[Dr.Benway]

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[OSL]

(12-09-2013 04:23 PM)Dr.Benway Wrote:  

Berlin has to be on this list. Capital and largest city of the largest economy of europe, and one of the biggest in the world. countless international organizations are here. It is the cultural capital of the european union, and is a huge place for internet and tech start ups. Any of you guys who know anything about programming can come to berlin and walk onto a job lickety split. They pay isnt as high in munich or certainly places like NYC, Toronto, but the cost of living is less and quality of life is beyond any city I have ever been to.

For example, i currently earning about 2000 euros a month after taxes, yet I need only about 800 a month to live. this includes rent, transportation, food, partying, health insurance, cell phone-everything.

So not only am I living in the heart of europe, and in the city that has the best nightlife in the world bar none, but I am banking tons of cash while doing so. Anyone interested in app or website development would find a nice home here and tons of people to network and collaborate with.

Yes, there are lots of hipsters. big deal. they are also the ones who are creating music, opening bars, opening the best night clubs in the world, and attracting tons of young females from all over europe in the process. there are tons of chicks here, all outside of their typical social circles and here to have fun. It's amazing how many girls you can meet here!

google the berlin metro map, and see for yourself how great the infrastructure is here. That being said, I bike everywhere and I can reach any part of the city (thats worth visiting) in 20 minutes. Berlin is also sort o fan island. all of your typical stereotypes for germans simply do not apply to the inhabitants in berlin. its very easy going, people do their own thing, no one gives a shit about status or flashy displays of wealth. its very easy to interact with people here because essentially none of the people here are from berlin.

Also, learning German while you are here will be a big advantage. German has the highest number of native speakers in europe and it is the second most learned 2nd language (after english of course)

I was in Berlin for a couple of days in 2010. I didn't have a chance to see much of the city but I liked what I saw.

What are your general impressions on:

1. Tech startup scene

2. Dating scene

[Dr.Benway]

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[OSL]

(12-10-2013 07:01 PM)Dr.Benway Wrote:  

both very positive. like i said before, anyone who is a programmer can walk onto a job here. might not be the best paid, but if will offer you alot of creativity and the chance to implement ideas. there is no corporate environment here. its all small businesses looking to make it big and some really great things are happening here. What is cool in Berlin is that people just aren't that impressed with typical north american status symbols. You can easily go to a flat party and meet some guys who ride their bikes around the city and look just like everyone else, but are actually successful entrepreneurs. Just a few weeks ago I had a flat party at my place and my roommate had some of her friends over, 3 of them owned their own businesses, with one guy who I had a very long conversation with who travels frequently between south korea and san francisco for his business. he was probably 28. Lots of people like that here.

dating scene also very positive. there are women here for all flavours. for young europeans berlin is really THE place to be now. out of this world nightlife, cheap living, lots of universities, and a chance to make an in on the German market. There are huge numbers of foreigners in berlin from Spain, Italy, France, Poland, Russia, Sweden, USA, Australia, Canada, UK. I have also met lots of serbs lately. point being: lots of young girls, away from home, looking for fun, and people here are VERY open and receptive to meeting people.

Great info. Have you been finding that it is a good travel hub? I've been to Tegel and I was surprised at how small and crappy it seemed.

Berlin itself was really cool though. The metro is nice and seemed to be empty at all hours of the day.

Berlin seems really sprawled. How do you find getting around and logistics of hooking up at night?

Is it like Singapore or New York where you are just as likely to go out and hook up with a chick from Sweden/Poland as you would a German? In Singapore I guess that would be like Philippines/Malaysia/Japan.

[Arturo Belano]

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Great info. Have you been finding that it is a good travel hub? I've been to Tegel and I was surprised at how small and crappy it seemed.

It's not a good intercontinental hub, there are two airports; Tegel and Schönefeld; but they're both pretty small. The city has been building a proper international airport called Brandenburg airport for ages, but it keeps getting delayed. It was supposed to be open in 2010 haha http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Berlin_Brandenburg_Airport

Flying around Europe is pretty easy, but coming from Australia I had to fly to Munich and then transfer to Tegel.

The sprawl can be a pain in the arse, but it's actually a really good city for biking because it's got lots of paths and it's relatively flat. I'd recommend investing in a bicycle.