I genuinely feel like I’m losing my mind right now and need advice from anyone who has experienced something similar in Berlin because WHAT IS GOING ON???
I found an apartment that I really liked, and the landlord agreed to rent it to me. I met this woman THREE TIMES before today. The first time I went to view the apartment by myself, the second time I went back with my boyfriend to view it again, and the third time I went with him to sign the contract.
It was the same woman throughout the entire process. I signed the contract, paid €1,000 towards the deposit (which is half of the total deposit), and received the keys from her on the same day. The keys still work, and I can access the apartment.
Now I’m supposed to move in TODAY, and suddenly this woman has stopped responding to me since Tuesday.
I’ve been trying to call her, but my calls ring once and then say “User Busy”. At first, I thought maybe her phone was off or there was a network issue, so my boyfriend tried calling her too. EXACTLY THE SAME THING happened.
Then it got even weirder.
I can’t see her WhatsApp profile picture anymore, and my messages to her are stuck on one grey tick. My boyfriend messaged her on WhatsApp, and his message initially showed TWO grey ticks, so it was delivered. He then tried calling her, and after that, his next WhatsApp message only showed ONE grey tick.
At this point, it really feels like she’s blocking us.
I genuinely don’t understand what the problem is. I’ve signed a contract with her, paid €1,000 towards the deposit, and received keys from her in person. I haven’t even paid the rent for this month yet, and I’ve only paid half of the deposit. I’m not refusing to pay anything. I’m literally just trying to move into the apartment as agreed.
We were supposed to meet today so she could give me the key for the mailbox, but she isn’t responding to my messages or calls.
IF SHE DOESN’T WANT ME LIVING THERE, OR THE APARTMENT ISN’T READY, WHY CAN’T SHE JUST TELL ME??? I would rather she tell me directly so we can figure something out instead of leaving me sitting here stressing over a situation I don’t understand.
The thing that’s confusing me the most is that I physically viewed the apartment twice, met her three times in person, signed a contract with her, paid her money and received working keys. It’s not like I sent money to someone online without ever seeing the place.
So how does this suddenly happen right before my move-in date???
I genuinely just want to move into my apartment and live in peace. I’ve already made arrangements around this move, and now I’m sitting here wondering whether I’ve been scammed or whether there’s some other explanation.
Has anyone experienced anything like this in Berlin? Is there a way to check whether the person I rented from is actually the owner or legally authorised to rent the apartment out? What should I do if I have a signed contract and working keys but the landlord has suddenly stopped communicating with me?
Also, if anyone would be willing to help me call her and politely ask what the issue is, please DM me. I’m not asking anyone to harass her. I just want to understand what’s happening because I genuinely don’t know what to do anymore.
I’m so frustrated because I was excited to move into my own place, and now this is happening on the exact day I’m supposed to move in.
Any advice would really be appreciated. (Please do not be mean)

my sister lives in berlin and i am hoping to book her a lymphatic drainage massage for her birthday. she is very into beautiful interiors and would love something both gorgeous and effective - any recommendations??

danke!

Does anybody know a gym with a hip thrust machine in Berlin? I‘m so tired of calling several gyms…

Halli hallo liebe Berliner*innen,

ich bin momentan geschäftlich in eurer Stadt und mir jucken die Hände Basketball zu spielen. Insofern suche ich nach einer Möglichkeit heute irgendwo ein bisschen hobbymäßig mitzuspielen. Bitte schreibt mir einfach einen Kommentar wenn ihr was wisst oder mich zu etwas einladen könnt.

Dankeschön <3

I’ll have some holidays in February, and I thought about travelling to Berlin for a few days (3 or 4). What do you think about this timing ? Should I take more, or would 3 days actually be perfect ? I am a quiet man and I prefer visiting History museums, monuments, parks, but I am also open to modern art and any suggestion.

Hello, everyone. I’m supposed to be moving to Berlin for graduate school in a few months, but I seem to have run into the problem that is I have no idea how to go about getting an apartment as a foreigner. I have a German first and last name and I understand and speak German with a fluency level roughly on the upper end of B1, though I am a native English speaker. I also have a job lined up through my school with my department that will be secure for at least 2 years, though it’s only part time as the student visa restricts the amount of hours I can work. I do, however, have almost €45,000 saved up specifically as an emergency savings in addition to my moving expenses and am expecting to have another ≈€35,000 added to that before moving. My biggest problems are I’ll be bringing a dog and a cat along with me so I’ll need somewhere that I can bring them and don’t really know how that all works in Germany and I also don’t know anyone in Germany who can give a character recommendation to a landlord but I have income, solid future prospects with provable credentials, a decent understanding of the language (also with provable ability and education) and a sizable savings. I’m also 30 if that impacts how they view prospective tenants at all. Anyone who can provide advice on how to make the search easier and increase my chances would be greatly appreciated! Especially since short term accommodation is less than ideal with animals so if I can manage to skip right into 1+ year long accommodation, that’s the goal. Thank you to everyone in advance!

I‘m in Berlin right now and will soon have to apply to universities here. I have just a few questions, if you are a foreigner and would like to help, reply here so I can dm you, thank you so much and sorry if this is inappropriete to ask this here.

Update:
I didn’t tip the guy
It was a small shipment
Spacious elevator
And most importantly, I don’t want to bring the tipping culture to Germany. It’s common in other places, but as these guys are getting reasonable wages then let’s keep it that way
Thanks for everyone
Tchüss

Should I tip Ikea delivery guys? I don’t know if it’s acceptable or part of the culture here.

Additional information:
- No heavy stuff
- Spacious elevator is available
- No assembly

I will think about it, it’s hard for me not to tip those people but I wanted to make sure it’s culturally acceptable

Hi everyone! I'm a 30 year old woman from spain and I am considering to move to Berlin for 2 or 3 months.

I'm living a little crisis for the age 😅 and I feel that I need to discover new things before is too late. I have never lived abroad and its a spine in my heart, I work remote since many years so I will be working there. I choose Berlin because its an alternative and artistic city and I think that I am going to feel comfortable,maybe I'll retake photography, who knows ... also I love techno and I read that women there hang out alone.

But I have some doubts, I don't speak german , would be a problem there? I will learn a little but Its not going to be enought I guess.
Are people friendly with the tourism? Mostly I will go on my own way and i dont want to disturb anybody, but also I would like to know people there.
And at last, is it really safe for woman if I go clubbing alone?