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Freiburg is a super nice place as long as you've got disposable income to spend to live in one of the preferred quarters, like Wiehre, Herdern, etc. If you don'

Freiburg is a super nice place as long as you've got disposable income to spend to live in one of the preferred quarters, like Wiehre, Herdern, etc. If you don't, then like in many south-German cities (located in mountain valleys where space is scarce), you're living in a place without any green in sight (ok Freiburg's Stühlinger is quite green, and still affordable, though I'm guessing it's been getting more expensive in recent years). The problem with living in Vauban-style high-tech houses with photovoltaics, ground energy, etc. is the cost of maintenance, or finding people for maintenance in the first place. We really only can tell something about sustainability towards the end of life of polystyrole or mineral wool walls (30 years?).

Fnoord 6y ago
It was a lot of fun (and quite a special experience) visiting the city. Don't have to live there.
- mordechai9000 6y ago
  It was wonderful to visit, but I am still a little salty about the Schlossberg. It has an incline elevator, not a funicular! And the Schlossberg tower was closed to the public. And, of course, my daughter stepped in the Bächle repeatedly. They were like a magnet for her. I'm joking about being salty. Well, mostly. I want to go back and do more hiking. Hopefully, the tower will be open to the public, next time.
  - hansjorg 6y ago
    According to Wikipedia: > It is local superstition that if you accidentally step in the Bächle, you will marry a Freiburger https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Freiburg_B%C3%A4chle https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Freiburg_B%C3%A4chle
ChuckNorris89 6y ago
I live in Austria and it's the same. Houses in the urban forests are really picturesque and a marker for high quality of life but unless you're a 10%er millionaire they're out of reach. Everyone else is cramped in concrete blocks but of course, that's rarely shown in photos or articles.
- newyankee 6y ago
  10 m or 100k ?
- tluyben2 6y ago
  Just clicking around on real estate sites, large houses with gardens in nature seem to be rather cheap there. Maybe you are in another region but with mortgage % low, the prices like [0][1][2] are far from needing to be a millionaire. [0] https://en.arkadia.com/eden-t67035189/ https://en.arkadia.com/eden-t67035189/ [1] https://en.arkadia.com/eden-t67126374/ https://en.arkadia.com/eden-t67126374/ [2] https://en.arkadia.com/eden-t66305759/ https://en.arkadia.com/eden-t66305759/
  - ChuckNorris89 6y ago
    Of course prices of old houses in need of maintenance, far away from the nearest city, in regions with little to no jobs, next to the border with Eastern European countries, will be cheap. Nobody wants to live there. Try looking at homes in the suburbs of desirable cities with jobs and see 10x prices. If we're just looking for random homes on the internet you can find better deals in villages in southern Europe but there's always at least one catch why cheap homes are cheap.
    - tluyben2 6y ago
      > Nobody wants to live there. Nobody besides everyone I know... I (nor my friends or family) would never want to live in or close to a city. Let alone in a suburb; if in a city then the center. But you are right; still, to pay a 2m mortgage, you do not need to be a millionaire. And for 2m I see nice stuff in Vienna. > catch why cheap homes are cheap. I live in such a home in southern eu and for me there is no catch. Huge garden, swimming pool, large villa for 130k. Always sunny, nature, no polution. Just not close (40min drive; probably faster than a lot of suburb-center commutes though) to a city, that’s a benefit, not a catch.
      - ChuckNorris89 6y ago
jgehring 6y ago
> If you don't, then like in many south-German cities (located in mountain valleys where space is scarce), you're living in a place without any green in sight While this is generally true, the newer districts like Vauban also feature city-owned housing that is specifically targeted to be rented by lower-income families. If you're a student there are again lots of options all throughout the city.
thelastinuit 6y ago
Damn. I found the pictures lovely i was thinking in finding a job in IT. But i guess i wont be able to afford a living there.
- jgehring 6y ago
  I think your parent paints a rather extreme picture. The two examples they picked, Wiehre and Herdern, are the upscale neighborhoods with plenty of mansions, and there's rather only one area with large concrete housing blocks (Weingarten). As usual, you pay a premium for the top locations but in terms of quality of living and "greenness" there are many other good spots.
- tannhaeuser 6y ago
  Freiburg has many commuters working in Swiss pharma industry around Basel for the much lower cost of living so you should be ok as a single working in IT. If you even find housing, that is.
rfreiberger 6y ago
I really want to visit some day but doesn't sound like it's what I picture in my mind as a old German town.
- smueller1234 6y ago
  Actually Freiburg has quarters with plenty of old town charm. And if that's not old town enough, you can always go to one of the smaller towns around, which should have plenty. It's an article that picks out and exaggerates one aspect of the city.
- tannhaeuser 6y ago
  What is your idea of an old German town? Heidelberg-like romanticist buildings, medieval wooden housings, Karlsruhe-like baroque or classicist cities? Freiburg has a rather large historic center with a cathedral/monastery church and gates, plus old quarters with lots of red sandstone.
mudita 6y ago
I am writing this from my room in Wiehre right now, for which I pay 300 euro per month. Ok, it's a room in a flat I share with 3 flatmates, not everybody wants to live like this, but still, even Wiehre and Herdern are hardly quarters only for the super rich. Additionally Freiburg is so small that you can be pretty much anywhere within 15 minutes by bike, it really does not matter so much which quarter you live in.

Fnoord 6y ago

It was a lot of fun (and quite a special experience) visiting the city. Don't have to live there.

mordechai9000 6y ago
It was wonderful to visit, but I am still a little salty about the Schlossberg. It has an incline elevator, not a funicular! And the Schlossberg tower was closed to the public. And, of course, my daughter stepped in the Bächle repeatedly. They were like a magnet for her. I'm joking about being salty. Well, mostly. I want to go back and do more hiking. Hopefully, the tower will be open to the public, next time.
- hansjorg 6y ago
  According to Wikipedia: > It is local superstition that if you accidentally step in the Bächle, you will marry a Freiburger https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Freiburg_B%C3%A4chle https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Freiburg_B%C3%A4chle

ChuckNorris89 6y ago

I live in Austria and it's the same. Houses in the urban forests are really picturesque and a marker for high quality of life but unless you're a 10%er millionaire they're out of reach. Everyone else is cramped in concrete blocks but of course, that's rarely shown in photos or articles.

newyankee 6y ago
10 m or 100k ?
tluyben2 6y ago
Just clicking around on real estate sites, large houses with gardens in nature seem to be rather cheap there. Maybe you are in another region but with mortgage % low, the prices like [0][1][2] are far from needing to be a millionaire. [0] https://en.arkadia.com/eden-t67035189/ https://en.arkadia.com/eden-t67035189/ [1] https://en.arkadia.com/eden-t67126374/ https://en.arkadia.com/eden-t67126374/ [2] https://en.arkadia.com/eden-t66305759/ https://en.arkadia.com/eden-t66305759/
- ChuckNorris89 6y ago
  Of course prices of old houses in need of maintenance, far away from the nearest city, in regions with little to no jobs, next to the border with Eastern European countries, will be cheap. Nobody wants to live there. Try looking at homes in the suburbs of desirable cities with jobs and see 10x prices. If we're just looking for random homes on the internet you can find better deals in villages in southern Europe but there's always at least one catch why cheap homes are cheap.
  - tluyben2 6y ago
    > Nobody wants to live there. Nobody besides everyone I know... I (nor my friends or family) would never want to live in or close to a city. Let alone in a suburb; if in a city then the center. But you are right; still, to pay a 2m mortgage, you do not need to be a millionaire. And for 2m I see nice stuff in Vienna. > catch why cheap homes are cheap. I live in such a home in southern eu and for me there is no catch. Huge garden, swimming pool, large villa for 130k. Always sunny, nature, no polution. Just not close (40min drive; probably faster than a lot of suburb-center commutes though) to a city, that’s a benefit, not a catch.
    - ChuckNorris89 6y ago

jgehring 6y ago

> If you don't, then like in many south-German cities (located in mountain valleys where space is scarce), you're living in a place without any green in sight While this is generally true, the newer districts like Vauban also feature city-owned housing that is specifically targeted to be rented by lower-income families. If you're a student there are again lots of options all throughout the city.

thelastinuit 6y ago

Damn. I found the pictures lovely i was thinking in finding a job in IT. But i guess i wont be able to afford a living there.

jgehring 6y ago
I think your parent paints a rather extreme picture. The two examples they picked, Wiehre and Herdern, are the upscale neighborhoods with plenty of mansions, and there's rather only one area with large concrete housing blocks (Weingarten). As usual, you pay a premium for the top locations but in terms of quality of living and "greenness" there are many other good spots.
tannhaeuser 6y ago
Freiburg has many commuters working in Swiss pharma industry around Basel for the much lower cost of living so you should be ok as a single working in IT. If you even find housing, that is.

rfreiberger 6y ago

I really want to visit some day but doesn't sound like it's what I picture in my mind as a old German town.

smueller1234 6y ago
Actually Freiburg has quarters with plenty of old town charm. And if that's not old town enough, you can always go to one of the smaller towns around, which should have plenty. It's an article that picks out and exaggerates one aspect of the city.
tannhaeuser 6y ago
What is your idea of an old German town? Heidelberg-like romanticist buildings, medieval wooden housings, Karlsruhe-like baroque or classicist cities? Freiburg has a rather large historic center with a cathedral/monastery church and gates, plus old quarters with lots of red sandstone.

mudita 6y ago

I am writing this from my room in Wiehre right now, for which I pay 300 euro per month. Ok, it's a room in a flat I share with 3 flatmates, not everybody wants to live like this, but still, even Wiehre and Herdern are hardly quarters only for the super rich. Additionally Freiburg is so small that you can be pretty much anywhere within 15 minutes by bike, it really does not matter so much which quarter you live in.