How do I start… I have successfully executed my masterplan in moving logistics. Everything worked out really well in the end. All the pieces are in place, the furniture is build-up and even the washing machine didnt stand a chance against my unbending strength of willpower. Besides a few medium-class missunderstandings with the flat-owner the moving project reached its final milestone with great results. But of course there were a few obstacles on the way.
- Flooded kitchen trying to set up the washing machine correctly
- Exploding lamp due to lack of electric knowledge
- and some more of those…
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Some minor things have to be done to live in Berlin officially and completly.
For pictures visit the gallery!
Now that the excitement about the new job has settled it is time to start thinking reasonably again. The most interesting question at that early point is where i am going to live in Berlin. Truth be told, I haven’t got the faintest idea how to proceed in regard to finding a flat to rent. So yesterday I just startet a google search what’s on the real-estate market out there and frankly, you cannot search for a flat without setting some basic restrictions and limits.
Currently I am trying to answer the basic questions, maybe I can brainstorm here along the way:
- How to live in Berlin? flat-sharing, living by myself… I am not really sure about that. In the beginning it would be great to flat-share in order to meet people and so on but I dont know whether it is easy to find uncomplicated people for sharing my adventure. Best case would be to find someone who wants to move there / moved there recently
- When do I want to move? This one is easy, I definitly want to rent the flat at the beginning of February so I can put my stuff in there without haste
- What type of accomodation (of course for rent)? Maissonette, Loft / Studio, Penthouse, ground-floor, high-tier flat… I think thats not important at the moment, just a nice renovated place to stay would be sufficient and no ground-floor flat
- What specific requirements do I have? There has to be a ready-to-cook built-in kitchen installed. The place has to be renovated – I dont want to paint walls or inlay floors this isn’t within my time-budget. There is no need for a balcony or any furniture for that matter. Secure doors
- Where to live? Well it should be either near Potsdammer Platz or near a subway station. I think Charlottenburg, Tiergarten, Mitte, Kreuzberg and Prenzlauer Berg would be suited for me and the whole situation but as I said I dont know Berlin ;-)
- Where to look for flats? online (I found some websites regarding flat-share flat-offers and some estate agents), newspaper
- How many rooms and square meters do I need? Good question, next question…
- How much rent do I want to pay? Well as little as possible but as much as necessary
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Many questions and very few answers at this moment… I definitly have to think about all the above mentioned points again in order to limit the search sucessfully.