Ask HN: How's Berlin as a start up / tech hub?

6 points·hejja··6 comments

I'm an SF guy with a small start up who can live anywhere.

Really looking for a change, yet I'd still like to be around the start up energy to have the benefits of that ethos.

Is anyone able to shed a bit of light on the Berlin startup / tech scene and how it might stack up? Is somewhere like Amsterdam just as good or better? How about Talinn?

Really appreciate any info or ideas. Thanks!

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- wannabe startups. half german mentality, rest us style.

- salaries lower than US.

- it has the Germany mentality on building stuff. so very risk aware, is you go down, you are a bad guy.

- german market against technology. if it works don't change developers not have same status as doctor, engineers

- a lot of wannabe startups, social thinking. like they get 20k, and think will change the world.

Tallinn and Amsterdam are smaller markets for startups in my personal opinion.

thanks for your honest take.

Go to Cologne. Smaller than Berlin, but the attitude is different (better). Salaries are usually higher than in Berlin, it's close to everywhere (Frankfurt, Paris, Amsterdam, Brussels, Zurich, ...). It has nothing to do with the "German" mentality, it's a very warm and welcoming city. Everybody speaks English.

thanks for the recc

Have you considered London or Stockholm?

If you want something affordable with high quality of life, Spain (e.g. Barcelona) or Lisbon might be worth considering as well.

I don't know too much about Stockholm - although I loved Helsinki.

Do those have solid startup / tech communities in your experience? Any more details you can share?

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