[Личный опыт] “Silicon Valley of Europe”: what makes Berlin special in the IT world

From all over Europe, IT emigrants usually tend to Germany. And as a rule, in Berlin – there are always the most vacancies, some of the highest salaries and not such an expensive life as in Munich or Frankfurt am Main. But how did Berlin manage to become so attractive to foreign developers? And what makes it special in general among other cities in Europe and Germany?

We spoke with Alina, who works here as a programmer. She will share her thoughts on why the city is a true startup mecca in Europe and what makes this place ideal for relocating any IT industry employee.


How Berlin differs from the rest of Germany

The main feature of Berlin is that over the past 10-15 investors began to flock here, and foreigners began to come to open their startups. All this grew like a snowball, and as a result completely changed the IT culture of Berlin and the city itself.

In the rest of Germany, technology is still ruled by corporations, huge and clumsy: Siemens, Bosch, Volkswagen, Audi, Deutsche Bahn, Lidl, Deutsche Post. They have interesting IT, but the technologies and processes there are somewhat outdated. Everything happens very slowly: a new feature can be approved for months, and implemented for years. Or spend hours on documentation meetings.

Ordinary people are especially noticeable in the banking sector – it developed in the 70s and 80s and stopped at this point. Many key things are written in the rather complex and old Cobol programming language: this code works, but no one dared to rewrite all this globally for a long time (because even a minor mistake can have quite serious consequences for many generations of clients). Now some banks are trying to switch to new rails, but this is a very slow process. Some banks still do not even have personal accounts or mobile applications.

In Berlin, the situation is completely different, because most companies are start-ups, or have only recently grown from them. In the last three years alone, dozens of promising startups like CoachHub and Sharpist… Some of the companies are well-known and we, for example, Soundcloud… There are even whole lists of Berlin startups – in one renovated in 2021, there are as many as 115 of them, and this is taking into account the pandemic.

Due to the abundance of startups, the pace of development in Berlin is different – everyone is trying to work faster, overtake competitors, constantly test and roll out something new.

This dominance of startups has also influenced life. Berlin was different from other German cities before. This is a common feature of almost all capitals: Moscow is not like the rest of Russia, Prague is like the Czech Republic, and Mexico City is like Mexico. But the abundance of startups has made Berlin even more “different.”

First of all, the changes have occurred due to the huge influx of foreigners working in the IT field. There were many foreigners before that: before that: Russian-speaking repatriates, immigrants from Vietnam and others. But startups have attracted a lot of “newbies” – in my opinion, there are about 10% of them here. This made the city very multicultural, not so “German”. Maybe he even became impersonal in some way, but it is precisely because of this that a foreigner is much more comfortable here than in other cities of Germany. It is difficult to feel like a stranger here – there are so many “strangers”, they have already become “ours”.

The easiest way to notice this is in the language. English is spoken in the central districts of Berlin almost more often than German. And without knowing German, you can easily live here – with English you will have no problems buying food, getting a job or asking for directions. And every large country has its own community, so you will probably speak Russian as often as you speak English.

How does IT in Berlin differ from IT in the rest of Europe, and where did these differences come from?

Most European countries are not as conservative as Germany – IT is more modern there and is not completely under the control of corporations. But Berlin wins even here, only not due to technologies and processes, but due to volumes. There are more startups here than in any other city in Europe, and investors’ money flows like a river.

Other countries are also trying to create IT hubs. Barcelona in Spain, Lisbon in Portugal, small towns in Italy – they all try to grow startups, attract investments, and lure foreign engineers to themselves. But so far Berlin remains the leader.

I see several reasons for Berlin’s position relative to other European cities.

High salaries. Germany is a rich country with a lot of money. German firms can afford to pay developers 4-5 thousands of euros per month before taxes, and this is far from the limit. Therefore, developers are inevitably drawn here for money. Even though it’s not cheap to live in Berlin, IT salaries still cover these huge costs. And with them it is very pleasant to go on vacation to other cities and countries of Europe, where prices are lower.

State support. In Germany it is quite difficult to be left without means of subsistence. Even if the startup goes bankrupt, you will not be left completely destitute – and this opens up a lot of experimentation.

The force of inertia. New startups are drawn to places where there is already an IT infrastructure. Why open somewhere in a small Italian city when Berlin has employees, investors and everything you need for business.

But I wonder how it all started then? What became the basis for such a “snowball” of startups more than 10 years ago? I think the point is that in Berlin, right on the basis of universities, they launched the programs “Create your own startup”. Yesterday’s students could submit any ideas, get funding for two years, and experiment. They sat, programmed and received 2,000 euros a month – an excellent salary for a graduate. If the idea didn’t burn out, nothing had to be returned. Then the startups and “climbed”, and then began to attract investors and other startups. It will not be easy to repeat this success now.

Good reputation in Berlin. Even before 90s Berlin was considered an enclave of freedom and creativity. Just those who wanted to create, experiment and create new things came here from all over the world. The atmosphere here has always been conducive to bold ideas.

In addition, 10 years ago, Berlin already had excellent infrastructure, and at the same time, by the standards of the rest of Europe, it was quite cheap. For example, we rented then a two-room apartment for 500 euros a month. Now Berlin, of course, has risen in price, but then, 10 years ago, low prices attracted thousands of young professionals here.

Why IT engineers should go to Berlin

High salaries and everyday comfort are features common to almost all of Europe. But thanks to the startup culture, Berlin has three more benefits for IT immigrants:

Many different and interesting projects. The abundance of startups means there is always a job for any IT engineer. Moreover, it is often quite interesting, in which you can immediately see the results of your work.

And if the project ends (or you decide to quit), you can very quickly find something new – there are just a lot of open vacancies. Here you can easily wander between different places of work, and the risk of running out of money is minimal. And even more so, you don’t have to leave here somewhere else – you can come and settle down forever.

By the way, if you want to get into startups, it is better to look for vacancies on English-language sites: Linkedin, StackOverflow, BerlinStartupJobs… On German sites like Monster.de, Stepstone or Xing there are also many vacancies, but often they are looking for people in conservative large corporations. And there will be no such IT drive as in startups. And you may need knowledge of German.

Transparent immigration processes. Thousands of foreigners come here every year. All moving processes have been tested for a long time, every incomprehensible moment in the law has been explained a thousand times, for foreigners there are a bunch of agencies and assistance services with the move. And if something is not clear, there are dozens of migrant forums that will gladly tell you everything. For example, “Life in Germany“.

Easy to integrate into society. Firstly, at first you don’t need to know German, English is enough. Secondly, there are so many foreigners that they are usually treated with – no one looks askance or condemns. Third, there are a lot of expat communities. It’s easy to make friends here, and you won’t feel completely alone in a foreign country. This greatly improves the quality of life, especially immediately after the move.

Have you thought of getting a job in some Berlin startup and moving to the IT capital of Europe? In our telegram bot @g_jobbot thousands of vacancies await, including those with relocation to Berlin.

What else to read about moving

  • Advise Alina’s channel about Berlin
  • Relocation of an engineer to Germany: “Blue Card”, taxes, children
  • Ireland is a bridge between America and Europe. Life of a religious country that suddenly became an IT cluster
  • [Личный опыт] The family life of an engineer in Germany: more about children

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