You can live in Cologne and work in Bonn, and vice versa. As part of our updated City Essentials series, Expatica tells you how to get by in both cities.

On this page:

• Where to live
• Where to find rentals
• Where to arrange a residence permit
• Where to register
• Where to arrange a driving licence
• Car registrations
• Other useful addresses
• Health and recreation
• Gyms
• Golf

WHERE TO LIVE

COLOGNE: 'A River Runs Through It' could be Cologne's trademark claim. The city is cut cleanly into two halves by the Rhine River, with the 'left Rhine side', as locals call it, being Cologne's centre of gravity. It is home to the densely populated down- town district as well as numerous residential neighbourhoods.

The right Rhine side, by contrast, has no centre to speak of and has traditionally lived a shadow existence, with Cologners calling it the 'Schäl Sick', or the 'Wrong Side'.

Those who are new to the city usually move to one of half a dozen neighbourhoods on the left city side that hug downtown in a semi-circle: Ehrenfeld, Lindenthal, Suelz, Bayenthal, and Rodenkirchen. The city remains a popular destination, especially for bar-and restaurant-hopping singles who tend to live in the Belgian Quarter (Belgisches Viertel) and Old Town (Altstadt).

BONN: Flocking to this now quieter but still prospering town are young professionals from the IT and communication industries, who tend to set up residence east of the Rhine river, in the suburbs of Beuel, Geislar, Vilich and Holzlar. However, the western side of town still holds most of its cultural and leisure attractions. Also located there are Bonn's shopping and Old Town districts, and the still popular residential neighbourhoods of Südstadt and Poppelsdorf. To the south lies the suburb of Bad Godesberg, formerly prime real estate, which for some years now has been losing residents. Adjacent to the Federal Quarter (Bundesviertel), Bad Godesberg used to be the neighbourhood of choice for scores of German politicians, their families and foreign diplomats, before the capital moved to Berlin.

WHERE TO FIND RENTALS

COLOGNE: The most efficient way to house hunt is to simultaneously check for ads in the local newspapers (Kölner Stadt- Anzeiger and Kölnische Rundschau) and through internet databases (e. g. www.immobilien24.de and www.immowelt.de). The local papers also offer their ads online on a joint website (http://anzeigen.ksta.de/anzeigen/anzeigen_suche.php?markt=20037).

They don't show pictures but you can narrow down your search by choosing all relevant details, such as the maximum rent you are willing to pay, number of rooms, balcony, garage, and so on. The ads cover apartments as well as houses in the entire state of Northrhine- Westphalia. For rentals, be sure to click on 'Mieten'.

BONN: In Bonn too a double-track approach works best. Check for rentals in the online or print versions of the local paper, the General-Anzeiger (www.general-anzeiger-bonn.de)as well as the commercial databases www.immobilien24.de, www.bonner-immobilien-boerse.de and www.immowelt.de, or the non-commercial website www.anonza.de/start.php.

WHERE TO ARRANGE A RESIDENCE PERMIT

For Aufenthaltsgenehmigung or Aufenthaltserlaubnis:

COLOGNE:
Zentrale Ausländerbehörde
Blaubach 13
50676 Cologne
(0221)221 25601

BONN:
Amt für Ausländerangelegenheiten
Königswintererstr 54
53227 Bonn
(0228)77 6301 

Cologne is a major centre for art and television

COLOGNE:
For a list of offices for arranging a polizeiliche Anmeldebestätigung:
www.stadt-koeln.de/bol/meldehalle/uebersicht/index.html

BONN:
Bürgeramt Bonn
Stadthaus,
Berliner Platz 2, 53111 Bonn

Bürgeramt Bad Godesberg
Kurfürstenallee 2-3,
53177 Bonn

Bürgeramt Beuel
Rathaus Beuel,
Friedrich-Breuer- Straße 65,
53225 Bonn

Bürgeramt Hardtberg
Villemomblerstr. 1,
53123 Bonn

WHERE TO ARRANGE A DRIVING LICENCE

The same offices that issue a resident's registration (Anmeldebstätigung) also issue driving licenses.

CAR REGISTRATIONS

COLOGNE:
Amt für öffentliche Ordnung
Herkulesstra. 42
50823 Cologne (Neu-Ehrenfeld)
(0221)221 26692 or 26635

BONN:
Bürgeramt Bonn
Stadthaus, Berliner Platz 2,
53111 Bonn

OTHER USEFUL ADDRESSES

The British Consulate in Düsseldorf provides on their website lists of English-speaking doctors, lawyers and other professionals in the Rhineland that might be needed at one time or another (www.britbot.de/en/consular/duesseldorf/index.htm)

Once Germany's capital, Bonn is now a hub for the IT industry (photo: Wikipedia)

Both Cologne and Bonn have a good variety of public parks, where on weeknights and weekends the locals can be seen sweating it out doing their laps.

Cologne offers, for instance, a narrow (and unnamed) park belt surrounding the city centre, from the North of Ehrenfeld to the southern Altstadt. There are also the expansive green areas around the artificial lake Decksteiner Weiher, as well as Beethovenpark and Stadtwald, all of them located in the neighbourhood of Lindenthal, west of Cologne's centre.

Bonn is generally much greener, and parks as well as almost rural-looking areas with fields and meadows can be found in all directions. Among the most prominent are the Freizeitpark Rheinaue, stretching alongside the western river bank in the suburb of Hochkreuz, and the large nature reserve between Bonn-Oberkassel and Bonn-Holtorf.

Many of the better-equipped fitness centres in Cologne and Bonn are part of national chains. In addition to machines for cardio-vascular training and body- building, some of them offer swimming pools, hot tubs, saunas, and massages. You should visit the gym of your choice for a free test session and try to negotiate a reasonable admission fee, especially when you join with a partner.

GOLF

The Rhineland area has one of the highest densities for golf courses in continental Europe. More than 70 courses stretch across the Rhineland, from Düsseldorf to Aachen.

The area also hosts two important professional tournaments: the Kaufhof Pokal in Birkhof/Kaarst (near Düsseldorf), part of the European Challenge Tour; and the Linde German Masters at Gut Lärchenhof in Pulheim, with tens of thousands of visitors each year. An extensive list of golf courses in the area can be found at www.maingolf.de.

A version of this article appears in the new edition of Expatica's Expat Survival Guide.

21 April 2006

Copyright Expatica 2006

Subject: Cologne, Bonn, living in Germany, moving to Germany