Moving to the Coleman Baracks area near Mannheim

Hi all! I am taking a job at Coleman Barracks and will be moving to the Mannheim area for at least one year. I have spent some time in the past in the area (when I was in the military) and can remember loving it! This time I will be required to live on the economy, which excites me but is also an unknown. I have spent hours researching the web for information, most of it on this website. I am coming alone, so only need a small flat and a car. I am having a great deal of difficulty finding help on the web for either of these as I do not speak the language (yet). I have found, through forum searching, some english speaking websites for other areas...the closest being Heidelberg, but nothing for the Mannheim area. Any help?

If you are sponsored by the military they will have a listing of houses/apartments in the vicinity to rent at the housing office when you arrive.

I work on coleman barracks at the confinment facility.

If your looking for housinga few towns i can think of not to far away are:

Sandhofen
Kafertal
Lorsch (would def require a car)

I've been away from the forums lately due to work, college, and drinking, but if you have any questions feel free to contact me at wtfguzey@gmail.com

it you need to live on a budget you don't need a car! The price of petrol and parking permits are way higher than a month strassenbahn ticket at 54 euro and its really easy to get around here. Bf has a car and we use it about once a week if that! we only have it as it was a present from his mum!

As for finding a flat i would just ring a few companies in Mannheim, speak in English and they can normally help you. I have no idea which of the many US Baracks your going to but here are some cheaper areas in Mannheim:

• Ost stadt
• West stadt
• Jungbusch
• Kafertal?
• Viernheim (even though its not in Mannheim)

Oststadt cheap? Wasn't cheap when i last checked 5 years ago...

Without a car, for Coleman:
Sandhofen would be ideal, as there's a direct bus line to the barracks. Schönau, Luzenberg or the northern parts of Neckarstadt would be manageable (tram connection to Sandhofen), Käfertal likely too (bus to Sandhofen). These are all relatively cheap to live in.

The public bus to Coleman (from Sandhofen/Schönau) only runs during peak hours in the morning and afternoon, as far as i know.

http://apps.mhf.dod.mil/pls/psgprod/f?p=10...P6_INST_ID:1750
http://home.mannheim.army.mil/sites/local/
might also be useful, though it's of course mostly tailored towards the military community.

Thanks for everyones input. I guess I will just play the car buying part by ear once I get there as far as weather or not I will need one. I will be there by the end of this month. What are everyones thoughts on having a Harley there? It will only cost me $800 to get it there. Just looking for opinions...thanks.

sorry i meant Neckarstadt Ost and West