Where to live in Berlin

I am moving to Berlin in March and I'd like some advice on which areas of Berlin are good to live in. My office is near Tegel but I need a car for my job so I'm not too fussed about being far away from work (all the more reason not to go in on weekends.). My criteria are safety and proximity of shops, restaurants, cafés, pubs and other amenities. As a reference basis, I've lived in Clapham and Earl's Court areas of London (ok, I'd now like areas a bit safer than those) and the Plateau Mont Royal in Montreal. So I'm looking for similar like areas.

Well going to work by car is a pain in the ass in Berlin I think.

Anyway if you want something safe with stores and stuff. I would suggests maybe Charlottenburg or Mitte. if you want to be in a more "cool" district, Kreuzberg, Pranzlauer Berg or Friedrichshain would be fine. but IMO they are overrated and the rents are over priced often. Personally I live in Lichtenberg. supposedly not the nicest place according to the people who avoid the area, but a lot of effort is made and there are a lot of nice and not very expensive apartment. It's further away from Tegel though, but I really like it. I was living in Wedding before. quite close to Tegel, but it's not the best place to live.

I've heard Friedenau isn't such a bad place. You might want to check it out too.

The infamous Kreuzberg on the other hand wouldn't be such a great choice because it's known for criminality and drug dealers.

Don't take my word for it though. I've never lived in Berlin myself, I can only tell you what I've seen and heard

the infamous Kreutzberg is a fine place to live and you wont have to worry about drug dealers, criminals and the like. Kreutzberg is probably the most international district in Berlin with many of its residents being Turkish or Arab so it boasts a culture and many stores of the same nationalities.
I lived for a time in Tempelhof and found the area very nice. its quiet and has everything nearby (grocery store (lid'l), drugstore, cinema, gym, etc.) and is on a main U-bahn line so easy access to anything you'd want to do in the center of the city. just my two cents but might be somewhere to check out. it is also only about 35m on the train to Tegel.

Re: Where to live in Berlin? Apart from Mitte and other central areas like Prenzlauerberg, Freidrichhein or Kudamm the nicest residential areas are found in the South Western dirstricts. The famous G-D-L (that is Grunewald, Dahlem and Lichterfelde West) are particularly beautiful though a little more expensive. Grunewald and Lichterfelde West are two old >villenkolonien<, 19th century developments orginally made up entirely of mansion houses. Dahlem is a little younger (1910 onwards). All three are well connected to the center by Autobahns and fast train connections (S-Bahn/U-Bahn 15 min. ride). Other areas like Zehlendorf, Wannsee and Nikolassee are a little less posh an also farther out, but still considered good residential areas. Housing prices generally tend to be pretty modest compared to places like London or New York, even in Grunewald, Dahlem, Lichterfelde West.

In Berlin you can find many cheap apartments on the east side

-- Sun Apr 05, 2009 9:47 am --

I´ve heard that Berlin is one of the cheapest cities in Germanies to live, comparing with Hamburg, Munich or Dusseeldorf