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Post by Deleted on Sept 26, 2011 10:57:53 GMT
According to this ABC News article, it looks like Berlin is getting as bad as Paris.  |
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Post by bjd on Sept 26, 2011 12:26:44 GMT
I'm glad I went earlier. Last year we saw a demonstration about increasing rents in Kreuzberg.
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Post by rikita on Sept 26, 2011 18:45:28 GMT
interesting article...
i would say it is a mixed thing... some of the things are indeed a problem, like the increasing rents and that a lot of the authenticity is lost - but a lot of it is a normal development. you can't have it both ways basically... you can't have an interesting, dynamic city and expect people to stay away from it. and you can't have people wanting to come here and expect there not developing a bit tourism market...
btw, they mention my neighbourhood in there too (kreuzkölln - though i dislike that term, it wasn't in use yet when i moved here) and the street right next to mine... AND they interviewed my former boss (i used to work at A&O - had no idea the owner was that young though, he wasn't even 30 yet when i worked there, then... btw, i wouldn't like staying at A&O myself, it's one of these boring, anonymous places...)
interesting the contrast of the comments about the original berlin scene and all, and those who call the police on spontaneous concerts... they called the police on my cousin and his friends once, as they were playing on admiralsbrücke... though these spontaneous concerts aren't necessarily the touristy-part but more the authentic part imho - but you have of course also those residents that were there even before that type of thing, or who once were into that type of scene but now have become "settled" and want more quiet...
as i said, it is a complex problem, you can't really say this is good and that is bad... like, the amount of pubs and the fact that you here as much spanish and english and french in them as german is part of what i enjoy (though i never go to pubs) but admittedly the noisy pub-goers at night can really be quite annoying, i woke up more than once from their singing... hehe my dad keeps telling me i shouldn't complain, but his bedroom window doesn't point to the street...
and the gentrification problem is not easy for people either - i know a lot looking for an apartment now, and rents are huge by now in all the areas you'd like to live in - but on the other hand, i just went shopping in this really nice bio-shop nearby, and well, without the better earning, "gentrifying" crowd that one probably wouldn't have opened around the corner from here. on the other hand, i do miss some of the small kiosks and turkish shops that have been replaced by hip pubs and "bubble tea bars"...
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Post by Deleted on Sept 26, 2011 18:58:36 GMT
Well, I still love living in Paris, too, but it is completely possible to hate a lot of the stuff "they" are doing. I'm glad to see Berlin back on the center of the European map, even if there is a price to pay.
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Post by rikita on Sept 27, 2011 20:00:12 GMT
what i wonder about the "annoying tourists" sometimes is, whether they complain about the tourists in their home towns the same way, and don't realize they are doing the same things when they travel - or whether they are all from areas without tourism...
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Post by Deleted on Sept 27, 2011 20:05:58 GMT
I do know that if you dare to complain about tourists on the travel boards, you get jumped on by people who claim that your city would wither and die if the tourists stopped coming. Since tourism represents about 6% of the economy of Paris, I find it hard to believe. (Berlin is probably up to 1 or 2%.)
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Post by hwinpp on Sept 28, 2011 3:40:05 GMT
Uhhh, I love complaining about tourists! ;D ;D ;D
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Post by rikita on Sept 28, 2011 6:53:13 GMT
dunno, might be higher in berlin as there is not much economy in general...
but yeah, complaining about tourists is fun...
btw, i found the part about the illegal hotels interesting in the article. i sometimes see people with these little suitcases with the wheels here in my area and am always surprised, as there aren't really any hotels around here (okay, one by the train station - but i see them in the smaller streets). always assumed they must be visiting a friend or something - but maybe there are these hotels here too?
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Post by bjd on Sept 28, 2011 7:44:02 GMT
The first time I went to Berlin I found a place to stay in an apartment building on Wienerstrasse in Kreuzberg. It was a small apartment owned by a real-estate agency. They also rented rooms in the same building. Better than a hotel because we had a kitchen. Tried to rent it last year too but it was taken.
If you look for accommodation in Berlin, there are tons of apartment rentals all over the place. Given that prices were quite low for a long time, I'm sure many investors snapped up several places. Not the kind of investors who were waiting for prices to go up quickly, but those planning to rent short term.
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Post by lagatta on Sept 30, 2011 3:47:53 GMT
I DEFINITELY prefer renting a self-catering flat or studio (room with a toilet and summary kitchen facilities) as I like markets and don't enjoy eating out three times a day. The problem is of course that they should have to follow the laws both in terms of taxation and zoning: residential vs commercial.
But I often walk around with a little wheelie suitcase, and am staying somewhere perfectly legitimate (wasn't even built as rental housing or individually-owned dwellings). People use those nowadays, even people your age.
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