Moving to Darmstadt and looking for advice

Hello everyone,

My name is Roz and I'm a newbie here.
I'm incredibly excited at the moment because after years of planning and 100s of job applications, I have finally got myself a job and it's going to be working for Wella in Darmstadt :-)
The company is being very helpful and will be relocating me and setting up viewings for apartments.
However, it would be great if you guys could help me out with a few things as I have never been to Germany, can't speak German and I'm feeling pretty clueless!

The main thing is deciding on a good place to live. I'm not particularly fussy about the internal aspects of my flat, I just want a one bedroom flat that is not too expensive, and somewhere to keep my bicycle and park my car. However, I will probably be fussy about area and situation of the flat.
Currently I live in a rural village which is right next to a major dual carriageway, 10 mins walk from work and 10 mins walk from the bus stop and train station into the city. I love the fact that I live in quite a rural place, which feels like home to me, yet I can cycle into the city in 30 minutes, jump on the train or bus, or jump in my car and go wherever I wish very easily.
So, essentially, considering that moving to Germany to start a whole new life in an entirely different profession, it would be great if I could find something similar.

I would like to be within a sensible cycling distance from work, Wella is on Berliner Allee, which is towards the south west of the city.
And I'd also like to be near to the train station, so I can get to Frankfurt Intl airport easily as it is likely I will be flying back regularly to visit my boyfriend in London. And it would be great if I could visit Frankfurt easily too. Apparently Frankfurt is 30 mins from Darmstadt on the train, so I guess the airport is about the same if not closer?
However, it would be great if I could be near a park or green area towards the west side of the city - but i can't really see anything relevant on the map. Any ideas?

I'm also planning to buy a car as I'm really interested in dressage, and plan to either buy my own horse or loan one.
My dad has an LPG Astra, and i was wondering whether it would be a crazy idea to buy one of those in Germany? Although it might be out of my budget.

I will be visiting Wella in June, and my German flat hunting assistant would like me to look around the city for prospective areas in which to live. Then she will arrange some viewings for me at the beginning of August, ready for me to move in at the beginning of October. So I would like some ideas about the sort of places I should visit in June? Are there any dodgey or unsafe areas of Darmstadt? I also quite like jogging, sometimes at night (I borrow a dog), is that safe to do in Darmstadt?

Oh, and if anyone knows of a good Alexander technique teacher, cello teacher or German teacher, that would also be helpful!

Thank you in advance,

Roz.

Anything else while we're at it?!

K

p.s. welcome to TT

Lol. Sorry!
All the greener areas near Wella and the train station look quite industrial.
I was just hoping for some inside knowledge...


Thank you. Seems like a really friendly and useful place :-)

Roz.

Just my 2cents:
Darmstadt is a nice place to live. The size of the town is just right.
I went shopping in DA quite often and liked it.
So no need to go shopping in Frankfurt.
However, the connection by train to Frankfurt is good.
To get to Frankfurt airport you can use a bus. You might already have seen that
Darmstadt is close to the airport. -sometimes to close.
The north of Darmstadt can be noisy.
I don't think you will find a really unsafe place in DA, but jogging in the night?
If you look at a map you will find that a very busy autobahn is west to Darmstadt.
Good luck

There is an Opel Dealer near Darmstadt centre not too far from Wella, on Kasinostraße I think but am not certain. I know as my o-h may be buying a car from there but I'm not interested and so, sorry, can't provide much detailed info as not paying much attention!

Running's fine, I do it all hours, plenty of parks etc.

There's a lot of residential areas to pick from so the best thing to do is check them out. I think if you live centrally that you will find that you may not need a car anyway. Bikes are commonly used here.

Frankfurt is as little as 16 mins away on the train, certainly not 30. The best PT way to the airport is by bus (about 20 mins). You can go by train but it's via Frankfurt and so fairly indirect (and late night connections are not great).

Like many people here, I've come across Wella in my time. It appears to be very, very pleasant company to work for, full of really nice people.

To follow up, like many jobbing EL native speakers here, I deliver some training in business that includes language and also went through the state's German programme, so I like to think I know a bit about it. I also know quite a lot of EL native speakers from social groups.

Thinking about it more - wandering round DA city centre - perhaps the first step is to try to get your company to arrange and pay for lessons. Many EL native speakers I know who came here with no German at all go via that route - lessons in the morning then working p.m. etc. However, they also reported that it could be hard work as they were expected to do a full day's work too .

You also need to think about how to learn. Do you want to learn with the entire learning process conducted in German (which is normal for the "intensive" and / or "business" route)? Or do you want to learn as you would as if you were still at school in the UK - that is more bilingual with the lesson and text books etc structured in English mainly and dipping into German as needed?

There are loads and loads of training providers here - state education, not for profit bodies, private schools, individuals (whether compaines or less formal). That's because there are a lot of multi-national companies and many migrants here for other reasons. The intensive route worked for me but we are all different .

I would also advise to take it easy when you move here - no need to rush to commit to one way of learning or one provider. Your new employer is part of a US "parent" and uses English widely. I know from coming across them that there are loads of top notch English speakers there.

Pfungstadt would probably fit most of the living arrangement conditions, even riding and stuff - except for one thing, the distance

Within 30 minutes (!) walking of Wella, i wouldn't know any "decent" places that would remotely fit your requirements.

However, take into account that Darmstadt has a relatively good public transport system. (Western) Griesheim could also be an option therefore, for example.