Hello,

I'm going to move to Munich in July with husband and 2 kids (3 and 5), and we are trying to decide where abouts to live. My husband's job will be based near the airport, and we'll probably be sending our eldest to BIS in Haimhausen. Looking at it very practically, it would probably make sense to live somewhere in the middle, like Neufahrn or Eching (both handy for the S bahn and Ikea!). We did visit last month and had a quick drive through Neufahrn, but it looked a wee bit, er, bleak. It was the Friday after the storms had hit, all the schools were shut etc, so I'm sure it wasn't at it's best. Does anyone know what it's like to live there please? Any parks to exercise small children in etc?

Jenny.

Have you ever thought about Freising in my opinion it's a much nicer town plus it's still on the s-bahn and db as well as being 15 minute bus ride to the airport. Lovely little town really. It's old enough and far enough away from munich center to be a town of it's own not just couple of houses with a shop next to munich.

I used to teach in Neufahrn. It's kind of a dump really. You'd be better off in a place like Ismaning or something, really. Very child friendly and on the S-Bahn.

Neufahrn is nicer than Eching, but that's not saying too much. The centre is vaguely pleasant, although it's not a big place. Have you considered Unter- and Oberschleissheim? Nice enough and still in the same area. Otherwise if you want history and kulture n' stuff then you'll have to choose between Munich, Freising and Erding. You'll have to consider the public transport options, for which the MVV website will help you out.

If your Hubby is at Eurofighter/jet then Getting to work and back is easy. There is a good bus service for the kids getting to school etc. and there are at least 20 other English-speaking wives in that area that I know of!

Neufahn is not that bad!

G

It is also not that good G.

Says he who lives in Dorfen bei Nowhere!

To use a classic phase: "Handy for the airport".

Ober- or Unterschleissheim are alright- but it's a pain in the ass to get into the city. Neufahrn is the same. It takes a good half hour on the S1. Ismaning is, not to boast too much or anything, much nicer than any of those places. They have lovely kindergartens (including all day kindergartens) and it's clean and pretty with lots of parks and play areas. It's on the S8 (15 mins to the airport) and only 20 minutes to the city. The autobahn connections are also really good from Ismaning. You've got the A9 and the A99 right there.

Ismaning might be quite nice but I doubt it's really that much different from Unterschleissheim. Plus it's on the wrong airport line to get to Haimhausen. You need to be on the S1 for Haimhausen, it's just a short bus ride away from Lohhof S-Bahn. If you went for Ismaning you'd have to go out to Besucherpark and then change onto the S1 to come back up to Lohhof, right?

I've never lived around Unterschleissheim, but I've worked around there for the last 8 years, know the area quite well, and know plenty of families that live there. Personally I would go for Unterschleissheim or Oberschleissheim.

It's not a pain in the arse to get into the city from there - it takes exactly the same time to get from Oberschleissheim to Marienplatz on the S1 as it does from Ismaning on the S8, and the trains are just as frequent. Plus you have the option of changing at Feldmoching onto the U2 for fast access into Schwabing. I take the S-bahn from the city out there every day, and it's just fine.

Neither Unter- nor Oberschleissheim are particularly the center of the party universe, either, tbh, but there are plenty of parks and things to do (a branch of the Deutsches Museum is out at Oberschleissheim), and there are Kindergärten etc as well.

Or you could take up the suggestion to go to Freising, but then you really do have a major trek (45 minutes on the train) when you want to go into Munich.

Eching and Neufahrn - whenever I have the misfortune to have to go there I feel like falling asleep. Yawnsville, both of them. Sure, parks and stuff for the kids, but you yourself would probably go nuts with boredom. I would, anyway.

Thanks everyone, this is what I need to hear! One thing that would influence where we choose would be the amount of driving I'd need to do, especially in winter when it's dark and snowy. Is driving a nightmare in winter? If there's a couple of flakes here everyone panics and there's gridlock for several weeks!

Then head for Unterschleissheim/Lohhof. You can be at the school in about 5 minutes and the Lohhof corner of Unterschleissheim means you are 15 minutes away from the airport and located right at the junction of the A92 motorway (for the airport) and the B13 (to head into the city or out into the fields).

However, I think that house prices, renting or buying, are a bit higher here than in Neufahrn or Freising. But if you are sending your kids to BIS I am guessing this is not really an issue :-)

25 minutes non-stop on the regional trains, every 20 minutes. Can't remember the last time I had the dubious pleasure of travelling by S-Bahn. And it's a 12-minute bus ride to the airport on the 635.

Regarding your question about driving; when snow falls overnight then the roads are a bit of a mess the next morning, but they're quickly cleared. And this only happens a few times a year and you'll have winter tires.

A year ago I moved to Eching and I found it to have very warm people. I have not noticed any crime, except last year there was some graffeti (misspelled). The young children seem very respectful. There is a wonderful park for walking and there is a sports club. Tennis courts. There are many activities for young children and plenty for teenagers. There is a senior citizen center. Has 3 grocery stores within walking distance. The town actually has everything within walking distance plus has the train station that takes you to Munich in a short time. There are plenty of kindergartens and grammar school and middle school. There are two churches. The school also has tutors for children after school in order to help them with their homework. The daily life in this small town is very nice. There are many restaurants.
People are so friendly to foreigners. In the building I live in also has a British man living and also a pilot. I find this place to be very comfortable. I like it. It is hard to find a place here. It is expensive.

Oooh- correct. I missed that part in the original post. Isn't Oberschleißheim where they have the little castle? That's a nice park area to walk around in. My daughter and I used to go up there.

Yes, the little castle.

Click to view attachment

Don't get me wrong. I wouldn't mind having it as a house.

In Freising all the houses are like that. In fact, that photo reminds me of my garden shed.

show off.

We go to look at a place to buy in Neufahrn tonight. We looked at one place a few day ago and really liked it. The area was very quiet and pleasant. Obviously that's only a first impression. Why would you class it as kind of a dump? Could I please ask where you used to teach? How would you generally class the education standards/facilities as I have two young children. Many thanksI

I used to live in Eching and can say it's pretty quiet there. it's a small, friendly little place, there's not a lot going on, but it is great in summer if you like the outdoors ... there is a large park at Echinger See, there are also a few other lakes nearby, forest etc. it's a bit bleak there in winter, but there's always Michels cocktail bar :-)

I live in Unterschleissheim and drive into the city (well, to the north side, BMW) every day. It's 20 minutes during rush hour. The important thing is BIS. I have other friends who have their kids at BIS and they are constantly out there (in Haimhausen) doing school stuff so that needs to be a consideration. Plus you are on the S1 line (as mentioned) and just a quick change to the Ubahn at Feldmoching. And there are several lakes in the area. Unterschleissheim has a few big international compaies (Microsoft, EADS) so it is also international - still small but not filled with small town Germans.

I like it a lot.

Hello all

I am moving to Munich in August with my family. I have three kids, 11, 9 and 7 who will be going to the BIS, and a husband who works at BMW. We are interested in living in living near the BIS so not too much driving, but I want to live somewhere with a bit of a social life, restaurants, a sports centre, and also good access to the city centre.

This particular thread has been very informative, but it is a year old now. Have things changed? Where would current Toytowners recommend?

I look forward to hearing from you. And if any of you want to come round for a coffee in August - wherever we are - you will be very welcome!

Jacqui

I live in Neufahrn at present and we are looking to move in closer to the city...

Neufahrn has very little in the way of social nightlife... There is the mexican coctail bar, A couple of nice italian restaurants, one nice indian restaurant (but nothing to write home about)...

The have just built a cinema on the outskirts of Neufahrn.

There is a sports club and swimming hall with sauna etc...

It has 1 very nice little bakery and 1 very good butcher and both are permanently busy, especially saturday mornings.

The S1 line has the advantage that the airport route (it separates at Neufahrn - 1 goes to Freising, the other to the Airport) runs from the city outwards relatively regularly until about 12:45am and then runs every 1-1.5 hours until about 6am where it resumes the regularity of the normal schedule... other s-bahn lines from my understanding do not run much after midnight at all. For details check MVV Muenchen (Public Transport Network).

The place is definitely a bit drab for us...

Hi!,

I lived in Eching for almost 3 years and really enjoyed it. I have two children and was working at BIS, which is a lovely school.
It took me 10 minutes to get to work and I only once had a problem after a big snowfall. I've even biked from Eching to Haimhausen.
I prefer Eching to Neufahrn as it has the wonderful lake that is connected to the open space which includes a huge adventure playground and a Biergarten.
I spent many happy days with my kids there. The other mothers in Eching are really down to earth and friendly.
Day to day shopping is pretty good. The industrial center is really handy. There is Ikea, a huge Obi, furniture shops and outlet stores.

Unterschliessheim is also good. There is a great lake there too, a swimming pool and nice playgrounds. The "city center" is not pretty, but is very practical.
The children's doctor there is wonderful and speaks great English.

BIS people that live in Neufahrn say that the drive is a little too long, especially in the winter.

If you were to choose Eching, look for a place that is on the "lake side" as in the "Poets Corner" (streets names after famous poets e.g. Goethe etc.)
the noise from the autobahn can be irritating.

If you would like any more information about Eching and our experiences as a family there. Please pm me.

Lordnovi

I realize I'm a little late in this discussion but I had to add my opinion. I have lived in Neufahrn now for about nine months and I love it. It definitely doesn't have a lot of character and beautiful buildings like Freising but it is a really nice town, definitely not a dump. There are a lot of locals here as well as tons of expats. I find it very comforting to go out and run into people I know (neighbors, friends, families from school - BIS, etc) and with whom I can speak English. There is a nice little lake with a bier garten and small play area for the kids. Just about 1 km away is another lake that is even nicer. There's an indoor pool, a sports hall, and a skate ramp, among other things. There are some very nice markets, DM, an italian shop, a cheese shop, etc. There are also some very nice restaurants. The mexican restaurant has been the best out of many we have had in Munich. They actually don't put carrots and green beans in their food, the Greek restaurant is really good, a couple of very good Italian restaurants(our favorite is Atna), and I've heard the Indian restaurant is one of the best also in Munich (I personally don't like Indian food so I can't say one way or the other). Neufahrn is 15 minutes from BIS, 35 minute train ride to the Marienplatz, two stops to Freising by S1 and two stops to the airport by S1. You can also ride your bike to the Isar and have a wonderful picnic lunch. There are several excellent doctors in Neufahrn and many of them speak really good english. Neufahrn is small enough that you can ride your bike anywhere but has all the conveniences of a larger town. The thing that was important to us moving here away from family and friends, was the "sense of community", not the "appearance of the buildings". We definitely have no complaints about our choice. I hope people will look a little deeper into Neufahrn. It must be doing something right or there wouldn't be so many expats living here and so many new homes being built.