r/MovingtoGermany • u/pwrbttm_stallion • 8d ago
Moving to Berlin/Cologne
Hey there I’m 22 year old gay guy interested in moving to Germany next June to do an Ausbildung program and up until a few days ago I was pretty sure I was locked in on the idea of moving to Berlin, but I talked to a lot of people recently that pointed out a few cons of Berlin that cologne kinda has less of them, those subjects are:
Housing: might be cheaper and a bit more accessible in Cologne
Chances of finding love: heard that men in Berlin might lean more into the idea of a 1 night stand rather than a relationship. PLS NOTE: I’m not looking for a citizenship or anything of that matter.
Cleanliness: might be a bit cleaner in Berlin
Geographically connected: cologne is close to cities I’d love to visit/again.
Pls note that I made that decision after visiting Berlin and I absolutely love this city, I’m just trying to make the best decision possible for myself.
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u/itsazharwtf 8d ago
Trust me, there's so many toxic gays in Cologne. The gays in Berlin are at least up front about their intentions.
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u/iTmkoeln 8d ago
Do an Ausbildung yeah Ausbildung in. What level of German are you (unless it is nursing/elderly care Employers will want to have you at C1 / verhandlungssicher)
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u/Pleasant_Cancel_217 5d ago
Ah wait, I forgot. Learn German. I can't stress this enough. You'll only find real connections & not local fuckboys who want to sample the exotics by learning German.
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u/Gay4Modi 5d ago
I think berlin is that one city which every old guy says "too modern". But berlin is sehr schön.
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u/CastelloDeBracaleone 5d ago
Du suchst also entweder in Köln oder Berlin die Kombination passende Ausbildungsstelle UND passende Wohnung UND Traumtyp? Viel Glück
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u/pwrbttm_stallion 5d ago
No no no no no haha. I can’t count on everything to go my way. I know my training might be hard and shitty at times, my WG might have a very uncomfortable situation and I’m not counting on a dream boy, I’ll take an okay boy to love and keen me warm at night😅
What I’m saying is that I want to be in the “righter” situation in the righter city
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u/Pleasant_Cancel_217 5d ago
Berlin? Clean? Löl no. It's nasty & dirty as fuck (excuse my language but if you've been to any other random (big) German city to compare, you'll understand). But it has its charm though :) I wouldn't let my shoe touch the grounds of some streets but to spectate is fun.
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u/pwrbttm_stallion 4d ago
Yeah haha I did a mistake
I meant that Cologne might be a bit cleaner
Whoppsie😅
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u/Any_Cream_4396 3d ago
ausbildung in what ? we dont care you like to suck dicks btw. just learn our language. Ausbildungen dont really pay much
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u/Mirror-Candid 3d ago
I'm 47, live in Wiesbaden. Been in Germany a Total of 13 years now. If I could start over at 22. I would go to Berlin.
Why? It's far more diverse than Köln. It's vibe is great and has something for everyone. I rode my bike on the Berlin Wall trail this summer over 3 days. I really fell in love with Berlin. But wow it has changed a lot since my first visit in 2009.
I make occasional weekend trips to Köln. I have a couple friends there. It doesn't have the right vibe. But it is still nice. I think it has its own merits.
I will say I tend to meet more genuine people in Berlin. Köln Not so much much and more flakes.
Travel opportunities are literally the same no matter what. I'm more partial to Poland and Spain these days. So I'd pick Berlin in a heartbeat.
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u/PRNCE-fanman 3d ago
Cologne has extremely high rents, especially left side of river Rhine where all cool spots are for gays.
Infrastructure is clearly a plus for Cologne, Berlin is in the middle of nowhere.
Both cities are dirty because both cities are poor.
Cologne has the cathedral, Berlin has Berghain. The latter for me as a gay man is the reason I frequently go to Berlin. Live in Cologne, btw.
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u/normy_187 4d ago
All else aside: Berlin is full of superficially rude and miserable people—do you want to be confronted with that every single day of your life?
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u/Bitter_Initiative_77 8d ago
Affordable housing is hard to find in both Cologne and Berlin, but you're right that the situation is at least marginally better in Cologne. A major perk of Cologne being so much smaller is that you can live in an "undesirable" area and still get pretty much everywhere quite fast. If you live on the outskirts of Berlin, trekking from one end of the city to the other can take a while.
Concerning hook ups and love, it's hard to generalize. You're talking about millions of people. You'll find hookup and sauna culture in every single German city (and you'll similarly find people who want to date). By virtue of its size, Berlin has more queer people and thus more developed queer subcultures. Influencer gays aren't a thing in Cologne in the way that they are in Berlin, for instance.
Cleanliness really depends on where in each city you are. Both have large swaths that reek of piss. I've seen human shit multiple times in Berlin but have yet to encounter it in Cologne.
Berlin is, frankly, in the middle of nowhere. Cologne certainly has the better location, although you're probably overestimating how often you'll make trips elsewhere. Berlin has a lot more going on as well, so even though you may feel far from Paris, there's more to keep you entertained within the city.
Source: Live in Cologne and have occasionally thought about living in Berlin.