Construction costs are currently skyrocketing

Good example of wasting money, because this measure does not solve the cause

Certainly. It wasn't meant seriously either. I have already made my position on government interventions in the form of subsidies/grants clear elsewhere.

However, it would help me, since we are only starting early next year. The supply side couldn't react that quickly to it :D

And now? That living in the provinces is not financially comparable to living in metropolitan areas is probably not a new insight.

But they sold a condo in Hamburg for next to nothing

The next to nothing was roughly 130,000 for between 50-100 sqm, built around 2000, in a good residential area of Hamburg … I won’t say anything about that ;) The buyer was lucky: the sellers were naive and accepted the asking price that the seller had been offered two years ago.

That is exactly what you want when you are not (professionally) tied to the city, because no one wants to waste two or more hours commuting every day. Yes, home office may have somewhat facilitated this change, but that certainly does not apply to all employees.

Thank you for this honest post. When you read some other posts in the forum here, you would think that soon everyone will have to work remotely for the rest of their lives or at best go to the office / to the client once a week. And then a 100, 200 or 300 km commute won’t matter anymore. Since humans are social beings and teamwork often suffered remotely during Corona, that seems rather utopian and experimental to me. Most employers also seem to see it differently.

Then better to live in the village/countryside and if I need to go to Berlin, hop on the train for 40 minutes and you’re at Alex.

And what exactly do you want to see or experience for 2 hours of train travel round trip? Because if you’re honest, the travel time including buffer times/waiting times etc. is longer than the theoretically shortest possible travel time according to the public transport schedule….. So I wouldn’t do that every week for a nice meal in a restaurant, a museum visit, the spa, a lecture etc.

That is true about transportation routes. Sometimes there are such public transport black holes where you need at least an hour for maybe 10 km as the crow flies. I used to be one of those who only wanted to live in the city. That has changed a lot with family and Corona.

Understandable and it would also be interesting to hear your conclusion after 6-12 months. I can imagine voting both ways. We have a house in the countryside about 1 hour away from a big city and one in the city itself. At the moment we prefer the city and rent out the other. Maybe that will change sometime. I would be interested in what experiences you make.

And what exactly do you want to see or experience for 2 hours of train travel each way? Because if you’re honest, the travel time including buffer times/waiting times etc. is longer than the theoretically shortest possible travel time according to the public transport schedule..... So I wouldn’t do that every week for a delicious meal in a restaurant, a museum visit, the spa, a lecture, etc.

If you’re going to quote, then please quote completely. What I meant to say is that by moving to the countryside I now have a shorter way to the center of Berlin than when I lived in Berlin (Buckow).

So, a friend of mine bought a semi-detached house in northern Thuringia three weeks ago. Rural location, only 4 km to the motorway. About 60 km to Erfurt. Plot approx. 700 sqm, double garage, outbuilding with workshop and technology. Built in 1960. But everything renovated, newer kitchen, bathroom, heating, windows, roof, move-in ready for 72,000 euros. Just as an example. An apartment in the small town was sold for 60,000 euros.

Now that we are already at extremes, I will describe another extreme:

[*]Location: Wiesbaden Sonnenberg [*]Project: New build semi-detached house [*]Living space: 140 sqm [*]Plot: 325 sqm [*]Purchase price: 1.4 million (1.6 million with additional costs)

A stone’s throw to work, oh, how nice that would be. Although I’m just thinking about whether I would spend that much money on a semi-detached house. I think even with a lottery win, I would hesitate.

May I ask why there is a and a who take turns replying here?