Life in Garching - Munich

We are on the verge of signing a contract for a (rented) house in Garching. It's a little detached house with garden and roof terrace, the like of which is difficult to find in Central Munich. It's newly renovated and has a lot of space and character. It is also a decent price. It's also convenient for my husband's job.

We have a child and this was our consideration is moving so far out. I've never actually been to Garching so I'm clueless as to what it is like.
I did a search on TT and most references to Garching are people moaning about how far away it is.

So my question is, does living in Graching really mean social death? Isn't there any life at all there? What about the international/student community who work there, don't some of them live there?

Ok, so I'don't need to be in a pub everynight but every couple of weeks would be nice. I want my child to be happy (any body know about schools/kigas here?) but I don't want to be as miserable as hell.

Does anybody have anything good to say about Garching?

[size=1]Crosslink by admin: Garching

I work in Garching everyday and I won't live here. THe problem is getting home late. If you need to get to Maibaum (the center of garching) you have to leave the center of munich at 10:56pm or 6:48am on a weekend night. If you willing to walk from the U-Bahn or taxi it you can stay out till 1:29am or wait till 4:41am. That being said I'm single and often stay out late so the inconvenience for me is too much. However the town is adorable. My banks out here and everyone who works there knows me by name. I don't even show an ID to take out money. All the shops you need daily are right in the middle of the city and it is very safe.

Nope

Hi Tara, I've been living in Garching for about 6 months now and while there are pros and cons on balance I think I live in the right place, mainly because I can be bed -> work in half an hour and all the commuting I do is for fun, not because I have to.

First off: Winegirl is right that the *maibaum* (291) bus finishes fairly early, and if you only ever went to the institutes that is the bus you would have to worry about - it goes through garching and on to TUM/Instutes. In fact there is a different bus for Garching town, the 290, which essentially circles the maibaum, dropping you off a stops which probably land you closer to the majority of the residential areas. If you're going from Universitat, the last ubahn+bus is at 0:41, getting you into Garching at about 01:05... probably late enough for a work night! At the weekends this goes later, the last ubahn+bus connection is 01:27.

On both occasions there are later ubahns, but they don't have busses connecting. I've never seen a taxi at the ubahn station, but it is only a 15 minute walk from GH to Garching. If you feel flush, I'm reliably informed that it's possible to get a taxi from Schwabing for about 25E - but I've never done it. I tend to leave my bike at the station and ride back from the last ubahn. It means you have to make the effort to get into town at night, but I just take a book with me on the ubahn.

The supermarkets here are about as good as your standard small German supermarket tends to be -- Tenglemenn is good, HLmarkt is okay and the rest are pretty dire. Euroindustry Park, with Real, Walmart and the rest is about 10 minutes drive away. Having said that, there are lots of little bakeries (well, less since the best one closed down) and other random shops.

There is a library with an English language book section [well, bookshelf!] and several average standard resteraunts. There is a beer garden which is meant to be great, and some pubs which I have to admit I have never tried. There is a symphony orchestra if that's your thing, and the town hall has events quite often (always in German though, so they tend to pass me by).

It feels like a very safe place, and there are tons of cyclepaths / walk ways for pedestrians. I live near one of the schools and it seems like a nice place... more than that I have no idea. It's possible to cycle to the centre of Munich along the Isar and through the English Garden, which is very pleasant, even in winter.

As I said before, for me personally the bonus of a 10 minute bicycle commute through fields outweighs the difficulty of travelling to Munich in the evenings. For someone younger than me (26) it might be just a bit too sleepy/boring. For a family, I think it would be ideal. When they extend the U6 all the way to the TUM (via the big hole they've dug in the centre of town!) then getting in and out of the city will be even easier, although that won't be till October 2006, when my contract ends...

Hope this is of some help. If you want to know anything else let me know and I can try to answer.

Thanks to the both of you for your replies.

I also cycle a lot and thought that I could bike it to the Ubahn station if I want to go into town. We will be living in the Southern part of Garching. How far is that on the bike? (Rosenstrasse). Is it safe to leave your bike?

Do you know where the new Ubahn station will be (the street name)?

Also, if I am not depending on a connecting bus, when are the last Ubahns? Is it safe to cycle from the Ubahn station to home?

We'll have a car, so major grocery shopping is no problem (we can bring you with us Benpanther)

What kind of people live in Garching? Young families? Working class/Professional etc?

Thanks again,

Tara

I have lived in Garching now for a year and a half, and it basically was a conscious decision..partly because I work in the University and partly because I like the place...The only draw back is that it takes around 40 minutes to reach to the Hbf( if we consider it 2 be a reference)...but garching has many positive points..you can have a stride around the most serene parts of the Isar , it has almost all kinds of establishments ranging from beer gardens, opticians, fitness centres and anything else one can ask for ...its located on the footsteps of a autobahn.,so u can always get out fast...in summers u have these big mustards and corn fields, if they attract you ( like me!!)..

Almost everyone speaks english because of the multinational influence of the University.. I belive that most of the people who live in Garching are migrants or academics..so adjusting is not a problem..basically if dont drop in Kilians or hard rock cafe, every second evening..i would say u can go 4 garching...( and the most imp. fastor is ofcourse how far is your place of work from garching)

I prefer not to leave my big mountain bike at the station, but in the past I have and it's been fine. My work commuting bike is left there virtually everytime I go into town, secured with a tiny little back wheel lock attached to the frame. Quite often if I get a lift back from town it stays there a couple of nights!

There are big metal bike posts to lock to if you have a nicer bike, and the area is well lit

I *think* in the centre of the town, between maibaum and rathausplatz/burgerplatz - not certain though.

All the Ubahn info is at http://www.mvv-muenchen.de/. Last train on all days is at 1:24 I think. I have never had a problem while cycling home, but then I being a big strapping chap I don't really ever have problems of that nature so possibly I'm not the best person to ask.

Families I guess. A higher than usual quotient of proffesionals working at TUM/Institutes... plus a fair number of students, postdocs, and all the support staff required for them. Quite a few old people, who don't seem as grumpy as those I've encountered in the city!

HTH, Ben

I just thought I'd add to this. The supermarkets in Garching aren't too hot, but just a few minutes drive away in Ismaning there's a large Minimal that's a lot more like grocery stores most of us are used to. They've even got a small selection of curry sauces there, and I've occasionally found chocolate chips. I normally first do a grocery shop at Penny to get the staple cheap-cheap stuff and then head over to Minimal for the better selection.

As for biking from the train station, it's perfectly safe. I've done it by myself plenty of times and never had a problem, even in the blackness of night on unlit streets. A standard ride-around-town bike is perfectly safe there, but I'm not sure if I'd want to leave a really nice one.

My guess would be that your typical family in the Garching international community would be young professional families. You'll probably run into more of your standard share of science geeky people, but we're not so bad.

I personally think that Garching would be a great place for a family. It's close enough to town for 30-somethings with kids who want to occasionally have a night out, but far enough away to be peaceful. I've never tried out any pubs in Garching myself. I think you'll find that you end up going into town for that, though there's a place in Ismaning I've been meaning to try out that has jazz on Mondays. That one might be worth it. Garching has a really good video store (that is, for German video store standards).

I hope you invite all of us Nord-Muencheners to your housewarming!

Yeah, I'll definately invite you all (around Maytime)

This is what it looks like

im on couting on it