# Could you suggest a nice Berlin's suburb for my needs..?



## rosexp (Apr 7, 2014)

Hi everyone,

I need to decide where to live in Berlin but I do not know the city very much.

I would have to commute to north west part of Berlin every day so my priority would be a nice area at *walking distance from any S25 Sbahn station* north of Friedrichstrasse one.

What lively suburb would you suggest along this route? 

Thank you.

Ross


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## Nononymous (Jul 12, 2011)

I wouldn't suggest a suburb at all. I'd suggest the city. But possibly you mean neighbourhood. 

If it's lively you want, Mitte or Prenzlauer Berg near a station; further north it gets quieter.


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## ALKB (Jan 20, 2012)

rosexp said:


> Hi everyone,
> 
> I need to decide where to live in Berlin but I do not know the city very much.
> 
> ...


I must confess that I have trouble understanding what exactly a suburb is.

What exactly is lively for you?

I quite like Alt Tegel, which would be the district of Reinickendorf. Wedding has some rather nice parts - I like the Seestrasse area but that would be U6 going to Friedrichstrasse, not S25.

Are you saying that you don't want to change train lines at all for going to work? That will limit you quite a bit. I am also a bit confused, if you will work in the north west, why focus on this particular S train line? Where exactly will you be working?

If you will work in former West Berlin (Spandau, Reinickendorf, Wedding), I'd recommend to also stay in one of those districts rather than former eastern ones like Weissensee or Pankow. Or at least examine very, very closely how good the transport links are. 40 years of being apart have left some surprising and inconvenient quirks in the public transport system (not everywhere but in enough places) and what looks extremely close on the map might not be close in terms of public transport.


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## Nononymous (Jul 12, 2011)

When in doubt, have a go at bvg.de for commute times. Though even Google Maps does that now.


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## rosexp (Apr 7, 2014)

Thank you for your answers.
I did actually mean more neighbourhood but would exclude Mitte cause might be expensive to rent my own apartment.
I would need to travel everyday to Hennigsdorf so it seems the only option I have is S25 which would take me about 30 min from Wedding with the direct line. However I actually can consider changing train lines as long as that does not increase my travel time considerably.

A lively area for me means a place where you see people around (nice possibly..) during the day and the evening with shops and restaurant, I do not like quiet residential areas.

By looking at the map it seems Wedding would be the best compromise for its proximity with Mitte.
Alt Tegel seems a bit far, ideally I would like to get to the city in no more than 15 min by public transport.

Ross


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## ALKB (Jan 20, 2012)

rosexp said:


> Thank you for your answers.
> I did actually mean more neighbourhood but would exclude Mitte cause might be expensive to rent my own apartment.
> I would need to travel everyday to Hennigsdorf so it seems the only option I have is S25 which would take me about 30 min from Wedding with the direct line. However I actually can consider changing train lines as long as that does not increase my travel time considerably.
> 
> ...



Hennigsdorf is actually not in Berlin but in Brandenburg. 

Alt Tegel is three S-train stops away from Hennigsdorf (the stop "Tegel" on the S25)! It has lots of restaurants and cafés, places for shopping, doctors, the main library of Reinickendorf and a beautiful lakeside promenade. Every district has its own centre, so there is no need to go to Potsdamer Platz or Kudamm every time you'd like to go to a Restaurant. The U6 takes you in about 25 minutes directly to Friedrichstrasse.

I'd recommend to spend a weekend in Berlin and have a look around both Tegel and convenient areas of Wedding. Wedding has the rougher reputation but can actually be horribly boring in some places (as can be Reinickendorf or any other district).


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## Nononymous (Jul 12, 2011)

My 13-year-old described Wedding as "pretty ghetto" when we ran an errand up that way. Moabit is okay but I guess it's technically Tiergarten, and a bit of a hike to the S-Bahn.

I agree, I would spend some time checking things out if you don't know the city. (Get temporary accommodation close to work for the first few months, and explore.) I'm not super familiar with living up in that quadrant but you might find something suitable in P-Berg/Pankow not too far from Bornholmer Str. But Alt-Tegel is also worth considering.


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## rosexp (Apr 7, 2014)

ALKB said:


> Hennigsdorf is actually not in Berlin but in Brandenburg.
> 
> Alt Tegel is three S-train stops away from Hennigsdorf (the stop "Tegel" on the S25)! It has lots of restaurants and cafés, places for shopping, doctors, the main library of Reinickendorf and a beautiful lakeside promenade. Every district has its own centre, so there is no need to go to Potsdamer Platz or Kudamm every time you'd like to go to a Restaurant. The U6 takes you in about 25 minutes directly to Friedrichstrasse.
> 
> I'd recommend to spend a weekend in Berlin and have a look around both Tegel and convenient areas of Wedding. Wedding has the rougher reputation but can actually be horribly boring in some places (as can be Reinickendorf or any other district).


Thanks, you have made me curious enough about Alt Tegel, I will check it out.
The lake and being a few stops from Hennigsdorf is appealing.

I will definitely spend at least a week trying to visit and have a feel for the areas I am narrowing down, before I rent something.

Any thoughts on Prenzlauer Berg?

Ross


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## ALKB (Jan 20, 2012)

Nononymous said:


> My 13-year-old described Wedding as "pretty ghetto" when we ran an errand up that way. Moabit is okay but I guess it's technically Tiergarten, and a bit of a hike to the S-Bahn.
> 
> I agree, I would spend some time checking things out if you don't know the city. (Get temporary accommodation close to work for the first few months, and explore.) I'm not super familiar with living up in that quadrant but you might find something suitable in P-Berg/Pankow not too far from Bornholmer Str. But Alt-Tegel is also worth considering.


Haha! "Pretty Ghetto" sums it up nicely for the most part (I'd definitely not move to Wedding with children who have to attend local schools).

But if you go to the area around Afrikanische Strasse, it's as conservative and spiessig as it can get.


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## ALKB (Jan 20, 2012)

rosexp said:


> Thanks, you have made me curious enough about Alt Tegel, I will check it out.
> The lake and being a few stops from Hennigsdorf is appealing.
> 
> I will definitely spend at least a week trying to visit and have a feel for the areas I am narrowing down, before I rent something.
> ...


Prenzlauer Berg?

Expensive, hyped up, not as great as "expats" from southern Germany make it out to be, enjoyable, great Restaurants, in the end I find it similar to many other places in Berlin.

Prenzlauer Berg has the "in-area", which comes at a premium and then it has large areas that are no different from the neighbouring districts. A bit like Prenzlauer Berg in name only 

When you go to Berlin have a look, definitely. A lot of expats live in Prenzlauer Berg, so it might be easier to live there. Living somewhere else might be more authentic. Depends on whether you think that's a good thing or not


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## Nononymous (Jul 12, 2011)

ALKB said:


> Haha! "Pretty Ghetto" sums it up nicely for the most part (I'd definitely not move to Wedding with children who have to attend local schools).


And that from a kid who hangs out in Kreuzberg.


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## Tellus (Nov 24, 2013)

rosexp said:


> I would have to commute to north west part of Berlin every day


Where exactly? In seventies we had lived in Spandau (near Berlin )
was a nice time, relations were surprised about the wood, water and infrastructure.
The problem of Tegel is the airport - it ś not clear when it will be closed. 
The new BER will be construction ruine for the next ???years.
Hennigsdorf is a suburb, the old core is built in past war style, former steelworker city.
A cousins family is living in an old worker village..nice, wood`n water.


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## ALKB (Jan 20, 2012)

Tellus said:


> Where exactly? In seventies we had lived in Spandau (near Berlin )
> was a nice time, relations were surprised about the wood, water and infrastructure.
> The problem of Tegel is the airport - it ś not clear when it will be closed.
> The new BER will be construction ruine for the next ???years.
> ...


Alt Tegel is not really all that affected by the airport.

I used to live near Kurt-Schumacher-Platz and there we sometimes thought we could touch the planes during descent.

Spandau is lovely, especially the Altstadt.


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