Coolest neighborhoods and areas in Hamburg

Greetings, salutations and warm shakes of the hand,

I'm a 22-year old post college entity from the United States and I'm moving to Hamburg in September to teach English on scholarship and take classes at the Uni Hamburg. My question for the hamburg veterans is this: What's a good vibrant place to live? As in a place where a good social scene intersects with good prices. I've spent some time in Berlin in the past and enjoyed the burroughs of Friedrichshain/Kreuzberg very much, finding them to be lively and bohemian with cheap rents and nice bars and cafes. While I realize Hamburg is a very different city and more expensive are there particular neighborhoods with lively student/artist communities that are not yet über-gentrified or intensely commercial?

Any tips or advice you could give me would be greatly appreciated.

Vielen Dank,

Stefan

Got to be Sternchanze. Its the most Bohemian quarter, full of artists, cafes, bars, etc.

Agree. Schanzenviertel or St.Pauli would be what you are looking for.
Good luck finding a place there

Thanks for the tips guys That sounds like a viertel worth looking into. Now St. Pauli I assume is mostly punks and tourists and a little more commercial than the Sternschanze?

I think I might try to book a spot in one of the WGs for the first month or so, so I can apartment hunt in these neighborhoods once I arrive.

What about Ottensen??
Robert

I agree. Ottensen is a great little neighborhood, although it's hard to find a place there. I really wanted to live somewhere off the Ottensen main street but "settled" for Eimsbuettel, which is lovely too.

ah, I just spent my last week "living" on the Ottenserhauptstr. great location. so many bars, so much activity day in and day out and I found my favorite place to eat and sit - Knuth! I will miss it. I had one of the best meals at Teufels Kuche, enjoyed a nightcap at the Rehbar, had the best cocktail at "Das blaues Haus". wow - loved it, loved it, loved it. And went out too in St. Pauli and Karoviertel - fun!

Ha! I've been staying round the corner from Knuth, my mates favourite place in Hamburg. So spoilt for choice in this city, everywhere you look there's some sort of cafe or bar and I'm well impressed with this place.

Hello all!
Im moving to Hamburg - Barmek Sud in october. My boyfriend found a cool aparment there! Im not in Germany yet though and have never been to that area, so I was wondering if anyone knew what that neighborhood is like?

thanks!

Ammoul

Hey Ammoul,
I live in Barmbeck Süd at the moment, more precisely around the Hamburger Strasse U-Bahn.
Well...it's not bad : it's cheap, rather clean, rather safe, not to far away from the Hauptbahnhof/center,but there isn't anything here.

In my humble opinion, the East-Part of Hamburg (east of the Alster) is pretty boring, except for Lange Reihe and Winterhude (which is pretty expensive).

Anyways, I've been living in this area for the past 9 months, so it's not suicide material either.

Definately Ottensen if you can find a place...

Hey! thanks for the advice I guess I will see more what the neighbordhood is like once I get there, but as long as it's relatively close to the city center, it should be fine!

thanks for the advice everyone. i arrived in hamburg yesterday and today moved into my temporary student dormitory in barmbek. it's very nice but i'll be scouting around for more central locations. i see what you mean about ottensen!.. I was there last night in some very nice restaurants and cafes. the second place was called familieneck I believe. the streets in the area have a very nice vibe to them.

hey, if one was interested in living more on the outskirts (burbs) of Hamburg, what is nice? something accessible via ubahn and not too pricey?

Niendorf, Norderstedt, Ohlstedt, Großhansdorf ... U-Bahn Hamburg

miwild, so of the 4 which is the best pick in your humble opinion? and why?

It´s you who´s interested in living more on the outskirts of Hamburg ... so jump on the U-Bahn and check the "not too pricey burbs" of Germany´s second biggest city for yourself.

Mind you ... the costs of living in Hamburg are not known for being on the cheap side

Has anyone experience living in Barmbek? I'm looking for something at the moment and lots of options I get are Barkbek / Barmbek-Süd. They seem to be generally cheaper then on the other side of the Alster... is it more residential with little to do?

I'm also finding that places with an EBK are rarer than I would have hoped... I don't want to have to buy a complete kitchen if possible, furnishing a place is enough as it is!

Edit: Sorry paulux, didn't see your post above!