5 ms·

Frankfurter here :) Nice to see us on the good side of news more often recently. Frankfurt, compared to the big capitals of the world, is rather small: about 70

by geff82 9y ago

Frankfurter here :) Nice to see us on the good side of news more often recently. Frankfurt, compared to the big capitals of the world, is rather small: about 700.000 reside within the city limits. Yet, the metropolitan area is much larger. Frankfurt also has the highest percentage of foreigners in Germany (ok, Offenbach, Frankfurt's neighbour even has more, but those two are at the top). Even Berlin feels less international in this regard. And in case you need to have a break from this most modern looking German city, you just take a plane at the airport (which is almost "in the city" and very easy to reach). On weekends, you can to trips to France, Czech Republic, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Belgium or Switzerland (all within 2-4 hour drive). It's internationality also makes Frankfurt easy to navigate for people who don't speak German. By the way: there are only few "real Frankfurters" like me there (born and raised here with German parents...). Even other Germans mostly moved here from other cities. Within my close colleagues, I am the exception as someone who spent almost his entire life here. What that means: we are pretty open for everyone. We don't care where you are from, we don't prefer doing business with people that speak the local dialect (which might happen in other parts of Germany). Talking business: I doubt you find a city with more libertarian-minded entrepreneurs in Germany. Business enthusiasm is quite high compared to other regions where social democratic culture is more imminent. People come to Frankfurt to make money. If you want to live in beautiful luxury, you are also at the right spot! The Taunus mountains north-west of the city house a myriad of bankers and CEOs in beautiful and expensive villas, combine perfect schools with healthy nature and nice views on the city. You'll have to buy something more sporty than a Porsche to get some looks, as Porsche is the standard family car there (or High-End BMWs or Mercedes)... If, besides work, you want to enjoy culture, this city serves you plenty. Museums, Opera, Theaters, Rock concerts: here, you have them all. So to those you wonder if Frankfurt is really the place to go, I say: I love the world, I like many other places, but if I could, I would take my Frankfurt anywhere I go.

allendoerfer 9y ago
> By the way: there are only few "real Frankfurters" like me there (born and raised here with German parents...). Even other Germans mostly moved here from other cities. Within my close colleagues, I am the exception as someone who spent almost his entire life here. What that means: we are pretty open for everyone. We don't care where you are from, we don't prefer doing business with people that speak the local dialect (which might happen in other parts of Germany). As a German, who moved to Frankfurt, I second that notion. I feel very much at home here. I think you can never truely become a Münchner, you will always be foreign. And in Berlin it is kind of a meme, that you have to start hating the newly arriving Schwaben, as soon as you have been living there for more than 3 months. Everyone knows about local traditions in cities like Cologne and you think about these things, when moving there, while Frankfurt seems much more approachable. Guests visiting me are often amazed that there are actually quite a few cultural features specific to the region. Sounding like you come from Frankfurt (on a beginner level) is super easy, too. You just become lazier and stop pronouncing word-endings and use softer consonants.
- geff82 9y ago
  Haha :) me and my family speak "Hochdeutsch" even as locals, but I will try to recognize your description.
eddd 9y ago
How's the rent? Ive heard it is the most expensive city to live in Germany.
- geff82 9y ago
  Munich is more expensive. But Frankfurt's housing prices are rising dramatically recently. My wife and I are currently looking at houses (to buy, we currently rent one...) in the Taunus-mountains (about 10 kilometers away from the luxury homes I mentioned), because only there we can find large enough houses under 500k€ (which, even considering my 6-figure-income, is the maximum I feel comfortable with). Small 120sqm-row-houses, new, in Frankfurt now cost around 800k and everyone I know wonders who are the ones that can afford them and still sleep at night.
  - allendoerfer 9y ago
    > and everyone I know wonders who are the ones that can afford them and still sleep at night. See OP … The interesting thing about this is, that Frankfurt is actually doing very much to avoid it. There a mixed-use skyscrapers being built, a whole new district has been created (Europaviertel) recently and a new one is already planned in the North-West. I think part of the problem is, that Frankfurt is tiny by night and a city of a million people by day. I guess you could build houses for hundreds of thousands of people, prices would sink and people would move in.
    - geff82 9y ago
      All those new quarters you mentioned are damn expensive... I also talked to the vendors of those mixed-use-skyscrapers and If you want to invest less than about 800.000 for a 3-bedroom-appartment, they have nothing for you. Prices are flying high... You'll have to move away about 30 kilometers to really see lower prices.
prodmerc 9y ago
Man, Frankfurt is awesome. So is Munchen and Koln. I'm a bit partial to the latter (actually to the whole of NRW, sorry :P) but that's just me :D. Looking forward to moving somewhere in Germany next year.
k__ 9y ago
Frankfurt/Offenbach/Rüsselsheim feels less international like Berlin, because most immigrants there seem to be the working class from east Europe, while Berlin somehow managed to get all the white collar expats. Berlin feels more modern and liberal, while Frankfurt feels like... I don't know.. the Bronx ;)
- deleted 9y ago
  [deleted]
moomin 9y ago
Londoner here. Been to Frankfurt: it's small, but it's lovely. Only thing holding me back from moving is a mortgage and school-age children. (Rant: Seriously, people get upset when you point out that Brexit is a dumb idea. But that doesn't stop it being a really, really, dumb idea that's going to ruin my country.)
- ZenoArrow 9y ago
  > "(Rant: Seriously, people get upset when you point out that Brexit is a dumb idea. But that doesn't stop it being a really, really, dumb idea that's going to ruin my country.)" How is it going to ruin our country? Let's be realistic. Will there be an economic downturn? Signs point to yes. However, businesses do not pass up the opportunity to make money for long. Case in point, the financial sector move the article is referring to. Just because a bank is based in one country, doesn't mean it doesn't do business elsewhere. If an investment opportunity exists, deals will still be made regardless. The idea that a company like Goldman Sachs would turn down an opportunity to make money just because their headquarters is elsewhere is almost laughable. Imports and exports will be affected whilst markets adjust, and hopefully there'll be a soft Brexit to make this adjustment period quicker, but even with hard Brexit the economy will stabilise and grow in time. Products intended for domestic markets may end up becoming more attractive for investors in the short term whilst this period of uncertainty plays out. There are always ways to make money, and those who keep their cool are much more likely to spot those opportunities than those who panic.
  - moomin 9y ago
    I agree with pretty much everything you just said, but I don't think your conclusions are supported by your argument. The problem is that you're implicitly assuming that Britain will be no worse off and then concluding that businesses will spot that so that we're no worse off. Let's be realistic: the pound is worth 80% (give or take) what it was before the referendum. That isn't felt in your pocket immediately, but the effects works their way through the economy. Sure, purchasing power parity and the economy rebalancing will ameliorate that, but it's in no ways going to eliminate it. Now, there's a problem with this analysis, which is that Brexit hasn't happened yet. This cuts both ways: the final state hasn't been reached, but also the economy's a lot more resilient inside the EU than outside, because the lack of tariff and non-tariff barriers helps with the rebalancing you describe. So, for the future, a good question is: how are our preparations going? Well, the NAO says that they're barely going at all, the repeal bill says we're basically going to have to put up with direct monarchial rule to survive and to date we seem to be capitulating on every point of contention. What's worse is the points we're not capitulating on, because we're an 1/8th of the way through the process and haven't even got the status of EU citizens sorted out. Even if the negotiations go well, we're talking about ripping up 40 years of settled U.K. law and replacing it with... well, ministers haven't decided yet, but they don't want parliament to have a vote when they do. So, as I see it there's basically two possible outcomes here: 1) the EU retains most of the benefits of U.K. membership 2) hard Brexit. Die-hard Leavers have long argued that the EU is too complex, and the EU shows no inclination to make it more complex to suit Britain. Either way, we will be worse placed to trade with the rest of the world. You're right, even in the case of hard Brexit the economy would eventually grow again. Would it grow as fast as it would within the EU? There's no reason to believe so. So we're looking at a huge one off hit and permanent reduced growth. Sorry, this is quite long and probably not as clear as I'd hoped. I've also probably missed a fair number of important points. I haven't even touched on the _non_economic problems with leaving the EU. But I think it's clear that, while there are always ways to make money, Brexit is likely to be a negative sum game.
bitL 9y ago
> What that means: we are pretty open for everyone. We don't care where you are from, we don't prefer doing business with people that speak the local dialect (which might happen in other parts of Germany). Unless you are from Eastern Germany or overall from Eastern Europe. The stories I hear from friends how welcome they feel in Frankfurt once they mention their origin. All top people US companies are fighting for...

by geff82 9y ago

allendoerfer 9y ago

> By the way: there are only few "real Frankfurters" like me there (born and raised here with German parents...). Even other Germans mostly moved here from other cities. Within my close colleagues, I am the exception as someone who spent almost his entire life here. What that means: we are pretty open for everyone. We don't care where you are from, we don't prefer doing business with people that speak the local dialect (which might happen in other parts of Germany). As a German, who moved to Frankfurt, I second that notion. I feel very much at home here. I think you can never truely become a Münchner, you will always be foreign. And in Berlin it is kind of a meme, that you have to start hating the newly arriving Schwaben, as soon as you have been living there for more than 3 months. Everyone knows about local traditions in cities like Cologne and you think about these things, when moving there, while Frankfurt seems much more approachable. Guests visiting me are often amazed that there are actually quite a few cultural features specific to the region. Sounding like you come from Frankfurt (on a beginner level) is super easy, too. You just become lazier and stop pronouncing word-endings and use softer consonants.

geff82 9y ago
Haha :) me and my family speak "Hochdeutsch" even as locals, but I will try to recognize your description.

eddd 9y ago

How's the rent? Ive heard it is the most expensive city to live in Germany.

geff82 9y ago
Munich is more expensive. But Frankfurt's housing prices are rising dramatically recently. My wife and I are currently looking at houses (to buy, we currently rent one...) in the Taunus-mountains (about 10 kilometers away from the luxury homes I mentioned), because only there we can find large enough houses under 500k€ (which, even considering my 6-figure-income, is the maximum I feel comfortable with). Small 120sqm-row-houses, new, in Frankfurt now cost around 800k and everyone I know wonders who are the ones that can afford them and still sleep at night.
- allendoerfer 9y ago
  > and everyone I know wonders who are the ones that can afford them and still sleep at night. See OP … The interesting thing about this is, that Frankfurt is actually doing very much to avoid it. There a mixed-use skyscrapers being built, a whole new district has been created (Europaviertel) recently and a new one is already planned in the North-West. I think part of the problem is, that Frankfurt is tiny by night and a city of a million people by day. I guess you could build houses for hundreds of thousands of people, prices would sink and people would move in.
  - geff82 9y ago
    All those new quarters you mentioned are damn expensive... I also talked to the vendors of those mixed-use-skyscrapers and If you want to invest less than about 800.000 for a 3-bedroom-appartment, they have nothing for you. Prices are flying high... You'll have to move away about 30 kilometers to really see lower prices.

prodmerc 9y ago

Man, Frankfurt is awesome. So is Munchen and Koln. I'm a bit partial to the latter (actually to the whole of NRW, sorry :P) but that's just me :D. Looking forward to moving somewhere in Germany next year.

k__ 9y ago

Frankfurt/Offenbach/Rüsselsheim feels less international like Berlin, because most immigrants there seem to be the working class from east Europe, while Berlin somehow managed to get all the white collar expats. Berlin feels more modern and liberal, while Frankfurt feels like... I don't know.. the Bronx ;)

deleted 9y ago
[deleted]

moomin 9y ago

Londoner here. Been to Frankfurt: it's small, but it's lovely. Only thing holding me back from moving is a mortgage and school-age children. (Rant: Seriously, people get upset when you point out that Brexit is a dumb idea. But that doesn't stop it being a really, really, dumb idea that's going to ruin my country.)

ZenoArrow 9y ago
> "(Rant: Seriously, people get upset when you point out that Brexit is a dumb idea. But that doesn't stop it being a really, really, dumb idea that's going to ruin my country.)" How is it going to ruin our country? Let's be realistic. Will there be an economic downturn? Signs point to yes. However, businesses do not pass up the opportunity to make money for long. Case in point, the financial sector move the article is referring to. Just because a bank is based in one country, doesn't mean it doesn't do business elsewhere. If an investment opportunity exists, deals will still be made regardless. The idea that a company like Goldman Sachs would turn down an opportunity to make money just because their headquarters is elsewhere is almost laughable. Imports and exports will be affected whilst markets adjust, and hopefully there'll be a soft Brexit to make this adjustment period quicker, but even with hard Brexit the economy will stabilise and grow in time. Products intended for domestic markets may end up becoming more attractive for investors in the short term whilst this period of uncertainty plays out. There are always ways to make money, and those who keep their cool are much more likely to spot those opportunities than those who panic.
- moomin 9y ago
  I agree with pretty much everything you just said, but I don't think your conclusions are supported by your argument. The problem is that you're implicitly assuming that Britain will be no worse off and then concluding that businesses will spot that so that we're no worse off. Let's be realistic: the pound is worth 80% (give or take) what it was before the referendum. That isn't felt in your pocket immediately, but the effects works their way through the economy. Sure, purchasing power parity and the economy rebalancing will ameliorate that, but it's in no ways going to eliminate it. Now, there's a problem with this analysis, which is that Brexit hasn't happened yet. This cuts both ways: the final state hasn't been reached, but also the economy's a lot more resilient inside the EU than outside, because the lack of tariff and non-tariff barriers helps with the rebalancing you describe. So, for the future, a good question is: how are our preparations going? Well, the NAO says that they're barely going at all, the repeal bill says we're basically going to have to put up with direct monarchial rule to survive and to date we seem to be capitulating on every point of contention. What's worse is the points we're not capitulating on, because we're an 1/8th of the way through the process and haven't even got the status of EU citizens sorted out. Even if the negotiations go well, we're talking about ripping up 40 years of settled U.K. law and replacing it with... well, ministers haven't decided yet, but they don't want parliament to have a vote when they do. So, as I see it there's basically two possible outcomes here: 1) the EU retains most of the benefits of U.K. membership 2) hard Brexit. Die-hard Leavers have long argued that the EU is too complex, and the EU shows no inclination to make it more complex to suit Britain. Either way, we will be worse placed to trade with the rest of the world. You're right, even in the case of hard Brexit the economy would eventually grow again. Would it grow as fast as it would within the EU? There's no reason to believe so. So we're looking at a huge one off hit and permanent reduced growth. Sorry, this is quite long and probably not as clear as I'd hoped. I've also probably missed a fair number of important points. I haven't even touched on the _non_economic problems with leaving the EU. But I think it's clear that, while there are always ways to make money, Brexit is likely to be a negative sum game.

bitL 9y ago

> What that means: we are pretty open for everyone. We don't care where you are from, we don't prefer doing business with people that speak the local dialect (which might happen in other parts of Germany). Unless you are from Eastern Germany or overall from Eastern Europe. The stories I hear from friends how welcome they feel in Frankfurt once they mention their origin. All top people US companies are fighting for...