G., auto dealer, 39
“I don’t feel at home in Berlin. The economy is kaputt. But what can I say? I have to stay because of my children. I don’t have a choice, frankly. Berlin’s not good. It’s boring and the economy is bad. I would like to move to Hamburg. Hamburg’s nice.”
M., chairman, 59
“I feel comfortable in Berlin, though I don’t like the way drunk adolescents hang out at night on the streets or in the subway. It’s worst in Sch?neweide. I was there once for a dinner sometime before Easter. The train only had two cars, and these drunken adolescents were everywhere. I was scared. I wouldn’t like to live in the East. There are too many foreigners and they spray the houses with graffiti.”
S., foreign correspondent, 27
“I spend most my time in Mitte or Prenzlauer Berg. I have everything I need there: friends, places to hang out. I also have lots of friends in Pankow, like my former host family. I go out in Friedrichshain or in Prenzlauer Berg or Mitte. I tend to shop in Tiergarten. I don’t go to the Ukrainian church because it’s Catholic. I go to the Orthodox Church on Hohenzollerndamm.”
D., bistro owner, 44
“The decision to take over this bistro was also a decision to stay for longer. The daily commute to work was too long. It’s a long way from Hohensch?nhausen to Steglitz. Two hours of traveling everyday. So I decided to move here and use the two extra hours to relax and save on time and gas.”
