5 ms·

I had to laugh when I saw Berlin there

patall 5y ago
How so? Currently living there, have a nice park 1 min from the house, few pollution, no crime around here (beside graffit and a fire in an abandoned shack 2 weeks ago), growing bike infrastructure. I can go sailing in 30 min, Skiing and mountain climbing are impossible. Culturally one of the best in the world (and a lot cheaper than say NewYork at that). Job is great with 30 days vacation etc pp, though a little lower than in the US. The motorway is a bit noisy, though I am very strict there. Sure, if you live in a shitty neighboorhood, thats different, but thats different everywhere (as number of remote jobs also doesn't help you if you are not remote yourself)
- pelasaco 5y ago
  what would be a shitty neighborhood in your opinion in Berlin?
  - jmercouris 5y ago
    The places by Warschauer strasse, Wedding. Basically, most of East Berlin. Edit: removed Neukoelln, it is boring, but not bad.
    - patall 5y ago
      I am in East Berlin, so I certainly disagree. And most places in the East that are single family housing are nice anyways. For example, the borough Hellersdorf-Marzahn contains the big 12-level blocks of Hellersdorf, Marzahn and Kaulsdorf-Nord with problems up and down, but also ~30k single family houses in Biesdorf, Kaulsdorf and Mahlsdorf (as well as the original village of Marzahn, not much left of Hellersdorf) that are super safe and more and more expensive. Localities that are not so nice (but again, it depends on the exact location) are Tiergarten, Wedding, Hohenschönhausen, Weissensee, Hellersdorf, Marzahn, Neukölln (the locality). Basically, cheap places are cheap for a reason.
      - jmercouris 5y ago
        Well, it is of course opinion, in the end, you are right! I just personally strongly prefer West Berlin.
distances 5y ago
How so? Germany has very strong employment laws so I wasn't surprised to see Berlin on the list.
- jmercouris 5y ago
  Have you ever lived in Germany? Are suppressed wages a good sign?
  - pelasaco 5y ago
    It is for sure bad for all other countries in Europe.
  - distances 5y ago
    Yes, I live in Berlin and I'm very happy here. I have a good work-life balance. Wages aren't worse than elsewhere in Europe excl. Switzerland.
    - Nimitz14 5y ago
      I would think they're significantly lower than what you get in the south where all the major German companies are.
      - pelasaco 5y ago
        exactly https://www.iamexpat.de/career/employment-news/german-cities-where-you-earn-most-and-least https://www.iamexpat.de/career/employment-news/german-cities...
      - distances 5y ago
        Not for tech jobs, no. Major German companies do not pay major salaries for engineers and programmers, so the Berlin tech scene is competitive.
- pelasaco 5y ago
  "very strong employment laws" is Germany-wide and not specific to Berlin. Berlin has much less holidays than any other place in Germany. Beside that, Berlin has problems in all areas listed under "CITY LIVABILITY". There are much better places to live in Germany other than Berlin. I left Berlin to live in Lisbon, TBH I'm shocked that Lisbon isn't in the list at all, but for sure I would never come back to Berlin. Maybe Freiburg, Nürnberg, Kiel, even Potsdam, but Berlin? No way.
allendoerfer 5y ago
I would not want to live there, but it is objectively one of the coolest cities on earth.
- pelasaco 5y ago
  yes sure. Berlin is cool to visit. But to live there, commute there, use the public services there? Nope.
  - darkwater 5y ago
    I think that almost in every city of the world you can find a good chunk of local people who thinks the same about their city. Grass is greener etc etc
    - pelasaco 5y ago
      Maybe, but probably for people without family, coming from different countries like Berlin. Depending on the ranking (which are like benchmarks), Berlin doesn't even appear in the top 10 cities in Germany https://www.wiwo.de/politik/deutschland/staedteranking-2020-die-zehn-besten-staedte-deutschlands/26612374.html https://www.wiwo.de/politik/deutschland/staedteranking-2020-...
  - mejutoco 5y ago
    I wonder what is your concern with public transport, etc in Berlin. The price? IMO they are pretty reliable, and very often partly subsidized by your employer. Lots of of bike lanes too. In 30-40 min you can go anywhere inside the ring.

How so? Currently living there, have a nice park 1 min from the house, few pollution, no crime around here (beside graffit and a fire in an abandoned shack 2 weeks ago), growing bike infrastructure. I can go sailing in 30 min, Skiing and mountain climbing are impossible. Culturally one of the best in the world (and a lot cheaper than say NewYork at that). Job is great with 30 days vacation etc pp, though a little lower than in the US. The motorway is a bit noisy, though I am very strict there. Sure, if you live in a shitty neighboorhood, thats different, but thats different everywhere (as number of remote jobs also doesn't help you if you are not remote yourself)

pelasaco 5y ago
what would be a shitty neighborhood in your opinion in Berlin?
- jmercouris 5y ago
  The places by Warschauer strasse, Wedding. Basically, most of East Berlin. Edit: removed Neukoelln, it is boring, but not bad.
  - patall 5y ago
    I am in East Berlin, so I certainly disagree. And most places in the East that are single family housing are nice anyways. For example, the borough Hellersdorf-Marzahn contains the big 12-level blocks of Hellersdorf, Marzahn and Kaulsdorf-Nord with problems up and down, but also ~30k single family houses in Biesdorf, Kaulsdorf and Mahlsdorf (as well as the original village of Marzahn, not much left of Hellersdorf) that are super safe and more and more expensive. Localities that are not so nice (but again, it depends on the exact location) are Tiergarten, Wedding, Hohenschönhausen, Weissensee, Hellersdorf, Marzahn, Neukölln (the locality). Basically, cheap places are cheap for a reason.
    - jmercouris 5y ago
      Well, it is of course opinion, in the end, you are right! I just personally strongly prefer West Berlin.

distances 5y ago

How so? Germany has very strong employment laws so I wasn't surprised to see Berlin on the list.

jmercouris 5y ago
Have you ever lived in Germany? Are suppressed wages a good sign?
- pelasaco 5y ago
  It is for sure bad for all other countries in Europe.
- distances 5y ago
  Yes, I live in Berlin and I'm very happy here. I have a good work-life balance. Wages aren't worse than elsewhere in Europe excl. Switzerland.
  - Nimitz14 5y ago
    I would think they're significantly lower than what you get in the south where all the major German companies are.
    - pelasaco 5y ago
      exactly https://www.iamexpat.de/career/employment-news/german-cities-where-you-earn-most-and-least https://www.iamexpat.de/career/employment-news/german-cities...
    - distances 5y ago
      Not for tech jobs, no. Major German companies do not pay major salaries for engineers and programmers, so the Berlin tech scene is competitive.
pelasaco 5y ago
"very strong employment laws" is Germany-wide and not specific to Berlin. Berlin has much less holidays than any other place in Germany. Beside that, Berlin has problems in all areas listed under "CITY LIVABILITY". There are much better places to live in Germany other than Berlin. I left Berlin to live in Lisbon, TBH I'm shocked that Lisbon isn't in the list at all, but for sure I would never come back to Berlin. Maybe Freiburg, Nürnberg, Kiel, even Potsdam, but Berlin? No way.

allendoerfer 5y ago

I would not want to live there, but it is objectively one of the coolest cities on earth.

pelasaco 5y ago
yes sure. Berlin is cool to visit. But to live there, commute there, use the public services there? Nope.
- darkwater 5y ago
  I think that almost in every city of the world you can find a good chunk of local people who thinks the same about their city. Grass is greener etc etc
  - pelasaco 5y ago
    Maybe, but probably for people without family, coming from different countries like Berlin. Depending on the ranking (which are like benchmarks), Berlin doesn't even appear in the top 10 cities in Germany https://www.wiwo.de/politik/deutschland/staedteranking-2020-die-zehn-besten-staedte-deutschlands/26612374.html https://www.wiwo.de/politik/deutschland/staedteranking-2020-...
- mejutoco 5y ago
  I wonder what is your concern with public transport, etc in Berlin. The price? IMO they are pretty reliable, and very often partly subsidized by your employer. Lots of of bike lanes too. In 30-40 min you can go anywhere inside the ring.