# Thinking of moving to Berlin - is it a very safe city?



## MovingOUTofFrance

Hi, I am thinking of moving to Berlin and just wondering how safe the city is. I am non-EU but spoke to a german lawyer and can possible get a resident permit for Germany as I can support myself financially without working. I have enough income to move there anyway but I would also be exploring investment and business opportunities in Berlin. I've been to Berlin a few times but visiting and living there are completely different things, I like the city a lot and was just wondering how safe it is especially for someone like me being Indian. I don't look Indian though (not the typical ones), I do have blue eyes and dark brown hair and very light skin but most people think I am mediterranean. If I were to buy a nice car (ferrari or porsche) and drive around Berlin and live in a fancy apartment in Mitte - would I be subject to any crime or racism? How is german police towards foreigners like me? As long as I am not breaking any rules how would I be treated there? I say this because I had horrible experiences in the UK - which I think is the most awful racist country on this planet, currently I live in France but want to move out because there are no investment opportunities in France and the system is very difficult. Does anyone else here live in Berlin ? What is the general opinion - is it a nice city? I quite enjoyed it the few times I've been and it has an edgy/artsy feel which I like. I also liked that Berlin was extremely clean as a city.


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## James3214

Personally, I don't think you will have a problem in Berlin as it is a lot safer than a lot of other European cities, but always use your common sense, especially if you want to live in a nice area and drive around in a Porsche! Actually, I am surprised about your experiences in the UK. I would of thought the UK is a lot more tolerant than many EU countries, and certainly more than France?


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## vronchen

My bf who is half indian and grew up in Berlin said he (and his mom and brother) never had a problem. hope you like it.


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## MovingOUTofFrance

James3214 said:


> Personally, I don't think you will have a problem in Berlin as it is a lot safer than a lot of other European cities, but always use your common sense, especially if you want to live in a nice area and drive around in a Porsche! Actually, I am surprised about your experiences in the UK. I would of thought the UK is a lot more tolerant than many EU countries, and certainly more than France?


Thanks for the reply. Well I prefer not to talk about my experiences in UK but since many people have asked or shown disappointment when I speak about it, i'll tell you what I experienced in UK. I spent 4 years living in London in south kensington literally 5 mins walk from Harrods, the area was lovely and not a poor dodgy area at all however the main problem I had in UK was not with the people but while going in and out of the airports, train stations, and just driving or walking around in the cities. There is a high level of institutional racism in UK - the stop and search powers and racial profiling are completely over the top. I can't tell you how many times I was stopped and questioned not only while travelling in and out on valid visas but also by the police for just walking around, shopping and driving in the cities. UK has become a very suspicious environment and it is a proven fact that there were 50,000 cases last year of violent attacks against foreigners - 50% of those foreigners were of south asian descent. Now I don't look like a typical Indian at all, I have blue eyes and very light skin but I don't look "anglo-saxon" either....maybe in UK they think I am muslim but most other European countries people think I am italian or greek especially because of my blue eyes and light brown hair....there aren't a lot of Indians who look like me but still a good 50 million out of 1.2 billion Indians have this kind of look but it's not the stereotypical Indian look. UK is a tolerant country only on Paper - not in reality, every single foreigner I asked about the UK had the same experience - many of them prefer not to talk about it because the only good thing about UK is that in Europe it's the only country where foreigners can get better and more equal WORK opportunities nothing else....but they are all harassed and questioned and intimidated by the system all the time. And if you live in a not so wealthy area of England - the racism levels are very high in such places - this is why UK has all sorts of ethnic ghettos where people live within their own communities and don't mix with other cultures freely.

I was quite shocked myself about how they target foreigners in UK even tourists just going around, I am not sure if you heard of the Brazillian guy who was shot and killed by the police in London who thought he was a terrorist but he wasn't and they made a mistake. There are many more incidences where people weren't killed but arrested over false suspicions, harassed on the streets and made to live like hell just over the colour of their skin. Sorry but I think UK has gone over the top with all this - they are only welcoming to billionaire russians and arabs who have huge money to buy their way through. If you spend £10 million you can get permanent settlement in 2 years in the UK - these kinds of laws are no way fair or justified in my opinion. Even I held an investor category visa to the UK but still they kept harassing me for years and that's why I got fed up and left to move to France.

My experience in France has been amazing, I've spent over a year in Paris and been to every corner of France... I don't even speak fluent french but I never even once had any problem in France and I've driven all over the country to every corner really even to remote villages and many poor areas as well. I was never stopped or questioned unnecessarily by the police or immigration authorities - nor was I made to feel unwelcome at all even once. In France if you are well dressed and well behaved they don't really care for your ethnicity - but in UK they still do....as I said most Indians have had the same experience in UK - many of them speak openly about it but many don't. Visiting UK as a tourist and living there are also different experiences.....I have made complaints with the IPCC and UK Border Agency complaints team who acknowledged my complaints and even apologised to me but the system is so bad that no amount of complaints would make a difference. I was so traumatised living in UK that now I don't even feel like going back for a visit anymore. I know there are problems with immigrants all over Europe but I do feel at least in France and other EU countries i've been to usually there are no issues if you are a well behaved well spoken sophisticated foreigner and fit in with the bigger culture....at least outside UK, I never faced any issues anywhere else in Europe and i've travelled very extensively all over the continent....maybe UK has more issues because UK also simply has more immigrants??


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