Residential districts of Hamburg

Hi,

I can't seem to find a place in the Sternschanze and was looking for an alternative. Basically, I was hoping to a find a flat within 5 minutes walking to a U-bahn or S-bahn station; filled with cafes, restaurants, bars, stores, and most importantly, young people hanging out & moving around.

Can someone recommend some other areas that might exist?

Someone mentioned the vicinity of the Osterstrasse U-bahn, but that seemed like a "market" street with merely stores and supermarkets.

Thanks.

Just move out the line a few stops to Eppendorfer Baum, the area around there is very nice. Lived there for a few months before moving to Winterhunde. Would love to have stayed in the area but the apt I had was temporary and I couldn't find a suitable apt in my price range within the timeframe I had Lots of nice bars and restaurants there, particularly on Eppendofer Weg and plenty of young people about.

i would agree eppendorf is nice area, also good location for getting around town

many of my collegues live there and bike into Centrum for work

Otherwise not so pretty but lively; around St Pauli

Thanks jester.

I can't believe I never even visited Eppendorf yet. Are the bars in your old neighborhood places young people go to on Friday or Saturday nights by any chance?

Or are they more upscale places that close down after dinnertime?

By the way, is the vicinity Klosterstern U-bahn a similar lively area? It seems fairly close to Eppendorfer Baum...

It's really the same area, they are about a 3 min walk, maybe less, from each other. They are on the same street.

Actually not sure what time the restaurants stay open until but it's reasonably late. On a nice day there would be plenty of people drinking and eating outside. There are a few very nice Italian restaurants around there. One of them is owned by the father of a famous German soap actress, I was pointed her out by my girlfriend!!

Not sure about Friday and Saturday nights, usually head to friends or go into town. You should check it out one of the weekends for yourself. I really like the area around Eppendorfer Weg, and the surrounding streets. Can't remember their names.

Jester
Used to live in the Schanze. If you like I can make a couple of phone calls to people I know to see if they have anything free. You might also want to consider Neustadt/ St Pauli as they are both good areas. I used to also live near Osterstrasse (Eimsbüttel) , the area is okay, but not that lively.

Good luck searching

Cheers

Ben

Hi all,
We are moving to Hamburg (same old story I guess) in the next few weeks, (job transfer)
in an ideal world, we will be looking to rent a 2 bed house with some sort of garden or open space, (we have cats! so a flat is not really practical)
I will be working near Borgweg station in City Nord - Überseering
Ideally I would prefer to be slightly out of town with easy ish access to work via train/road/bus.
I dont mind a bit of a commute, so we are quite flexible, - where we live that is.
We are moving from Sunny Norfolk so are used to open fens, little traffic, etc,
any advice as to good areas or website very gratefully received.
Initiall we thought east, south or north east of Hamburg, but dont really have any preference at this point.
ta very much,
Stuart

I've been here 10 years and know the place well.
Look at www.hvv.de and find the U bahn etc. map.
(The numerous Park and Ride carparks are shown)
To get to Borgweg U Bahn from anywhere semi-rural you will need to change trains.
With one change you'll find it gets more rural in the Norderstedt direction (U1)
or Niendorf(U2).
Two changes will get you out in the Kaltenkirchen direction.
For journey times the HVV.de site has an excellent route planner.
It's not good by road or rail living south of the Elbe for where you work.
My choice would be the NW segment.
The U1 N/E gets rural after Volksdorf.
Radial roads are not good here - no ring Autobahn
The 3 ring roads are v. busy and slowish at commuter times.
The definitions on Google Earth are usually pretty good around Hamburg so
you can get a good idea of the degree of ruralness!
There is a big tendency for people to buy houses in surrounding small
towns and villages.

Hi, I am 'entitled' to a months paid rent while I look for somewhere in Hamburg, but I am thinking that this could be more hassle that its worth,
I cant see me finding a place for 1 month that we can have the cats,
are the cats going to give me real problems? we ended up in Norfolk in the Uk mostly because estate agents would not ask landlords if they minded pets, its easier to just say no to everything.
thanks, S

Have your cats got their passports yet?
I moved here from Hertfordshire with my two cats from a house and garden and ended up in a flat. they didn't mind.
Danielle

yep, they are jabbed up ! and have passports,
they are more prepared than I am, S

Hi,

I am moving to Hamburg (like many others) in two months with wife and 4 years old daughter. We would like to rent a house with open space but have no idea which area or areas to look for. I will be working in Haffen City and won't mind the conmute.

Any advice?

Can you be a little more precise? Are you going to work in the port/harbour area? IMHO I would try to avoid the commute across/under the river. If your work place is on the South side of the river I would at least first look in Harburg area or into Niedersachsen. If your workplace will be on the North side of the river then Hamburg or even Schleswig-Holstein. Are you more a town person or a country person?

Commuting choices can depend upon whether your place of work is served by a convenient S-Bahn or U-Bahn station...

Thanks for the answers,

Are you going to work in the port/harbour area? IMHO I would try to avoid the commute across/under the river...

- The building is located in Großer Grasbrook don't know exactly if it is North or South side...

Are you more a town person or a country person?...

- Town person, although I'd like to rent a house with a nice garden/lawn and some folks have told me that my only chance to get something like that is to get out of the city...

Großer Grasbrook ...

Looks like being on the North (Hamburg) side near the centre of town. Look like you will be between two U-Bahn stations so public transport plus a tidy walk (maybe bus?). Car driving there will not be much fun during the week...


I believe you will have to be a fair way outside - being in the centre you can look pretty well in all directions of the compass.

Hello,

I will be moving to Hamburg in January and would like your advise about where, or more importantly, where not to live in Hamburg.

Work wise I will be located in the city centre (Sankt Georg). I don't mind a commute of up to 30 mins. What I'm looking for is:

- 2-3 room flat
- Parking space
- Balcony or terrace
- 800-1200 € Warmmiete max

Shopping, restaurants, pubs, gym nearby would be a plus, not into clubbing or wild nights out (too old!)

Thanks in advance for your help!

Topics merged by admin

St. Georg - Lange Reihe pics

Living close to where you work is not such a bad idea!
St Georg is a great part of Hamburg - why live anywhere else
when your work is there?

Sure living in St. Georg could be an option, do you live there? Or have you lived there? (jeremyhay & Miwild). I would ideally like off-street parking. I guess that would come at a price in St. Georg? As I don't know Hamburg that well, I'm guessing most areas are ok to live, are there any I should avoid?

Thanks!

There are of course areas that are "more desireable" than others.
But generally, it is a question of personal taste.
Do you want it lively, quiet, busy, green, square, multiculti...

Just one example: Wilhelmsburg is an area about which most people will tell you that you should avoid it, they say it's far out, it's full of Turks, very dangerous.
My best mate lives there with his fiancée and they both love it. They are easy going and don't judge people by their nationality. They got used to the (sometimes weird) habits of their Turkish neighbours as well as the (sometimes weird) habits of their German neighbours... They say it's only a 30 min. commute to city centre, so they're fine with it. Other people I know wouldn't set foot there...

So you might want to give us a few more hints about what you like and what you don't like.

St. Georg is surely a very lively area, it is in fact a little bit like Wilhelmsburg (imo), but not ALL of it...depends on the street...

edit: generally off-street parking comes at an extra price. I hardly know anyone who has a parking spot in a backyard or a garage without paying extra for it.
Now how much it is depends on the area. We live in Stellingen and pay € 50,00/month for a place in the garage. Before that in a quiet part of Eimsbüttel (round the corner) we paid € 40,00 for a backyard spot. Afaik in Eimsbüttel and Eppendorf and the likes you generally pay more for parking.

Thanks Hammonia, well apart from the above mentioned (Pubs, restaurants, gym), I guess a good commuter connection (S- or U-Bahn max 30 min to St. Georg) would be important. Some space, some greenery and reasonable rent...

We're looking for a place to buy that is central, reasonably affordable, and convenient via public transportation (we have one car - not enough for both of us to get to work) and we've now limited our search to:

Eimsbüttel (central part)
Bahrenfeld (near Ottensen - not near the expressway)
Altona/Ottensen
Altona/Altstadt
Hoheluft (East and West)
Winterhude (although certain parts are not so convenient by train)

We've cut Uhlenhorst & Harvestehude (a bit to quiet), St. Georg & St. Pauli (not so kid-friendly due to some of the neighbors and nightlife, and we want kids one day), and Eppendorf (too snooty for me).

The other neighborhoods never came into consideration for me because they were either too far out or didn't have a lot going on.

Maybe our list helps you a bit?

Thanks sprudeln, that's great! I will start checking those areas out.

I think Sprudeln's list is very good, that's pretty much the areas I would also look at.

We live in Stellingen, that's right next to Eimsbüttel, it is very kid-friendly, only a tiny bit further away from the buzz, but still near enough (for OUR liking), and it's a bit greener than Eimsbüttel centre.
I work at the town hall square and need 30 mins. door to door.
It's only two stops on the U2 from Osterstraße (=middle of Eimsbüttel).

You might also consider Barmbek-Süd. It's full of shops, bars, restaurants, it's green enough, close enough to everything and due to being near Barmbek-station you get everywhere quite quickly (S-Bahn, U-Bahn and bus).
Prices are manageable, there's quite some very nice "Altbau" (very pretty old houses) in that area.

As a young student I´ve lived in Danziger Straße (right in front of St. Marien cathedral) for years long before St. Georg became as fashionable as it is today ... admittedly a constant walk on the wild side then but I had the best time of my life there

Besides: Having a car in Hamburg is a waste of resources and nerves ... imho

You can't forget Rotherbaum, it's fantastic here You got everything nearby, the big Alster lake, train, bus, stores, gyms, cafes, everything!

Thanks for all your replies and great advice, lots to sort through now

I would personally search the notice boards in the Univerisity - those near the canteens. Many notices are for flats in that area, or in the areas you want.


I'm the wrong person to ask, but I'll mention it any way. I would avoid St. Georg, Sternschanze, Karolinenviertel and more so St.Pauli at all costs. Riots in Sternschanze, noise and very loud people are just a few negative points. If I were you, I would choose an area that borders onto these areas, otherwise you may find sleeping at night a problem. LangeReihe in St Georg may be the best of the areas I mentioned, as you can walk to the Alster lake / parks and to the cafe's around it. Renting in Eppendorf is very expensive. I gave up living in Karolinenviertel/Sternschanze due to the trouble there. I would never go back again!

Thanks for the sound advice Chris. I'm currently scouring the various websites – immobilienscout24, immonet, immowelt, pro-wohnen etc. The Courtage fees are horrendous though! Judging by the costs I think we will be looking at areas on the boarders of Hamburg too. Any those that I should give a miss?

"areas on the boarders of Hamburg" aren´t necessarily cheaper than the more central districts ... and you´ll have to burden considerable commuting expenses

The commute costs of course depend on the distance and how you commute. If you're not going too far to the outskirts, it's all still within "Großraum Hamburg" (greater Hamburg) and afaik if you take the abo (for a year) that's € 69,00/month. Check the HVV pricelist (it's in English).

There's so many districts that I find it difficult to pick any that you should avoid (especially not having lived there myself). I am from Hamburg and there's areas that I wouldn't want to move to, others that I could well imagine to live in if I had kids and were looking for something more quiet. But my likes and dislikes are based on personal taste and on where I grew up (in Schnelsen).
So for me, Schnelsen is a nice area, but it's expensive nowadays being very popular with young families. Only slightly further outside and still easy commute is Halstenbek. I wrote about it before, have a look at this thread.
Also in Hamburg, a bit more quiet but only a short ride on the U2 to city centre is Niendorf. I now a few expats who live there and they seem to like it (ask Poppins).

I'd strongly recommend you try and narrow it down to a few districts, then come to Hamburg for a weekend, get a hire car with satnav and drive around a bit to get a feeling for the areas you consider. I can actually not imagine myself renting something before having seen where I'm going to...
We are considering relocation to the UK and there will definitely be some travelling involved before we move somewhere (that's the fun part about it ).

Hello there

Ok so same situation as everyone, we are moving there in 3 weeks, actually my husband is moving because I'm pregnant and not moving until baby is born. We went there last week to check for houses but unfortunately i got really bad pains and we could not do much but was helpful to meet very good O.B. clinic, much better than what I have here today. Anyway we could not find any houses or flats the size we want - 5 rooms in a good place. We would like to stay or close to the center since he will be working for Unilever or close to the international school here my older daughter can go.
I understand close to Elbe is really hard to find a "new" place or even a big place. Any suggestions where we can look? Do you think if we wait a bit since now everyone is on vacation will be easier to find?

Topics merged by admin

Because you don't like gay bars and scary tranny hookers next to your flat?

Or (speaking from experience, as I live on Lange Reihe), because you get tired of people making queer jokes when they find out you live on Schwulestrasse..

How much are you willing to pay?
Of course you can find a nice house or 5 rooms flat somewhere central - but it will cost you.
Talking about e.g. Eimsbüttel area I would estimate about € 1500,00/month or even more warm (= including "Nebenosten"/extra costs such as heating, but excl. water and electricity) for a 100-110 sqm flat.
Having said that, if you are looking at a price range of 1500+ per month, you should be able to find something quickly, as not so many people are looking for that kind of place, for the cheaper places there's much more competition.

edit: after reading some of your posts I must add something - please dont't see it as newbie-bashing, it's just good advice in order to get you more replies to your posts:
you are looking for something close to Unilever or the International school, but don't mention any of the addresses. So you are either expecting everybody to know where to find these or to check it. I did check both addresses and suppose the International School is in Othmarschen (Holmbrook??) and Unilever is in Dammtorstraße - but it would really be better if you could provide the addresses as this way it's much easier for people to give advice. You just gotta do your homework first before asking people for help...
If I got the right addresses, Othmarschen and Dammtor are about 7-8 km apart. So what is more important for you, living in city centre close to Unilever, or living close to the school?

Hi Stuart,

I work in City Nord - the closest U-Bahn is on the U1 (Sengelmanstrasse), just north of the City Nord area. On out the U1 line is to the north suburbs - should be an ok place to look for housing. Whatever you do, don't choose anything directly in the City Nord area - there is absolutely nothing here in terms of shopping, eating, entertainment of any kind. South of here (other side of the Stadt Park near Borgweg) is a fairly reasonable area with easy access to fun areas of the city and to the City Nord area by bus or by bike.

South of the city would be about an hour commute - I work with the guy who lives in Wilhelmsburg and it takes him 1 hour to get up here. Some areas east can be a bit dodgy as it is reputed to be a stronghold for fascists.

Hope that helps.

Italians ?

I've ruled south of the city out in my search due to the traffic problems, as for the Italians, I'm always up for a decent pizza.

Anyone live in Rissen? I'd appreciate your comments/opinions on the area – Thanks!