Moving to Munich

I am really glad that I found this site. I am moving to Munich from California and want to live in the suburbs somewhere. I prefer to buy a house. I have two kids so schools are important to me, kind of quiet (a little village), etc. I don't even know where to start. Any suggestions?

do you want to be some place that links you to Munich via public transportation? how close do you want the suburb to be? you can border Munich or be 30-45min out (if you consider that still a suburb).

move to Gruenwald and you'll have an english babysitter (me!)

Welcome


so do you want a village or the suburbs?

You'd really be better to rent for a while, and then pick the place that you like..

There is really no advantage here to buying a place. Rent is quite low compared to the cost of buying in Munich.

not to be rude... well, use the search function first to get an idea.

I don't know Munich at all. How far outside of the city do you have to go to live in a charming little town? Is that a suburb? I need some sort of connection with public transportation but am fairly flexible. I know where I am from I could tell someone new there good places to live, posh places, family-oriented areas, areas to stay away from, etc. Any ideas?

Welcome.
You really need to use the search function. All those questions and more have been discussed at length time and again on the forum.

the 'city limits' are probably about 7-10km (4.5-6 miles) from the centre so anywhere outside that radius should get you a charming little town. If you want a real 'alp' village then you'll need to go a bit further. Munich has an excellent so called 'S-Bahn' which is effectively a network of commuter trains that stretches a long way outside the city, so if you can get a place close to one of those lines then it should be no problem. There are also some nice places in the suburbs (Within the city limits) which are fairly self contained.

To be honest, there are so many nice places that other considerations such as where a job/school is are of more importance and a better starting point

As a rule of thumb for buying a house (believe me, I've been through this):
suburbs/villages south of Munich: $$$$
everything connected to Munich by suburban train: at least $$$
Depends on where you're going to work, but we've found the north /north west region around Munich to be a bit more affordable and you'll have more choice as well. Think about the regions of Fürstenfeldbruck, Mammendorf, Dachau, Oberschleißheim, Unterschleißheim. For west/ south west maybe Grafrath, Geltendorf, Herrsching. For south and enough $$ Gauting, Starnberg, Schäftlarn, Pullach, Trudering. southeast/east Kirchseeon, Markt Schwaben; northeast Erding, Moosinning, Ismaning
It still amazes me how fast the city changes to some countryside-feeling on the outskirts, good example being Feldmoching: it's part of Munich but looks like a farmer's village. The same holds true for many other villages close to Munich. There's not too much 'suburban', it's either urban or rural for most of the parts.

Well, I have told twice to use the search function. I guess the non-newbies are tired of the same questions again and again. Sorry. I tried the search function and getting nothing. So, could someone help me get the right keywords. thanks.

this (Munich + live) gives you a few leads although you have to trawl through a load of threads about 'live events' and 'live chat'

see Buying an apartment without a large down payment as to why not to buy in or around munich unless you're planning on living here forever (or nearly forever). put simply, you will pay around 10% fees for the pleasure of buying and it will take decades (only a mild exageration (sp.?)) to recoup this cost.

otherwise, if we know what your monthly budget is, then we could narrow it down a bit. do you speak german? if not, then you might find it tough out in bandit country (see same thread).

Search "districts", regional restriction "Munich"

Best place for a young family to live - quiet suburbs on the outskirts with good facilities.

Download Google Earth and have a look around; it will help you get a feel for the area, get to know some of the towns and help you decide what kind of size settlement you want to live in and how far from the centre of Munich you want to be. Cross-reference that with an S-Bahn map to work out your public transportation, and you're sorted.

Just to echo the previous sentiments, apart from the issue of getting credit when you have no history in Germany and the minimum 50% cash you need to put down on a house should you choose to buy one, renting also makes more sense because you'll have a better idea of where you want to permanently settle once you've lived here for a while. You may not be aware that it is normal to rent here rather than buy.

You didn't say how old your children were, but if they are into their teens and don't speak German then they will presumably be going to an international school, the limited locations of which will inevitably determine where you live. If they're still young, they'll pick up the language far quicker than anyone else.