Residential districts of Frankfurt am Main

Hello everybody!

I will be moving to Frankfurt soon and I guess that you could tell me which districts of Franfurt are good and safe for renting a flat and what are the places that I should avoid.

Thanks in advance!

depends on your budget ... if you want to live in town look at Bockenheim, Bornheim, and West End. All nice, safe areas.

I agree with the above, with the addition of Sachsenhausen.

I live in Bornheim and think it is lovely close to all the nice bars on Bergerstr.

Thank you very much for this information :-)
I would prefer to live in Frankfurt as I think it is more interesting comparing to a little town somewhere near Frankfurt ;-)
I can imagine that renting flat in Frankfurt must be more expensive, but can you tell me what is the approximate cost of it? What are the costs of rental for example in Langen (south of Frankfurt)?
What are the areas of Frankfurt that you would definately advice to avoid?
I have a lot of questions, but these about accomodations are now most important for me :-)

Regards,
Gosia

I think you'll find Gosia that the "little town somewhere near Frankfurt" are actually areas within Frankfurt.

have a look here for approximate rent costs ...

http://www.immobilienscout24.de/

the only really crap area I know is anywhere arond the hauptbahnfof but I don't think there are many flats there anyway .
other people can probably add some more ???

I must admit I am know a bit confused as what we mean by 'little towns'. Bornheim, Bockenheim, Nordend, Sachsenhausen etc are what I would consider to be reasonably central in Frankfurt (ie a few U Bahn stops and walkable distance to the Zeil) From what I understand rents in Frankfurt are about 10Euro per square metre which is what mine is - 50qm and I pay 500 kalt.

You mentioned Langen I am not sure of the costs of living there but I think if you want to live central then Langen is too far away. I have a friend who lives in Rodermark which I think is in that neck of the woodsand she pays 1000Euro for 100qm so I don't think there is a great difference in the rent prices but I may be wrong.

As for places to avoid in Frankfurt I would say Galluswarte, Hauptbahnhof, Griesheim and Nied but I might be being harsh. I would also avoid Offenbach.

I think the prices have less to do with the area but the quality of the flat so if you want a nice place it will cost more.

PM, I consider Langen as a "little town" not Bornheim, Bockenheim, Nordend etc. that for me are just areas of Frankfurt
If the differences in rental costs are not that significant, my decision is - Frankfurt
Thanks a lot for helping and probably soon I will have other questinos

Take care,
Gosia

Langen is OK if you don't mind coming into town on the train and going home on the last one at 1:25am half cut. And you probably will get half cut during your first 6 months here The place itself is ok and has some (my girlfriend has just said “one nice bar�) nice bars – but I’d rather live in the furt myself.

When I first moved here (six years ago) I lived in Niederrad which is really nice if you're near the horse racecourse (Rennbahn) side. If you're near the Niederrad S-Bahn end though this is a different story.

My girlfriend and I then moved to Seehofstr. near the river and this was brilliant as it was close to the river, Alt Sachsenhausen (very dangerous if you want to remain sober), town, shops and stations etc. We only moved because we had to climb a hundred steps up the stairs every eve. and had a sloping roof/ceiling which took up all the space.

We now live in Oberrad which is on the East side, south of the river, and this is also perfect as long as you don’t venture too far towards Offenbach with your flat hunting. We have 65sq mtrs: cost us 680euro warm per mth. Quite a lot but v. secure plus south facing balcony, drying room, bike room, cellar lock-up. Ten min walk to river which is a pleasant walk into town, or five mins to the forest which is also nice. Try to avoid ground floor!

Also looked at many in Bornheim which would be my next choice.

Problem in Germany is that when you accept a flat you are then vetted by the owners who pick you from all of the contenders if you’re lucky. Not a case of first come as in the UK. We said yes to about 10 before we finally got one we wanted. They often go for safe old stokers or “nice� presentable rich geeezers etc.

A lot of people start off by living near the Henninger Turm Hainer Weg etc. Many expats seem to find this a good option.

A bath and security + balcony were our major concerns. There are also bad areas of Oberrad though.

Beware the bullsh*****r though who will drag you out to see their flat claiming it has views across the forest etc. only to find out that this would only be possible if you knocked down some buildings. This actually happened to us. When quizzed about this lack of promised view the “agent� pointed to the sky, saying …what do you mean…there it is�??

Being able to see a piece of sky that hangs over a nice - but obscured - view seemed to be good enough for him? Had he been English he would probably have added Luverley jubbley!?

T**t!

Hope this helps.

I recently moved apartments and thought about Darmstadt as rents are cheaper. But once I had factored in the costs of commuting to Frankfurt everyday, it was the same price for me to live in Frankfurt and bicycle to work in Bockenheim and obvioulsy I prefer the shorter commute! I live in Bornheim (near Merianplatz). The areas I considered were Bornheim, Bockenheim, Nordend and Westend. There are some nice parts of Offenbach but for me it is just too far out. You know where I like? Okriftel. I have friends there with a gorgeous aprtment by the river and it is very tranquil but Jesus Christ, I think there is one bus a month there!

Hi,

A question for those living in or around FFM.

I'm moving to FFM in April. I went last weekend to have a look around. Quite informative and time well spent.

After having a look at different areas I've concluded, that I'd like to live in either Sachsenhausen or Bornheim. Someone had recommended Bockenheim to me, but I didn't like that part of town.

A few questions:
- I've looked at the areas above + Westend. Is there any other areas you'd recommend me to look at?
- Everywhere there was an awful lot of cars parked on the street. Is it difficult to find an apartment with parking (I'm too lazy to look for a place to park every night when I come home from the office)?
- What is the "fair" price of a 3 room apartment (living + 2 bed rooms) in the areas mentioned above. I've had a look at a number of apartment search sites and can't find a clear indication of what to expect.
- Can anyone recommend an agency to use to find an apartment?

Cheers,

Henrik

Well my apartment is 2 rooms (living, 1 bed and a large kitchen/dining area). I live in Bornheim about five minutes walk from Bergerstrasse.

I pay 585€ warm (ie including utilities) for the rent and an extra 35€ for my parking space so 620€ altogether. I think it is reasonably priced all the cheaper places I looked at were awful.

All the people I know living in the Bornheim or Sachsenhausen areas are paying upwards of 1000€ warm for a decent 3 room place but maybe you could get something for less I am not really sure - there is a 3 room place in Bad Homburg advertised on our notice board at the moment 590€ & 170€ Nebenkosten it is 84qm, no balcony.

I would look on Scout 24 and avoid the Homecompany and Mietwohnzentrale at all costs.

Hope this helps

The number of rooms can be a bit misleading because most properties are rented on a square metre basis. You'd probably be looking at a minimm of 80 sqaure metres, and about €10 per square metre cold rent in Sachsenhausen. I rent out a 100 square metre flat in Sachsenhausen for €1150 warm. In Westend you can get residents' parking permits, I believe. In Sachsenhausen I don't think you can (although I could be wrong), but if you go up the hill (towards Sachsenhäuser Berg), parking becomes less of an issue in any case.

Jean-Pierre

Or if you have a car and don't want to spend hours finding parking spaces or place particular emphasis on living directly in the city, you can always think about looking in the suburbs (Harheim, Nieder Erlenbach ---- Yes, it's STILL officially Frankfurt, even if no one has ever heard of the places!! ) Here you can pay 7-8EURs m2 warm, and live in the countryside. 2 mins to Bad Vilbel by car, 5 mins along the B6 into Frankfurt and very good S-Bahn connections to Frankfurt (S6)

Also nice views of the Taunus if you get the right place

They do have residents parking permits in Sachsenhausen as well as I parked there once without one and got a ticket ooppps.

But having a parking permit doesn't mean there will be a space there for you my friend who lives there still spends ages driving around if she comes back late at night.

Frankfurt is an absolute nightmare for parking.

You're still looking eh! Like I said, we looked at over 25 apartments in FFM ... "it's a jungle out there", per se!

Answers to your questions:

1. No, Sachsenhausen and Bornheim are by far the best places to live - quite a diversity of rich/poor, old/young, German/non-German ... and mega cool for the over 30 crowd (ha ha)!

2. We have NO trouble finding parking - check out the old Bornheim area.

3. Depends on the Sq.ft ... for a typical 3-bedroom well-kept apartment in Sachs/Born. you'll be looking to pay anywhere between 1000-1300 Euros/month (plus provision/damage deposit).

4. Irmi and Peter Talkenberger at "ALLGRUND Relocation"
www.allgrund.com, e-mail:rent@allgrund.com
Tel: +49 (0)61-03-310847, Mobile: +49 (0)171-6203811
- They are a wonderful couple, speak English - and are very, very proactive!!
- Do tell them that Cheri & Daniel recommended them and they will treat you like gold!!

Good luck, and do drop us Frankfurters a post when you're all settled ...

Willy

That's true. I think the permit restrictions in Westend are only around about the time that people "normally" come home from and go to work. Something like 07:00 - 09:00 and 15:00 - 18:00. Although it is a pain for people who come home later from work it does avoid the farcical situation in London where whole swathes of streets lie empty the whole day because only residents can park there and the residents are out at work.

Jean-Pierre

Hi all,

Thanks for all the replies. The more info, the less chance for getting ripped off.

I have been using the scout24 site, and I have seen nothing in the area of EUR 600 or below. Ok, I have so far mainly been looking in Sachsenhausen, and not Bornheim.

I'm glad you've sort of confirmed my choice of area. Now I only need to get everyone else to stop looking there the next month I don't want to move outside FFM, even though I'm going to work in Raunheim (close to the airport), so it logistically could be an advantage. Today I live 20 km from Zurich, which is too far away (but close to the office).

For me a (preferrably indoor) parking spot is mandatory. I can't be bothered to spend time every night to find a place to park the car. Is the EUR 35 for street parking ('cause if it's indoor it's extremely cheap on my scale).

I can see the calc. of the rent will be something like:
80 m2 @ EUR 10 = EUR 800
Nebenkosten EUR 200
Heating EUR 150
Total EUR 1150

Not cheap, but not too bad either.

Henrik

If you can avoid using an agency, do it! They are theiving scum. There is one exception, actually, no, I've just thought about it and there are no exceptions. Bloody thieves the lot of 'em.

Jean-Pierre

That depends on what you're looking for - and if you're willing to spend a little extra coin and time! Using an agent ensures that your criteria get met - location, rooms, kitchen, parking, etc. Not to mention, it saves you the time of looking yourself & esp., the time wasted looking at crap.

I found that most agencies here do in fact have a better selection of quality apartments - than say, searching private.

But if you do have the time - by all means seach yourself - and save some money!!!

I think I'll be using an agency. I've been searching on the net today and most of the attractive apartments I've found is let through an agency anyway. So I might as well go direct to the source.

I've also ended up with this theory that I can choose between paying an agency or buying a kitchen, but I can't avoid both. If so, I'll rather pay the agency.

Henrik

The 35€ a month I pay is for an outside parking spot I think garages can go from aynthing upwards of 50€.

if you have a car why live downtown?

Parking traffic will be a nightmare.

If you need a car than your better off living outside of the city, on the other hand if you live downttown you won't need a car, save muchooo bucks!

I live in langen, 5 mins to A5 and 661 and 11 mins by train to downtown.

After living in a beautiful Rhein-Hessen area, it´s not easy for me to find "a home" in FfM city. Through an agency, I finally found an apartment that met my compromises in Sachsenhausen, on the Main river.

I pay for a ca. 65 square meter apartment € 800 + € 35 for the garage, which is a quite decent price for FfM area (ca. € 11 per square meter). When I moved in mid 1994 the apartment is brand new. It has 1 bedroom, 1 bathroom, 1 livingroom, 1 kitchen, a ca. 20 square meter balcony in front of the living room all the way till in front of the kitchen, a ca. 30 square meter terrace next to the bedroom. The plants that are planted on the terrace has even an automatic system that I don´t have to water them in summer.

I really like the environment. It´s just a minute from the tram station, 5 mins to the main train station and 10 mins to the city and of course a few second to have a walk on the Main river.

Later on I found out that I actually rented the apartment through a company called FAAG, it´s the government building company for the FfM city. I suggest you to contact this company (see www.faag.de). If you can get an apartment through this company, you don´t have to pay for a makler fee and they also accept a bank guarantee. I´m very happy with their service. Everything is organised very professional from the hausmeister till the yearly invoices.

Good luck in finding your new home and settling down in FfM. FfM isn´t a great city but it has some things to offer its residents.

Has your rent increased since you moved in?? That sounds like pretty damn good value compared to the rent levels I've seen in my 6 months here.

I rent a nice furnished flat (dont want to be bothered with buying things etc in my first year, and no real point in buying furniture unless I plan on staying longer than 2-3 years) without balcony in Bockenheim and pay about €16.50 a sq m - which sounds like a very substantial premium over your rate! It is an Altbau, which may make up part of the difference perhaps...

Hebo, I only spent a short while looking in Frankfurt when I arrived over here and was amazed at some of the appalling 2 zimmer flats that estate agents were wanting €1,000 a month for. Good luck with the hunt, and let me know if you come across any good flats you don't go for!!

Hi there, First time posting here so forgive me if i screw up.. Rents in Frankfurt , is strange how you get used to thinking that 10€ per qm warm is a fair and resonable price. And to the statement of either its an einbau kitchen or makler fees I agree go for the makler fees though for what they do they should be shot.
If parking is going to be the bane of your life then yes either move to the outskirts or dump the car. The choice between Sachsenhausen or Bornheim will only be worked out by your living style. If I was in my early years again I would certainly choose Bornheim out of the two. But there are many other areas to check out, how about the Nord-End Eckenheimer Strasse and Eshersheimer areas are good and have great access to the RMV. Best of luck

Hi all,

Want to move out of Frankfurt and into possibly the Taunus area.

Things to take into account
Wife cannot drive-Need Sbahn or Ubahn connection
Cannot speak a word of German -Require somewhere International.

I was thinking of Konigstein but a friend informed me that it was very anti Auslander.

Where is the most international and nice place to live near Frankfurt.

Cheers

Tommy

Dover

Thats a bit far for commuting weeman do you know think
Got to start at 8.30am

I'm thinking Darmstadt ...

You might also want to do a random city search, I know this has been discussed on BB before.

Whats a random city search! Just drive around?

Darmstadts a bit far for me

How about Oberursel? Or maybe somewhere like Frankfurt Nieder-Eschbach?

Königstein is anti-anyone who does not net a min of 120,000 euro a year.

net. not gross.

Tommy ... i've just PMed you. We're moving out of our flat in Kronberg and looking for tenants from 1st Oct or thereabouts.

And just for the record, they love Ausländer in the Taunus ... well Western European ones anyway

And if you want international, yesterday at the Spielplatz there was only one German mother - all the others were Swedish, American, French and Italian.

are there any expensive exclusive areas then? Would hate to live there with the social security riff-raff!

LOL-Thanks for the Help-I was told that the Taunus is the best place in Germany to live-With a young baby on the way -I want a bit countryside

Try Bad Nauheim. It's a beautiful little city full of 800-year-old people. Very quiet, lovely scenery, good public transport- about a 25 minute commute to the city with the train- and full of very old people (did I say that already?). But the people are, for the most part, quite friendly. Also the cost of living is much less expensive than in Frankfurt if that is a factor.

Good luck!
Rebecca

Thanks I am here for beer but old people make me drink more...

maybe thats a good thing

Lived for last 6 years in Glashuetten, Koenigstein is not anti Auslander in any way shape or form. My advice would be try and pick up some German, the effort is usually appreciated. I'd also try and encourage your wife to drive, it makes all the difference. There are busses from surrounding villages but they are not always convenient. Prices in Koenigstein are probably higher than the surrounding areas rent wise but prices have dropped a lot in the last 3-4 years due to the number of Auslanders returning home.
We've just moved away from the area but if you need any other advice PM me.

Regards
Cammy

Weather nicer in Taunus as well , not as warm as Frankfurt in Summer and nice snow in Winter... We came with a 2 year old and found having a child helped with meeting people.

Tommy, I sent you a pm.

Sounds good cammy-Frankfurt is a bit ...

Uless your single then Frankfurt is the place to be its a full on party town.

Unfortunately I am passed that stage

Tommy

Hi there

I'm moving from Brussels to Frankfurt by the end of the year.

The ideal place I've always searched for (and found) in every city I've lived in is an apartment located in a small and quiet street, in the middle of a lively area, full of small local shops (food, clothes, music, etc), just a few u-bahn stops from the city center, and also close to a park.

Any ideas on where I could find my new ideal place?

Thanks for your help!

Bornheim would be my first choice but I am biased as that is where I live.

Other nice areas are Sachsenhausen, Bockenheim and Nordend all of these are pretty central areas but each still has it's own individual culture and character.

Thanks PurpleMuffin (!).

Could you tell me a bit more about Bornheim? What do you like about it?
What is its own culture and character?

Trying to imagine where I could live is what keeps me alive during my last working days here...

I double Purple Muffin's vote for Bornheim ...

Bornheim (or Bernem to the locals) has a lot to offer and the main street called Bergerstr. is full of cafes, restaurants and bars and lots of little clothes and various other shops.

Every year there is a festival in the summer called the Bernemer Kerb and the area really comes alive with people drinking beer and soaking up the atmosphere. Actually certain Britboarders drank a little too much beer there this year but I won't go into that

I really like the street where I live it is only a few minutes walk to the Bergerstr. but you would still find it hard to believe that it is so close to the centre as it is so pretty.

The bottom part of Bergerstr. belongs to the Nordend area of Frankfurt and it also a nice part with bars and little candle shops!

I live in Sachsenhausen, and I quite like it there. The areas around the Schweitzerstrasse and close the river can be very enjoyable. Right now I am living back up the hill a little bit and, despite being a little bit farther away from the shops and restaurants, it is also very quiet.

Bornheim would be my second choice though. It definately seems to be a bit more lively along the Bergerstrasse. I just dont really know how quiet it is in that area...and if you have a car, parking will always be fun

Yes parking in Bornheim can be entertaining but it depends on where. Obviously right on Bergerstr. is a problem!

However I don't think there are many problems where I live I do have my own parking space though but people do not always have problems when they come to see me! It depends on the time of day really late at night is sometimes more of a problem!