General

I won't talk about paperwork because the system is fairly transparent -- you can find official information easily enough and employers are generally very good at giving you a checklist of documents you need to provide and appointments you have to make.

Classified Ads

• eBay Kleinanzeigen

  • by far the most active

  • free to post

• Kalaydo

• Klederkreisel

  • second-hand clothes only

  • really active -- highly recommended!!!

Looking for an apartment

Tips

I think it actually might be easier for someone looking for an apartment with more than 2 bedrooms than for a studio -- because chances are, you won't be competing with lots of students who want to pay the minimum to be able to live alone. The open houses I went to had on average about 50 other interested people (with some going upwards towards at least 100 people; an owner told me she got over 200 responses!!!! And for another place about 500!!! :-o)

Some people say it's better to bring the following docs when you go to the open houses (but I actually find that if they don't ask for it in the ad, it's okay not to have them -- but I also saw many interested renteds handing over their professionally bound "portfolio"):

• a Selbstauskunft (self-disclosure of personal and financial info) or a certified Auskunft (credit report) from the German SCHUFA (Immobilienscout24 has a blurb and link to getting one)

• last 3 months' payslips

• work contract

• photocopy of ID

Look at an English annotation of a Selbstauskunft from expat-karlsruhe.

Housing Associations

Below are housing associations for which you can sign up and be added to their list of people who are looking for places to rent

• SAGA

  • UKE has an agreement with SAGA and will help UKE employees look for a place to stay. They don't seem to be actively involved in the search but a point of contact.

    • UKE's contact person: Dennis Collatz (tel: 040 42666 9650, E-Mail: dcollatz@saga.hamburg)

• https://www.wv1902.de/Wohnungen

• https://www.1904.de/wohnungen/wohnungsangebote/wohnungsangebote/

• https://www.bgfg.de/mieten/aktuelle-angebote/

• https://www.hansa-baugenossenschaft.de/wohnen/unsere-wohnungen/?no_cache=1

• https://www.buchdrucker.de/de/Wohnungsangebote

• http://www.whw1897.de/index.php

• https://www.altoba.de/wohnen/angebote/wohnungen/?no_cache=1

• https://dhu.hamburg/de/Freie-Wohnungen

Online Ads

All of them allow you to set up email alerts. In places like Hamburg and Aachen where the rental market is pretty saturated and you are looking at visits with at least 25 other people (I've been to visits where there were about 50-100 people standing in line waiting to hand their renter portfolio and to visit the apartment).

http://www.wg-gesucht.de/

http://www.immobilienscout24.de

http://www.annonce.de/

http://www.studenten-wg.de

http://www.immowelt.de

http://www.immonet.de

https://www.kalaydo.de/immobilien/

Sample letter of inquiry

This sample letter was positively rated according to a study done by the Der Spiegel about how difficult it is for foreigners to find a place to rent in Germany (no data for Hamburg!). (of course confounded by the fact that the fictitious writer is a medical doctor....):

Anschreiben positiv/Dr. Carsten Meier

Sehr geehrte Damen und Herren,

mit großem Interesse habe ich ihre Wohnungsannonce gelesen, da mir das von Ihnen angebotene Objekt außerordentlich gut gefällt. Ich möchte mich zuerst einmal kurz vorstellen: Ich heiße Dr. Carsten Meier, bin 42 Jahre alt, alleinstehend und arbeite seit kurzem als Orthopäde in einer Privatpraxis in {Stadt}. Außerdem bin ich Nichtraucher und besitze keine Haustiere, an einem langfristigen Mietverhältnis ist mir sehr gelegen. Über die Einladung zu einer Wohnungsbesichtigung würde ich mich sehr freuen, zeitlich bin ich flexibel und kann mich ganz nach Ihrem Vorschlag richten. Gerne könnte ich Ihnen bei dieser Gelegenheit auch eine Schufa-Auskunft und meinen Verdienstnachweis vorlegen. Über eine Antwort von Ihnen würde ich mich sehr freuen.

Einstweilen verbleibe ich mit freundlichen Grüßen

Dr. Carsten Meier

Vocabulary

AACHEN

Aachen or Aix-la-Chapelle is a small town of about 200,000 close to Köln/Cologne and at the 3-country border (with the Netherlands and Belgium) -- students from the RWTH Aachen University take up

Store opening hours

Everything is closed on Sunday -- most locals head to Vaals, the bordering Dutch town, a 5-min bicycle ride from the RWTH University Clinic/Uniklinik, where the center has a main street with a lot of stores including a couple of supermarkets (e.g. Albert Heijn), drugstores/pharmacies, bakeries, and general stores (e.g. Hema).

Sculptures and Fountains

Aachen is a town with exceptionally many street sculptures and fountains. Wikipedia has a list of the sculptures and fountains in Aachen and various info. Wikimedia commons has some photos of the fountains in Aachen.

Take the Aachen fountain quiz! For Aacheners and those living in Aachen, guess where each photo was taken from my Aachen fountain photo project (location is in the caption -- don't cheat).

The one-stop Moutain-biking/bicycle store: Bike-components.DE

For those who know where to look for decent-quality mountain-bike components, accessories and consumables at extremely decent prices have definitely ordered online from Bike-Components.DE. To my wonderful surprise upon arriving in Aachen was to see they have a physical storefront -- it went from a 2-man counter within a few feet when you set foot in the door (you tell them what you need and they go out back into the warehouse to get it for you) to what looks like the Apple Store for bicycles. This is not just any bike store -- this is a bike store (with a workshop for the bikes they sell) run, owned, and staffed by biking enthusiasts and competitors for biking enthusiasts!! Amazingly helpful, knowledgeable staff who want to share their love of biking with you (even if you are a girl!). Hands down my favorite store in Aachen. Also get tips here for local trails and bike parks.

HAMBURG

under construction!!!

Resources

• AINO Heute in Hamburg (also a cell phone app) -- great resource for daily event highlights

• Public spaces with WiFi

• Hamburg is one of the select few European cities with a very active public library system (Bücherhallen) -- locate one near you!

  • There is a membership fee to check out materials but access on-site reading is free.

  • Check out the catalog online

  • The Central Public Library (Zentralbibliothek) near the train station is worthy to be called a central public library, complete with a cafe, extensive children's books section with books in many languages and nooks and crannies for activities, public readings and crafts.

• The state of Hamburg is also home to lots of agriculture (berries, apples, walnuts, hazelnuts) -- take advantage of it by going to the many open air weekly markets found in most neighborhoods. Notable ones:

  • Tue./Fri. Isemarkt Wochenmarkt (Eppendorf neighborhood: Ise Straße, under the train track bridge)

    • large upscale market for fine foods, produce, fine food trucks and coffee trucks where you can spend the entire morning -- get breakfast, shop, have a coffee, shop some more, lunch

  • Sun. Altona Fischmarkt

    • relatively extensive market with more fishmongers than at other markets I've seen (as you'd expect), cheapest produce, large Dutch horticulture stall where Hamburgers seem to come to stock up on their flower bouquets and potted plants, some crafts

    • coincides with the big Fischmarkt "party" (the tradition of fishermen celebrating and feasting after having coming back from a long, hard morning out at sea) where you have live rock music and can have beer and various types of fish sandwiches (Fischbrötchen) for breakfast starting at 4a.m. in the summer or 5a.m. in the winter

Walks/Bike rides/Places to hang out outside

Hamburg has tons of parks (many even with skating ramps) in every neighborhood!

• Elbstrand

  • Hamburg has a sandy beach!

• the banks of the Alster Lake

• Stadtpark

  • lots of grassy patches and sandy playgrounds, BBQ areas, a slackline area, lake, canoe and SUP rentals....

• Das Alte Land

  • Ride through the orchards of the state of Hamburg when they are in blossom (apples, cherries, walnuts, hazelnuts). Check when what blossoms and is being harvested.

  • Bike routes

    • https://www.hamburg-travel.com/see-explore/routes-tours/altes-land-bicycle-tour/

    • https://www.tourismus-altesland.de/fahrrad/#touren

    • Intermediate 35-km ride along the Elbe and through some villages

    • Intermediate 47-km ride along the Elbe, through orchards, windmill in Jork, village Buxtehude and through some villages

    • Altes Land am Elbstrom's overview of bike routes by themes, with maps, photos and a smartphone app (but all in German)

    • https://www.komoot.com/smarttour/61515?ref=wsd

• Ferry ride at sunset

  • For the price of a public bus/metro ticket, you can catch a round-trip ride on ferry #??? into the sunset from, e.g. Landungsbrücken

Favorite cafés with free WiFi to work at with a laptop

Where people don't complain that you're sitting there for hours on end with a laptop....and where you will also often see others working on theirs. In order of my favorite and feasible (least guilt factor for staying so long) first

• • WiFi: open, very reliable, decent speed

  • electrical sockets: LOADS everywhere on the mezzanine, whether near the sofa or at the tables

  • AWESOME coffee, the best pancakes (which happen to be gluten free!) and waffles I've tried so far in the EU, EXCELLENT food

  • morning autumn sun shines in on the tables near the window looking over the canal

  • The only thing I don't like about this place is that it is table service only ("Please wait to be seated). It can get quite busy during lunch hour.

• • WiFi: open, IPv6, pretty reliable but sometimes slow

  • electrical sockets: 2 (one on the mezzanine near the sofa, one near the high tables)

  • bright and airy with huge windows looking over the canal

  • autumn sun shines in in the afternoon

  • great coffee; chai tea actually from tea leaves; usual selection of cakes; limited bagel sandwich selection

• • WiFi: open, IPv6, pretty reliable and decent speed

  • electrical sockets: only 1 near the table at the door

  • quite small -- they ask that you do not work on your laptop on the weekends when it is particularly busy, but most tables have people working on their laptops during the week

  • so...coffee beans are great but the way they prepare the coffee in the café can be weak, some cakes (a bit sweet for me)

• • WiFi: code, pretty reliable and decent speed

  • electrical sockets: still have to scout this out

  • can be quite busy!

  • breakfasts, vegan and non-vegan desserts, café food

• • WiFi: open, IPv6, pretty reliable and decent speed

  • electrical sockets: several in different corners in at least the right side of the big dining room near the wrap-around bar counters and big high tables

  • quite big, almost cantine like and crowded/noisy, usually full of tourists, but usually there is no problem staying for awhile with your laptop

  • wide selection of typical German desserts

• • WiFi: no IPv6 (some VPNs will not work) but otherwise seems decent

  • electrical sockets: several, e.g. where ever there is a floor standing lamp and on the ends of the bar tables

  • coffee roasted from a local roaster's in Altona (that more darkly roasts than most German roasters)

  • variety of seating -- cosy!

• • WiFi: code, decent connection

  • electrical sockets: not sure -- have to scout

  • boho, shabby, very cosy!

  • doubles up as a bar (and by the way, unsurprisingly, they have lots of versions of cafe corretto)

Hangout spots by neighborhood

Altona

• • Cafés

    • Black Delight (Friedensallee 32; M-F 8:00–18:00, Sat 9:00–18:00, Sun closed)

    • Bergtags (Große Bergstraße 160; M-Sat 10:00 – 18:00, Sun closed)

      • Not really for good coffee but good community center coffeeshop atmosphere with a few sofas and tables (and free WiFi)

  • Other places to hang out

    • Fabrik

      • former factory cum wonderful venue for regular markets (weekly food market outside of summer, organic foods, swap meets), festivals/events (e.g. wine, reggae), concerts (all sorts of music)

City Center

• • The Coffee Shop (see section above on Favorite Cafés with free WiFi to work in)

  • Gängeviertel (in Neustadt)

    • commune and community center hosting many social projects, free sports classes and other activities, music events (concerts, Rap for Refugees, open mic....)

    • formerly squatted community, now officially recognized by the city

    • The community runs a few clubs (e.g. Yoko) and bars on the gounds

  • Laeiszhalle (the smaller sister concert hall to the Elphi)

    • Free lunchtime concerts every other Tuesdays in the piano bar!

  • Restaurants

    • Brauhaus Joh. Albrecht (Adolphsbrücke 7)

      • very good crafts beer on tap

      • decent bar fare (Flammkuchen, soups, etc.)

Grindel (University neighborhood)

• • Restaurants

    • Hindukusch (Grindelhof 15; 12:00 - midnight, 7 days/week) - best Afghani food according to Afghanis in HH

  • Bars with free live music events (local bands, open mic)

    • Pony Bar

      • student bar with table football, regular free weeknight live music like open mic, jazz (Wednesdays), local bands, DJs; German tradition of watching the TV crime series Tatort altogether on Sunday evening

Hafen City

• • Nord Coast Coffee Roastery (see section above on Favorite Cafés with free WiFi to work in)

Eimsbüttel

• • Cafés

    • Balz & Balz (Lehmweg 6, Tu-Fr 8:00 - 18:00, Sat-Sun 9:00 - 17:00, closed Mon)

      • good coffee

  • Restaurants

    • Ufer Restaurant Weinbar (Bismarckstraße 151, M-Thu 17:00 - late, Fr 15:00 - late, Sat-Sun and holidays 10:00 - late with breakfast 10:00 - 14:00; kitchen closes at 23:00)

    • wonderful food and domestic wine list

    • cash only!

  • just to hang out

    • benches to be found all along the canal around Hoheluftbrücke

Schanzen/Sankt Pauli

• • Bars with free live music events (local bands, open mic)

    • Barbarabar

  • Cafés

    • Deathpresso (Beim Grünen Jäger 24)

      • good strong coffee (as you would expect with that name)

      • free WiFi (but they don't like you sitting there working on your laptop)

      • very good Vegan cakes!

    • Less Political (see section above on Favorite Cafés with free WiFi to work in)

    • Harbor Cake (Marktstraße 36, M-Sat 11:00 - 18:00, Sun 13:00 - 18:00, closed Tu and Wed)

      • sailorman meets Betty Crocker (come and you shall see what I mean)

      • homemade cakes people line up for

    • Elbgold (Lagerstraße 34c; M-F 8:00 - 19:00, Sat-Sun 9:00 - 19:00)

      • one of the better coffee roasters in town

      • in the same charming industrial brick building complex as the crafts beer Altes Mädchen bar (below)

  • Places to hang out

    • Altes Mädchen Craftsbeer bar (Lagerstraße 28B, open late)

      • large crafts beer selection (very little on tap, though, and a bit pricey), in-store baked bread

      • THE best homemade fries in town!!!! (Do not let the chip-like appearance fool you)

      • in an industrially charming brick building complex where you'll also find Elbgold Café (see above)

      • open fireplace!

      • can be a bit loud

  • Restaurants

    • Karo Fisch (Feldstraße 32, M- Sun 12:00 - 23:00)

      • one of the best seafood restaurants in a simple no-frills, atmosphere

  • Shopping

    • Marktstraße

      • upcycling, recycling, environmental-conscious capitalism

    • Favorite ceramicist: Sebastian Airey (Marktstraße 147)

      • You can find the doors open to his workshop on most Saturdays

    • La Torre (Lagerstraße 36)

      • Food products from any Spanish-speaking country and Portugal

      • Get your 5L tins of Spanish olive oils and wines and cheeses, real Mexican corn tortillas, guava paste, and other such food items in what looks like a wholesale suppliers (but open to the public)

Uhlenhorst

• • Freundlich+Kompetent

    • bar with good atmosphere in a cosy brick building with regular free live concerts