At some point in one' s life everyone is looking for a new community. You may change school, job, or maybe follow someone. Most of the time we are not forced to move to another new city, neighbourhood or country. But when we do, we are forced to make new friends where we move. The first step to new social acquaintances or friendships is almost always the search for similarities. According to psychologists and evolutionary biologists, people are happiest where they are in a similar community; cultural similarities and similar lifestyles provide a sense of security and play an important role in the choice of location.
Steady movement in the city
Year after year, many thousands of people move to and from Berlin. In Berlin itself, about 780 people move from one address to another every day. In 2018, the number of domestic flows totalled 285,269. Over 191,000 people came to Berlin from abroad, 157,000 moved away from here.
Where does your community go?
Maybe you and others share a passion for a certain leisure activity or a certain topic? Then you will surely find quick access to one of the many small groupings in Berlin. In addition to leisure activities, cultural events, gastronomy and nightlife are other ways to find soul mates or like-minded people. Probably the easiest, but not the cheapest way to find a community is to keep showing up at the same places, e.g. in a restaurant or bar. If you can stand to eat or drink the same thing over and over again, it could work. However, Berliners are not world champions at fraternizing quickly. It's not for everyone to warmly greet the staff of a new favourite restaurant after a few visits. And the other regular guests may share your culinary preferences, but otherwise may have little in common with you.
Spatial search
The likelihood of finding people of the same or similar origin increases if you know where many of these people live or where they feel attracted to. In many countries and cities, this is relatively easy because the communities like to concentrate spatially. In São Paulo, Brazil, for example, it is quite clear where Italians, Germans, French or Americans like to live. Sometimes even the names of the quarters are based on the nationalities.
Berlin has a decentralized structure and there are only a few neighborhoods with dedicated communities. But there are structures that have evolved over time that you can use as your orientation. Decentralization also has a big advantage for you: in many other metropolises you may like to live in the midst of your community, but the environment does not necessarily have to suit you. With our help, you can search for both in decentralized Berlin: Your community and an environment that you enjoy.
Our Community Finder
Our Community Finder is very easy to use: Search the list for your desired nationality. On our Community Map we show you in which districts or quarters your selection is officially registered. (Source: Amt für Statistik Berlin-Brandenburg, registered residents with main residence in Berlin)
