Speak to me about living in Dusseldorf!

[MrsSchadenfreude]

And in particular the international school there, but more generally about how you find it/quality of life/stuff to do/where to live. Possibly contemplating relocating there from Paris.

I'm not in Dussledorf a bit further down the Rhein in Bonn. Cologne/Bonn has a huge ex-pat population due to International HQs here and UN - not sure about Dussledorf, but it's only half an hour away.

Dussledorf has a nice city centre and they do a good Christmas Market. Also, not sure if relevant to you, but I have only heard positive things about the International School there.

Sorry not much help - try the Living in Germany thread somebody else may be able to help.

Can't really tell you anything about Düsseldorf itself, apart from that people from Köln can't stand it, and vice versa My brother lives in cologne and he really likes the area.

The old city is quite beautiful, a lot was destroyed in the war.

Great airport with cheap flights home - AirBerlin, German Wings. Easy to drive home via Eurostar too.

You may meet a lot of Brits as there are huge army bases in Elmpt and the surrounding areas. My husband was stationed there for years so we visited the city a lot. Also a lot of head offices for international retail opening there - Espirit, TK Maxx, C&A. I keep getting headhunted to go back there!

Roermond is just across the border, where a lot of Germans head for outlet shopping, but for Brits it's a chance to converse in English, choose English movies etc in the Netherlands?

I looked into the international school and it had a very good reputation and the facilities and class sizes look excellent. I was looking more for a bi-lingual school as I wanted ds to keep up his fluency. However you could supplement with extra German lessons through the school I think.

Lovely properties on the waterside at very reasonable rental rates. Plus Germany is cheap...or to put it another way, good value for money. Germans expect value for their money so it means good quality and portion size generally, cheap beer etc!

I go there every so often for work reasons, and it comes across as being really rather posh and rich compared with Berlin, where we live. I stay with a friend in Benrath, which is a rather comfortable and pretty suburb next to the Rhine, but on the train line to central Düsseldorf in less than 30 mins. Lots of haute couture shops, lots of culture, museums, good concerts in Cologne and Düsseldorf. Generally speaking it has a lot to recommend it. It's also notably warmer than cities which are further east or south, and gets much less snow (and more rain). You might like that, but I really love very cold winters and the fact that we get to go tobogganing every year.
Another plus - you're so much nearer the UK if you want to drive back and get the ferry.

Hi we live near Dusseldorf - just outside Essen. My DSs go to St George's in Duisburg and are thriving there.

We love it here - very settled!

Check out www.expatmole.com - useful info for English speakers in Dus. Very good quality of life.

I would be wary of the school at Heiligenhaus....we have personal experience of that!

Feel free to PM me if you have any specific questions.