NRW: What are the best and worst things about it?

[rockie 6]

This thread gives a very good impression of NRW's diversity from north to south.

I love it, but only some areas, wouldn't move north ether, would stick to the rhein/ruhr area, too.

What's about the other citys like dortmund, wuppertal, duisburg, reklinghausen, solingen, essen aso.?

And then there is the howl east of NRW, sauerland, manly rural, towns are arnsberg and warstein (nice beer). Sauerland is a popular winter sport area with very nice hiking during summer.

North east i'll find the weserbergland very interesting to explore. Nice medieval towns like lemgo and hameln. Between them you find extertal, a very unusual rock formation. North from there the porta westfalica with the herman monument and the town minden.

South of cologne the drachenfels right at the rhein and the siebengebirge.

Opposite, west of the rhein, starts the eifel, right at the doorstep of cologne.

All this and more is NRW and peoples diverse there, too. :rolleyes:

[brisbanite 10]

Well I agree with MuffinTop. I too lived in Münster for a total of 12 years. The first time as a student in my early 20s living in the Kreuzviertel and was in love and played in a band and generally had a ball ... But I had to get away regularly from the drabness, the endless gloomy/grey months with no leaves on the trees, the flatness, the regulation of people in every aspect of their lives, the Catholic Church imprint on so many aspect of life, and the terrible food! Then went back as a young mother with a baby in the 1990s and felt that for those 6 years I simply existed, and only really lived when I went on holidays to the south of France, or Spain, or the US, or for a visit home to Australia. Needless to say, I didn't make it long term, and the marriage didn't survive either ... Agree with rockie that there are some interesting sights to see, and towns to visit with some oomph and character in the Ruhr Valley, but living there is another thing.

[MuffinTop 1,189]

 

I too lived in Münster ... and felt that for those 6 years I simply existed, and only really lived when I went on holidays to the south of France, or Spain, or the US, or for a visit home to Australia.

 

Wow brisbanite I can't believe you just wrote word for word the one thing I always said about being in muenster: I exist but I am not living...

 

Still, it has won numerous awards including the "World's most liveable city", so obviously somebody likes it.

[skyflyer3 4]

I came from Seattle, and find Bonn to have better weather than what I had back home. So the "gray" issue is all relative.

 

In my experience, Germans I've met here are very courteous and in general, open and welcoming. I think it just depends on how outgoing and open you are, and whether or not you seek out those similar to you/with similar interests.

 

I think the character and history of the land make it worth living here, plus walking along the Rhine on a cold, clear day when you can see the gebirge is a wonderful thing. And I come from a beautiful place surrounded by water and mountains. While I can't deny it has been hard for me t adjust to living in Germany in general, you can't beat the low cost of food(cheaper here than in the South), free education, socialized high quality healthcare and living in a thriving economy. I miss living in a big city, but I can go to Koeln for that fix. And the transit/transportation systems are why I'm here - 2 to 3 hours I'm anywhere in Europe by plane, 10-12 hours to Asia. At home, 2 hours got me to California or the Midwest. I'm getting my travel fix as much as I can while I am here. And I don't need a car where I live.

 

Personally, I think the experience will be what you make of it. If you want to live near big cities (or in one) that are central and relatively diverse and open to internationals, I think the NRW is a great please to live.

[gaberlunzi 814]

I don't want to dampen your spirits, but: "clear day when you can see the gebirge " from Bonn is clearly an over statement.You have a difficult time to see the Gebirge from Munich on a clear day.From Bonn, no chance. The sides of the Rhine or the Taunus are no Gebirge.

[surfingspider 4]

Nearly fell off my chair laughing at Muffin Top's comments about it being dead on Sundays. Completely true.

 

I'm from Manchester (UK) and it's been a bit of an eye opener in Aachen, been here almost a year now.

 

It does get annoying having to run round like a headless chicken on saturdays to do all your shopping, only to be sat on your arse all day Sunday with absolutely nothing to do because nothing is open. Fortunately I found a meetup group here so I've got some English speaking mates (although collectively they're from Serbia, Estonia, Turkey, USA, India, Netherlands) and we all find it equally odd.

 

The people keep themselves to themselves, I just don't think it's in their culture to be open and friendly towards people they don't know. That said, I have met a few exceptions.

 

Perhaps the most amusing thing is how everybody is so well behaved. Take crossing the road for example, in Britain we're free to cross the road when we want, there are crossings but you're entitled to "bob" across wherever you like (common sense required). The simplest and best way to provoke some classic teutonic anger is to meander across the road when the light is showing red. You’ll be risking a fine for jaywalking and you may even be mowed down by a speeding vehicle, but it’s worth it to witness the expressions awaiting you on the other side of the road. Elderly, hunched women, beefy tattooed workmen in overalls, sensible parents authoritatively clutching their young children – all united in their righteous mix of incomprehension, disgust and outrage. For maximum impact, skip across the street with a couple of small children, whistling cheerfully as you go.

[sosarx 1,661]

What a ridicioulous exaggeration.

 

I've crossed streets at red lights ten thousand times no one ever bothered. What I sure avoid is to so whenever there are children around, since they tend to follow without consideration. But maybe you just don't care for others.

[surfingspider 4]

It was supposed to be an exaggeration, don't let it wind you up

[luckycusp 59]

NRW is the best state to live for Football fans. I miss it like hell and would surely move there sometime in future.

[MuffinTop 1,189]

 

What a ridicioulous exaggeration.

 

I've crossed streets at red lights ten thousand times no one ever bothered. What I sure avoid is to so whenever there are children around, since they tend to follow without consideration. But maybe you just don't care for others.

 

But you live in Berlin (according to your profile)... Try doing the same thing in a small provincial town in NRW and note the reaction you get

 

I think in muenster, because there is no serious crime, the police have more time to fine people for petty things like crossing the road on a red light when there is no traffic coming in either direction. And so they do.

 

The sad thing is, I've become so "trained" to wait at the red light, that when I go back to london, I find myself standing and waiting at the red lights while 20 other people are crossing because they're actually using their brains to assess when it's safe to cross the road rather than blindly following the rules. :blink:

[kevinusaforever 28]

I am from the U.S.A. and am in cologne for a few weeks and can't wait to get back to america. I am very patriotic, so no city will ever be better than america and i think cologne isn't germanies best city. I only have been to Cologne, Bonn, Dusseldorf, Leverkusen and the netherlands for a few hours, so basically the cities around cologne and it just seems a little stale and dull. The people are sometimes friendly sometimes not, though i think the german friendly is just different than in other countries. So if someone seems stand offish, sometimes this is just how germans are, it's not that they are particularly unfriendly, they are just not very outgoing.

 

Public transportation is way overpriced, especially considering the service u get, there is probably not one day where there is no train or bus delayed, or sometimes they just don't come at all, no warning or anything, they just don't come. It cost over 80 euros for a monthly pass. At night they only come every hour and not at all from like 1 am to 4 am.

And the personnel is often the most unfriendly staff ever seen, and i mean really unfriendly, of course most of them don't speak word of english.

 

And like other have already said, on sundays it's like a ghost town, like today on easter i went out because i had nothing to do and it was really like everybody was gone or sleeping. I don't know what germans do allday, are they just sleeping through? In the US we can do basically everything we can do the rest of the week.

 

And even on the week, after maybe a week, i feel like i already saw everything there is in cologne, i basically work, then sometimes i just drive around in the subway, because i have nothing to do, maybe it's because i don't know any english speaking person in the cologne area, though mostly like i said i just work, drive around, sit on the pc and eat.

 

The food is ok, there are alot of mcdonald's though, sometimes 2 or more in less than a square mile, which is kind of weird, why does a franchisee open a mcdonalds so close to another one? Mostly i just eat pizza or make pancakes considering it's basically the only thing i can cook so far from scratch. The grocery stores don't really have a big selection compared to the ones home in the U.S.A.

 

one last thing, like previous posters said, walking across the street in germany is like crime, i think it actually is a crime in germany to cross the street with a red light.

[PLS 914]

what to do on Sundays if you absolutely have to go shopping, there are even shuttle buses from Düsseldorf:

 

http://www.designer-outlet-roermond.de/approach/index.phpRoermond shopping

[ween 58]

 

I am from the U.S.A. and am in cologne for a few weeks and can't wait to get back to america. I am very patriotic, so no city will ever be better than america and i think cologne isn't germanies best city. I only have been to Cologne, Bonn, Dusseldorf, Leverkusen and the netherlands for a few hours, so basically the cities around cologne and it just seems a little stale and dull. The people are sometimes friendly sometimes not, though i think the german friendly is just different than in other countries. So if someone seems stand offish, sometimes this is just how germans are, it's not that they are particularly unfriendly, they are just not very outgoing.

 

Public transportation is way overpriced, especially considering the service u get, there is probably not one day where there is no train or bus delayed, or sometimes they just don't come at all, no warning or anything, they just don't come. It cost over 80 euros for a monthly pass. At night they only come every hour and not at all from like 1 am to 4 am.

And the personnel is often the most unfriendly staff ever seen, and i mean really unfriendly, of course most of them don't speak word of english.

 

And like other have already said, on sundays it's like a ghost town, like today on easter i went out because i had nothing to do and it was really like everybody was gone or sleeping. I don't know what germans do allday, are they just sleeping through? In the US we can do basically everything we can do the rest of the week.

 

And even on the week, after maybe a week, i feel like i already saw everything there is in cologne, i basically work, then sometimes i just drive around in the subway, because i have nothing to do, maybe it's because i don't know any english speaking person in the cologne area, though mostly like i said i just work, drive around, sit on the pc and eat.

 

The food is ok, there are alot of mcdonald's though, sometimes 2 or more in less than a square mile, which is kind of weird, why does a franchisee open a mcdonalds so close to another one? Mostly i just eat pizza or make pancakes considering it's basically the only thing i can cook so far from scratch. The grocery stores don't really have a big selection compared to the ones home in the U.S.A.

 

one last thing, like previous posters said, walking across the street in germany is like crime, i think it actually is a crime in germany to cross the street with a red light.

 

I had to live in Cologne due to having a child with an ex. I have finally moved out after 6 long HORRID years. I have lived in major crap holes back in The States but nothing can top that city . Blockhouse ghettos, filthy transportation which is over priced , rats everywhere,maniacs shouting to themselves. Heres some of the experiences I had, some are actually quite funny. Sometimes I would meet halfway decent people (Usually Foreigners lol)I befriended an Armenian who owned a kiosk in the subway. I was hanging out while he was closing up shop and a dodgy junkie womaan asked him for a cigg, he said sure and gave her one whereupon she dropped down , squatted and took a huge steaming runny dump on his floor and ran. We just stared at each other jaw dropped and in awe. On another occasion I decided to take my 3 year old for a walk on the Rhine River out by Niehl. We ran into a stretch of grass I have nick named Cucumber Gardens because as you looked across it erect penises were poking out of the grass. I was with my UK friend and my son as mentioned. Other families were also out for a stroll . We strolled on and came upon a completely nude man bent over on all fours with his butt in the air. My UK friend then mutter Oh My God. As we all passed including other families he was making his butthole open and close,,like winking . Several kids were around witnessing this. I then glanced over in the bushes and seen a homeless man watching it pleasuring himself.

 

I have tons of stories from that place and have since moved to the country, there is not much to do out here but the peace of mind is priceless.

 

Id advise anyone not to move to that dirty ghetto. There are far more nicer places even in NRW.

 

Its amazing the inhabitants there get angry about jaywalking but its acceptable to masturbate or flex your butthole in public, how progressive lol. And YES, they do freak out about jaywalking, it drives them crazy!

 

Kevin , feel free to shoot me a pm, would love to hang out with another American.

 

The graffitti is also out of control there, ugly, just a plain out ugly city.

[cicero 110]

Don't take your kids for a walk in a cruising area then :S