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Silicon Valley is ...nice...in certain areas...but overall, I don't like the US way of planning living areas - seems like that unless you have a lot money, you'

Silicon Valley is ...nice...in certain areas...but overall, I don't like the US way of planning living areas - seems like that unless you have a lot money, you'll be living in some endless suburban sprawl and commuting 90 minutes to work in bumper-to-bumper traffic. I know pay in Berlin must be lower compared to that in the Valley, but what's life in Berlin like if you're in software? How's the job situation, relative pay, quality of life? Does anyone regret living there? How are the locals treating you? I have an EU passport and already speak a little bit of German, if that matters....

piva00 10y ago
Berlin is a really cheap city by European standards for developed countries, I live in Stockholm and just went two weekends straight to Berlin (I really love the city), basically if you work with software you're well off. Food, drinks, entertainment, everything is cheap, your salary will be around €50~55k/year, that means you'll probably get close to €3k/month after taxes, rent is raising but it's still cheap for an European capital (between €700~1.2k depending on what you are looking for) and probably around €150 for utilities (maybe a little less, I'm basing on the numbers a friend who's moving there has been telling me). Plenty of job openings, every day I check them and there are tons of new openings on LinkedIn, SO Careers, Landing.jobs, etc. Overall seems to be a great city to live if you like urban gritty cities, I personally love it and plan to move there next year if possible. Probably you can regret it if you are looking for a calm city to live in, Berlin is very alive and kicking all the time, the Germans I know from Berlin are among the friendliest people I've know in my life (and I'm Brazilian). And knowing German seems to help a lot, the locals mostly know English but they can be a bit shy to speak it all the time so when you eventually end up with a bunch of Germans they'll be speaking German between them. Please, if someone see any misinformation correct me as I'm very interested to know better.

piva00 10y ago

Berlin is a really cheap city by European standards for developed countries, I live in Stockholm and just went two weekends straight to Berlin (I really love the city), basically if you work with software you're well off. Food, drinks, entertainment, everything is cheap, your salary will be around €50~55k/year, that means you'll probably get close to €3k/month after taxes, rent is raising but it's still cheap for an European capital (between €700~1.2k depending on what you are looking for) and probably around €150 for utilities (maybe a little less, I'm basing on the numbers a friend who's moving there has been telling me). Plenty of job openings, every day I check them and there are tons of new openings on LinkedIn, SO Careers, Landing.jobs, etc. Overall seems to be a great city to live if you like urban gritty cities, I personally love it and plan to move there next year if possible. Probably you can regret it if you are looking for a calm city to live in, Berlin is very alive and kicking all the time, the Germans I know from Berlin are among the friendliest people I've know in my life (and I'm Brazilian). And knowing German seems to help a lot, the locals mostly know English but they can be a bit shy to speak it all the time so when you eventually end up with a bunch of Germans they'll be speaking German between them. Please, if someone see any misinformation correct me as I'm very interested to know better.