Berlin and Munich are two of the most popular cities in Germany. These are the cities that you must have heard about. But do you know about the difference between them? Which city is better to live in and to visit?
| This is a guest post from Sindy at My Life In Germany. Sindy is a Chinese expat living in Germany. Her website provides all the info you need about studying, working, and living in Germany. |
When I was a student, I had visited both Berlin and Munich as a tourist. I had a good impression of both cities. However, I was there for just a few days. It was hard to tell much about the cities, besides what the tourist attractions looked like. Later on, I had a chance to live in Berlin for one year due to my master studies.
I have to say that living in a city is completely different than just visiting it for a short period of time.
After one year, I moved to Munich for my job. Therefore, I have lived in both cities for a while and now I can definitely tell the difference.
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The conflicts between northern and southern Germany
When I got to know that I would be moving to Munich, I was super happy. Munich! One of the most famous places in Germany! I couldn’t wait to move there. When I told this good news to some of my German friends in Berlin, the first thing they said was “Oktoberfest”. Surprisingly, they were not super excited about Munich. They were like: “Ah, you are moving to the south? To the strange Bavaria?” I was surprised and asked if they didn’t want to move there. “Nope! No way,” they said.
It was strange to me and I didn’t understand it. Anyways, I moved to Munich and immediately fell in love with the place.
I knew some local Bavarian friends and learned that the people in the northern and southern Germany do not like each other that much.
This can be due to some historical reasons. Basically, the Bavarian people think that they are better than the others. Some of them want Bavaria to become an independent state. And the rest of Germany? They think the Bavarian people are too proud and they look down on the others.
Interesting. As a foreigner, I don’t have a deep feeling relating to their history. However, based on my living experience in these two places, I can see the following differences.
Berlin vs Munich
Munich is cleaner and more beautiful
Berlin is a city full of graffiti. I once even joined a city tour about graffiti. During the tour, the guide showed us all the different kinds of graffiti in different corners of the city. The streets in Berlin are not always very clean. When people finish drinking their beer, they sometimes just put the empty bottles on the street. Why? Because there are people who earn from collecting those bottles. You can get some cents back from each empty bottle which is returned back to the supermarket.
Especially on Friday or Saturday night, you can see people with their wagons collecting bottles on the street in the clubbing area. Trains in Berlin are mostly very old. Very often when I was in a train, there were people playing musical instruments and collecting money. Sometimes, the people didn’t even play any instruments. They took a cup, came to each of the passengers and asked for money.
I still remember the time when I took an overnight train from Berlin to Munich. When I woke up, I was shocked by how beautiful Munich was.
It was clean, colorful and neat. I was impressed by the underground stations, which looked so much more modern than Berlin.
Learning German is easier in Berlin than in Munich
Berlin is a very international city. I hardly met anyone who is originally from Berlin. Almost everyone I know moved to Berlin from somewhere else. Therefore, more people speak proper German (the standardized version) there.
Munich is in the state of Bavaria. They speak their own dialect called “Bavarian”. Bavarian is quite different from the standard German. Even for German people coming from the north, when they move to Bavaria, they will have a hard time understanding Bavarian at the beginning. No need to mention how hard it is for foreigners!
Bavaria is more traditional
As I mentioned, Berlin is a very international city. Since there are people from everywhere, people tend to be more open-minded and accept different cultures and mindsets. They are more liberal. On the other hand, Bavarian people are more traditional.
For example, in a typical Bavarian family, the husband goes to work and the wife stays home to raise kids.
When my friend decided to take a year’s maternity leave, people told her that she should stay home longer as “it is better for the kid”. Typically, Bavarian women take at least 2 years of maternity leave.
Berlin is cheaper
When I lived in Berlin a few years ago, the price level was MUCH CHEAPER than in Munich. For a standard dormitory from Studentenwerk, I paid 170 EUR per month back then. My friend in Munich paid 500 EUR per month for the same kind of room from Studentenwerk.
I paid 200ish EUR for my semester fee in Berlin, which included also a transportation pass. My friend had to pay 500 EUR in Munich. In general, the price level is just cheaper in Berlin. This is true as well for eating out and shopping and so on.
Munich has more jobs
After graduating with my master’s degree, I learned that almost none of my classmates had found a job in Berlin. They did secure jobs, but in other cities.
To give you an idea, the unemployment rate in Berlin was 8.4% in 2017, while it was only 2.9% in Bavaria.
There are way more people in Berlin living on social welfare. On the other hand, Bavaria has the strongest economy among the German states. There are more jobs and you can get a better salary in Bavaria.
So, which city is better to live in?
It depends on your preference. My recommendation is to live in Berlin if you are a student. Berlin is great for students due to the low cost of living and a great nightlife. You can easily meet new people in this international big city. Especially if you are on a budget, Berlin is a great place to start with. It is also easier to learn German there.
As for work, I would choose Munich, because of more job opportunities. There are many international companies in Munich, which are great especially for foreigners who are not perfect in German. Besides, I prefer to live in a city where I can get a higher salary. There are different studies suggesting that Munich is one of the best cities to live in. I can confirm that based on my experience.
Again, it is only my personal preference. People have different opinions. You will need to live in both cities yourself to find out which one fits you better.
Disclaimer: This post does not reflect the personal opinions of team Trail-stained Fingers and may contain affiliate links.
Our view on which city is better to visit: Berlin or Munich?
If you are planning a short tour and confused about which city to visit, we’d say that it depends on what you like. Berlin has a lot of history and if you’re keen on delving into World War II, it is definitely the right place for you. Berlin is also a great place to be on the German National Day (October 3) with many events and functions. Finally, Berlin’s riverside, museums, and cathedral are legendary.
Check out this Berlin travel guide for three days that we put together for more information.
However, it’s true that Munich is seen as a better travel destination by much of the world. This is due to its proximity to the Alps and the famous Oktoberfest which is a must for beer lovers. Munich, as Sindy says, is also generally cleaner and greener. It is home to the BMW headquarters and the Olympiapark.
In our opinion, Berlin and Munich are very different as travel destinations and therefore, you have to see both! Check out our post on offbeat things to do and see in Munich. If you’re visiting Germany soon, you can go to iVisa to check your visa requirements and cost.
Did you enjoy this post? Share it with your friends! Leave a comment below if you’ve lived in or visited either city and tell us about your experiences.
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I love the comparison! It’s also nice that you experienced living and traveling in both cities. I initially wanted to visit Berlin because it’s much cheaper but the more I researched the place, I realized that Munich is better. Just like you said, Munich is cleaner and more beautiful. Besides, graffitis are not my thing which is everywhere in Berlin. 🙂 You ended the blog with encouraging us to visit both. But I was wondering, which one is your personal favorite? 🙂
Somehow, that’s very hard to answer! Thing is, we’ve been to Berlin more often than Munich and the city sort of grew on us. We can imagine living in both cities, because they’re so cosmopolitan and modern. But as a tourist, definitely, Bavaria scores over Berlin. But you have to see more than just Munich – the countryside towns and castles are beautiful. 🙂
Interesting. Lot’s of new things to know about Germany!
Yeah. Every region is so different – we’d love to live in another city and see for ourselves 🙂
I agree. Living ina city is different from a traveller’s perspective!
Glad to hear it. Thanks for reading 🙂
Many thanks ^^