Interesting how the discussion has evolved... :-)
For me, it looks like this: The lady of my heart commutes daily by regional express to downtown Berlin because unfortunately, her company still mostly operates under "presenteeism," even though she would be much more efficient working from home, which becomes clear whenever she exceptionally works from home. But so far, that is seen as an exception and is not supposed to become the rule.
Therefore: Assuming she works in downtown Berlin until retirement, so for about another 25 years, only locations would come into question from where one can quickly get to a regional train station.
For me, it’s different: Sometimes I don’t have to go to downtown Berlin for weeks, and then again three days in a row. I rather need a good rail connection to a long-distance train station and to the Berlin ring road, to quickly get on the A24, A2, and A9. Less often on the A13. It is also important that there is a good internet connection with high upload speed. And on top of that, the nearest navigable waterway shouldn’t be too far away, so that a new berth for our boat is not too distant.
Basically, only two areas come into question: the area around Potsdam and the area around Königs Wusterhausen. However, I have serious doubts whether even those are not already too far out. I find, for example, the Wildpark-West forest settlement (belongs to the municipality of Schwielowsee) extremely beautiful, and there you could also find plots with simple old buildings, where one could certainly try knocking.
However, I have no clue at all what such a location means for personal (family) life besides all the romance. You’d have to get in the car for every little thing, to shop, to the hairdresser, because nothing is within walking distance. And it’s 15 kilometers through Werder to get to the Berlin ring road.
Our daughter is eight years old today and maybe 18 then. Maybe she will still live with us. I don’t know if young ladies find it totally stupid to live so far out. Although “so far out” is still within the Berlin ring road.
Similar applies to Königs Wusterhausen: there one might find something in the "Neue Mühle" area (lady/Krimnicksee). KW also has a regional train station. And you would be quickly on the Berlin ring road. I simply can’t judge what it’s like to live in such an area. Does anyone have experience with this? It’s a huge difference whether you just stop by with the boat for a night and say “oh how nice” or whether you live there every day.
Basically, our current location is not that bad at all. We have the regional train station within walking distance, fast internet, the planes from Tegel will be gone sometime, but street noise from a main arterial road remains. And I just don’t know if I want to live here after my parents (may that day still be far away). Especially since their house will then need some restoration on the outside because my father glued scabby white clinker slips there in the early 80s...
I still ask to consider this thread as a thought experiment. Everything very unspecific, but maybe it will help me all the same.
Matthias