House and apartment rental websites in NRW

Hello,

I am new to the forum, but will probably become an avid reader from now on.

I am moving from Spain to the Düsseldorf area. I am struggling to find some websites dedicated to housing, specially rentals, in the NRW or in Germany in general. I appreciate if anyone on the forum can point me in the right direction. Also, I would find it useful if someone could comment on the average rental price for a 3 bedroom flat or house in Düsseldorf or its vecinity.

One last thing, I will be commuting to Wuppertal daily, so if someone could recommend a neighbourhood in Düsseldorf that is well communicated with the highway towards Wuppertal, it would be great.

Many thanks!

Here is one: immobilienscout.de. If you look up a few adverts you will get a clearer idea of the price range. Good luck!

kalaydo.de is another decent one

Hello,
My husband lived in Spain for 17 years mostly in the North (Cantabria) We are in Essen and we used immobilienscout.de. and it was good. There are seveal others but I don't remember right now. I will look for them and post them later. You can also find newspaper ads online. I have some contacts in Dussledorf so if I can help in anyway PM me and let me know.

Blessings,
Jeanne

Thanks for the website addresses.

Jeanne, how is Essen? How far away from Wuppertal and how good connected?

Thanx, Daniel

www.kalaydo.de is good - if you use mozilla you can download foxlingo and do auto web page translations if you dont speak german. They have listings from private owners as well as from agencies.

Hi Daniel,
Essen is not far from Wuppertal The Nord Rhein Westfalen area is really all one big area from Düsseldorf to Dortmund. It takes about an hour to drive through and has great train, bus, tram and underground connections. There are also international airports in Düsseldorf and Dortmund.

The website that helped us the most was called How To Germany http://www.howtogermany.com/pages/living.html

Blessings,
Jeanne

Ok I tried to edit my message above a second time and I could not. When I look at the map Wuppertal is just as far from Essen as it is Bochum or Dortmund so you could live in any of those areas. I am also told Wuppertal is not a bad area to live in.

Blessings,
Jeanne

Hi Jeanne,

Thanks for the answer and the tip of the website, looks promising.

You mentioned your husband used to live in Cantabria. I am assuming he is Spaniard. If so, and if you have spanish speaking kids, do you happen to know any nursing schools (kindergarten) that would be bilingual German-Spanish in the NRW area? I have found many English speaking nurseries and schools, but none that teaches Spanish...

Many thanks!

Daniel

Hi Daniel,

My husband is English, and lived in Cantabria for 17 years. His kids are grown. He does speak perfect Spanish, but we have not needed day care. How much are prepared to pay? I may know someone who would be interested.

I do know of 2 other Spanish families that speak German & Spanish. I can ask them.

Blessings,
Jeanne

Hi Jeanne,

Sorry for the late answer (not sure if you will actually happen to read it). We would like to send our child to a kindergarden school, preferably one where Spanish is taught (it does not have to be the only language of instruction though). Through the Spanish consulate I found out a couple of places in Wuppertal and Koln. Apparently there is also one opening in Düsseldorf, in the St Adolphus church, but I have not been able to confirm that. If you know of any others, I appreciate your feedback.

Many thanks!

Daniel

Nordrhein-Westfalen has over 18 million inhabitants ... the state´s area covers a maximum distance of 291 km from north to south, and 266 km from east to west.

I second the recommendation for immobilienscout--and I urge you NOT to use e-rent or mwz24--they are both crooked agencies. It is best to deal with the owners as directly as possible.

Also, as looking elsewhere on Toytown will tell you, be prepared for places that rent with nothing in them at all! (No kitchen, no sinks, no mirrors, no lights, no floors etc!)

Hi Daniel,

this is an important point. I was surprised that we had to put in our own kitchen, sinks etc. We have a friend who professionally installs kitchens and he helped us otherwis we would have been sunk. Keep this in mind as it is a expense that we did not know about so did not plan for.

Thanks for the tip about the peculiarities of renting in Germany. I had noticed the empty kitchens too... it is a big obstacle to finding a property because I will not like to buy kitchen furniture and a stove for a 2 year stint...

Cheers,
Daniel

Hey Daniel,
Remember its not just kitchen furniture its everything including cabinerts and in some cases the floor. Also remember you may have to remodel the flat yourself.

It is a little rough for a 2 year stint.