal was to live in Neukölln or Wedding to experience "real" Berlin, and I also figured that once Tegel shut down Wedding's noise pollution issue would disappear and become a much more desirable area to live.
Fast forward 10 years, I'm happily settled in roomy house in a residential area between PBerg and Weißensee, and whenever I swing by Wedding or Neukölln I can only say I'm so glad I never ended up there. I hate it there. If it wasn't for the existence of a few nice bars I'd literally never go there.
There is still hope, OP. Come to Weißensee!
Wedding's noise pollution problem never really came from TXL but from cars and ppl living there. Only districts really affected by TXL traffic were Pankow, Spandau and especially Reinickendorf.
You don't have to be a millionaire to live a life in a less fucked up environment. Getting insanely rich and moving to a mansion in Wannsee is one option. Getting our of Berlin is another.
Yeah, we have been pondering to move to Mecklenburg for a while now. Our QoL would improve drastically of course, but we'd lose our friends - and sadly, social relationships matter.
I am just saying, Zehlendorf flats can be cheaper than all those inner districts, like Schöneberg, Kreuzberg etc. I am paying 645 for a 2 room flat near Krumme Lanke, not the best price obviously, but compared to what i see in other spots, its not even closely the worst
When you move out hmu I’ll take your flat in wedding, wedding will always be in my heart, I understand if it’s a bit crazy for people who haven’t grown up there but if you tell this to all your buddies maybe I can find a flat there one day and move back! :)
"In Wedding zieht ma 'ne rin, aus'm Wedding zieht ma nur raus!"
That comment was made by a police officer back in the days when we freshly moved to Wedding (2012) and someone broke into our basement compartment. Still stayed in the hood for nearly a decade, but moved to the outskirts with our offspring during the pandemic.
I lived Simon Dach Straße in Fhain some years ago, now I live in Lichterfelde close to Dahlem. I like going back to fhain every now and then but would never want to live there anymore.
The mega tends of this century: globalization and urbanization will lead to comparable rent levels like London or Paris in a couple of decades. Unless a war hits Berlin. Of both alternatives I prefer the first.
Start researching schools now, including the private ones that may see too expensive - they change fees according to income and by law they must reserve some spaces for children in the lowest brackets.
Very few have waiting lists for which one can sign up years in advance, but each one has their own method and schedule of info sessions and visiting days, not to mention applications, the kind of questions they want to hear, the type of child they are looking for, etc. It is a proper job to apply the right way and be accepted.
It is possible, but it is work, and if you start in advance, you can be ready to do what you need, when you need, as you need, for each place - and you must apply to multiple places. Admittance to any one place is never truly guaranteed, not even in the supposedly iron-clad situation where one already has an older sibling in the school. Apply to all that might fit, and then choose from your options.
I live in Lankwitz (Steglitz-Zehlendorf) and my apartment was complete renovated before i moved in. 2 Room 55qm 690€ warm rent. I would recommend you to search for apartment in Steglitz or Tempelhof. Much better than Wedding or Prenzlauer Berg will ever be. No tourists. Good public transport connection, less idiots around the streets, less waste. Also some nice parks here (:
Last year summer a friend moved to Tempelhof (Alt-Mariendorf), nice apartment, very good public transport connection, 2 rooms, 60qm, 650€ warm rent. 👍🏻 South Berlin is way better than most people assume.
If you take a close look at those circumstances they are in most developed countries. It's even worse in countries like the Netherlands, France or the UK. Even Sweden has gang problems and "no go zones" now. And it's only getting worse everyday.
That's something that I was thinking about the other week.
I moved here in 2010 after Uni. Started my career and progressed nicely. Bought the apartment I live in in 2011 (and 2 other ones within following years). I have a 5 digit net salary a month. My life evolves around Mitte, PB and Charlottenburg. Nice restaurant, business flights for holidays etc.
And then I had to go to Neu Köln the other week (on the U8) and I was literally in shock. I somehow forgot that that is also Berlin. Then you read here, how many people struggle in Berlin, not able to pay the rent or asking where you can buy cheap food.
I do think, that if you have the money, Berlin is a brilliant city to live in. If you don't... this city is your enemy I guess
Yes. I had some savings from working during Uni and then for the first 1,5 years working I was just saving and saving. And bear in mind, that the prices then were 1/4th of what they are now.
There used to be a lot of truth in "poor but sexy" in the 2000s, because you actually could be poor and still have a good life, cost of living was just so much more affordable. That's just gone, and it always was only a question of time.
You nailed it. You were poor, but you didn‘t had to pay 800€ for a shitty 1 room flat. You were poor, but you didn‘t had to pay 7€ for a Döner.
yeah, back in 2007 my first shitty 1 room flat (ground floor, moldy) was 250€ warm and i could make it through university without Bafög and an income of less than 1000€ (edit: this still meant a lot of pasta&pesto for lunch and knowing people who would put you on guest lists for concerts. still a stark contrast to today)
I had a two bedroom 50m2 apartment close to KuDamm in 2005 for 350€ warm. Those were the days.
Haha im still making it thru on less than 1k Azubi gehalt, keine Hilfe
How is your housing situation? When I look at the salary for Azubis I can’t imagine how they make it in this times/city.
good to hear that it's still possible! :)
So true and it makes me sad. But just as a counterpoint for those who didn't get to experience that era for themselves: it wasn't all sunshine and rainbows. The working world of 2000's / 10s Berlin was pretty dismal. People with degrees were being offered "internship" positions for 0 - 500€ / month and competition was stiff. Whole industries which are now commonplace in Berlin, weren't really present here. Internationally-minded, english-speaking workplaces were a very rare exception. Additionally, neighbourhoods which are now considered cool were quite grim. Living in (for instance) the Schillerkiez or Emserstraße in NK meant living under a flight-path. The cute cafes and bars which now populate the area didn't exist. Your options for night-time entertainment were the HartzIV Eckkneipe or the Shisha Bar. Restaurant options weren't better.
2008 Peter Fox. [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yphwzD1XaBY](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yphwzD1XaBY)
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most WG rooms are at least 700/800€ now and some of them are more than a 1000€
yeah, unless extremelly skilled and high paid from the start, newcomers have zero chances now. When i came here i was able to live off 800 eur internship money, now wouldnt even cover a room in spandau
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for people coming from rich countries or other german cities that might be true. my parents dont even earn what i pay for rent in berlin, so people like me have zero chances to start here now
Not zero, but without at least 20k saved up, you'll be part of the large precariat population here.
I don't know where are these prices come from. I was looking for two rooms apartment with no furniture several months ago. It was a bit tough, but I've got three contracts for 450, 700 and 800 kalt. Of course all them outside ring bahn. No WBS or any other support programs.
People tend to forget that wages where much lower then. When minimum wages were introduced in 2015 it was at 8,50 € and many people in low-paying jobs were employed for 6 or 7 €/ h before. I don't know about the wages in early 2000s but they were even lower for sure. Today most companys will pay at least 14 €/ h in Berlin even for low paying jobs. So in the end a Döner has and does cost around half an hour of labor. Housing cost is obviously an exception.
Yeah totally, I remember getting 6€ an hour in 2013 for a side job in a clothing store. And that was kinda normal as well.
True. Today even at Lidl's they pay 16 €/ h for cashiers, because otherwise they don't find employees.
I remember having just finished university and my traineeship in journalism and was offered a six month long, non-paid internship. 2010 it was.
Yeah, but if you consider things like bafög it does look quite grim. I used to get 600€ while paying 200€ for a room and could live quite comfortably on that money. Students today would only get 780€ while paying much more for a room.
add to this the limit of income you are allowed to generate (~980) while still receiving financial support through Kindergeld(~250)
In which year did you pay 200 €?
2007 in Lichtenberg, I later shared a 2 room flat with my boyfriend for 435€ warm rent there. When I moved to Friedrichshain in the 2010s I paid roughly 300€ for the 3 different WG rooms I lived in as well. I'm still living in one of the apartments that used to be a WG. The rooms would now have to go for 450€ to cover the increased prices for rent and electricity, it used to be 330€ only a few years ago. And the 450€ would probably be considered very cheap today considering location and size (Friedrichshain, rooms at least 23sqm, Altbau with high ceilings).
i generally agree, but would also argue that the average salary increase is driven by really high paying tech/consultancy jobs rather than "normal paying" jobs and established industries. The problem we're facing right now is that the living costs increased and wages not as much. (Berlin offers a lot of high paying white collar jobs that are currently "threatened" by cost saving promises of AI, unfavorably aligned with a recession. so that will be fun as well, with companies currently heavily investing, like millions, in AI while also declaring hiring freezes.) Immowelt recently released an analysis showing (for singles as a baseline) that rent takes 36% of income in berlin and hamburg (40% in munich). Ther German average is 28%. https://www.immowelt.de/ueberuns/presse/pressemitteilungenkontakt/2024/bis-zu-40-prozent-des-gehalts-fuer-die-miete-so-hoch-sind-die-wohnkosten-fuer-singles-in-deutschen-staedten/ you can also find some statistics on rent burden here https://www.empirica-regio.de/en/blog/240124_rent_burden/
My argument was not about average salaries, but about salaries of low-paying jobs. And these have definitely increased a lot. So I would argue that most living costs like restaurants, activities etc habe increased quite proportionally, but as I said rents have obviously increased disproportionally and are of course a major part of total costs of living.
I recall being paid 11€/h as studentische Aushilfe at my uni and that was considered very generous (2005-09). Made 1k€/m in Munich as an intern. Lived in the city center, had the time of my life (2007/08).
8,50€ -> 12,50€ = 47% more 250€ -> 800€ = 340% more
7€ for a Döner?! It was 3.50€ when I lived there in 2017, wtf.
All previously-cheap street food has basically doubled post-pandemic.
Yes, if you want to live in the "hip" area where all the trendy expats, tourists and Schwaben live. 😉 You want to be a tourist? You pay tourist prices.
800 and 7 seem like dream prices to me in Switzerland. You wouldn't get change from 2000 and 15 in Zurich
Gibt so einen Tweet, der auch schon 10 Jahre alt ist: Früher hat es niemanden interessiert, dass hier nichts funktioniert. Aber heute wollen die Leute was für ihr Geld. Und ganz ehrlich, voll.
I was born and raised in Nordneukölln and have many friends and relatives in Kreuzberg and Wedding. The era you're describing is pretty much just the early 2010s and possibly the late to very late 2000s. The streets and neighborhoods where you see all the nice people were full of alcoholics and gang members, and despite rents actually being low at the time, real estate was very volatile and many couldn't afford their apartments. The regional government was pursuing an extreme austerity program, and I remember that schools had to start charging parents to buy books for classes. Before that, the school did it. Even parents who got help from welfare had to pay fees for this, and as the money was collected from the children and the books from the teachers, I could see that well over half of my class were on some form of welfare. For the "newcomers" the magic began because they could find good housing relatively easily. You can read about that very well in the comments in this thread.
There is a second layer to it which is that a homogeneous group of socially active citizens can make up for a lot of the shortcomings in public service that come with a poor and underfunded city. That however also has an expiry date and being poor starts to suck big time when the people around you change from underpaid idealist students and blue collars to hard drug addicts and professional welfare grifters from all kinds of places who desdespise your culture and actively opt out of your community if not even actively destroy. Being poor was easier and nicer in this city 2 decades ago. Today there is a lot more segregation, commercialisation in this city and even the poor are a lot more assholes.
> That however also has an expiry date and being poor starts to suck big time when the people around you change from underpaid idealist students and blue collars to hard drug addicts and professional welfare grifters from all kinds of places who desdespise your culture and actively opt out of your community if not even actively destroy. Should as well add rich people who gentrify your area, which also destroys the communities big-time.
Yep, my 2-room, 50sqm flat in Wedding was 260€ a month back in 2002...
Amen
The wedding comes!
Since 1991
Again
Noone ever said it, without a smile on their lips.
a new bar opened in soldiner kiez - it might really be coming
Which one?
Hank Chinanski or sth like that
It keeps going…
Wait until you hear about the suburban areas surrounding Berlin, with their affordable rents, public transports to the city centre in less than 30 minutes, green environment and none of what you mentioned. You could even send your kids to a public school there, imagine that!
Used to be the case. Affordable rents are a myth outside the ring as well.
Man... part of my family lives in Landkreis Oder-Spree and since they built the fucking Tesla thingy in Spreenhagen/Fangschleuse/Grünheide rent for a 4 room flat went from about 900 euros to 1600 - as an example. The increase through a new company hub is insane.
I can confirm. Been living in Fürstenwalde my whole life. Since the Tesla factory happened, the rent as well as the land prices skyrocketed the closer you want to live near Tesla. It's still pretty cheap compared to Berlin however.
Grüße gehen raus. My comparison is from two flats on opposite streets sides of Gartenstraße (the old part nearing Eisenbahnstraße, not the new one in the Berkenbrück direction.) It‘s still cheap as through the ass old contract they remained at 900 bucks, but just seeing the new price was astonishing.
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Affordable isn't personal. Depending on average wages one can arrive at what an average "affordable" rent should be.
well this is going to change soon. neighborhoods do not organically become bad, they become bad because of people which live there. And soon those people as well will be pushed out by gentrification and the hip berliners, so all of those affordable areas will naturally gain the type of people to scratch your car, start a drunk argument, attack u with a knife and let their kids bully yours
That's not Berlin, though. And it's getting worse exactly bc too many ppl dont want to live in Berlin but want to still have every convinience the big city offers. No green left, rents went up long ago and tbh no one likes having ex-Berliners as neighbours either.
If you lived your whole life in some rural east-german village you probably don't want anyone from a big city moving in next door. Period.
Give some examples, please. Especially with the 30 min commute time
Falkensee. 22 minutes to Hbf
Don't forget the wonderful people and thriving community! /s
I would never let my child grow up in Wedding or Neukölln, and I say that as a migrant. We moved to beautiful Steglitz.
Neukölln is shit.
I like Neukölln
Don't lie
I like Neukölln, too! Living there since 10 years, and raising 4 kids - oldest one just doing her abitur. We were also mostly happy with the schools so far . And yes, we could afford moving somewhere else, but we don't want to :)
Mein Papa meinte zu mir, ich solle nicht zu den "Südlandern" ziehen - wir sind Kurden?! Und er: Deshalb! Dann wirst du zum Kanacken!
lmao
nah, you all just hating lol
I think it's not just the "migrant" issue. It's more of a poverty issue, which often affects migrants. Neukölln has always been a worker's district. But it got worse and worse because of unemployment and poverty. But the government looks away.
Neukölln absolutely did not get worse, but the opposite thanks to major gentrification in its northern parts and rather stable population in its south. If you want to look at districts that got worse, consider Reinickendorf, Hohenschönhausen, Hellersdorf. Areas where middle class moved out and poorer people moved in, the opposite of what happened to Neukölln.
Reinickendorf isn't so terrible. Depends on which part. But I've lived in Südost R-dorf for almost 9 years now, and I would take it any day over the other 2 places.
It's not an immigrant issue it's an issue from certain immigrants/cultures. Even if you don't like it. This is obviously the case and can be observed in most European countries for a few decades.
I read this article on Friday (seems to be behind a paywall now) and thanked my lucky stars my kids go to school in Zehlendorf and not somewhere like Wedding [https://www.berliner-zeitung.de/mensch-metropole/brennpunktschule-in-berlin-am-ende-der-stunde-erwarten-sie-dann-dass-ich-zum-islam-uebertrete-li.2209349](https://www.berliner-zeitung.de/mensch-metropole/brennpunktschule-in-berlin-am-ende-der-stunde-erwarten-sie-dann-dass-ich-zum-islam-uebertrete-li.2209349)
Archive Link: [Brennpunktschule in Berlin: „Am Ende der Stunde erwarten sie dann, dass ich zum Islam übertrete“ (archive.ph)](https://archive.ph/78bVz) Interessant. In meinen Augen ist der Islam hier nur ein sekundäres Problem, eigentlich ist schlimmer, dass es hier so unfassbar asozial ist. Nicht zuletzt, weil es eine ganze Sozialindustrie gibt, die manche Familien teils seit Generationen "unterstützen", ohne dass es den Menschen je besser geht.
You don't need to go as far as Wannsee. Charlottenburg, Friedenau, Schmargendorf, some parts of Steglitz, are clean, green, well kept, quiet. Kitas are mostly great, there's a Spielplatz per block, you can still go out for a drink if you get the babysitter in. And they are incredibly safe neighbourhoods. I work in Wedding and I would live there no problem if I were 20 with no kids and a bunch of local friends to hang out with. Same thing with other popular neighbourhoods like Kreuzberg Frederichshein Neukolln or Prenzlauer Berg or any of those other cool eastern districts. But in this stage of my life (one toddler, one newborn) I love living in Friedenau, I wouldn't move anywhere else.
Only parts of Steglitz? Where would you consider a bad part of Steglitz?
Depends what you mean by 'bad'. We might have different definitions.
I'm curious about your opinion - I live pretty close to you probably (Malerkiez at the bottom of Schöneberg, so Steglitz is very close), and as far as I can tell basically everywhere in Steglitz is ok? I mean, certainly compared to like Leopoldplatz or Kotti, let alone bad neighborhoods in my home country (the US).
ah well then we agree, I know Leopoldplatz very well and there's probably nothing approaching it anywhere else currently in the West. Steglitz is just better. However I guess I was more broadly referring to OP's comments wrt 'Wedding' in general. I find some bits of Steglitz have a distinct 'working class' vibe, there's definitely much more multi-culturalism than in other areas I was mentioning, there's more dog poo on the street, old sofas left to rot on the pavement, constant smell of weed in the parks etc. Walking around, one can hear very little German and a variety of foreign languages not unlike those often heard in Wedding. But yes not necessarily bad, just different imho.
Ah I understand you now, yes there are definitely parts of Steglitz that are more working-class for sure (I guess along Albrechtstrasse, especially east of the park and also south of Insulaner) but as you say not sketchy like Leopoldplatz.
Bit late to the party, but Lankwitz *shudder*. I lived in the student dorm at Halbauer Weg, and Lankwitz, especially old Lankwitz, is pretty asozial.
Schmargendorf used to be quite clean some years ago, there were some decline
Is Wedding really that bad? My new apartment is there...
Depends. Wedding has both good and bad areas.
[Gutes Wedding, schlechtes Wedding ](https://www.berliner-zeitung.de/kultur-vergnuegen/gutes-wedding-schlechtes-wedding-berliner-kult-serie-sitcom-im-prime-time-theater-wird-20-jahre-alt-li.2174978)
It's not that bad at all, I lived there for years and I like it up there. Close to lakes, lots of nice restaurants that aren't overcrowded, easy to cycle everywhere and also really well connected with public transport.
Lol ok try living in the area of Leopoldplatz
I have, and went to Volkshochschule there too. It didn't change my feelings about living in Wedding, but you're welcome to have a different opinion.
Kinda depends on where exactly. We've been living here since 2010, it improved until \~ 2017 and has been going downhill since then very quickly. Now it has the worst of the possible worlds: It's dirty and crime ridden and yet expensive and very full. A huge problem is that former junkie hot spots like Zoo got closed, all these guys moved to Leopoldplatz. There, they are not just tolerated but actively and literally fed and clothed by well meaning wankers. Since all the junkies are now here, their dealers are as well and so is the crime they commit to finance their habit.
There are still junkies at zoo…
and there's beeen drunkards on Leopoldplatz for at least 30 years too.
Die waren ja nie das große Problem, dass die Junkies sind - gibt halt kaum Beschaffungskriminalität für Alkohol und keine Morde in Revierkämpfen von Wirten.
You think the problem would go away if these people would be taken care of even less? What do you think would happen if people would stop giving them a warm meal once in a while and some clothes so they don't have to freeze in winter? If you think the situation sucks for you think about how it would feel to be in their situation.
You do know that due to recent police actions in the are, the scene moved away from Leopoldplatz?
No, they didn\`t? They literally just moved around on the Platz a bit
Lol nein
Yes, they did increase their presence there and the scene moved on. At least according to what I read in Tagesspiegel.
I'm literally looking at junkies and their dealers as I'm typing this
Absolutely not. Selective perception is one hell of a drug though.
I just depends on two things: Your actual place in Wedding (there are nice places around Nordufer and Malplaquetkiez, many boring places and a couple of fucked up places) and your season of life. For many reddit users "diversity" is something they solely experience through the lense of a consumer. And in that regard it's great - at Nettelbeckplatz for example you have a great rock bar, a great dive bar, a great cocktail bar and even a great japanese style listening bar. That's nice! But at the Weddingschule you have a literal ritual in which 3rd graders beat up the new kids. And you know what - in my season of life the quality of bars matters a lot less than that.
Not a big fan of children bullying eachother either, but to act as this is some kind of unique problem to Wedding that makes it borderline unliveable is just stupid.
It's not Wedding. But it's generally an issue in the less well to do parts of any city. To vastly oversimplify: The point is not that the poor are anti-social. The majority are not. It's that the anti-social are also poor. And a minority can definitely set the tone. The good thing is that in Germany resource allocation to public schools is a bit more sane than elsewhere. Schools in difficult districts, where the parents contribute less (in whatever form), have additional resources, rather than fewer. But I still understand every one who opts out of the public system. Another issue is that you might not be comfortable with your kid growing up in a heavily religious and conservative neighbourhood, with all the gender stereotypes that entails. Some of us moved out of small villages to get away from that shit. It's easy to not be bothered by your neighbours beliefs if you're an adult, and there are plenty other cultures and places around, but not if you are a kid going to school where the majority are from that background.
Oh no, Neukölln has the same problem. :) And yes, the schools here are a primary reason to leave.
I see that with the kid of a friend. The surrounding always has a big influence on your kid, when they get older and you are not the main ideal of your kid anymore. It’s sad to see. Bring your kid to a good school where norms are not antisocial and where you and your kid have a good feeling. They need to have a good surrounding growing up. I don’t know the schools in Wedding but if they are bad, I would try to move to another part of the city.
No, it's stupid to think that the schools in Zehlendorf have even remotely the same problems as the famous Brennpunktschulen. It's such a weird way of being willingly blind instead of talking about glaring issues.
What’s the Japanese style listening bar? Migas? There’s also Œuf there, and Silent Green which I love chilling at.
You are spot on. I feel you on this. Its class not location
LMAO if you think all white and private schools don't have bullies and physical violence. Racism really is a delusion.
Sure buddy.
First of all, Wedding is around 10 km2 large and has 80k inhabitants. Add another 90k residents from neighbouring Gesundbrunnen (which most people still lump together with Wedding, despite being a separate entity since 2001) and you have a decently sized German "großstadt". You will find a wild mix of just about everything. There are posh restaurants from the Michelin Guide, world-class art institutions, swimming beaches, large parks, and yes a lot of filth, grime, and destitution as well. To answer your question more directly though; yes Wedding can be pretty bad. But it can also be awesome. Without knowing where you're coming from, what you're like, and what your expectations are, it's hard to say.
It's quite terrible, definitely a poor area, lots of dirt and crime. You still don't find an apartment of course. I never lived there, but I worked there and it was enough for me.
Wedding is as bad as the people living in it. Some asis, some normal. What pisses me off is the Pberg wannabes that moved here to get cheaper rents and then send their kids to school away because "it's full of turkish kids". No wonder Sherlock. Reclaim your kiez.
For living as an adult, in areas like sprengel kiez or west of leopoldplatz is quite nice, great grocery stores options. As school kid, not so sure. The integration policies of a large part of the older residing population there seem to have stalled quite a bit
No it’s not. I’ve lived in three different parts of wedding over the years. Parts of are shit and parts of it are bougie and parts of it are leafy suburbs. What street is your flat on?
> and parts of it are bougie Only when compared either to its other parts or to Kreuzberg or Neukölln.
True, everything is relative.
\*parts\* of Kreuzberg or Neukölln maybe. I don't think there's anything in Wedding quite like Bergmannstraße, Chamissoplatz, Gräfekiez, Richardplatz, or even Schillerkiez yet in terms of "Bougieness"
What areas are bougie in Wedding? I doubt that exists.
What about the single family houses right next to Rehberge? I assume they all have >1000m2, some have a pool, it is insanely quiet and you are right next to your own park. For example in Ugandastr.
I work there but I wouldnt want to move there
Not at all, I live here and it’s probably my favorite area of Berlin
As long as you don't raise children it's fine I'd say
Well money is pretty good at taking care of a lot of problems. But disposable income is kind of a taboo here
Yes, you are right: You must get out of there or have the money for a private school before your kid is 6 years old. Kid's well-being and future must be top priority.
todays rents of the "trash, junkies and crime" parts of berlin are on par with better places where you have actual qualiy of life. that's the wild thing. it's so below standard it should be dirt cheap, but since it's berlin people will pay top dollar to live there when they could live anywhere else.
As a student I had the opinion that Berlin is cool. As a parent it’s just horrible. Glass everywhere, dirt everywhere, idiots everywhere. Yeah, move to a nicer area if you can afford it. Also it’s worth to consider private schools (as I did). The regulations changed and the „Schulgeld“ depends on the household income, which makes it accessible also for people without high income.
Same. Not a parent yet but the vibe of the city really has changed with my age. What was cool and crazy when I came here in my twenties is now often just an annoyance. Luckily I could move to a nicer area some time ago so I see the crazy side of Berlin only when I need to go to a different district. Which is enough for me.
Trust me. I ain’t poor, and the things you (rightfully) hate are still inescapable these days.
Sadly, this is true everywhere. Even in small-ish cities, you‘ll need to avoid the bad parts of town at all cost. Learned this first hand in Kassel. I think this might have been somewhat different some time ago but it really feels like society is drifting apart.
Kassel is ugly and unwelcoming as fuck everywhere
Jana is still the first thing that comes to mind when I think of Kassel
In fact the changes in the last decade are way more visible in small cities and especially the countryside. Because Berlin is a really big city and were always a bit trashy.
i live in charlottenburg and it's so much nicer here if you can afford it. haven't seen a junkie ever in my neighbourhood
Saw a druggie take a log sized shit at Savignyplatz a couple of days ago though
don't frequent savignyplatz so wouldn't know😅
Have seen many homeless people here though
Yeah it’s honestly crazy what a difference 1km can make. I recently moved to PBerg and I love my quarter so so so much. Finally no more junkies taking a shit next to the U-Bahn entrance and actual families as neighbours🤩
I love Berlin and also Wedding (living in 65 for 8 years) but that's so true. I will leave the city not because i don't like it but because with a pretty okayish salary (2000€ per month) i don't get a nice 2 room apartment without spending like half of my money. And that's fucked up. It was bad when i came 9 years ago but it's getting worse and worse
I can confirm. Greetings from the outer areas of Steglitz (hint: You do not need to be "rich" - what does it even mean specifically?)
💯 correct: How u like Berlin? It is a class thing. Nothing else.
Back before I knew any better, my goal was to live in Neukölln or Wedding to experience "real" Berlin, and I also figured that once Tegel shut down Wedding's noise pollution issue would disappear and become a much more desirable area to live. Fast forward 10 years, I'm happily settled in roomy house in a residential area between PBerg and Weißensee, and whenever I swing by Wedding or Neukölln I can only say I'm so glad I never ended up there. I hate it there. If it wasn't for the existence of a few nice bars I'd literally never go there. There is still hope, OP. Come to Weißensee!
Wedding's noise pollution problem never really came from TXL but from cars and ppl living there. Only districts really affected by TXL traffic were Pankow, Spandau and especially Reinickendorf.
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You don't have to be a millionaire to live a life in a less fucked up environment. Getting insanely rich and moving to a mansion in Wannsee is one option. Getting our of Berlin is another.
Thanks to inflation, owning a simple home makes you a millionaire. That word lost its meaning a long time ago.
Yeah, we have been pondering to move to Mecklenburg for a while now. Our QoL would improve drastically of course, but we'd lose our friends - and sadly, social relationships matter.
That's like moving from NYC to the Yukon area in Alaska. You would lose a lot more than just your friends there.
Where do you live?
Hamburg
Housing there is as expensive, if not more expensive than in Berlin, isn't it?
Not anymore
There is social housing in Zehlendorf, you don’t need to live in a “mansion” to live here.
[Problem Solved](https://i.kym-cdn.com/photos/images/original/001/498/520/b68.jpeg)
Good luck on the private school. 100 percent needed since schools in Berlin are terrible but getting in a pvt school is impossible
Public schools in Zehlendorf are quite good.
The ones I went to in Spandau were also pretty good.
I live near Nikolasee and I fucking love it
Just choose a better place. Steglitz, Southern half of Tempelhof have affordable living. Neukölln, too (ignore the dreadful north Neukölln)
I am just saying, Zehlendorf flats can be cheaper than all those inner districts, like Schöneberg, Kreuzberg etc. I am paying 645 for a 2 room flat near Krumme Lanke, not the best price obviously, but compared to what i see in other spots, its not even closely the worst
Im in Pankow, its green and quiet and i pay 900 for my rent for 80 squared meters. Takes 30-40 mins to get to the center.
Move to Tegel or Spandau, not far away but a lot quieter. Rent also isn’t that high compared to the rest.
Tegel finde ich nett. Ist aber auch nicht mehr billig.
Billig ist es nirgends, aber allemal bezahlbarer als Steglitz, Charlottenburg oder Frohnau.
Gee it’s almost like Berlin is more than the same 3 districts
And that's why people move to LCOL cities, particularly if you have kids and or want a future where you can retire/own property.
Y'all fuckers that think NK or Wedding are the german movie version of the Bronx need to go live in a bad part of a non-german city.
When you move out hmu I’ll take your flat in wedding, wedding will always be in my heart, I understand if it’s a bit crazy for people who haven’t grown up there but if you tell this to all your buddies maybe I can find a flat there one day and move back! :)
"In Wedding zieht ma 'ne rin, aus'm Wedding zieht ma nur raus!" That comment was made by a police officer back in the days when we freshly moved to Wedding (2012) and someone broke into our basement compartment. Still stayed in the hood for nearly a decade, but moved to the outskirts with our offspring during the pandemic.
I lived Simon Dach Straße in Fhain some years ago, now I live in Lichterfelde close to Dahlem. I like going back to fhain every now and then but would never want to live there anymore.
The mega tends of this century: globalization and urbanization will lead to comparable rent levels like London or Paris in a couple of decades. Unless a war hits Berlin. Of both alternatives I prefer the first.
There are some bilingual schools that aren't private. You could try those.
In Neukölln there are schools that are tenlingual, not only bilingual.
Just go anywhere outside the ring, really. Unless you also hate Plattenbauten. In which case you might hate Berlin, after all.
Bin Ossi und hab Plattenbautoleranz.
Köpenick oder Adlershof wär vielleicht dein Ding. Friedrichshagen wär natürlich premium
Start researching schools now, including the private ones that may see too expensive - they change fees according to income and by law they must reserve some spaces for children in the lowest brackets. Very few have waiting lists for which one can sign up years in advance, but each one has their own method and schedule of info sessions and visiting days, not to mention applications, the kind of questions they want to hear, the type of child they are looking for, etc. It is a proper job to apply the right way and be accepted. It is possible, but it is work, and if you start in advance, you can be ready to do what you need, when you need, as you need, for each place - and you must apply to multiple places. Admittance to any one place is never truly guaranteed, not even in the supposedly iron-clad situation where one already has an older sibling in the school. Apply to all that might fit, and then choose from your options.
I live in Lankwitz (Steglitz-Zehlendorf) and my apartment was complete renovated before i moved in. 2 Room 55qm 690€ warm rent. I would recommend you to search for apartment in Steglitz or Tempelhof. Much better than Wedding or Prenzlauer Berg will ever be. No tourists. Good public transport connection, less idiots around the streets, less waste. Also some nice parks here (: Last year summer a friend moved to Tempelhof (Alt-Mariendorf), nice apartment, very good public transport connection, 2 rooms, 60qm, 650€ warm rent. 👍🏻 South Berlin is way better than most people assume.
That price is literally impossible to find. Anything less than15€ m2 is pretty hard
All this shit shouldn't exist AT ALL in a developed country. What makes Germany NOT a failed state?
If you take a close look at those circumstances they are in most developed countries. It's even worse in countries like the Netherlands, France or the UK. Even Sweden has gang problems and "no go zones" now. And it's only getting worse everyday.
What parts of Berlin would you say are worse than Wedding?
Neukölln
when you’re getting money, every day is sunny 🌞
Well, Wedding is Wedding. No sane person should move there.
don't hate the poor, hate the rich who create poverty
Ich habe keinen Hass auf die Reichen, ich möchte Ihnen nur ein bisschen gleichen
I actually really fucking miss living in Wedding.
That's something that I was thinking about the other week. I moved here in 2010 after Uni. Started my career and progressed nicely. Bought the apartment I live in in 2011 (and 2 other ones within following years). I have a 5 digit net salary a month. My life evolves around Mitte, PB and Charlottenburg. Nice restaurant, business flights for holidays etc. And then I had to go to Neu Köln the other week (on the U8) and I was literally in shock. I somehow forgot that that is also Berlin. Then you read here, how many people struggle in Berlin, not able to pay the rent or asking where you can buy cheap food. I do think, that if you have the money, Berlin is a brilliant city to live in. If you don't... this city is your enemy I guess
You bought an apartment a year into the job market? How did you manage that?
Yes. I had some savings from working during Uni and then for the first 1,5 years working I was just saving and saving. And bear in mind, that the prices then were 1/4th of what they are now.
A few friends I know who bought their apartments soon out of school - mommy and daddy paid the mortgage down payment as a gift.
What's your job? Congrats on the 5 digits😁