Building land in the middle of nowhere with the house prices?!

Nice example from Ytong. Many villagers actually seem to believe that contact with neighbors is forbidden in the big city, school classes have 40 children, at least 35 of them not ethnically German, and basically there is a shooting in the street every day. Oh, and apart from concrete and asphalt, there is of course nothing...

Which surprises me quite a bit, because my birth city Hannover has the largest urban forest in Europe and a lake in the middle of the city, not everyone has that.

Regarding traffic jams, I quite agree, I moved away from Hannover 3 years ago and whenever I visit again, I can't stop swearing. But it will get even worse when the 2 bridges that are currently only single-lane and not allowed for trucks are finally demolished...

In direct comparison, I have felt or feel the almost dramatic overpopulation in the West German metropolitan areas.
That is actually the most annoying topic for me. The population density is simply too high and no longer acceptable to me.

Hannover, just to name an example, has a population density of 2636 inhabitants per km².
Erfurt, the capital of Thuringia, has 790 inhabitants per km². This has nothing to do with the actual size but with the density.

And accordingly, there are more people, more cars, more traffic and not necessarily more doctors, more shops and more quiet countryside. So many people in one place just get on my nerves. That is exactly why I live in the countryside. Of course, this is different for everyone.

Within my 20 km radius we have a population density of 50 inhabitants per km². I cope very well with that. And yes, that is very high quality of life for me.

Of course, there are also disadvantages. The job market is limited. There is certainly work everywhere, but if you are specifically looking for something you have to commute further. I was flexible and changed industry and job. Still improved. But you also have to be brave.

Spontaneously going to the Italian restaurant around the corner is of course not possible either. Even having a beer in the pub is difficult because there are none left.
The next Italian or Chinese restaurant is 20 km away. Instead, we just grill more, visit neighbors who have become friends or go on weekends to some village festival, a fair, a market that takes place weekly. So country life is quite active, of course different than in the city.

We always have family celebrations in country inns with hotel service, most family members come from out of town and stay here overnight. But you get used to it.

Now I have to stick up for Hannover... Personally, I find the city super annoying, but that has nothing to do with the opportunities and the infrastructure network. My property is about 35 km from the center, a village of 2,000 people, and twice an hour the S-Bahn goes to the main station. On weekends, also once an hour at night, during the week until 12 and from 5 again. In the neighboring town there is even a bus connection to Hannover’s tram network. Travel time to the A2/A7 interchange is 10 minutes from me – definitely rural but still connected – great for commuting (if you like that...). I paid 220 euros per sqm for the property – with this setup, I can’t imagine where any loss in value would come from... The village has a train station, two supermarkets, doctors, kindergarten, ... close to nature but with many good jobs – the 49 euro ticket would really be worth it around here! You can also talk everything down – I lived in the city for a long time and am really glad I can hear birds in my garden – for me that is quality of life compared to cramped city apartments, constant noise, and way too much traffic...

I also want to mention another aspect: We basically like to remain anonymous. Our immediate neighbors only found out what we do professionally after 10 years, etc. No one cares which car I drive or how often we go on vacation. It usually doesn’t even get noticed if we’re away for a week. I think it’s completely different in the village. And it has to be different, because you feel more at ease when the neighbor also keeps an eye on your house when you’re not there.

New development areas on the outskirts of the village are often already quite anonymous nowadays, we ourselves live in one (a village with 900 inhabitants). Here on the street, everyone does their own thing and that’s it, there are no curious neighbors here and it doesn’t stand out if we’re gone for a few days. Mostly these are newcomers from the city who were just looking for an affordable building plot.

Now I have to stick up for Hanover... Personally, I find the city super annoying, but that has nothing to do with the opportunities and the infrastructure network. My property is about 35 km from the center, a village of 2,000 souls, and twice an hour the S-Bahn goes to the main station. On weekends also at night once an hour, on weekdays until 12 and then again from 5. In the neighboring town there is even a bus connection to Hanover’s tram network. The drive to the A2/A7 junction is 10 minutes from me – really rural but still connected – great for commuting (for those who like it...). I paid 220 euros per square meter for the property – but with this combination, I can’t imagine where any loss in value should come from... The village has a train station, two supermarkets, doctors, a daycare, … Close to nature but many good jobs – the 49 euro ticket would really be worthwhile here in this area! You can also talk everything down – I lived in the city for a long time and I'm really glad I can hear birds in my garden – that is quality of life for me compared to the cramped city apartment, constant noise and way too much traffic...

Exactly, I don’t have to live directly in Hanover anymore either, but in the surrounding area with quick highway access and train/bus service you have the advantages of country living combined with the fast accessibility of a big city. And the Hanover region had, until the huge property price spike from 2020, a really good price/performance ratio all around with 200€/sqm. Here there were even row houses for 300k in 2019 and single-family houses for 400-500k including land. What more do you want? Good employers nearby and affordable northern German property prices, at least until 2019.

New development areas on the edge of villages are often quite anonymous nowadays, we ourselves live in one of those (a village with 900 inhabitants). Here on the street, everyone does their own thing and that's it, there is no sign of nosy neighbors and it doesn't even stand out if we're not around for a few days. Mostly, they are city people who have simply been looking for an affordable building plot.

You don't have to make it obvious to everyone that you hear everything ;)