Hamburg vs. Leeds (UK)

Hi,

I am from the US and considering a move to Hamburg, Germany or Leeds in the United Kingdom.

The runner-ups were France and the Netherlands.

I only speak beginning German.

I guess the big attraction of Leeds is that it *seems* like a lively, friendly city and most importantly, I don't have to learn another language. I would assume integration, dating the local women, and finding a job would be somewhat easier.

On the other hand, the thought of living in a beautiful city like Hamburg on the continent really appeals to me. I'm also a big fan of German women.

Any advice or experiences that could compare the two cities would be appreciated.
Specifically, how tough is it to mingle, date, and make friendships in a city like Hamburg without speaking German?

Cancel Hamburg, add Cologne!

Get the best of both worlds.

Cosmopolitan life with a large english speaking community, lots of culture and entertainment - And good connections:

Paris or Hamburg is 4 1/2 hours by train, Amsterdam and Brussels 2 1/2, Frankfurt 1 1/2 hours. The Dutch border is less than an hour by car. From Cologne and Düsseldorf airports (both with direct rail links from Cologne), you can get cheap flights all over Europe.

I don't think Leeds can compete with that either...

hey! I live in Hamburg and I love it. There is quite a big english speaking community here too you know! As for Leeds hmm I dont know. I studied in Sheffield (about half an hour away) and It's not the nicest of english cities. Obviously there are some nice things as its not all negative but if you want a good city, Sheffield is supposed to be the safest in Britain. I love Sheffield and really miss it and all the crappy bits are on the outskirts so you never get to see them. The people are really friendly and I really felt at home there.

As an American, you might have a little bit of a problem with the language in Leeds! In fact, other british people might have similar problems!

I'm not having a go at Leeds. I'm from Manchester and it's also got it's fair share of language-specific 'oddities'. I suppose it might also depend where you are from in the US

If you have ever seen the sit-com 'Last of the Summer Wine', you might know what you are letting yourself in for - language wise!

Out of all the Cities in Germany, Hamburg rates tops in my book. I find the people more tolerant than in other cities.

bomboa, I come from Bradford (near Leeds) and I'd recommend going to Hamburg! Okay, Leeds is definitely improving as a city and certainly an attractive proposition as far as English cities go (my parents now live half way between Bradford and Leeds, and I always go to Leeds to do my shopping), but in terms of standard of living and quality of life, I'd tend to go for a decent German city than a decent English one. And as for women and relationships, well, there are no irregular verbs or tricky adjectival endings in the language of luuurve ... Mind you, I can think of one or two tongue-twisters...

Thanks guys. I am really leaning towards Hamburg at this point. It seems much more of a change than the U.S., and I figure I can buckle down and learn German in time.

However, it's so much easier looking for housing, part-time work, and finding out information on Leeds or Manchester (my other option)...sigh.

BTW, would Germans get offended if I walked up to them and started chatting in English (say at a pub or bar)? I guess my fear is that people are polite to you and will chat in English for a while, but then get tired of speaking in a non-native language and not really be interested in anything long-term.

Yeah, but you can't judge a city just by one street, Slack


You may very well find the opposite. Often the natives prefer to practise their english.

I have a quick question for the Brits from Manchester.

I've been reading more about the city (namely, that the people are friendly and the nightlife is great)...but I also heard it's quite a threatening environment with a lot of townies and other delinquents constantly out for a fight.

I didn't experience any of this "violent" street culture in Germany or France, and was wondering if it's really as bad as they make it out to be in places like Manchester & Leeds?

Thanks.

If you want to stay out of trouble, you almost always can. Of course, anybody can find themselves in the wrong place at the wrong time, you could get run over by a bus tomorrow, etc. etc., but unfortunately there's still too much of this "Did you call my pint a puff!?" attitude in Britain that you generally don't get in Germany.

:$ Never been down that particular street although I did get stopped for what the copper thought was curb crawling there (at 11am... as if), I had a delivery to make to the Astra (I think it was Astra, it was 17 years ago) brewery, I could see the brewery, I just couldn't get to it because of the small oneway streets... after going around in circles a friendly copper gave me directions.

Besides Bremerhaven has a redlight district with the girls in the window, not that I've ever wanted to pay for it (don't recieve enough spesen for that lol), just the experience of witnessing it was enough.

I lived in Leeds for 6 years and thought it was an absolutely brilliant place to live. If/when I go back to the UK it will be definitely top of my list. My girlfriend (from Cologne) visited the place with me and agreed...

I've just moved to Manchester and haven't had any problems crimewise at all. People are really friendly and I can't say I've noticed a threatening atmosphere. Places like Leeds and Manchester seem to have changed a hell of a lot in the few years I was in Germany - I've been very pleasantly surprised after having left Germany with a very negative attitude towards Manchester (I moved for job reasons).

It all depends what you're really looking for. I imagine though your real issue as an American would be getting a residence / work permit in either place so the difficulties of getting any work at all in Germany might be a problem.

Everyone does seem to rave about how much friendlier people in the North are. Is that limited just to Manchester or to the people in Leeds as well?

Thanks for everyone's input. It really helps to get a locals' perspective on the two places.

I'm aware of the dangers of generalisations, and I know I'm biased, but I think that all northerners are more friendly. Especially, those in Yorkshire. It still takes me by surprise every time I go back to the UK once a year, how complete strangers will willingly strike up conversation with you and tell you their life stories -- the old dear sitting next to you at the bus-stop, the couple at the table next to you in a restaurant, the bloke who comes to service your burglar alarm. It makes me feel proud somehow.

Being a southerner myself I would have to agree that people in the north do tend to be friendlier. I have travelled the UK and my favorite places were always Manchester, Nottingham, and Leeds. Even Sheffield wasn't too bad but certainly more friendly than London. The only exception being South Wales - That may still be in the south but you do find some nice people there (have to say that as my wife is from there)

All this praise of Leeds is making me really consider whether I should stick with Hamburg or take a serious look at Northern England! Especially since German is proving to be quite difficult to learn...