Life in Stuttgart

Does anyone have any first-hand experience of life in Stuttgart as an expat...

What's the city itself like?

How's the night life?

Is it as cosmopolitan as Munich?

Are there many english speaking expats there?

How does it compare to Munich?

Well... any personal experiences or stories would be appreciated...

Whats the surrounding area like? Clearly not near the alps, but is it easy to go skiing from there... Hiking, cycling stuff like that?

Cheers!

I went to Stuttgart once on a day trip, and was highly disappointed. One of the most boring cities I've been to (as a tourist). I've never lived there though, which is a totally different matter of course. It's very hilly so cycling might be hard if you're not trained.

> Does anyone have any first-hand experience of life in Stuttgart as an expat...

I lived / studied in Stuttgart for almost 2 years..

> What's the city itself like?

Nothing special really.. No sights, no historical stuff, pretty much nothing..

> How's the night life?

Not bad.. Although I lived in Esslingen (10km from Stuttgart) I did check out the night life in town, as you would imagine.. I would say its pretty much like anywhere else in Germany. Weird dressed up guys, nice chicks, horrible music.. etc. etc.

> Is it as cosmopolitan as Munich?

That would be a clear No!

> Are there many english speaking expats there?

I really don't think so.. Don't expect to find a TT there..

> How does it compare to Munich?

You do the math..

> Well... any personal experiences or stories would be appreciated...

It must have been like 2 months I've been there.. This one time.. I went out shopping, I liked this shirt and wanted to buy it. Back then I was still thinking, better speak in English if your German is not really fluent. (what a BIG mistake) So I ask the lady there something like 'Excuse me do you speak English? How much does this shirt cost?' and the look she gave me was worth seeing. She never knew what hit her.. Now that I think about it, I do realize that people in Munich are much more ready and used to speaking in English with foreigners compared to Stuttgart..

> Whats the surrounding area like? Clearly not near the alps, but is it easy to go > skiing from there... Hiking, cycling stuff like that?

That's a NO again..

> Cheers!

Cheers to you too mate

I have my office there, desk chair phone... I worked hard to get them to give me computer access so I can work from home in Munich, the chair has been empty now for the last 2 years, I think this just about explains the place.
its seriously Boooooorrrrrrrrrrrring!!!

Stuttgart’s best thing is the highway to Munich!

One or two TT-ers do. I lived there for 10 years myself
But that was before the internet or even mobile phones...


If you mean architecturally then nothing special. It was mostly flattened in 1945 for some reason best forgotten.

Limited but not non-existent. If you want to drink or dance through the night you can.


As has already been said: Er, no.

Quite a lot when I was there. AFAIK most of those I used to know have moved on to pastures new now.


Smaller. More parochial. Dialect even harder to understand until you realise that it's a language in its own right
In my experience the people are harder to get to know, but if you do get to know them then you have friends for life.

I'm sure they would. But if I start on that it will take all day...


I can't agree that that's a no, but Munich it certainly ain't. Day skiing trips are possible but clearly it takes longer to get there (forget the Feldberg in the Black Forest, it's cold and bleak but if the conditions are good then it's packed).
Pretty much the same goes for hiking: the Black Forest is boring (it's mostly forest!) so you're talking Alps again, or the Schwäbische Alb is nearer but not real hiking country.
Cycling? The countryside is hilly. Hell, the city is hilly. If you like hills then hey.


Quoting footballers (e.g. Thomas Strunz) is amusing but proves nothing

Obersdorf is not far away, direct train every hour and it takes around 2 1/2 hrs. there's a sportschek and they do have wkend trip offer. There's a nice cycling route along Neckars but not as nice as one along the Isar There should be quite a number of english speaking expats there, with HP, IBM, and Diamler around but I do not know anything similar to TT

ugly. it's sort of situated in a very large pit. like a volcanic crater. due to the bombings, there aren't many older, traditional buildings left. the city hall is a classic 50s architechture.


good. you can actually go into the city center and go out. lots of bars, discos all within walking distance. hung out quite a lot around theodor-hess straße (suite, barcode, etc.). but since i needed the night bus to esslingen, needed to be closs to schlossplatz to get home.

no.


yes. there are several military bases around stuttgart and it is the home to daimler-chrysler, a city in itself. there is also an internatonal school there and some good irish pubs to meet expats.

lots of germans who speak a funny dialect, although it sounds like they're swallowing their tongues and speaking through their noses. shops in the ped zone stay open til 8. there is also a park in the city center, but it is not comparable to the English Garden (it also runs along the rail tracks).


it's quite hilly in the neckar valley. i used to go mountain biking after work for an hour or so. couldn't tell ya 'bout the trails and stuff (I'm not THAT into it), but it was fun getting out of the valley into the trees. re: skiing -- used to go with my company once a year and to get to pitztal (for example), we needed 4 hours. day trips are out however.

i never got used to the swabian mentality and never felt really at home there, but i enjoyed my life in esslingen. made friends with 3 collegues (still friends).

the highlight of esslingen was the disco in the "DICK" (which is written in bright lights on a chimney stack) and the disco was called "NAD", which was in the basement. thought that was very humorous.

i should also add, most expats i met in stuttgart were there for the long haul, not like in TT.


no way! me too. lived/worked there for 4 years. i thought esslingen was great. small enough to get around by bike or walk, close enough to stuttgart to get "action" if you really wanted it.

So did I.
Much nicer as a town than Stuttgart itself.

I agree that Esslingen is by far more beautiful than Stuttgart..

I studied at the Fachhochschule there (FHTE uphill campus).. when the weather was nice we used to walk down to the city instead of taking the bus and get an icecream from the famous italian place.. forgot it's name.. you know, the tower kinnda thing with the figure of a guy walking on a steel stick.. every figure out what that is by the way?

I love the Neckar side also. did a lot of jogging there. it would've been much better if I had more german friends at the uni. but hey! that's just me hanging around only with guys from the master program all the time

Torre on Schelztor! Man, they jack up the prices for a scoop every year, but it was def the best ice cream IMHO. i actually went up to the top of the tower (there was an office in there). very cramped, but never got the sory behind the balancing man.

well that program was in english, right? my former roommate did that program and she had no time for her "real" friends, so i can understand you not making any german ones. when were you there?

general FYI, people saw the value of living in a small town and commuting into the "big city" for work, so rent prices are higher than expected.

I live in Ludwigsburg (near Stuttgart) and find life here just grand! Great place to raise children: 80,000 pop.: gig enough, small enough. Two so-so indian resturants. Okay coffee shops (mcuh cheaper than TT). A Baroque city with a touch of a southern flair. France is nearby. Downside is no lakes and the mountains are not near. Otherwise fine!

Also note that apart from the city centre, Stuttgart is not a naturally grown city like e.g. Munich - various parts were independent, then were suburbanized so are quite remote (Feuerbach, Untertürkheim, Bad Cannstatt etc.).

Personally, I wouldn't want to live there - it doesn't compare to Munich at all.

Yeah! Right! Schelztor...

I did the MSc in IT & Automation program. Who was your friend? Maybe I know him/her.. I graduated last February.

I agree with the rents. I payed 270 bucks for a matchbox room with kitchen outside and it was in Mettingen (if you know where the FHTE dorms there are).

I guess what Esslingen lacks is the student-town spirit. Like Freiburg for instance (donno if you've been there). The Uni is gigantic there and the city is a real student place.

With FHTE being not that big and having the huge Daimler that lasts from Esslingen to freaking Stuttgart, I think the city is rather less small-town like.. if you know what I mean..

Lived there for 3 years.

Nightlife is ok and ex-pats are to be found in the Irish pubs (where else?).

Other than that, the only positive thing I can think of is its proximity to France (I quite like Strasbourg) but that's a matter of taste.

Doesn't even come close to comparing to Munich though...

I live beside the swabian alps and work in Stuttgart everyday. Nightlife is great, it has the best Drum and Bass in germany. The citys ok nothing spectacular tho.

Its not cosmopolitan.
There are alot of Americans here, because of the army bases. I

shit can a mod delete this post please, i mucked up

I live beside the swabian alps and work in Stuttgart everyday. Nightlife is great, it has the best Drum and Bass in germany. The citys ok nothing spectacular tho.

Its not cosmopolitan.
There are alot of Americans here, because of the army bases. Im sure there is at least one other NZer here. Like someone said most are here for the longrun.

Thanks everyone for the info! From the sounds of it, I wouldn't really want to live there unless I really had to (compared to Munich that is)

Can't speak highly on Stuugart but Tubingen to the south is a lovely small town I enjoyed very much when I was there.

Tübingen is a beautiful town... Has a lot of students there and apparently one of the best hospitals in Germany (usless piece of info)

I lived in and around Stuttgart for over 10 years. I also worked right in the middle of the city for a few years and I was an au pair in Esslingen in my gap year. I love Swabia and I would go back tomorrow if I could. I find the Swabian dialect easier on the ears than the Bavarian and the people are so much nicer. People are pleasant and chatty, waitresses smile and are friendly, in shops you don't get looked at as though you had just crawled from under some stone. I remember the first time I went shopping in Munich I was almost in tears by the evening - I had never met so many unfriendly people in one day and I was going to have live here! The best department store in Germany is Breuninger at the Marktplatz in Stuttgart - you can forget anything they have here in Munich. Yes, Munich is more cosmopolitan (more shop assistants speak English for the tourists) and yes it is prettier, but you can find lovely scenery around Stuttgart - try walking in the Schönbuch in the Spring with all the apple blossom. The youth of Stuttgart is not permanently posing and showing itself off; who you are as a person is still more important than what you have, or what you look like (as a woman) and how much money you have (as a man). Stuttgart is smaller and more provincial, but it is also more genuine and less superficial than Munich. Not sure this helps, but it makes me feel better !!

I lived in Stuttgart for six years and was very happy there--only moved to Munich as my husband had a job offer here.

Housing is definitely cheaper than in Munich. We were looking at buying an apartment of about 100m2 and I would estimate that prices were maybe 25%-30% less than what I see advertised in Munich. Rents are also a bit less.

The scenery in and around Stuttgart is beautiful--lots of hills, so many neighborhoods have beautiful views. there are also lots of places you can go for daytrips -- we like castle ruins with nice walks, so some of our favorites were:
Bad Urach (v. cute town for having coffee) / Hohen Urach and Uracher Waterfall (just ruins, no beer garden)
Hohenteck -- on the hilll, before you walk up to the castle, lots of people fly model planes and you already have a nice view
Hohenneuffen -- beer garden and restaurant, lots of music and events during the summer.

Downtown shopping area is somewhat ugly, but the renovated new and old castles are beautiful, and there is a nice park stretching from downtown to the Wilhelma botanical gardens/zoo in Cannstatt. There are also plenty of good restaurants--I don't do nightlife, so can#t speak to that.

The xmas market in Stuttgart is great, probably one of the best in Germany and the Volksfest is also excellent--the beer tents are not overrun with tourists, I think its probably a more pleasant experience than O'fest. Esslingen and Ludwigsburg both have cute Xmas markets. The Breuningerland mall in Ludwigsburg is at least as nice as the OEZ.

Mineral baths--Das leuze and Mineral Bath Bad Cannstatt are both great and very easy to get to on the u-bahn, short ride from downtown.

Expats--there are some, but not as many as Munich for sure. Lots of military, but they don#t mix much. There is a whole HP-based community in the south suburbs (Böblingen/Sindelfingen area). I used to go to a great book club .
The Metropolitan Club is English-speaking but has a lot of German members.

There are several groups that put on English language theatre--not fantastic but respectable quality stuff.

Stuttgart does have some culture. Their opera is excellent, and their library beats Munich's -- the main branch is open on Saturdays, unlike here. Also lots of theatres, and orchestra, etc.

I still miss Stuttgart!

I was there over the weekend and it made me realise that there's a lot about it that I miss too. In particular the setting in the hills.
I was a week too early for the Volksfest but ho hum, and I'd agree it's a more "authentic" experience than the madness here.
Will post a couple of pics later.

A cross-section of pics from Stuttgart

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It is near my "in-laws". Best not to go there

I lived there for 13 months as a student - and Munich is better in every way.

The bad: The bars at the University there were shut Friday and the weekend because everyone had gone home, weird concept to an English student. Bars in the town may have been open but was hard to tell the difference. The town itself was flattened by the boys during the war so it's architecturally pants. You're miles from the skiing. You'll learn the true meaning of 'anal retentive Germans'.

The good things: The Cannstatter Wasen was hilarious, just as funny as the Oktoberfest because there are fewer tourists and you see Germans at play - loads of people with no natural sense of rythem dancing on benches. Apart from this it's a bit smaller than the Oktoberfest but otherwise just the same. Also the glasses are nicer, so more worth stealing. You are closer to wine producing areas than you are in Munich, and there's a really big forest. Home of Porsche so everyone's got one. Yeah right.

I've been living in Stuttgart for a little over a year now. I have travelled pretty much all over Germany and ended up marrying a Swabian lady. It really is a different way of life here and not at all cosmopolitan. A comparison could be Milwuakee to Chicago when you compare Stuttgart and Munich, but both places have their strong and weak points.

I wouldn't find Stuttgart at all attractive if I hadn't married into a Swabian family. It is not cosmopolitan, it is definitely provincial and someone living here as a student or just trying to get a start might have a tough go trying to break through the cultural barriers.

But, if the cultural barriers aren't a problem and you can master the Swabian dialect, then there is a lot to do here. No, not as much as in Munich, and you might have to travel some (but not that far) to do some things you really want to do, but Stuttgart can be fun.

But, for most, I would agree that Munich is probably a better choice. Stuttgart doesn't really compare architechturally to Munich and the provincial attitude is a bit strong in Stuttgart. Stuttgart has a better public transportation system, imo, and even though it is really hilly, I find it a great place for biking. There is a bike path that runs along the Neckar and then around the entire city. You can take a couple or three days to bike it and stay at a hotel or two on the way around. Something I might try next summer.

HellesAngel wrote:
"You'll learn the true meaning of 'anal retentive Germans."
Yeah, this is too funny and I have to agree

>> How's the night life?

I have lived in Stuttgart for a while and it does not compare to Munich. However, if you are looking for good parties and clubs, it is much better than Munich, in my opinion... as long as you know where to go.

Anyways, I know you are into DnB and Stuttgart has one of the best DnB parties in Germany. It is called the U-turn party and happens in the three tunnels that are not used by traffic anymore. Worth checking out if you are ever there. Happens every second Friday of the month. They have other really cool parties there as well.

http://www.roehre-konzerte.de/indext.htm

ach yes, the tunnel. gosh what a gross place to party. it's only gross cause, well, imagine hundreds of bodies grooving and SWEATING and then the ceilings start to condense and the cumulated sweat starts dripping all over you.
(they also do gay bubble parties there.) all in all a cool place to party.

I'll be spending part of my week in Stuttgart, and need to find an apartment there...

Could anyone recommend good areas to live? I'm looking for the best equivalent to Schwabing/Haidhausen/Maxvorstadt...

What are the recommended apartment rental agencies e.g. Mr Lodge equiv.

Cheers!

My mate from Karlsruhe (once rivalled Stuttgart to be made Landeshauptstadt of Baden-Württemberg) reckons the town should be concreted over... Then again he's a Badener so he's biased...