This Is The Thread Where We Have An Announcement To Make...

[Stephi_B]

No-no, it's alright, no traps, just trippy zoids But it will be tricky to align things built for 90° angles to all the none-90°-angles

I'm no longer on Facebook, but I can PM you my email address

Flats are hard to come by (that's one of the reasons I joined the coop), flat shares are a lot easier (but often overprized, especially for people new to Berlin).

The young ones (I'm allowed to say so in the semibiblical age of 35 ) are currently flocking in Neukölln, Friedrichshain-Kreuzberg and somewhat Wedding/Moabit/Tiergarten as well as Lichtenberg/Treptow.

Kreuzberg is neat in parts (those not too close to my soon ex-district Friedrichshain ), but very expensive, and Friedrichshain - I'm fleeing from there , imho not nice any longer, party mass tourism with all side effects; Prenzlauer Berg and Pankow are quite posh and pricey, Mitte full of tourists and very pricey)... I'd rather go for Schöneberg, Charlottenburg, Wilmersdorf, those parts of Steglitz close to the subway, Moabit/Tiergarten, or Treptow/Lichtenberg - somewhat depending on where she will be centered for work/uni, but if either a subway line (all those with a U like U-Bahn) or Ringbahn S 41/42 (it goes only about every 10 minutes, but it goes fast - unlike other S-Bahn lines - and crosses all subway lines - oh, and in reality, not on the schematic plans - Ringbahn looks like a dog's head) is close you reach things fast.

Edit: That's quite a good side to find flats (Wohnung) or flat shares (WG/Wohngemeinschaft) for rent (Miete) http://www.immonet.de/berlin/wohnung-mieten.html

The number of rooms (Zimmer) refers not to the number of bedrooms (like in the US, as far I know) but to all rooms with the exception of bathroom, kitchen and things like a small chamber/closet or an extra toilet (ah, well I'm coop spoilt now, I visited flats with up to three closets or two balconies - some of them irregular pentagons! - or well, an extra toilet).

If she stays only for a certain period of time (some months or up to 1 year or so) "Wohnen auf Zeit" may be an option, often such flats are already furnitured (which is not the standard! usually there's only a gas oven and a sink in the kitchen - and sometimes you can take things the previous tenant leaves behind, for free or for some amount of money if it's still of considerable worth, again I would take care to not be tricked into paying too much --> google what a new thing like that would locally cost).

Edit2: Gotta get going again, now that the most favourite one has brought me the cardboard boxes and tended my nerves somewhat

[Stephi_B]

Ah, with a boyfriend already here it's simpler in any case

Is he German or already here for some time?

Something like a language learning tandem might be a good chance to get to know locals, I know a lot of foreign students who did that to meet new people and learn/improve the language in a fun way

Plus there is a huge English-speaking expat community in Berlin, getting into that is even easier (Craigslist etc.) probably.

Though in the more "neighbourly" (that is not in the touristic centres where there are more Air B'n'Bers than regular tenants) areas you can mix up with all sorts of people quite easily as you start meeting the same people in your immediate surrounding (Kiez) again and again (folks are married with their Kiez , the more peculiar my trans-city move, but I'm indeed done and fed up now and looking forward to the new place )