2015

Londoners Move to Berlin

An Increasing Number of Young Londoners Move to Berlin for a Better Quality of Life. Thus Effecting Berlin Culture.

August 04th, 2015
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An increasing number of Londoners are moving to Berlin as the cost of living in the city becomes harder to sustain. 

Dani Berg moved to Berlin a year ago for financial reasons telling her tale as a natural progression and stating that she is not alone: “We kept moving further and further into south-east London, until I felt I needed to leave entirely.  I’m part of a big exodus; I know many people who have moved from east London to south-east London and then to Berlin. The New Cross to Neukölln Express”.

Berg is aware of the change that such communities are bringing to the city. “I’m part of the problem, doing to Berlin what forced me out of London”.

Rent is increasing (despite a recent price cap). Berlin has also become the third most visited city in Europe, furthermore its population is increasing with a 35% increase of Brits over the period of 2013-2014.

Another Londoner explains: “the problem is this: people like myself are moving over from London, and snatching up flats swiftly after seeing what they think is a bargain. But in reality what we perceive to be a bargain is still an inflated price for locals, so prices are being driven up.”

An online cost-of-living database, Numbeo, shows that the cost-of-living in London is double that of Berlin for the same standard of living. Rental costs in Berlin are 70% lower than London, and consumer prices are 30% less.

Another aspect to living in Berlin raised by a London art director, Jonathan Stuart, is that “It’s perfect for young, creative people. London has a real buzz to it, but when you live there that buzz can turn into pressure.”

It seems that Berlin offers young Londoners room to breathe and to be creative away from financial pressures, but in turn this is having an economic and cultural impact on the city. Berlin may be heading in the same direction that Dalston and Hackney were over ten years ago.

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References and Links

News from Berlin
Florence Hallack-Wolff, Berlin Global