Learning more about Berlin's city districts

Guten tag -- I'm in the very preliminary stages of researching a relocation to Berlin, and I was recommended this site as a good place to get some information. Hope this is the right forum...

I'm a mid-20's American, software engineer, and lived the last 4 years in Manhattan (East Village). I'm looking to learn a little bit more about Berlin's various districts, and was hoping to get a more "personal" description of them than what's on offer in Wikipedia/Wikitravel.

For example, what would be areas an avid cyclist should consider? Districts with lots of restaurants/commercial space in walkable distance from residential areas? Districts with loft- or industrial-style apartments? I'm not naive enough to think I'll find an East-Village-auf-Deutsch, but maybe there are some districts that share some characteristics...

In my initial research, I've zeroed in on Prenzlauerberg and Schöneberg as looking pretty good -- does that sound on target? What would daily life be like in those places?

Thanks in advance!

Wikipedia and Wikitravel are actually good resources. A good start anyway. Another option is the the German version of Wikipedia, the articles on the districts are much more detailed (if you can't read you can get the jist with Google translate).

I wouldn't say there is a defined area which is more cycle friendly. The whole city is cycle friendly! There are seriously bike lanes everywhere, indeed I'd say there are far too many, but I might be biased since I'm an avid walker. That said, living close to Tiergarten would be good for cycling. Also living on the periphery of Berlin would provide more open spaces to cycle. But really you can easily cycle in all the districts.

I don't really know any districts that don't have lots of restaurants and commercial space nearby. Indeed the city is pretty integrated. Now of course the farther from the center you go the more 'suburban' it is, but you don't seem to want that anyway. Really I think you need to narrow it down to the best places of resturants/shops within the district, rather than the districts in general which all have such things.

As for loft like living, I'm sure someone else knows about this more than I, but I'm sure they exist all over the place, especially in working class neighborhood, or at least formerly working-class areas. I've seen a few of them in Prenzlauer-Berg and I'm sure they're in other areas too, but there's probably not as many as you might think.

Everyone is going to tell you a different story, but I think you can rarely go wrong in Berlin, especially within the S-Bahn ring.

Here's my take on some of the districts:
Prenzlauer Berg - Very trendy, gentrified, full of pregnant women and hipsters. If you're looking for good nightlife etc you can't go wrong, though I think prices are higher than elsewhere with all the gentrification. Many clubs and bars etc.
Schöneberg - Somewhat middle class and family friendly, contains the much of Berlin's gay scene (around Nollendorfplatz). I like it.
Mitte - The center, contains much history has a vibrant nightlife, quite trendy.
Charlottenberg - Middleclass, more expensive and exclusive, but it doesn't deserve the reptuation it gets for being snobby. It's one of my favorite localities.
Moabit - This is where I live. When I tell people they usually look at me like I just kicked their dog. The bad reputation comes mostly from the large jail, and it's more of a working class area. I think it offers good value compared to other places.
Kreuzberg - There are really two parts, one is the largely Turkish area which is a bit 'rougher' and the other is basically a good West middle class area. Much nightlife, bars, clubs, doner shops. Competes with Friedrichshain and Prenzlauer Berg for the home of the alternative scene.
Friedrichshain - Traditionally working class, contains much of the grand Socialist architecture of the East. Vibrant nightlife and many young people.
Neukölln - One of the best deals in Berlin, but probably a bit rougher than most, if not all, places inside the Ring. Many immigrants and such.

Personally my favorite areas are Moabit-Tiergarten-Charlottenberg-Schöneberg, but I'm not a club person or anything. You will probably hear many different reasons why one places is better than another. I think the best thing to do is to come to Berlin and look for yourself.

(Wow, that was way too long!)

you could check out berlin.unlike.net for info on restaurants and bars.

Kreuzberg is a cool part of town. The assessment above is pretty standard, but not at all incorrect.

Prenzlauer Berg is still nice but getting a bit sleepy since all of the hipsters that moved there a decade ago now have kids. SChoeneberg is an old gay neighborhood with some quiet corners. I'm guessing you really want Xberg -- maybe Bergmannkiez or even Schoeneberg that borders with Kreuzberg. Try the Viktoria Park area as well.

Real cycling is OK in Berlin but there are few bike paths outside town and once you start doing anything over 20 miles you end up on heavily traveled two-lane roads.

Good luck but I still say: Welcome to Berlin, now go back to Brooklyn.

This forum has logged a fair bit of personal opinion on Berlin's city districts:

toytowngermany.com/search/?q=berlin+districts

Great! Thanks for the summary, Kanadisch. I'll spend some more time digging through the archives.

I'm coming to Berlin for a month in early Nov. I'm stayin near Bundezplatz in the Friednau area. Just wondered what people think of the area really with regards scenery, transport connections, nightlife etc. I'm 18 and from what I can gather its not the most lively area but still a good place? Cheers guys.

Bundesplatz has good transport connections. From there you can get on the ringbahn and you can also take the U9. So in that department you will have no issue. Scenery wise it's fine. You can hit up Volkspark Wilmersdorf or some of the smaller areas. The area has its share of cafes, restaurants and bars, but if you're looking for the popular nightlife you'll probably want to travel. Much of the popular nightspots are over in Mitte, Prenzlauer Berg, Kreuzberg or Fredrichshain. But really it completely depends on what you're looking for. Where you are is quite nice but it's more of a middle class West neighborhood.

Thanks Kanadisch, to be honest it sounds fine for my needs. I am going to a language school in the mornings and will probably be exploring etc in the afternoons so it will really only be a base for sleeping. It looks like its pretty easy to get to those places by subway and is only 20 mins or so from unter den linden.