skomer Posted July 12, 2017 Share Posted July 12, 2017 Article in Times gist of which is London is "not a fun place unless you are rich" and "there were no reasonably priced neighbourhoods left in London"., "For those wanting to have children, London had become virtually impossible"....etc. Berlin is the place to be... https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/no-fun-unless-you-re-rich-samsung-snubs-london-kt8pqs7pw Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tempus Posted July 12, 2017 Share Posted July 12, 2017 Surely Samsung simply needed to employ people with wealthy parents so that BOMAD would pay the balance? Job candidates to supply CV + parents' bank statements. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
longtomsilverunderwater Posted July 12, 2017 Share Posted July 12, 2017 London is an expensive hell hole and two companies that MrsLTSUW worked for have pulled out in recent years leaving only a small presence there. They could have considered Birmingham as an option but this is more to do with Brexit and jostling for a better position in the EU. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wayward Posted July 12, 2017 Share Posted July 12, 2017 the penny drops...crikey its not hard to see - its been very clear to me that London is only for the wealthy for many years...only a mug would live and work in London unless wealthy - its just horrible. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
iamnumerate Posted July 12, 2017 Share Posted July 12, 2017 1 hour ago, longtomsilverunderwater said: London is an expensive hell hole and two companies that MrsLTSUW worked for have pulled out in recent years leaving only a small presence there. They could have considered Birmingham as an option but this is more to do with Brexit and jostling for a better position in the EU. True but if they had gone to Birmingham their staff would be paying via the taxes for others to live in London when Samsung staff cannot afford to - not a great idea. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
winkie Posted July 12, 2017 Share Posted July 12, 2017 So was London. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
adarmo Posted July 12, 2017 Share Posted July 12, 2017 1 hour ago, iamnumerate said: True but if they had gone to Birmingham their staff would be paying via the taxes for others to live in London when Samsung staff cannot afford to - not a great idea. Or in Germany for 1 million refugees to live next door to them? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
adarmo Posted July 12, 2017 Share Posted July 12, 2017 31 minutes ago, fru-gal said: Unfortunately Berlin is getting very expensive now and losing its charm, becoming gentrified very quickly. The Berlin mentality is becoming more and more like London, native East Berliners are being forced out so that people from West Germany, other countries can come in and buy up property and rent it out at expensive prices. All the quirky bars and venues are closing because it has all become about money and how much people can make on real estate. Such a shame as it was such a great place. I'm not sure it ever had much charm. Even Hitler didn't like it. People can come in and buy property but there are very very strict regulations around tenancies, rent increases and no fault evictions. Not to say it doesn't happen though. I worked on a deal a while ago for a German property firm that would buy up a whole block, evict everyone under the guise of refurbishment (which is allowed and the work was carried out) and then re-let at new market rents. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
adarmo Posted July 12, 2017 Share Posted July 12, 2017 Just now, fru-gal said: I know quite a few people who have been "bullied" out of their secure tenancies in Berlin so the rich can buy up their apartments and either sell them on or rent them at a much higher amount. There is far less difference in rental prices between London and Berlin these days than there were. Of course in Berlin you tend to get much more m2 for your rental payments and often utilities are included (and you literally have to bring the kitchen sink), but Berlin was known for it's very cheap rents and they don't really exist anymore (except in areas nobody wants to live). Not those pesky rich again. Who are they anyway? No doubt this sort of thing happens everywhere but if there's one thing a German likes its some rules (I know I'm stereotyping but I work for a very nice one). https://www.numbeo.com/cost-of-living/compare_cities.jsp?country1=United+Kingdom&country2=Germany&city1=London&city2=Berlin&tracking=getDispatchComparison Average rent is less than half (58% lower) that of London. Average net salary is only 19% lower but to be honest the price of bananas (42% higher) and weekend tennis court rent (21% higher) would put me off. I did visit a few years back and was really surprised by how cheap restaurants, beer and trains/metro were but it felt like a giant Swindon. Apparently the winters are ghastly up there too. I'll stay in Wokingham for now. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ExiledMatty Posted July 12, 2017 Share Posted July 12, 2017 Don't blame them going to Berlin. Most Germans speak pretty good English too. London is losing it's advantages. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Locke Posted July 12, 2017 Share Posted July 12, 2017 39 minutes ago, adarmo said: Not those pesky rich again. Who are they anyway? No doubt this sort of thing happens everywhere but if there's one thing a German likes its some rules (I know I'm stereotyping but I work for a very nice one). https://www.numbeo.com/cost-of-living/compare_cities.jsp?country1=United+Kingdom&country2=Germany&city1=London&city2=Berlin&tracking=getDispatchComparison Average rent is less than half (58% lower) that of London. Average net salary is only 19% lower but to be honest the price of bananas (42% higher) and weekend tennis court rent (21% higher) would put me off. I did visit a few years back and was really surprised by how cheap restaurants, beer and trains/metro were but it felt like a giant Swindon. Apparently the winters are ghastly up there too. I'll stay in Wokingham for now. Berlin is actually the same latitude as London, but yes, being on the continent and a vast concrete plain, the winter is something else. The local populace are starting to worry about the muslim invader crime rate, so that should be interesting. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
iamnumerate Posted July 12, 2017 Share Posted July 12, 2017 1 hour ago, adarmo said: Or in Germany for 1 million refugees to live next door to them? Good point should have gone to Poland, Merkel makes Cameron look good. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thecrashingisles Posted July 12, 2017 Share Posted July 12, 2017 3 hours ago, adarmo said: I'm not sure it ever had much charm. Even Hitler didn't like it. That bad? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
North London Rent Girl Posted July 14, 2017 Share Posted July 14, 2017 On 12/07/2017 at 8:55 AM, skomer said: Article in Times gist of which is London is "not a fun place unless you are rich" and "there were no reasonably priced neighbourhoods left in London"., "For those wanting to have children, London had become virtually impossible"....etc. Berlin is the place to be... https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/no-fun-unless-you-re-rich-samsung-snubs-london-kt8pqs7pw Couldn't read all of the article but am assuming it didn't say brexit was a factor? What a breath of fresh air - someone people might take notice of talking about the real damage all the speculation has done and what a mess we've got ourselves into. House prices making it difficult to build a business here - that has got to be a splash of cold water on the government's face, surely? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.