Thinking of moving to Düsseldorf
Hi everybody,
I have been living in Berlin for 6-7 years. The city started to feel like too much to handle as I get older.
I have the opportunity to ask for a transfer to a different store in the company I work for as they have stores in Düsseldorf too, so I am thinking of moving to Düsseldorf (if I can do the timing right)
I have visited there numerous times, and I like how walkable it is, the overall atmosphere and how the city is planned or designed.
Anyways, I am asking this question to see if that's a good fit to my lifestyle.
I will try to list what matters to me, maybe some people could relate and kindly help me build an opinion.
- Cycling infrastructure (doesn't have to have 100% bike road coverage, but at least well behaved car drivers that doesn't see you as flies)
- Having the opportunity to just gaze into the void at a random bench and chill after work or a long day without being bothered too much (don't want to get into too much details, but you can't do this in peace in Berlin. Be it being bothered by some random event or non-existence of benches)
- Café culture that you could read a book or just be alone with your thoughts peacefully, and not forced to sit inside a 20 sqm place with 100 people at the same time with staff begging you to leave as soon as possible, so they can accept the next customer.
- I love watching car races. So proximity to a racetrack would be nice (I know Nürburgring is not too far, but I am also not sure how manageable it is to go there once or twice a month)
- It would be very cool to have common areas to socialize where people go and just hang out without having to travel within the city for 40-50 minutes by train just to visit the places you like as we do in Berlin. Maybe that's a me problem that I live so far away from my favorite places, but in general everything is scattered around the city). I've seen that Düsseldorf does this very good. I am just curious about variety.
- I am a huge Pokemon (games, anime and cards), and video games fan. It would be a huge plus, if there is some sort of collectibles and hobby scene related to these.
- Well nothing special, but I am also a foodie. I enjoy trying different types of food. I cook at home usually, but I also enjoy going to a nice restaurant that I have never tried before every now and then. I wonder how the restaurant scene looks like there (I visited only the touristy places, so I am sure there are hidden gems in other neighborhoods) And yeah I like street food as well and I really enjoyed the food stands near Rhine.
- I am well aware of Düsseldorf's location, and how convenient it is to visit other surrounding cities and countries even. However, I am also curious about its airport. Would you say it's convenient enough for traveling to not so obviously popular European cities quickly? (I am asking this because sometimes it can be a real pain in Berlin to find direct flights to let's say Malaga, Sevilla, Florence etc.)
- Last but not least, let's say I decided to live a little bit far from the center, would you say the public transport has good coverage outside the center/ring?
Oh, I've realised I have been blabbering a lot. Sorry for the long post. I am not asking you to make a decision for me of course. I am just trying to gather some insights that could help me construct a better view and decision hopefully. Thanks a lot in advance.