Best places to live when studying at FHTW Berlin

Hi all,
I will be studying at Fachhochschule für Technik und Wirtschaft (fthw) Berlin in the Friedrichsfelde area as from next month, March, for 2 years and would appreciate your opinion on where to live considering the distance, the environment, the people, etc.. I do not speak German (yet!). I lived in Mauritius and South Africa (and I thought I'd add that I look Asian), and I'm 22. I am not really into partying, but occasionally go to pubs and clubs. I would rather hang out in a cafe and read a book, and more into the arty-farty cultural stuff. I want a quiet neighbourhood, but not a dodgy area. I read that Friedrichshain tend to be loud (drunk students) and full of dog crap. From reading from the net, I think I might like Treptow? I am looking for a place that is not too far from the fthw, but also not "out of civilisation" as I do not like to stay at home. Thanks for the advice. If there's anyone of you letting in those places where I might be looking at, or know someone whos letting, do let me know. And i might add, I'm a student, so i'm looking at a room €200-€300 p.m. Thx!

I think, Friedrichshain will fit. Only avoid it, if dog poo is a really big problem for you. There are some streets which are loud, but about 70% of the district is rather quiet. And you will find definitely more nice cafes and arty farty stuff there than in Treptow or anywhere else in the Friedrichsfelde direction.

Treptow is an up and coming area certainly compared to 4-5 years ago.

The area between Treptow Park and Schleiseschies Tor are reasonable, and it is a walking distance to both Kreuzburg and Friedrichshain. There are many students living there because of the reasonable prices, some decent cafes (however not as many as on the scale of F/Hain or PLB)

The problem in Treptow - which I like - is (besides the drawbacks stated above), that there are only relatively few flats or rooms in shared flats to rent in the more interesting area (and near the public transport system).

Thanks for your comments, i appreciate it! I will keep on looking on the Treptow-Schleiseschies area.

hi kimikoi

i also go to FHTW and i have been living in prenzlauer berg. if you found yourself a flat near the U8 or U2 lines, you could easily get to FHTW in 30-45 minutes. Since you only have to change trains once, it's quite good to read in the train, thereby making the trip not so bad. Also, being in Prenzlberg (on the border of Mitte), you have plenty of access to cafes (Kastanienallee is FULL of cafes, practically only cafes), and Mitte is full of art galleries that you can walk to in less than 20 minutes I'd say. In this area, rooms can be found in your budget range without too much difficulty.

One thing to be conscious of however, is that Prenzlauer Berg was in East Berlin, and used to be the cheap artist/student district after the wall fell. But now those artists/students have grown up, got jobs, have kids, and so forth, so the neighbourhood is constantly changing in many ways. Now there are little children everywhere, the vibe is definitely getting more yuppie, and the whole neighbourhood is an eternal construction site (due to flat renovation / modernisation). So, when searching for a flat, always ask them if there's construction happening nearby, as this can seriously screw up your sleeping! (Berliner construction workers start punctually at 7am, if not 6.45!)

I'm moving to kreuzberg in 2 weeks, but basically I think you're overthinking - as long as you have a good U-Bahn connection, you can live anywhere on the east side, be it Prenzlauer Berg, Kreuzberg, Friedrichsain, etc.

good luck

horseshoe7,
Thanks! i am starting to look around kreuzberg too now. I mailed few People in the friedsrichshain area who put up rooms to let, but they do not seem too responsive... weird.

I think nowadays you have to be lucky to find a room in Friedrichshain, Kreuzberg and Prenzlauer Berg. They sometimes get around one hundred requests for rooms and some lazy bastards tend to not answer them all...

exactly my current problem.. also, i find it's really difficult to try and secure housing when i'm not actually in berlin because chances are the current roommates want to meet first for a chat before they decide from some >10 candidates.. i am even thinking of getting my own place with no roommates but my sister thinks it's a very bad idea, she started going on about "what if" this happens and that happens (i.e. i get sick and pass out in my flat and no one finds out and i lay there dying or something).