Hello stranger! So you really want to live in Berlin? Getting a room here is such an uphill struggle with high rent, mould, and German bureaucracy that finding the right flatmate is usually left to the workings of fate. Our Flat Roulette game – being a simplified version of this real life scenario – introduces you to some of the most characteristic Berlin personalities and gives you a sneak peak into what you sharing a roof with them will really mean.
The game is a collaboration with illustrator Sophia Halamoda that many of you will know from the Berghain, Real Berliner and Bürgeramt comics. It’s part of our upcoming book “Like A Berliner” that comes out in 2018. Stay tuned for more games!
Click here to play the game!
by Michalina | Misc.
photos: trouble.place
We’re all young and poor at some point. And being young and poor in Berlin is not immediately a reason to freak out. But, for many it is the start of one storyline: “You, your room, and that WG”. For some this is just a short act on their way to “Me and my first own place”, for others it’s a longer narrative they won’t escape until their late thirties, or maybe they’ll never… It is a story that can take unexpected turns, creepy twists or just ends up being one absurd sitcom. We collected some hilarious Berlin WG stories. Maybe you can relate…
Read on…
by Andy | People, Stories
photo: bronx. / CC
I spent 29 nights under the same roof with a German tap dancer. In the spring of 2014. In the heart of Berlin. In my artistically-starved senses.
It started with a simple Craigslist search. I was looking for an accommodation with a limited budget in a week’s deadline. The reason? I had been offered a tremendous job opportunity at a startup in Berlin.
The money was mouth-watering. Given my absolute lack of ambition, I had already started dreaming of retirement in five years. Ergo I jumped at the opportunity and packed my bags, which were only two at that time. And moved to what I call the Bohemian Silicon Valley of Europe.
I was enthused to work among respectable professionals during the day and schmooze with pretentious artists in the evening. That was my plan. But finding an apartment in Berlin was like finding a steady boyfriend on a dating site. You had to go through a series of bizarre/eccentric/not-so-right ones to be able to meet a half-way mediocre one.
Read on…
by Guest Author | Stories
illustration: Sophia Halamoda
Only few things can prove harder than finding a place to stay upon moving to Berlin. We have all had our fair share of stories in our quest to find a decent room somewhere relatively close to where the wild things are. On the plus side, the German capital is huge with various “centers” showcasing many beautiful neighborhoods to live in. However, this might be the only good thing about the Berliner housing situation, since prices have risen greatly as a result of the huge demand in the last few years. Looking for a place can prove exhausting, frustrating and intensely distressing.
The main lessons I have learnt from the housing hunting are to be able to sell myself in every possible way and never give back. To avoid any misunderstandings, your search for accomodation should become a salient issue among friends, relatives and pretty much anybody who could potentially help you out. Looking for a room or an apartment resembles some aspects of a campaign. It is not sufficient to create a profile on a few online platforms, such as WG-Gesucht or Easy-WG, and copy-paste your message in response to a few ads you saw.
Read on…
by Nikos | Stories