I have to move to Berlin in about six months with my family and wondered what the situation with rent prices is right now? I heard that some neighborhoods can be quite expensive - what's the area to consider right now that isn't massively pricey but still nice? Thanks in advance!
Don't spend too much time on searching in Mitte, Prenzlauerberg or most parts of Kreuzberg, getting a good value for money deal is not very likely. Neuköln is where I would start looking currently. With family looking for a garden or house, Lichtenberg, Karlshorst might be worth to look into.
Also try Charlottenburg or Weissensee.
I can agree with this. Depends on what you're looking for. I live in prenzlauerberg for 400€ all inclusive but with 2 flat mates, albeit a nice big flat. I used to be in kreuzberg for the same price with another flatmate. Otherwise definitely follow the above advice.
You'd need to define 'expensive'. I paid about €1000 / month for an 80m2 apartment in Prenzlauer Berg (including all utilities), which I considered reasonable compared to Helsinki (from where I moved to Berlin). It's true that Kreuzberg is no longer a 'cheap' place to live (relative to other neighborhoods), but most housing in Berlin is fairly inexpensive when compared against similarly sized apartments in other European capitals.
As Thomas already mentioned, Mitte, Prenzlauer Berg and parts of Kreuzberg is getting more and more expensive. That doesn’t mean you cannot be lucky and find something for a reasonable price there.
Another must is to use the local sites rather than Airbnb etc for your search. Berlin is one of the cities I’ve been to where the Airbnb prices have deviated the most from what locals are renting for. http://www.immobilienscout24.de/ and http://www.wg-gesucht.de/ are some of my favorites. I find that the latter is better for short term stays (less than a year) and the apartments listed there are often furnished.
You might want to check out Wedding area as well, the rent there is relatively cheaper than prenzlauer berg & kreuzberg.
I really enjoyed living in Schöneberg, as it's pretty central but very reasonable (CHEAP in comparison to Boston, where I moved from). I had a €420/monat 42sqm (about €500 with utilities) 2zimmer flat a 5 minute walk from Nollendorfplatz UBahn. Lots of families are living in the Schöneberg area, but it's nearly 100% apartment buildings. You could look out Marienfelde/Lichenrade if you want a single family spot.
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