Reply to: Munich accommodation?

[Sysman]

The trees in the beergardens tend to keep the worst of it off as well, so the little skyburts that pass in a couple of minutes aren't really a problem, and cool the heat of the day nicely. I do tend to carry a lightweight raincoat just in case, but it's rare to get utterly soaked.

Some of the thunderstorms are a different matter though. The first time I got caught walking in a proper one my shoes filled up with water and I had to throw them away afterwards.

I've been caught in one of those prolonged thunderstorms on the way home from the pub in just my shirt sleeves and it was a matter of throwing everything into the washing machine when I got home. Shoes not ruined though.

The worst time was when we were on a course which was 5 days crammed into 3 days. After a long knackering day alternating between the lecture theatre and server room it was really siling it down and our cars were 500 metres away. The day had started out blazingly hot so we were all in shirt sleeves and minus umbrellas. We got back to our office and were wringing our clothes out in the bogs before getting in our cars.

Top tip for Zurich: always carry an umbrella.

After many years of Brit-thinking that it's not cool to wear a rucksack to work, I have one now. Excellent for umbrellas, jackets, sandwiches, laptops, books etc. and shopping on the way to work and back. Obviously not to be worn with a suit but those occasions are rare.

[doodab]

But it comes straight down here. None of the horizontal precipitation I used to "enjoy" in Yorkshire.

This means you can leave a computer on the balcony as long as it's under cover.

The trees in the beergardens tend to keep the worst of it off as well, so the little skyburts that pass in a couple of minutes aren't really a problem, and cool the heat of the day nicely. I do tend to carry a lightweight raincoat just in case, but it's rare to get utterly soaked.

Some of the thunderstorms are a different matter though. The first time I got caught walking in a proper one my shoes filled up with water and I had to throw them away afterwards.

[Sysman]

Wait till you have your first 8pm mini hailstorm while sat in a beergarden. Very refreshing.

But it comes straight down here. None of the horizontal precipitation I used to "enjoy" in Yorkshire.

This means you can leave a computer on the balcony as long as it's under cover.

[scooterscot]

Weel I've just got back from Köln where I was since Thursday evening as we went to the footie (beer, sausage and smoking in a sold-out stadium with great atmosphere) on Friday. Yesterday was spent sitting otuside in reasonably nice weather either having a beer or a coffee working of the previous nights excesses (The Severin area of Köln has a few pubs which don't open until 22:00 and shut in the morning which we had to try out, in the name of research.)

Did you and the Mrs put a padlock on the bridge?

[doodab]

Yesterday we go the roof down on our wee fiat 500, it was 17 degrees C out and the sun shining. Meanwhile it was snowing in Edinburgh

Something that I was not expecting. You know when you arrive in mediterranean on one of those easyjet nighttime flights? You can tell it's been a sunny day cause the air has the warm humid feeling to it yet fresh smelling? Well that was Munich last night

Wait till you have your first 8pm mini hailstorm while sat in a beergarden. Very refreshing.

[darmstadt]

Weel I've just got back from Köln where I was since Thursday evening as we went to the footie (beer, sausage and smoking in a sold-out stadium with great atmosphere) on Friday. Yesterday was spent sitting otuside in reasonably nice weather either having a beer or a coffee working of the previous nights excesses (The Severin area of Köln has a few pubs which don't open until 22:00 and shut in the morning which we had to try out, in the name of research.)

[scooterscot]

Yesterday we go the roof down on our wee fiat 500, it was 17 degrees C out and the sun shining. Meanwhile it was snowing in Edinburgh

Something that I was not expecting. You know when you arrive in mediterranean on one of those easyjet nighttime flights? You can tell it's been a sunny day cause the air has the warm humid feeling to it yet fresh smelling? Well that was Munich last night

[TimberWolf]

[Olly]

Crikey I miss Munich, am going for a long visit to Berlin in the summer I think. Will see if it's more my thing than Munich but I really do miss a lot about Germany.

Anyone know of a job for a self managing data/business/analyst with a very poor grasp of German language?

[doodab]

Very close to oktoberfest in a place called sendling, nice enough and only 3 u-bahn stops to town.

We looked in the usual places, schwabing, neuhausen, however you're well over €2000 pcm now for around 130sqm.

Spent 6 hours in ikea yesterday buying up half the shop, better that than on a provision we thought.

Yes, it seems nice round there. You're quite close to Isarvorstadt which has a lot of nice restaurants and bars. It's a nicer area for going out that Schwabing IMO. I think if I was staying I would be looking for somewhere round there, or in Haidhausen or perhaps Bogenhausen although that is also quite expensive.

At the moment I'm quite a long way out on the eastern edge of the city, which is a bit of a no mans land although I can still be in the city centre in 15-20 minutes.

[scooterscot]

The Germans seem to move around a lot less than we do, I suspect the cost of moving plays a large part in that. I don't have any personal experience aside from making a few basic enquiries but I know that one of my colleagues found "regular" landlords were often unwilling to deal with you if you didn't speak German well and were only planning to be here for short time i.e. 1-2 years.

I agree. We were told never to mention how long you're going to stay. Don't ask don't get and the minimal term was not written into the contract.

That being said the landlords were very opened us brits occupying their home considering we were competing against 20 other's who were interested in the property. They even brought their son along who spoke good english, the parents english in fact was a lot better than my german.

T

The other big thing is ventilation, most German houses I have been in are hermetically sealed and you need to open the windows for 5-10 minutes of a morning and evening to let the moist air out or you will end up with a lot of condensation and mildew / fungal growth can set in within a few weeks in the winter months. A dehumidifier can be a worthwhile investment although avoid the super cheap ones from conrad as they break

Good tip. We did find our new abode completely sound proofed from the world outside.

With hindsight I wish I had gone down the "normal" route when I came here 2 1/2 years ago. Although it would meant relocating my family, which was a hard sell with a 3 month contract, it would have saved me a fortune running two houses and mean I wouldn't have to go home to London which TBH I am not looking forwards to.

Similar situation last year, running two houses. This year we decided to rent out the edinburgh house (took about a week surprised us both). Now we feel more settled living out here (germany) than the UK. Not intending a return trip until after April 6th 2012!

[scooterscot]

You could say a lot of the same things about Munich TBH. It's not as liberal as Berlin, a bit richer and a bit more expensive, but it's a great city to live in, it seems there are more jobs here especially in IT, and it's close to the Alps.

Also, the beer garden is a Bavarian invention, and Munich's beer gardens are quite simply the best anywhere, some of them are huge (but rarely too busy to enjoy) and most have large well shaded children's play areas so you can sit there even on a sunny summer afternoon and enjoy a Maß while the kids wear themselves out. I had a book called the "Beirgarten Führer" which you might want to obtain a copy of.

Whereabouts in Munich are you? Perhaps we could go for a beer one evening.

Very close to oktoberfest in a place called sendling, nice enough and only 3 u-bahn stops to town.

We looked in the usual places, schwabing, neuhausen, however you're well over €2000 pcm now for around 130sqm.

Spent 6 hours in ikea yesterday buying up half the shop, better that than on a provision we thought.

[doodab]

So having just been through the process of finding somewhere to live I thought I'd share me experiences.

We've just secured our 130 sq meters of un-furnished apartment in only 3 weeks of searching. I've been told that's an achievement to be proud of here, complete with underground car park.

Best of all provision free, i.e. I don't pay the agent 2.4 x months rent as a commission. (Imagine a UK agency doing that, people would flip, let alone putting down 3 months of deposit) UK system seems like bliss afterwards, not to mention far too cheap.

Places I recommend for searching:

Provisionsfreie Wohnungen und Häuser mieten oder kaufen

Immobilien, Wohnungen und Häuser bei ImmobilienScout24 mieten, kaufen, inserieren

And of course if you do not want to furnish then: Wohnungen Mnchen - Mr. Lodge - mblierte Apartments, Huser auf Zeit in Mnchen

However we found that with the commission we might of paid would easy furnish a 2-bed apartment. (5000 €)

Oh and one last thing, we'd choose Berlin over Munich.

The Germans seem to move around a lot less than we do, I suspect the cost of moving plays a large part in that. I don't have any personal experience aside from making a few basic enquiries but I know that one of my colleagues found "regular" landlords were often unwilling to deal with you if you didn't speak German well and were only planning to be here for short time i.e. 1-2 years.

Another thing to bear in mind with "normal" renting here is that you will normally be required to redecorate / repaint, there are laws about how often the landlord can require that different parts of the house need doing and from what I gather it means that when you move out it has to have been done within the specified time. I think it also needs to be in the contract to be enforceable.

The other big thing is ventilation, most German houses I have been in are hermetically sealed and you need to open the windows for 5-10 minutes of a morning and evening to let the moist air out or you will end up with a lot of condensation and mildew / fungal growth can set in within a few weeks in the winter months. A dehumidifier can be a worthwhile investment although avoid the super cheap ones from conrad as they break

With hindsight I wish I had gone down the "normal" route when I came here 2 1/2 years ago. Although it would meant relocating my family, which was a hard sell with a 3 month contract, it would have saved me a fortune running two houses and mean I wouldn't have to go home to London which TBH I am not looking forwards to.

[doodab]

No ones gives it a second thought, it's not over crowed, culture oozing out of every corner, best public transport I've ever seen, very liberal and laid back, beer gardens the whole family can enjoy not just you and your mates, masses of green space and lakes nearby, warm summers. Of course jobs are scarce but niche so well paid if you can get in, but a real cheap place to live comparing with the UK.

You could say a lot of the same things about Munich TBH. It's not as liberal as Berlin, a bit richer and a bit more expensive, but it's a great city to live in, it seems there are more jobs here especially in IT, and it's close to the Alps.

Also, the beer garden is a Bavarian invention, and Munich's beer gardens are quite simply the best anywhere, some of them are huge (but rarely too busy to enjoy) and most have large well shaded children's play areas so you can sit there even on a sunny summer afternoon and enjoy a Maß while the kids wear themselves out. I had a book called the "Beirgarten Führer" which you might want to obtain a copy of.

Whereabouts in Munich are you? Perhaps we could go for a beer one evening.

[scooterscot]

Why? And what skillsets are the Germans looking for? And is jobserve the place to find them (the jobs that is, not the skillsets one has to say one has)?

Berlin is Europe's best kept secret IMO. No ones gives it a second thought, it's not over crowed, culture oozing out of every corner, best public transport I've ever seen, very liberal and laid back, beer gardens the whole family can enjoy not just you and your mates, masses of green space and lakes nearby, warm summers. Of course jobs are scarce but niche so well paid if you can get in, but a real cheap place to live comparing with the UK. It's got a good balance, where living is the priority and commerce is somewhere way down the list. "Sleep is commercial, life is just a dream" Something I saw spray painted on the wall last year, sums up the city for me.

German's are looking for engineers, lots of them, although I don't think IT related. If you've got a math degree or similar history your in easy. I contacted a few german companies rather than the usual crowd, even got in direct with one. The big companies are not so agency obsessed like the UK, if anything they reward the 'don't ask don't get' attitude, IMO.