Anyone in Munich?

[Blackf0restgateau]

So - it has happened. DH is working over there and we'll be joining him in the summer (me and DDs (4 &6)).

It will be great, he's on a great package but now we're on a house hunt. We're lucky that we have quite a high budget but homes are different to our current SW London Victorian terrace. It's not massive but comfortable at 250 sq m and 5 bed, 3 bath plus garden.

DH is already trying to sell me living more centrally, the prospect of an apartment and no garden. Everything seems smaller and almost nothing over 3 beds.

The upside would be a much quicker commute then London so more family time - we are really looking forwards to this.

So what areas? We have been recommended Bogenhausen.

The kids will go to the City campus of BIS or we've just stumbled upon the English school, Sy Georges.

Would an apartment be ok? I'm sort of thinking it will be part of the funt o live a bit differently that we are currently.

Any other Munich family friendly tips?

Danke

[Schwabischeweihnachtskanne]

There is a fb group called "Parents in Munich" - I used to be a member but it started to really irritate me (I'm more of an immigrant than an expat, and in a village an hour outside Munich) so I left However it used to be really good for the kind of questions you have, and lots of people in your position - have a look.

You could have a house with a garden in Haimhausen, where the old/ main BIS campus is, and there are loads of ex-pat families around there, but I guess that isn't what you're after and you will get lots of advice on city locations on the PIM group.

[Blackf0restgateau]

Thanks Schwab - yes, we can't really do Haimhausen as it's the opposite end of Munich to our places of work so we'd end up with a longer commute than we have in London. Nice house, but we'd see less of the kids so we've ruled it out.

I'll have a look at the fb group - is it a closed one? We aren't 'out' on fb about our impending move yet so could be tricky otherwise.

[Schwabischeweihnachtskanne]

Yep, think its a closed group. Good luck!

[mrsmortis]

I lived in Munich for 5 years from 2001. It's a lovely city. Most of my advice on Munich itself will be out of date. But one recommendation I can make: Are you church goers? If so I can recommend Peace Church which is an english speaking methodist congregation in the middle of the city. They have lots of people coming and going but also a fair chunk of the congregation have been there for decades so it is a good balance and there are plenty of people to ask for advice.

I'm currently in Cologne for a year with work. We've moved from a 1930's 4 bed semi with lots of room and a big garden on the edge of a town to a 4 room (in Germany houses are sized based on number of rooms in total (excluding kitchens and bathrooms) rather than the number of bedrooms) apartment in the middle of the city. The lifestyle is different but it's a good change. (To give you an idea my DDs are 4 and 7)

I assume that you have been offered the services of a relocation specialist as part of the package? We moved here with 10 days notice(!) and we couldn't have done it without our specialist. She could talk about the different areas of the city, what life was like in each of them. She knew how god or bad the commute was likely to be from different areas. She helped us set up a bank account and sort out utilities. She helped when official documents were in legal German and beyond my ability to translate. Basically she was a lifeline. Basically what I am saying is make use of your specialist.

[mrsmortis]

'good or bad' obviously.

And in case it wasn't clear she also found us half a dozen appartments to view and helped us to decide which was the best option for us.