Berlin Germany neighborhoods?

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RainerReza

According to this story from the Berliner Morgenpost--
http://www.morgenpost.de/content/2005/02/13/berlin/734612.html
the district with the highest median income is Steglitz-Zehlendorf. The article is from 2005, but I don't think things have changed significantly in the last two years. As you can see, Mitte is not as wealthy as a lot of people think; a lot of new money has moved in and obviously the areas around sections like the Brandenburg Gate are wildly expensive, but a lot of the old, pre-Wende residents (not-so-well-off) still live on Torstrasse or the network of streets just north of it.

Prenzlauer Berg and Friedrichshain are young--Friedrichshain is more "studenty" than P-berg and it's easier to find a cheap apartment--but it is a bit of a schlep from Friedrichshain to the Freie Uni. Kreuzberg... depends on the area you live in, which brings up the point: A lot of these districts are pretty big, and one corner of Kreuzberg is significantly different from another. These people who try to make sweeping generalizations about Mitte or Prenzlauerberg or any other district are not displaying much subtlety in perception--that's putting it delicately.

If you're looking for housing, you can try a commercial site like http://www.immopool.de/; otherwise, talk to people in your university's German department to see if people know about short-term housing possibilities. There's also http://www.wg-gesucht.de/wg-zimmer-in-Berlin.8.0.1.1.html,
which gives you "Wohngemeinschaft" possibilities--if you're up for living with other people. Also check Craig's List Berlin (http://berlin.craigslist.org/) or Ex-Berliner Magazine's classifieds (http://exberliner.net/classifieds/index.php?kat_id=3&action=modAnzlist_anzlist&sid=).

Looking at the Freie Uni map, a lot of the buildings are located near the Dahlem-Dorf stop on the U3 line. I would think about looking for an apartment that was somewhere on the U3 line, in the direction of the center of town. Maybe Nollendorfplatz. It's not very studenty (based on my very limited experience walking around there), but it gets you to the university quickly and you can also get to Kreuzberg, Mitte, and Prenzlauerberg without much difficulty.

If you want to check commute times using mass transit, go to this mass-transit site for Berlin:
http://www.vbb-fahrinfo.de/hafas/query.exe/dn
The same site has a ton of mass transit maps here:
http://www.vbbonline.de/index.php?cat=3&sCat=24&id_language=2#anker1

Perlenkette

hey! welcome to the "freie universitÃ¤t berlin"!
its in the western part of berlin, this city precinct is called Dahlem. the best place for students in berlin to move to is "friedrichshain" ( many many students!) "prenzlauerberg" ( many young people) and "mitte" ( but rents here for appartements are very high!!). the best thing is that berlin ( in comparison to other cities in germany) has low rents for appartements and beautiful houses.
looking for cotenancies? you can find them on www.wg-gesucht.de ( but its in german!!)

good luck and see you soon in berlin!

kat1605nrw

You should also consider the Kreuzberg district. Friedrichshain is definitely cool, so is Prenzlauerberg (I'm not too crazy about Mitte, too many snobs), but in P'berg, rents have taken a hike in the past few years. Kreuzberg, on the other hand, still has a lot of affordable housing, and the district is great - fun mixture of people, students, young families and some older folk who have lived there since before it became popular. The bar/pub scene is also great, and the area has an alternativ/free-spirited touch to it. There are many cute little shops, and you don't have to be all cool and with it as Mitte and parts of P'berg expect you to be. Kreuzberg is more of a live and let live kind of place, and you can get a nice two-bedroom flat in a beautiful old (but completely renovated) house with high ceilings and stucco decorations for about 350 a month.

Alwin E

Hey, welcome to the Freie UniversitÃ¤t Berlin, that's where I studied once.

Are you actually looking for a wealthy neigborhood? Well, try Charlottenburg, or around the Mexikoplatz at the other end of town (Google Earth will help). I knew a student who lived there, in a veritable "Villa" with two elderly people whom she had to help with the household. It was, in my opinion, somewhat out in the sticks, but she liked it.

I enjoyed Kreuzberg a lot. Flats are relatively cheap there, although not the best as to quality, and you should be able to do some handicraft by yourself (or know someone who can). But as a side effect, you'll learn some words of Turkish there and understand what the month of ramadan is. (I tell you in advance: Something that young turkish people rather avoid.)

But Kreuzberg isn't just "Little Istanbul". It's the Daimler Building, the Sony Center, it's the Potsdamer Platz with its Marlene-Dietrich-Platz, and it's so much more. I`ll prefer Kreuzberg people to the Berlin-Mitte, Friedrichshain and Prenzlauer-Berg newly-rich noncompoops all my life. If you want to get a grip of the real life, go there, and try out yourself. If not, you'll find friends alot at university that will help find you a flat in their social environment.

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