Berlin

pastorbarrett

Hi,

Does anybody have experience of living/working in Berlin. Have visited on a couple of occasions and liked what I saw. Contemplating making the move though it'd be great to get an informed opinion on this.

Any help greatly appreciated, cheers.

Popel

have a job organised before you come, and make sure you have strong use of the language. You can´t get by here with only english if you want a real job.

otherwise there´s the barely scraping a living option of teaching english to children on a private basis. But this is quite soul-destroying and doesnt help you with the big expenses like health insurance (mandatory).

pastorbarrett

Thanks. Can you recommend websites offering jobs, accommodation etc. Areas you'd personally recommend living in?

pokertroll

meridiangroup wrote: »

Thanks. Can you recommend websites offering jobs, accommodation etc. Areas you'd personally recommend living in?

Hi - I have been living in Berlin since May. I love it. You can get by with English for the most part - but I had the benefit of working for an english speaking company who also provided me with a relocation agent to take care of registering me with the authorities and sorting out my rental contract etc! For those type of things you do need german. If you are opening a bank account then the Deutsche Bank branch on Friedrichstrasse is very English friendly.

http://www.toytowngermany.com is a good place to start for getting general advice on jobs/accomodation etc.

If you have any other questions then send me a PM.

Princess Consuela Bananahammock

http://www.exberliner.net/classifieds/index.php?action=modAnzlist_show&sid=
jobs and accomodation.

Expect to pay 250 - 350 euro a month for rent for a room sharing. 700 - 750 should see you through a month comforatbly. Language helps, but very few expats I know are better than conversational. Call centres doing telemarking to the UK and US regularly look for native-English speaking staff. www.metrinomics.de is one of them (possibly hiring in mid September)

Areas - Freiedrichshein - pub/club becoming trendy area
Kereuzberg - artsie/bohemian
Prenzleur Berg - yuppie-ish, but still lively. Lots of young families.
Neukolln - high turkish population, also lots of artists. Cheap.
Wedding - same as Neukolln
Mitte - central, nice, easily accessable to everywhere else.
Wilmersdorf - nice, but boring.
Charlottenburg - same as Wilmersdorf.

SteveD

You won't find it easy to get work before you get here. It's pretty rough to find even when you do get here. Get a grasp on the language, that's the most important factor. Visiting and living here are very different things. Both are great though! If you could get a TEFL it could be good to have for finding work. It's best to have the attitude that you'll work any job at all to get yourself set up, and see where it takes you. I'm living in Kreuzberg and I love it. I don't leave Kreuzberg/Friedrischain too often for going out. They're pretty laid back areas and have most of the best clubs and bars. It's also cheaper than the West. I find Mitte to be tedious. Wouldn't want to live there.

www.toytowngermany.com is a good resource, but people can be a bit discouraging: (don't move here unless you have €10,000 and fluent German. ALL my friends have had to go home!!"). It is best to have at least €2,000 to set yourself up. It could take a few months to get a job, there is fierce competition for even low level jobs. If you can get your hands on more, it goes way further here than in Ireland, so it's certainly worthwhile saving up.

In short, definitely give it a go. The lifestyle is great, and it would be a shame to regret not giving a go. Worst that could happen is you have a fun few months away!