Tips for newcomers moving to Frankfurt

Hi everyone

I've been lurking for about 2 months, ever since I thought that this move might take place, but today we got the confirmation that my husband's company will be transferring us to their Frankfurt office! Finally - now we can start planning!

My husband's office is in Neu-Isenburg. Would anyone be able to suggest somewhere to start looking for a place to live? He doesn't mind a bit of a commute, especially if it meant we could afford a good place to rent. We'd like a three-four bedroom house/townhouse (prefer a garden). Thankfully I've learned lots on this board about the renting regulations (God, there's lots of them!)

He speaks German, but I don't (I start classes next week, but I don't think I'll be ready by Feb!) I'm a bit concerned about finding a job. I've got an admin background, as well as health care (auxilliary nurse), but I understand the limitations I'm facing by not speaking fluent German. I'm not proud, so I'll do just about anything!

So anyway - can anyone make some suggestions about where to start our move plans? I'm a bit lost at the moment! We own a house in the UK which we plan to sell (we will probably buy another property in Scotland for my husband's family to manage while we are gone). His company says "come when you are ready", so we were hoping to make the move in February.

I need some advice about:

1) health insurance
2) where to rent (areas)
3) administrative paperwork (I'm not quite a UK citizen yet - paperwork is pending... but I'm married to one) - things like work permits, etc

4) and things to look out for - things that may have surprised you when you got here?

Any help is gratefully appreciated! You'll be hearing a lot from me in the upcoming months!

Dawn

Hello Dawn,

There is a huge amount that could be written about moving out here, but I'll keep it to your questions.

1. Health Insurance.

If your husband is working for a British company in Germany, than you can be insured with the reciprocal agreement between EU member states. It used to be a matter of getting an E101 form and giving in to the Krankenkasse (medical insurer) here in Germany. This gives you NHS like cover here in Germany for the whole family. This has recently changed and now you need an E111.

more info here: http://www.inlandrevenue.gov.uk/cnr/health-care-changes.htm

2. Where to live.

You'll get many different opinions about this, but I think it would be most convenient to live near the S-Bahn train line that goes between Frankfurt and Darmstadt. Neu-Isenburg itself is ok, but is very near Frankfurt airport.

Frankfurt would be a good choice, as there is plenty to see and do. The downside is a townhouse with a garden will cost a lot!

You could try looking for somewhere in Langen, Dreieich Mörfelden area, where you might well find a house that is reasonably priced.

2. Paperwork.

Whether or not you have the UK citizenship or not shouldn't make too much difference as you are both married.

Basically, you need to register youself with the local Rathaus (town hall) once you have found a place to stay. Then after about a week, you can go to the local foreign office (Ausländerbehörde) and get yourselves a residence permit. Please note the residence permit (Aufenhaltserlaubnis) is be done away with (it's contrary to EU law anyhow) and I think you now get an EU card. As I mentioned as your Husband is an EU citizen, you get the same residence rights as he does, i.e you can find a job.

3. German

Do make an effort to learn the Language, it really does help, especially when you are initially out of work and at home. You could enrol in an intensive course, to give youself a good foundation, then I recommend finding a good private teacher, as you learn better in a 1 to 1 situation. With learning any new language, I always think that the first 6 months are the most difficult, then it becomes much easier.

Apart from that, it's not too difficult to get settled in here in Germany, as you have probably gathered from the posts on this board, it is often the trivial things that are different.

So get planning, and don't forget that the oddballs on the britboard are available to help!

Dear Dawn

As above plus:-

You may want to check out the Immobilien 24 web site regarding accommodation. I found my house and have helped lots of other people by recommending it (and no I'm not on commission).

It is in German, but the following instructions should help.

http://www.immobilienscout24.de/

You decide whether you want Wohnen (flats) or Häuser (houses), and then choose zur miete (to rent), or zu kaufen (to buy) and then choose the area you are interested in (Bayern) and then choose the city/town you are interested in.

This should give you a list of flats or houses in the area and if you click on a few of them you will find most are on offer from agents in the area which will give you a list of estate agents to contact with their homepage if applicable.

If you get stuck check out my web page (link below) - it is a list of some of the things I have learnt since I've been here.

http://www.british-in-germany.de/

There is also a very good site for Amercian visitors (see below)

http://www.howtogermany.com/

I hope this helps.

Frankfurt in February can be bloody cold ... bring your winter woolies ...

Hello again...

Don't worry - I'm Canadian... we can deal with cold! It will be a bit hard to get used to after being in the UK for 5 years (I'm just now getting used to the perpetual dampness)

Thanks everyone for your replies so far! LRHH - I've visited your website before and have it bookmarked at home. It's been very helpful and I'm sure I'll be consulting it a lot more now.

I also appreciate the recommendation for Immobilenscout - it's always good to get references from someone who was happy with them. I was looking at the website for http://frankfurtrentals.de/ and was getting an idea for prices. Frankfurt is definately expensive for a house - that's why we don't mind being a bit out of town. We have two cats, and hopefully children shortly, so a garden is preferable, although I would consider a flat if it was big enough. We are expecting a lot of guests, possibly for long periods, so the extra space would be worth it.

Adriang, I'll look up the places you suggested on the map - it's great to have somewhere to start!

I'm going to try to get my husband's company to pay for an intensive course for us, but until then I'll study like mad in my evening course. Nothing like a deadline for a motivator! I certainly want to make the effort - I don't want people to think I'm not trying.

Thanks again!!!

Another point about renting, is try and get a place without an Estate agent (Makler) involved. The Maklers here in Germany take a lot of money (2-3 Months rent as fee) for doing sweet FA. So if you seen an advertisment for a house that says either 'Privat' or 'Ohne Makler' then that is preferable.

Another posssibility is, if your husband's company is quite large, then there maybe people offering accommodation in the company, as people come and go from Frankfurt.

find a landlord that will take a Bankburgschaft (credit note) for the deposit instead of having to pay out hard cash .

I was a bit worried about this deposit business - 2 to 3 months worth is really a lot of money. I'm trying to get my husband's company to consider it as a moving expense (they'll get the money back obviously when we leave).

Do you think many landlords would take a credit note? How would this work?

When we moved from Vancouver, Canada to the UK, we were shocked about the 6-8 weeks rent the landlords wanted for deposit. We probably would have fainted if we'd heard about Germany back then! (Canada only needed 2 weeks!)

We had a lot of trouble renting privately in the UK - I didn't know if it would be similar in Germany. We ended up having to go through an agent in the end and pay the fees. When we tried to rent privately, there always seemed to be about 20 people in front of us for each place we looked and as we had foreign references, people weren't going to go through the effort of checking them out when they could get someone locally without the long distance phone charges. I'd love to use an agent because of the language issues and having to search for a place from over here, but I don't want to throw money away.

We figure we may be there 3 - 5 years, so we thought renting was probably the better option, but it's a bit stressful thinking we'll be at the mercy of a landlord again! I take it that when you have to completely redecorate before you leave a place, they won't care if you paint it what you like while you live there?

Dawn

Hi Dawn.
Until your German's better you might find Babelfish useful.
It allows you to translate single words blocks of text . from German to English or vice-versa by copying and pasting them or typing them into the box provided - Useful when looking at German property descriptions!
It also helps improve your language skills too.

Good luck with the move - You'll enjoy Germany!

Hi - I am so glad you had already found the site - that's cool! I don't know how you did it though.

The best ways I found to find rented accommodation here was by word of mouth. As you said, by the time you have the newspaper everyone else has the same advantage. Get your hubby to ask around at work.

When we first moved here the company my husband works for was supposed to find us a place. They stuck us in an area that was less than desirable in a flat that was too small and in the basement at that. Because we don't have children they thought we didn't need much space. It was horrible.

The other thing to look out for is Nachmieter ads. These are from people who want to give up their flat early and are looking for someone to take over the rental agreement.

Most flats here are a lot larger than you would find in the UK. Even if you end up without a garden most areas have really nice play grounds for children. There are loads round where we are - almost one per child I think!

My biggest piece of advise though is to read through any agreements carefully, ask for it to be translated if possible.

Lots of luck with the move.

Oh by the way the best German - English - German translation tool (IMHO) is LEO - link everything online - http://dict.leo.org/

As far as decorating goes there tends to be two ways to go.

Firstly you can rent a place where the tenants are expected to leave the place decoreted the same state as when they moved in..white, white and more white. This means that part of your moving out process will be painting the whole place ready for their next tenants. You can decorate to your taste while you are there as long as it can be put back as was when you move.

The second one is that you take a place as seen in what ever decorated state it comes in. This may well mean you will have a lot of decorating to do as soon as you move in but it sure takes out some of the stress and work of all that painting when you move. My husband will only go with this option so I can now start to plan my next colour scheme ready for 15 months time.

Don't forget too that some places have no kitchen cabinets or sink. You may have to figure the price of that into your budget too.You can ask to buy from the leaving tenant if they are willing or else a trip to Ikea will be in order! We wanted to rent a house recently but they wanted 9000 Euro for the kitchen. Who the heck puts in a designer kitchen 6 months before they move out??

It took me a few months to find a suitable place to live. I stayed in a hotel apartment in the interim. These are a typically a couple of rooms with a kitchenette and are usually priced according by the month. I think there are also some furnished apartments for short term let around Frankfurt - but when I looked, they were extortionately priced.

In any case, it is much easier to find somewhere once you are here. You can have a look at different areas, the shops, public transport, etc. and ask colleagues about their experiences.

You will often find that people will put For Rent adverts on a company noticeboard - often tenants doing a favour for their landlord. I take this a a kind of reference as nobody would be bothered to do this if they don't get on well with their landlord.

I found my apartment by word of mouth at work. I took over the place with no makler (their fee is 2 months rent plus VAT) and no deposit (typicallly 1 or 2 months rent). I have been lucky though - I know several people who have had difficulty getting their deposit back when they leave.

I'm not sure about the decorating issue - I seem to remember there was a recent court case in which the ruling was that tenants could not be required to maintain the property and that this was the responsibility of the landlord.. (I haven't got details or a link though).

On the flipside, I have heard in some areas where accommodation is hard to find, some old folk require long lists of housework to be performed for them, in addition to the rent. It is like some kind of bonded servitude!!

Some other things when you are looking...

In the ads, "EBK" = built in kitchen... saves a lot of hassle.

Tiefgarage - underground car park
TG Stellplatz - underground car parking place ...keeps your car out of the weather.

TV - many places have either cable (all German and maybe CNN) or satellite connection (for German, French, Spanish, etc). British TV is from another satellite, so you would usually need your own dish. If you want this, it may be best to find out the landlord's attitude to this and if a dish on your balcony would be able to "see" South.

Tax - You and/or your husband can probably claim a load of relocation costs against tax. You should probably find a Steuerberate (tax consultant ) for some advice.

About registration and residency permits (Aufenthalserlaubnis)... You are supposed to do this within 3 months of taking up residence (although I know a French guy who went along after 2 years :-) ). This is done at the local town hall (Rathaus). if you are still in a hotel or other temporary accommodation after 3 months then you are supposed to register with the temporary address.

There is usually a website for the local town hall (sometimes in English!) and this would have contact details. If you send them an email (probably best done in German), they will tell you what documents to bring along.

You need to show a registration document if you want a mobile phone here (even a "pay as you go" one).

About medical insurance - I haven't checked recently but the E111 cover used to only be allowed for postings that were not to exceed 1 year. In any case, if your husband is a permanent employee of a British company, they should sort this out. If they have office in frankfurt and other employees there, they will probaly have some normal arrangements for medical insurance.

Welcome to Germany!

Ciao
JG

BTW if you do end up in a place with no kitchen - you could do worse than going to IKEA, they have some really nice freestanding units that you can take with you when you go or sell on relatively easily. Personally I would look for accomm with EBK if you are only here for a few years though.

Hi everyone!

Thanks for the GREAT advice! I knew you guys would be the ones to ask. I'm sorry I haven't written more in the past few days but I've been away from the computer (we are in Prague for the weekend).

After we get back, I'm hoping that we can get a meeting with the Frankfurt manager so we can get some details sorted. They said they would pay for the move, but I want to know DETAILS. Like, do we just move and send them the bill, or what?

Once things are more finalised I'll see if people at the office can watch for places for us. I'm not completely turned off by living in a flat again, but it will have to be a decent size (we've lived in matchboxes before and I'm not relishing that again!) As we'll be there for 3 - 5 years we plan on taking our furniture with us so we'll be looking for unfurnished.

Anyway, thanks again, and I'll write more when I get home.

See you soon!
Dawn

Prague is a nice city. I hope you enjoyed it.

If you are lucky, your comapny may have a deal with a relocation company who do almost everything for you...

About taking your furniture... If your company is paying then all well and good but otherwse, i would only take things tht you are really attached to. I brought all my stuff over - some things picked up some nicks and scratches during the move. In hindsight, I wouldn't have bothered (with the furniture).

About flats - like in the UK, what you get for your money does depend on the location but the flats here are generally a lot bigger than in the UK (especially S.E. England). I have about 100 sq metres here in a three bedroom apartment plus an 8 metre balcony. This works out to slightly more floor area than my three bedroom end of terrace back in the UK.

You could also consider buying. The banks here are quite keen to lend and you can get some reasonable fixed interest rate deals at present. The costs of buying can be high and property values increase slowly here, relative to the UK.

Ciao
JG

The rental market in Germany is much bigger than in the UK, which means that on the whole things are better and easier.

If I'm not mistaken, as part of recent changes in the law (mainly to the benefit of the tenant) I seem to remember that Maklers can now only take a maximum of two months rent. However, this is purely academic at the moment, the market is so depressed that you shouldn't have much trouble finding somewhere without a Makler.

The same applies to the deposit, many landlords are so keen get their property rented out, that they will do without the deposit. If this is not possible, the landlord is legally obliged to place the money in a special, interest bearing account (not his own current account!) and while a savings account will only bring about 2% at the moment, getting much more is not easy at the moment. Do make sure that the account is in joint names, not just the landlord's name, because having difficulty getting the money back is not uncommon. If necessary, be prepared to go to court, the judges are extremely tenant-friendly.

The redecoration question is another problem, I can't remember the details of the court case which jg. mentioned, but in essence it revolved around the boundary between maintenance - which is the landlord's resposibility, and decorative condition - which is the tenant's. For example, painting the walls, or wallpapering is the tenants job. If I remember rightly, two of the contentious issues were painting the inside of the window frames - the outside is definitely the landlord's responsibility, and replacement of fitted carpets. One thing that was definitely overturned was the redecorating of certain rooms at fixed intervals, typically living room every two years, kitchen every three years and bath every five years (although the variations are endless) regardless of condition - actually fairly sensible really. However, this is quite common in many standard contract forms, so keep an eye out for. On the other hand don't worry if the landlord insists on keeping it - it'll get thrown out in court!

Hope you enjoy your life here when you arrive. Despite some of the mutterings on this board, if you arrive with an open mind and are prepared to accept that some things are different (as opposed to better or worse!) you should be able to enjoy it here.

Hi all,

I’m new to your forum and wondered if you could give me some advice, I’m an Irish guy who is about to move to Frankfurt next Monday 1st May. I’m a Dub who has been living in Cork for the last 4 to 5 years, I include that as it could be argued that I have already overcome a language barrier! Although perhaps I’m just lashing out as it isn’t a good day to be a Leinster man in Munster after the rugby result yesterday.

Anyway I’m moving to my company’s Frankfurt office which is only 2 stops from Frankfurt hbf. My girlfriend is living in Koblenz at the moment so we are looking for an appropriate place for me to live that is close enough to commute into Frankfurt and also not that far away from Koblenz.

After looking at train timetables etc it looks like Mainz is not that far away from Frankfurt hbf to commute to work (about 35 mins on the S-bahn) and most trains go through Mainz directly to Koblenz without having to change. I was wondering if some of you guys could offer your opinions on whether or not this plan sounds like a good idea or not or is there more to commuting from Mainz to Frankfurt than the DB timetable tells you. Also can any of you advise as to whether or not Mainz is a good place to live? Or would somewhere like Wiesbaden be more appropriate for commuting etc?

I know they’re kind of vague enough questions but I would appreciate any advice you can give me, my transfer was initially supposed to be in several months time but got unexpectedly pushed forward resulting in having to try to organise everything in less than 3 weeks.

Look forward to hearing from you.

As far as I am aware, travelling from Mainz to Frankfurt has no problems other than the usual rush hour commuting no seats etc. Likewise Wiesbaden has no Problems I believe their are more trains to Wiesbaden.

As for living Wiesbaden definately has more in the way of social venues clubs etc but personally I find Mainz more peaceful and a better looking town.

I liked Mainz when I visited. Probably the nicest city I've seen in the region, and I've been around a few. If I wasn't living in central Frankfurt, I think I'd be happy there. Very relaxed, good transport options and lots of students making for good nightlife. It's small, around 2-300k people, but there's about 6 million people in and around the Frankfurt area.

Wiesbaden seemed ok too, but nothing special. It felt a little sterile to me, but it had a nice central park where I watched a group of old Russians playing chess. There was a pair playing on a giant board too, and they stalked each other across it for an hour. Very entertaining. It's clean and safe, but so is pretty much everywhere in Germany .

Hello all!

My name is Scott, i'm 23 and in the process of moving to Frankfurt. You all seem to be a friendly sort so I was wondering if you could help me on a few things.

My place of work is situated just off the friedberger landstrasse in the nordend ost area of Frankfurt I think the Bornheim mitte tube station is nearby. I recently spent one day in Frankfurt for the interview so i don't know frankfurt all that well.

Would you believe i have to be out there on the 26th May to fill in paperwork etc. so i'm looking for a few things quite quickish!!

Could you recommend the best locations for renting a place. Does the rent get cheaper if you go out of the city? i heard that i could pay 500 warm for a place or even share. I have looked at a few sites you guys have mentioned and it's been a big help but if you know anyone who is looking for someone to rent i would appreciate a nod!!

Did anyone bring their own PC over to Germany from the UK? I am unsure it can be done on a standard adaptor without frying everything!!

So, any advice you may have would be great! and hopefully with any luck I can get to know you all a bit better and share a beer!!

Topics merged by admin

Hi Scotty,

Welcome to TT. My company used City Residence since I originally needed a short term, furnished rental. The site I think is pretty pricey but it should give you some pretty good info in English about the city and various neighborhoods.

Cheers and welcome to Germany
jml

PS: I just poked - they definitely have unfurnished flats and even rooms for rent, under 500 euros. Cheers again.

Bringing the PC over shouldn't be a problem as you can just use a normal European adaptor plug.

Wilkommen.

Hi Scott,

No problems at all to bring your PC over with you!

Yes the top end of Friedberger Landstr. is not far from the Bornheim Mitte tube station. Bornheim/Nordend is a great place to live if you want to socialise and go out a lot and you have the added bonus that if you live there you can walk/cycle to work and not have any travelling expenses. It is also walking distance to the centre of Frankfurt.

I would say for 500€ warm you will get a decent 1 room flat or even a 2 room place. I know a few people who live in flat shares in this area and average is about 350-400€ a month.

Oh and there are loads of us here to go out and socialise we usually haunt the streets of Frankfurt on Thursday nights and most weekends!

If you have any other questions feel free to ask!

Hi again!!

Thanks for all the info, it is really helpful. I'm still trying to find a place at 500 warm, so i think flatshare would be the best option for now.

Well hopefully with all going well i will be in Frankfurt by the end of the week and maybe see some of you soon!!

Scotty

Hi Scotty

Herzlich willkommen in Deutschland. Well you've taken the best first step by logging on the forum, there are quite a few English people in the Bornheim area and i'm sure they'll make you feel very welcome.

Thanks for all your advice, I have to say that reading through your forum I have found it very useful. I have another question for you if you dont mind, but after just reading through a few previous threads I think that I know the answer already.

I am getting an apartment in frankfurt now, but due to work related reasons I have not actually been in Frankfurt that often since I moved over to Germany so i havent had much time to look for anything. I have been told on several occasions by people here not to take the first place I saw. After looking on the website http://www.fr-aktuell.de/anzeigenmarkt/immobilienmarkt/ (that i found on this forum) i found an apartment in Schönstraβe about 5 mins from the Hauptbahnhof and 2 mins from the Main river. It is a street away from new posh apartment developments currently under construction and the immediate area around my flat is predominately middle eastern. the landlord seemed really nice, spoke perfect english and was very open and honest about everything (i had a german speaker with me as well just in case). there is no real estate agent as he said that he doesnt want to help line their pockets (cant argue there), the place has just been done up, it is 70 m sq and he is looking for €620 cold and an extra €100 for bills (is this expensive or norm for FF? after just coming from Ireland it seems like quite a good price). he also has a garage space for €55 and said he will rent it out on a short term lease to some one else and if i give him notice that i plan to get a car he will arrange to give me the space. I walked the area last night and this afternoon and it seemed ok with lots of expensive looking cars parked on the street (but that might be normal for frankfurt?!). It is a 'standard german' leasing agreement that he wants to put in place, he decribed it as a perminant lease and i have to give him 3 months notice to leave (which is fine by me as i am here for a min of 2 years).

My question is, does it sound to good to be true? or am i being paranoid? and is the 'standard german' leasing agreement actually the standard? Also is that a pretty decent area of the city or is it miles away from anything interesting, as its close enough to the hauptbahnhof i suppose i will be just a u-bahn trip away from anyway decent. i have been told from Germans (who are only living in Frankfurt a short time so dont know it very well) that it sounds great. Although i have to say after reading through some of the threads about landlords etc it sounds even better. i have said yes to the landlord and am meeting him on monday to finalise it.

any advice/comment would be appreciated.

Cheers

Dave

Wouldn't mind meeting up with some of you on the next night out for drinks either

It does sound like a good deal. I think 620€ kalt for 70m is very cheap (I pay 500€ for 50m).

You might find that the price is cheaper becuase it is not really the most popular place in Frankfurt to live.

I honestly don't think there are things which are too good to be true in Germany there is not going to be a catch like I said it might just be because it is not a top spot on the location front

I would go for it if I were you

I checked again and it is not far from Berliner Str./Römer is it? In that case area is better than I thought as I was thinking of Hauptbahnhof/Gutleutviertel.

You are really close to a lot of things there and walkable to most drinking establishments that the Frankfurter's haunt

If you are still looking for a place, try a room around Grüneburgpark - excellent location, close to city centre.
If not, go and check Palmengarten with your gf on a Sunday. Or go play frizbie in Grüneburgpark! Beruhigend 100%!

My question is, does it sound to good to be true? or am i being paranoid? and is the 'standard german' leasing agreement actually the standard? Also is that a pretty decent area of the city or is it miles away from anything interesting, as its close enough to the hauptbahnhof i suppose i will be just a u-bahn trip away from anyway decent.

Look, we paid 1000 euros per month for three rooms (3 girls, each had 1 room... no idea how many sqms is that). In any case, that apartment was on Grüneburgweg - it is a brilliant area. North from ECB, only 10 minutes walk from the centre.
I think the offer you got is pretty fair for that area of the town, but it is also good you have the three months' notice, cause you may want to move furhter away from Haupbahnhof area, if you already know you want to stay longer! 2 years is quite a time.
I think the owner knows that you may move anytime.
You can get better places in Frankfurt than this, at similar price.

And, check it cause they have really good English theatre in the city centre - just across the ECB square.

If you want to know more, I can email you a part of my internship report - had a section on tips for living in Frankfurt in it - you might find it really helpful. I lived there only for 6 months, but had the best of it!
Have a nice time.

Another tip for roomsearch: Sachsenhausen area!
If u r Irish, u will luv it there!
If u go there, u will see why!

Sachsenhausen is on the South bank of the river. Quiet, nice, cosy... etc.!

I am not quite so sure as to where! I always thought 10€ per square metre was average and it is cheaper than that. I do not know anyone who is paying less than that for a flat here!

Thanks for all your advice, the flat is in fact in the Gutleutviertel area. I have been down there a few times at night and during the day and it seems fine (however our first impressions were not so good and that is the reason that I have some doubts). I guess that I just wanted to make sure that the area is not the murder centre of Frankfurt

The landlord just rang me and I have told him that I will take it and sort out the payment to him in the next day or so. So I guess that is that. Along with the place being really nice inside there is no makler involved which is making it a good bit cheaper to get a place as I don't have a few grand to fork out just to get my foot in the door of a flat. So I guess that I will have to get the u-bahn or walk to all of those great pubs in sachenhausen

I think you have made the right decision so we'll see you in the bars soon I guess

I hope it was, only time will tell. But sure what harm if it goes pear shaped, it has to be better than my last flat in Ireland (no windows&a long story). Hope to get a chance to meet up with you all at the next meet up, you all sound like a good laugh. I keep on getting sent away for work at the moment, it is great in one respect but a pain in the arse when trying to get settled down in a new city. So I hope to get to know all the good spots soon enough

Hi,

I'm kind of in the same boat, and just rented a flat on Münchenerstr.

I looked down in your area and liked its proximity to the river and Hbf, but found it just a bit too far to walk to work. As far as price goes, your rent is fair and the nebenkosten more than reasonable for FFM. I am in an Altbau on the top floor (and a half) in between the redlight/drug district and the river, about 300 meters from the Hbf... the area reminds me of Montreal or NYC East Village, and seems relatively safe. I am paying about the same rent as you and more for extras...

On that note, I have a spare room that I will probably rent out (I am back in Toytown on the weekends) so if anyone is looking for something short or longer term, send me a PM

Tim

Yeah I think my problem was that I got far too much information and opinions from everyone in work etc. As everything seems great about it and I even walked around the area again last night and there were loads of women walking by themselves late at night through the area, which I thought was a good sign. Then I thought that I better not linger too long as then I become the dodgy/scary looking guy hanging around street corners!

I suppose it is all about perception, I actually lived in a so called dodgy area in Ireland for the last few years, again I had no idea of the city that I moved to and just got a flat out of the newspaper, afterwards when I told people where I was living they told me it wasn't the best. True there was a bit of joy riding about the place and mad stuff but I never had any problems there. Actually is there a Britboard Ireland forum where I can reminisce with others that have left?

Well I walk around everywhere in Frankfurt late and night and have never ever been worried.

Ok so it might not be the nicest area to live if you have a family and young children but if you are just here for work and not staying in that flat forever then it sounds fine to me

There is an Irish meetup group in Frankfurt I think they meet in the MacGowans on the Zeil on certain Thursdays in the month. I will try and found out where I heard about that one and let you know!

Peck, I could give you a chat about good auld Ireland. Lived in Dublin before moving to Frankfurt... I could reminisce about unsafe things and really never wanting to be alone at night if you like.

I think its the American in me that never feels safe alone after dark...

Hi
I am an Irish girl moving to Frankfurt in Aug and I was looking for some advice on where to live- my company pays the rent so I would like to live in a "nice" area! I will be working in the centre...around Bockenheimer Landstrasse, so if anyone could offer me any bit of advice- it would be really appreciated!
Thanks a mil!

It is a little different getting a flat here than in Ireland, I can testify to that as I got my flat 2 weeks ago (and still havent managed to stay a night in it!). When you look up flats on the internet and in the newspapers you have to go through a Makler (real estate agent) and they charge you 2 months rent plus vat for the pleasure of showing you a flat. It was suggested to me by people I am working with to go to a Makler and tell them exactly what I am looking for and in what areas and then let them actually do some work for their fee (that generally you have to pay anyway) and find a few flats for me to look at. I was lucky enough to find a flat without one but I am not lucky enough to have my company pay for the rent!

I still dont know Frankfurt that well but the four areas everyone i have spoken to say are the best areas of the city are Bornhiem, Bockenhiem, Sachenhausen and Westend (think the last one is Westend but someone else might confirm that). But these are also the most expensive (obviously). But if your company are going to pay for the flat and then presumably the Makler fee as well, can you ask someone in the Frankfurt office to put you in contact with a Makler they may have used before that can do the running about for you. Then perhaps they can have a list of places for you to look at when you arrive.

Be warned that generally flats come with no kitchens so you have to look for a flat that states it has one or else you have to buy one. Also the flats generally come with nothing at all inside, well perhaps a few walls and doors but nothing else, my flat came with little wires in the ceiling where the lights used to be, the last tenant not only took the light bulbs but also the actual fittings as well.

I am afraid I cannot recommend a decent Makler in Frankfurt I am convinced that such a thing just does not exist!

Yes the nice areas are Bornheim, Bockenheim, Sachsenhausen and Westend. You might also want to try Nordend. This does depend on where you'll be working though and how you want to get to work.

I wouldn't say it is that uncommon to have a flat with a kitchen nowadays I would just make that one of your criteria tell the Makler you want a flat with EBK (Einbauküche).

Thanks a mil...but after reading the replies I am having second thoughts about even moving!! I would actually have to go out and buy a kitchen?? U have to be taking the piss? Then when I leave I take my kitchen with me?? Hardly...are there no furnished apartments?? I really dont want to bring any of my stuff from here over..why is it like that? I lived in Germany for 3 years about 10 years ago- and never had that problem..everything was furnished, but it wasnt Frankfurt. What is Frankfurt really like? Is it easy to meet people? Really dont want to be Billy No Mates...how expensive is it? Has to be cheaper than Dub??

You can of course get a furnished apartment. Often times the previous renter will sell the kitchen on to the next renter as well so don't worry about that!

I lived in Dublin right before coming to Frankfurt and Frankfurt is alot cheaper in my opinion. There is a big enough expat community in FF so don't feel you won't meet anyone, though of course it is important to make the effort as well.

Don't worry, you will enjoy it once you get here!

Hi,

I am moving to Frankfurt with my partner at the end of January 2007. Although I keep playing with the idea that it would be great to just be a "lady that lunches" I'm sure I'll get bored after a couple of weeks... So I need your help...

Naturally, I need to learn the language - pretty fast - I don't think my GCSE German will get me far and besides all I can remember is "it's opposite the town hall" Not the greatest start to a conversation! - So can anyone recommend a good language school with intensive courses?

Also - I'll need to look for a job...I'm sure Rick will not support my shoe buying habit for long. Luckily I'm a qualified English Teacher, CELTA, TEFL and Cert Ed... So again does anyone have any contacts or names of language schools I could send my CV to, and what's the average hourly rate?

Hope somebody out there can help me... and anyone that fancies lunch and wine at the end of Jan I'm sure I'll be in need of a friendly face ... :>

P.S. Is it really true that everyone takes the kitchen with them when they leave a house/flat???

Thanks
Caroline

Topics merged by admin

MiniFox,

There are all the normal language schools i.e. Berlitz etc. in Frankfurt. You can just check the yellow pages for Frankfurt. To be honest, I would suggest that you go solo especially if you've got a partner willing to support you as you build up the contacts. (Why have you day dictate by some school paying you peanuts!)
The good thing for Frankfurt is that it is very international with lots of financial/international firms; meaning the Germans/foreigner need English.

Not sure what town you are coming from in the UK, but Frankfurt is a small town and is NOT London. The official stats say 700k but thats inc. the people who work there but don't live there. So on weekend it's nearer 500k. Be aware of that...but if you find the right people and places to go out - it can still be a vibrant and interesting city.

Also expect a cultural shock especially if you are coming with a German partner and so prepared to find yourself submerged in another culture - good bits and bad bits. But again you can use the Expat community to keep you sane if you like but don't rely on it too much or you will never learn German.

There are loads of course at the Volkhochschule (Adult Education) which are cheap. People complain about the quality but it all depends on your teacher...anyhow...a few hundred Euro compared to nearer over 500 Euro makes a big difference.

Final thing...despite being small Frankfurt is very much a number of villages in the centre..so try and work out which one fits your character...West End (bankers)..very near to the centre with a great park nearby but not so busy, I lived there and loved it. Bonhomie (I think it is called that)...funky bohemian...Sachsenhausen..green and more family orientated. etc. Outside in the sticks would be very German!!!

Anyhow, best of luck on the move...

"Bonhomie"...what a great thought...but I think you probably mean Bornheim!

Bornheim, Westend, Nordend and Sachsenhausen are always the recommended areas - depends on what you're looking for...but as mentioned above, FFM is a small town made up of small vilages so each area can be quite different.

Frankfurt has quite a high turnover of people on secondment/short term contract so furnished flats are relatively common - Home Company and City Residence are 2 of the larger agencies. (You probably will need to use an agency as finding something from small ads is a nightmare!)

Once you choose an area, look on

http://www.immobilienscout24.de/

and go for wohnen auf zeit. these are furnished flats, some of which are available only for a few weeks at a time, but most of them are normal furnished flats as you and I would understand them. Most of the ads are through real estate agents so you would have to pay their fee.

Happy hunting

Hi

Thanks for all your help guys, I'll let you know how things go, I'm sure I'll have plenty more questions for you before January.

Thanks again

Mini Fox