Good areas for a couple in their 50s to live

hi everyone, my husband has just got a job with eurofighter at hallbergmoos what place would you recomend to live, i'm 52yrs so no children to consider i wont be working dont speak any german, even though there only the 2 of us i would like a garden, somewhere to walk too, some english people, nice bars and restaurants etc

You're not the only one looking for an idyllic, stylish, perfectly dimensioned property with small garden, quiet but near the shops and local amenities, not too expensive and available when I need it. Of course it doesn't exist. Out in Hallbergmoos you're much more likely to get the house with garden than in Munich centre, but (and I speculate as like many a civilised person I've never stopped at Hallbergmoos but continued to the airport) I'd guess the bars, restaurants and connection to other expats is somewhat lacking. Munich centre is much better for all that but you'll have to content yourself with a balcony or a walk in the park. The good thing about Munich is there are a lot of parks and near the mountains (although from Hallbergmoos the mountains are less near...) so there's no shortage of walks.

There's a pretty good chance that a big company like that will have people to help you settle and choose, and work out what's best for you. Personally I'd live in the city, the commute to the office is OK by train (relatively long by Munich standards, next to nothing by UK standards). There's a tonne of information on this board already so read away.

One piece of advice: try to learn some German, it is far from essential but it will help you feel more comfortable here.

Good luck.

Look for a place near the Englischer Garten - Schwabing, Lehel, Bogenhausen to name a few. Good luck getting a garden, but you might get a terrace. Meets many of your other criteria though!

You might find Freising a good place.

Johanneskirchen?

Hello,

it kind of depends what you are looking for.

Personally, I wouldn't really recommend Schwabing (too many cheap pubs, but expensive nevertheless cos everyone wants to live there. I don't understand why - It's great if you're a student going on the piss, but otherwise... ). The Schwabing part of the English Garden isn't so nice either.
Bogenhausen would not be my cup of tea either (too snobby).

Lehel is nice (nice old buildings, nice corner cafés), but it is expensive, and because it is central, you would be hard pushed to find accommodation with a garden.
Also nice, but a bit expensive is Nymphenburg, would be worth it though as you would be close to Nymphenburg Palace which has lovely large grounds for walks, etc. Lots of nice cafés too.

If you want a lively part of town but still nice, and central too, (nice restaurants & bars, huge central library, concert halls, headquarters for Munich evening classes, large indoor swimming pool ...), then my no. 1 recommendation would be Haidhausen. Again, you probably would have difficulties finding a garden though.

Finally, if you would prefer something outside the city (=good chance of finding a house&garden), Holzkirchen seems to have a small but lively "English colony", I know some of the ladies there, they are really sound.

Good luck either way! And definitely try to learn at least some German as one of the posters suggested - generally you can do without, but it makes life a hell of a lot easier if you can speak the lingo. The Munich evening classes organization ("MVHS") also offer intensive German courses during the day, so this is definitely something worth considering when you arrive.

Also depends how your husband wants to commute to work, car or train?

thanks to everyone for your replies, one of the reasons i asked for a garden is because we have a cat, or can you have them in a apartment? the company will be arranging some basic german lessons. my husband will be driving to work

yraunaj-
Welcome, I am (was) in the same situation as yourself with the exception I am male, and we have dogs. We have found Erding a nice place, friendly people, rent a house with large garden area, very reasonable, some expats. We looked for a while because it seems when you are looking there is never anyhting available!
I do agree with other post that living in Munich area will definately be a plus when looking to meet english speakers and U will also have a large choice of shopping and dining.
Neufarn (spelling) close to Hallbergmoos seems to have a large expat community and is a nice area.

I agree with everyone - try to learn German, it can be frustrating if you live outside of Munich proper, although most know some english and can usually find someone to help with german translation whereever you are.

Good Luck!

The Garden thing is something an English person will probaby have to forget in Munich. You can choose to live out in the suburbs (nr the airport) where as has already been said, you can find larger houses with gardens. Germans do not apparently need a house with a garden and are quite content to live in flats. To get the most from Munich it is advisable to live as close to the centre as poss. this will mean you can walk, cycle or get public transport to everywhere you need to go. Lehel, Haidhausen, Au, Glockenbach, Isarvorstadt, Gärtnerplatz, even Neuhausen all are good choices. Occasionally ground floor flats in the centre have as small bit of garden, this might be enough for a cat. keep an eye out for them. many expats ask for a house with garden and end up living in characterless out of town developments. Try to resist this if you can.

If you (or your cat) are really keen on a garden, I'd suggest somewhere in the north-east of Munich - roughly speaking, the large area bounded by Effnerstrasse and Richard-Strauss-Strasse to the west, the S8 S-Bahn (suburban railway line) to the east, and the A94 autobahn to the south. This area is practically all residential, and much of it is small or medium-sized houses with gardens, or apartment blocks in green areas, where the ground-floor flats have a patio and garden. There's a chance you might find a house to rent, if that's within your budget. It's what you might call "leafy suburbia", so plenty of areas where you can stroll around and enjoy the greenery, if that's what you like. As regards bars and restaurants, there isn't too much happening in that part of town, but you'll find quite a few traditional cosy Bavarian pubs, most of which have a beer garden open in the warmer months - welcome to one of Munich's finest traditions!

The other good thing about that area for you is that it would be convenient for your husband commuting to Hallbergmoos, since it's on that side of Munich. Especially so if he decides to take the train instead of driving, as the S8 goes to Hallbergmoos. Public transport in Munich is very good, safe and reliable, so even it you live out in a quiet suburb, you can still easily go downtown for shopping and nightlife.

EDIT: Forgot to mention: I would avoid living right next to the railway line, as it can be a bit noisy - not so much the S-Bahn trains, but the heavy goods trains that go rumbling through in the middle of the night. A couple of blocks away should be OK though. Oh, and if you're flat/house-hunting by district, you'd be looking for place-names like Johanneskirchen (as someone mentioned above), Englschalking, Daglfing, Denning, Cosimapark, Zamdorf, Steinhausen... I think that more-or-less covers it. Good luck!