Posted 12 April If you could live anywhere in Germany - where would it be? Key points - places of beauty in Germany? Somewhere affordable to buy with a garden? With friendly people! Hi everyone, We're a British family who have lived in Stuttgart for a few years and had two kids here. We always thought we'd be here temporarily and move back to the UK but that was harder than we thought and are considering settling down in Germany. My husband can work remotely anywhere in the country so although we like Stuttgart and have friends here we want to explore living somewhere else. My son is Autistic and it took him a long time to settle into kindergarten so I don't want to move him unnecessarily. But I want to live further out of the city. Preferably with a lake to swim in in summer. Somewhere in nature with natural beauty. Where people are friendly and welcoming. Where our not-that-good German won't be too isolating (I'm working on it but struggling) We are thinking outskirts of Stuttgart, outskirts of Munich, somewhere in the black forest, near Konstanz may be worth exploring. If anyone has any input I'd love to hear it please. 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted 12 April Affordable? Real Estate seems to be quite expensive, prices have gone up a lot in recent years, not sure where it might be cheaper. "City, Stadt,Ville": Bonn might be a good place, very international and not too big. I would choose a smaller town, myself. .. Where to live is a big decision, might be worth taking some time... 0 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted 12 April 3 hours ago, Newhier said: Key points - places of beauty in Germany? Somewhere affordable to buy with a garden? That´s like asking for circle with corners. Personally, if affordability wasn´t a problem, I´d tend to the Freiburg area or the area around lake Constance. That´s a big IF though. Places in Eastern Germany tend to be a lot more affordable. E.g. the area East of Leipzig has lots of smaller lakes, but you still have bigger cities like Dresden and Leipzig within reach. Brandenburg and McPomm may also have natural beauty and are bicycle friendly, I´ve been told (have never been there myself). 0 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted 12 April 2 hours ago, jeba said: McPomm Over there you might have problems you did Not See in other parts of Germany. 0 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted 12 April 11 minutes ago, Fietsrad said: What Problems? Not See problems. You know, Not Zee problems. 0 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted 12 April Neufuenfland, or The Former DDR, may have a certain reputation because of events that happened in the 1990s, 2000s. One thing you notice now: many towns in the East seem to be in better condition than towns in the West. There are even places where people seem to have too much money. Potsdam for example. 0 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted 12 April I'm looking for a good job that pays well and isn't too far from home where the employees are friendly and my boss will respect me. Can anybody help? 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted 12 April 15 minutes ago, Fietsrad said: There are even places where people seem to have too much money. I bet there are places where people think the same of you. 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted 12 April I am still looking for that pot of gold I heard about, while I was a child, that sits at the end of a rainbow, but its a very long search 0 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted 12 April Rügen would be a good place to live in the quiet season. If there is a quiet season any more. Or one of the Hansestädte maybe. 0 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted 13 April I live near Braunlage in the harz region. I speak horrible german and have less language problems here than i had in Berlin. Housing is reasonable but these are small towns, so not sure how any special needs for your son would be such as in school. There are lakes all around but not sure about swimming as most are for drinking water. Lots of waldbads. There are 100s of kilometers of hiking and biking trails. Cross country skiing and small downhill areas also. There were spruce trees as far as you could see but not now...all clear cut for the bark beetle. But still nice and lots of nature. Houses in smaller villages that are liveable but may need minor freshening for a little over 200k can be found with land but you need to search. Some nice homes pop up in walkenreid and weida from time to time. Braunlage proper is not cheap. Many decent homes in and around the small towns in harz. But it snows quite a bit and winter can be long at the upper elevation towns. For money you cant beat it if you like small and quiet. People are friendly and you do need a car here. 2 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted 13 April Approval for Braunlage, it is not far from Clausthal-Zellerfeld, the only town with a college that has two winter Terms🙃 Generally, quite small towns really have a lot to recommend them. I should much sooner dwell in Frankfurt/Oder than in Frankfurt/Main. 0 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted 14 April Hi Newhier, I'm originally from the UK and came here to Germany in 1983, in May it will be 40 years. Wasn't planned that way, it just happened. I lived mostly in Tübingen, just south of Stuttgart, for almost 30 years and loved it there. I have also spent loads of time in Freiburg im Breisgau and think the town and surrounding area are absolutely fantastic! Freiburg would probably be my first choice if it were not for the cost of a house there. I was in Bamberg, but only for a week, and found the town to be very attractive. Konstanz and the Bodensee are also very nice indeed! Any of these towns mentioned will have the proper facilities and schools, etc. for your son. When we decided to buy a house about ten years ago, we wanted to stay in the general area of Stuttgart so that my wife could care for her elderly parents. Tübingen and Freiburg were just too expensive at the time, so we had to widen the search area away from Stuttgart to find something more affordable and are now in a small town with approx. 5000 inhabitants 40 km east of Stuttgart, just at the foot of the Schwäblische Alb. We have a lovely house with a garden full of flowers and weeds. The decision to stay here in Germany was the best one I've made, I am very happy here. Hope that helps. 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
