Berlin: Young, Free and Single - For Life
It’s fair to say that most European metropolises aren’t the best places to encourage people to have children – the narrow, cobbled streets of Paris, London’s stuffy, ancient underground system with thousands of steps, Barcelona’s bustling streets and busy roads – one shudders at the thought of battling the elements with a children’s buggy or a moaning toddler. In this sense, Berlin is pretty practical for families with its wide leafy streets and modern all-access subway system. But somehow this is a place where singletons and lovers alike find themselves in their twenties, thirties, forties and beyond simply satisfied with themselves, which is essentially down to the youthful party scene, diverse cultural offerings and an incredibly relaxed attitude to work and property.
The hardcore techno scene may have seen its heyday but it’s certainly still happening and addictive, and the general age of the party-goers here must be high above the worldwide average. Apparently things get better with age – the ‘Goa’ parties are characterized by their psy trance music and the silver-bearded men who have partied long enough for their hair to grow from their bandanas right down their backs and denim waistcoats they’ve been sporting since the early nineties.
Summer here is filled with long weekends of street parades and party raves. Aside from the notorious 1st May demonstration which has slowly transformed into a wild street party, the Carnival of Cultures and Christopher Street Day gay pride parade give endless excuses for yet another caprinha from a street-side bar… leading naturally and spontaneously to a walk home in the blinding sun the following day.
The culture of “growing up and becoming responsible” here is very different to that of London, where settling down and investing in property plays a much bigger role in the lives of inhabitants. Here, purchasing property is almost unheard of. Whilst the university-educated Londoners are well up the rungs of their corporate career ladders by 25, students aged 30 here are the norm. People find their feet in small start up companies and working on diverse independent projects – perfect for personal skills development and self-sufficiency. Though the pay here isn’t great, the incredibly cheap rent which has barely risen since the wall fell balances things out. The apartment sharing concept is so beloved and practical that unless coupled-up, people tend to stay for years – if not decades – in student-style digs.
The vibrant art seen sees countless opening parties throughout the week – small galleries overflowing with colourful scenesters of all generations admiring the latest innovations. You never know who’s there to rub shoulders with – with big gallery exhibitions opening up in the city every week there are always well-known artists and designers rearing their heads on such evenings. The growing attraction of the art and sightseeing opportunities in the last 20 years has increased the number of tourists hugely – and artists and architects alike have plenty of new projects to work their magic on. Berlin has some of Europe’s most stylish new boutique hotels whose cocktail bars and restaurants are also designed to challenge local eateries for custom – both with their interiors and creative menus. Great places for womens’ evenings and jazz brunches are offered by the Ellington hotel’s Duke Restaurant; whilst hotel opening parties have the crème of the industry quaffing impressive cocktails and enjoying nibbles.
Eating and drinking is a beloved and relaxing social activity – though you can grab a kebab or falafel on every street corner, wiling away hours over a weekend brunch is an irresistible pleasure with friends. Time flies here, and with the current scene moving faster than an electro beat, the complicated make-up of history, immigrants, generations and a blend of influences so unique makes it an irresistible place to be – and stay.
Copyright Holly Maguire. Published 1 July 2010 in What’s New.
Reader comments
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Interesting. At least as of 2005, Germany has the highest proportion of childless women—check this out: http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2006/jan/27/germany.lukeharding
Wonder if they are more clustered in Berlin?
Laura http://lauracarroll.com
permalink — 1 July 2010, 09:48
Awesome. I enjoyed Berlin when I visited it and have had a vague desire to move to Europe, but now I’m making it my official goal to move to Berlin.
permalink — 5 July 2010, 22:56
Some statistics to back up this article would have been useful.
permalink — 13 July 2010, 17:09
PS: Rents rose by 11% between 2000 and 2007, and that’s only part of the time since the wall fell. Take-home income on the other hand has only risen by 5% during the same time.
Source: http://www.berlinonline.de/berliner-zeitung/archiv/.bin/dump.fcgi/2009/0304/berlin/0025/index.html
permalink — 13 July 2010, 17:15