Wohnen

Hallo!

Ich bin wieder da!

As I wrote in the previous post, we'll now look into the living situations in Mannheim and what are the available options.

I will start with where I am currently residing, which is called Ulmenweg. I came by Ulmenweg through a student portal. I had to wake up at about 8 in the morning on a cold November day (note to self: not a bad start for a novel) and log into the student portal, where I had the option of only Ulmenweg and another student housing area on Hafenstraße, both of which are run by Studentenwerk (a student services organization).

I chose Ulmenweg simply because I was looking for the cheapest rent on the portal, and single room/shared flat options in Ulmenweg went for €283 a month. I think that the ones on Hafenstraße were €10 more a month.

Ulmenweg, Ulmenweg...

I believe the whole area in the vicinity used to be former military barracks. I read this somewhere, but I later knew for a fact this was true after going to the Benjamin Franklin Village in Mannheim (this used to be a LARGE neighborhood for Americans soldiers and their families) outside the Funari Barracks. The buildings there looked identical to what Ulmenweg looks like. Also, a friend of mine went to the Air Force (shout out to my friend Patryk aka Patty Poland) and showed me what his military rooms looked like and Ulmenweg seemed awfully similar to them.

Ulmenweg from afar

Haus 5 with the grill out front. They're alright, I guess.

Go Haus 6!

As you can see from the picture, quite a lot of people can fit in just one haus. I also think that there are options of getting apartments with your own kitchen, bathroom, etc. But those would cost more, obviously.

So when you walk into the shared flats, there is a hallway with two toilets and one shower. These you have to share with your flatmates. The good news is that there is a cleaning woman who comes and cleans them out. They're really simple, almost like closets.

The hallway...and my flatmate Seher photobombing

One of the toilets

The shower

Off to the side of the hallway is our kitchen. There we have a table, chairs, refrigerator and freezer, two stove tops, a sink, a cupboard for each resident, and a trash area. Also, for some reason our kitchen has a couch. However, NO OVEN! I'm not much of a cook, but there have been a number of times where I thought to myself "Man, if only I had an oven." Other than that, the kitchen is quite functional. The thing is you need to keep it clean because it is inspected every two weeks and if it's not clean enough a cleaning service gets hired and you and your flatmates split the cost.

The kitchen...and Seher photobombing again

Now, next stop are the rooms. Everyone gets their own room, which is cool because when you just need some peace and quiet you can just lock yourself in. I like that the rooms are singles as compared to the colleges in the US that pair people up. You get your space, but you also have to learn how to express any problems with things, such as throwing out the trash, cleaning dishes, things of that nature. In the bedroom, the luxuries provided to you are a closet, a shelf, a desk, two chairs, a bedside table, and a bed with not the best mattress and one pillow. I advise you to check your sheets and blanket because a friend of mine said hers was stained and dirty when she first arrived. The Hausmeister should replace them without a problem. Oh, and the rooms come with sinks! So convenient!

My room. Sorry for the mess!

So that's Ulmenweg in a nutshell. If I forgot anything I'll make sure to add them in later.

Now, what do I think of Ulmenweg?

It's not a bad place, but it's not the greatest of places either. This is mostly attributed to the fact that it is quite a haul from the Quadrate and the Palace and there are not many things to do in terms of nightlife. And when you do go out for the night or weekend, you always have to worry about how to get back or what time the latest bus or tram leaves. However, in defense of Ulmenweg, I do believe that this is the perfect place for to meet a lot of people. Also, when people throw parties almost all the international students in Ulmenweg go. There are also two stores conveniently located just across the street, and they are quite cheap (€25 worth of food lasts me about a weeks). Ulmenweg also has two grills and pavilions that are perfect for having barbecues, especially in the spring. And if you need meat, you can quickly run over to one of the stores to buy some. This is another perk of staying in Ulmenweg and you can meet a bunch of new people. And the tram line will be finished in July, so that will improve the transportation issue.

Another residence in Mannheim that is offered by Studentenwerk is on Hafenstraße. These are more apartment-styled and are not barracks. They go up maybe five or six stories and have a really nice design of grey, white, and orange painted on the face of the buildings. They are located not far from the port and fairly close to the outside ring of the Quadrate (walking to it takes about 10 minutes). I have not actually been inside of the residences on Hafenstraße apart from a hall during a party, but from what I heard there are not many complaints about it. The location is more favorable, but the only form of public transportation that will take you there is the bus (the same bus that goes to Ulmenweg). So again, some walking may be required if you are out late at night. However, depending where in the Quadrate you are, I don’t think that the walk should be more than 20 minutes at best. My Hafenstraße friends, please feel free to correct me.

The last apartments that are offered by Studentenwerk are in the G7 Quadrat. These I have been in and they are pretty nice. I believe it is made up of four buildings and an open square in the center of them. They are also shared flats, each with a bathroom, shower, kitchen, and bedrooms. Compared to Ulmenweg, the kitchen is small. Ten people in there make it difficult to walk around. But one does not live in the kitchen, so it’s not that much of a problem unless one is keen on throwing parties in the kitchen every weekend. The bedrooms are more square shaped as opposed to the rectangular one my bedroom is and seems slightly bigger. The bathrooms there are a tight squeeze, but you only really need to go there for two things, maybe three if it’s a night of heavy drinking (if you know what I mean). Also, G7 has a large party room in a loft of one of the buildings capable of fitting about one hundred people and is equipped with a table, lots of couches, a bar, and a fridge. It’s quite a nice and convenient room if you don’t want to disturb your flatmates with a large crowd. Since they are in the Quadrate, the apartments in G7 are really close to some of the main places in the city. There is a tram stop not far from there and it is only a ten-minute walk to Marktplatz. Plus, there is a cool bar called Filmriss right around the corner and a fun club, which is a little further away and I recommend going to, called Soho.

I would like to add something about Studentenwerk. In my opinion (at least in Ulmenweg), their goal is not the satisfaction of the tenants. I witnessed this first hand at a meeting for all international students who just moved in to Ulmenweg. Two students went up to the Hausmeister and told him that they have no blinds for the windows, so not only does light come into the rooms when they are trying to sleep but everything they do in their rooms can be seen from the outside or from the haus across from theirs. You would expect the Hausmeister to say that he’d at least look into it and see what he can do considering the place is run by Studentenwerk. On the contrary, he told the two that they would have to buy blinds if they really wanted them. After that same meeting, it took about five students, myself included, to convince the Hausmeister that the dryers in the laundry room do not work (this is already a month and a half after me and other international students for a Winterakademie arrived). The fact that the dryers were not working was not so much frustrating as the Hausmeister being skeptical about what we were telling him. Also, the state of the kitchens when you arrive depends on the previous tenants. In my case, they did not throw the food out of the fridge before leaving, so there was old, smelly food in there and mold was growing inside. Although this is mostly the previous tenants’ faults, I would expect Studentenwerk to inspect the kitchen and charge them for any cleaning services. I am speaking from personal experiences, so I cannot say whether or not similar events occurred on Hafenstraße or G7. If something like the fridge situation may happen to you, take pictures of it and go to the Hausmeister, so at least you have proof.

Now, there are alternatives to what Studentenwerk offers. Obviously there are apartments in the Quadrate. I know of some in L2 and in H6. I would advise looking into these before the Studentenwerk residences are available on the student portal. The ones in L2 are full apartments with a small kitchen, a bedroom, and a bathroom. In general, I have heard cases of which apartments in the Quadrate cost as much as €100 a month less compared to what Studentenwerk offers. Not only do you save some money, but you are also in the city center and close to many places in the Quadrate. You can find apartments a little outside of the ring around the Quadrate as well for relatively cheap prices. I would recommend, though, steering clear of Jungbusch. This is one of the areas outside of the Quadrate. Although Mannheim is a safe place even though it has the most crime in Germany (trust me, not even a percent of how bad Detroit is), there have been some unfortunate events in the past two years in that area so it may be better if you avoid it.

To conclude in this post, I would just propose actively looking into each residence that Studentenwerk offers and any apartments you may find not associated with Studentenwerk. Make sure to set you have a list of what you would want in an apartment or flat and find out what each one offers. Ask students or Mannheim residents what their opinion is on where they live and make a smart decision on which place you would like to select.

Hope this helps any future residents of Mannheim. And for those of you not planning on coming here, maybe you can make some comparisons with your own living situations as students/young adults.

Until next time!