interestrateripoff Posted January 3, 2014 Share Posted January 3, 2014 http://www.theguardian.com/business/2014/jan/03/berlin-poor-sexy-silicon-valley-microsoft-google A decade ago Berlin's mayor Klaus Wowereit tried to attract creative types to the city by declaring "Berlin ist arm, aber sexy" (poor but sexy).It worked. The City's astonishingly low rents compared to other European capitals – a one-bed flat a short walk from Alexanderplatz in the centre of town can still be picked up for as little as €450-a-month (£373) – have helped draw arty people from across the world and made Berlin a major centre for artists, writers, musicians and, increasingly, technology and web entrepreneurs. The city has already produced some globally-recognised tech startup successes, including music sharing service SoundCloud and games company Wooga, and Wowereit wants more. "Berlin has caught the public's attention as a startup hub," he said. "We want to capture that momentum and drive Berlin's economy forward. [We] will fully dedicate ourselves to becoming Europe's leading startup hub." The city already boasts 2,500 tech startups, and has attracted hundreds of millions of euros in investment from some of the world's biggest venture capital funds. Clearly the Germans don't understand the wonders of HPI. The could be far more yield by investing and renting on London. Cheap reat, cheap labour.... Idiots. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eddie_George Posted January 3, 2014 Share Posted January 3, 2014 http://www.theguardian.com/business/2014/jan/03/berlin-poor-sexy-silicon-valley-microsoft-google Clearly the Germans don't understand the wonders of HPI. The could be far more yield by investing and renting on London. Cheap reat, cheap labour.... Idiots. Good. Berlin deserves to succeed. London deserves to fail because of its high cost of accommodation. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
honkydonkey Posted January 3, 2014 Share Posted January 3, 2014 Englanders are going to Berlin in our hordes and I fear our mentality will push the prices up and ruin another great opportunity for all. I live in Berlin, find the rents really cheap for what you get and hear a lot of predominately southern England accents. Most, like me have just had enough of London. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chronyx Posted January 3, 2014 Share Posted January 3, 2014 If it means being surrounded by goddamn hipsters I think I'll pass. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
montesquieu Posted January 3, 2014 Share Posted January 3, 2014 Englanders are going to Berlin in our hordes and I fear our mentality will push the prices up and ruin another great opportunity for all. I live in Berlin, find the rents really cheap for what you get and hear a lot of predominately southern England accents. Most, like me have just had enough of London. Indeed visiting an old (German) mate in Prenzlauerberg - a few tram stops from the Alexanderplatz - left me wondering if I'd left home at all. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eddie_George Posted January 3, 2014 Share Posted January 3, 2014 Indeed visiting an old (German) mate in Prenzlauerberg - a few tram stops from the Alexanderplatz - left me wondering if I'd left home at all. Nah, it's probably just that the Germans speak impeccable English. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mugwump Posted January 4, 2014 Share Posted January 4, 2014 Englanders are going to Berlin in our hordes and I fear our mentality will push the prices up and ruin another great opportunity for all. I live in Berlin, find the rents really cheap for what you get and hear a lot of predominately southern England accents. Most, like me have just had enough of London. Would you be so kind as to put a number to the rather indefinite term "hordes"? Berlin is a very big city, and I would be interested to learn how many slavering, property crazed Brits you think are required to push prices up. Please indulge me. And as you say, the rents in Berlin are cheap. So cheap, in fact, that the regional government has undertaken to cap them, and their precipitous rise has brought people on to the street to demonstrate against the cost of accommodation. Of course, compared to London, you can live very cheaply in Berlin, but that says more about the madness that is the British property obsession than it does about Germany's capital. I have lived for more than ten years in Germany, and only in the last few years have real estate prices and rents really taken off. I sincerely hope this does not lead to the social dysfunction that is apparent whenever I visit the UK. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
billybong Posted January 4, 2014 Share Posted January 4, 2014 UK bankers should go there as well. They might learn something. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
davidg Posted January 4, 2014 Share Posted January 4, 2014 http://www.theguardian.com/business/2014/jan/03/berlin-poor-sexy-silicon-valley-microsoft-google Interesting to read the comments from Berlin locals. Group visits of up to 50 people at a time, rents increasing at 10 to 20% a year, no chance of getting a property if you don't speak German, have a well paid secure job and impeccable paperwork. Oh dear, another HPC paradise lost. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dryrot Posted January 4, 2014 Share Posted January 4, 2014 Hi Missed the article where Chancellor Angela Merkel promotes "HilfenzuKaufen" by offering state-backed depositless loans to.... Oh, its all too depressing Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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