Life in the town of Kiel

Hello All,

Has anyone visited Kiel? Or better still, lived there for a period of time?

It seems rather a small place. Does anyone here have info or experiences about finding work, accommodation, or attitudes of the locals in such smaller cities?

Many websites about moving to Germany concentrate on the big cities. I don't mind living in a smaller city thus would like to hear some experiences from anyone who has.

Thank you for your time should you reply.

Wozuna

I like Kiel. For a start, if you head round towards Laboe you find little villages that remind you of England (thatched roofs, snug pubs, Etc), and most important of all, the ferry goes from there to Oslo.

Kiel has a population of 230,000 and is the 32nd largest conurbation in Germany, a country with a much more spread-out population than the UK. So I would question your description of Kiel as "small". I therefore don't think the attitude of the people living there will be substantially different than that of people living in a larger city. Also, I don't think there is one attitude prevelant in all cities of a certain size throughout Germany; this will vary enormously by region.

I can't speak about Kiel in particular, but the job situation in any town will depend on local circumstances: the local economy, which companies are based in the area, etc. Accommodation would generally be easier to find, although there are also huge regional differences here.

Kiel is alright. I actually really liked visiting there. They have the Kieler Woche every year- so tons of people (well, sailors) show up and party and you get to see all kinds of drunk British guys whip their pants down and dance around the pubs naked.

But like Sin said- Laboe and Schönberg are beautiful. The beaches are nice, the houses are beautiful, the people are fabulous. Well, my family is originally from Schönberg, so I'm not totally objective. But it's a beautiful place.

Hello all,
my wife grew up in Eckinforder (sic) and we want to move close to it. I am a Registerd Nurse and have seen from google earth that Kiel has a to of hospitals in it. On that note are the job prospects good in Kiel for Krankenschwesters?

I studied German 2 years in college and am still working on my fluency...

Kiel

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Eckernförde

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Hello. I visit Kiel regularly and it does seem like a very nice town. Could not really tell you about the local though as I usually visit family there. They have a really good festival at last week in June called the Kieler Woche. A huge dock there where the big ocean liner ships sail to Denmark and Sweden (for a price!) Think that there is plenty of night life there as well. hope this helps:)

I've lived here for about 15 years but don't work here at all so I can't say anything about the employment opportunities. Kiel is a laid back city with a huge student population ( a heap of unis, colleges and hospital clinics ). Summer is great but way too short, the winter is horrible, just cold, wet and dark, sometimes it snows but the snow never stays longer than a day or two and the winter doesn't seem to end.
The Schleswig- Holsteiners in my opinion are the friendliest from all the Germans and actually have a good sense of humor in general. Kiels main attraction is the Fjoerd and of course the "Kieler Woche" Its port is a hub for many Scandinavian ferries and it is frequented by nearly every Navy from around the world.
As Kiel was nearly completely wiped out in the war ( major U-boat harbor) it is an architects worst nightmare now. A few nice buildings survived but what they rebuilt as the new Kiel is horrible. You can't compare it towns like Lubeck, Flensburg, Celle etc
When it comes to shopping then you then realize that it is a "little city". Tons of retail chain shops but none of the specialized or nicer stores. The Airport is now non-existant due to the people that bought land next to it many years ago complaining now about the noise and extension of the runway. You have to go to Hamburg to fly in or out which is Ok so long as the A7 doesn't have a traffic jam ( which is the norm)
Its not a bad place to live but its all down to what your lifestyle is like and if it suits this city. If you like real city life, then forget Kiel, if you like sailing and sport etc then its OK.

My boyfriend's parents are from a small town outside of Kiel so we visit often. The city itself is not so impressive although they do have a great handball team and the fans are a lot of fun. However, I found the best beaches in Germany around Kiel and the people are friendly. Several of the ocean towns across the harbor from Kiel remind me a lot of New England towns. There is one beach that seems to go on forever with a dock streatching out into the ocean and various spots for boats and people alog the way. There's a bike path and grassy land and then lots of fish shops where you can get a casual meal by the ocean. This is the part that makes Kiel different form most other rebuilt moderate sized cities in Germany.

I've been there before and it is quite nice, especially around the yacht house. It is really quaint and if you desire a little bit of the 'wild' life, its not too far from Hamburg.

...and Kieler Woche is awesome!

Lived there for a summer a few years ago.
I was working indirectly for Sony (Deutschland).
Horrible firm, super area.
Schleswig-Holstein is not exactly booming,
but great if you have a job.
Kieler Woche, Plön, Laboe - all great.