klta

Is anyone familiar enough with Heidelberg to recommend some good residential areas? There is some possibility we may be relocating there for a year or two, and I'd like to live among a mix of friendly locals and maybe some expats - but not at the base or surrounded by the military community. We have a 16 month old daughter, and would like to be walkable to groceries and family-friendly activities. Many thanks!

truenorth

We lived in St Leon-Rot (about 15 KM south) for 5 yrs and loved it.
About 4 gasthofs and bakeries/konditorien within walking distance. SAP has expanded (they're in Waldorf, about 4 KM away ... in case you don't know, they are the 2nd largest software company in the world ... Oracle might refute that second largest claim) thereby driving up the rents . The small grocery stores in town have recently moved to a consolidated location between St Leon and Rot by the A5 (no autobahn exit there though).
We had Brits, Canadians and Americans nearby and the locals were friendly (except for those that only spoke Turkish and dressed like penguins).
Good luck.

klondike

Truenorth: We are set to move to St. Leon-Rot. Did you have a community bank that worked well with foreigners and the all-important question: where was your favorite eating place?

Klta: you will find the closer in towards Heidelberg Zentrum you go, the more expensive the cost of housing. The only neighborhood I was told to avoid at night was Boxberg. Eppelheim is very nice, with good public transportation into downtown Heidelberg, but places can be hard to come by. Schwetzingen is a dream come true with a castle, baroque gardens that you can get an annual pass for, Bellamar (water-entertainment pools) and tons of restaurants.

The other thing to consider is transportation. If you have your own car you might choose a different town that is further out, like St. Leon-Rot, than if you need to take the bus/tram daily.

Good luck!

wanderfrau

Try asking the same question on the forums at expatica.com expatfocus.com or expatexchange.com
Lots of folks who live in the Heidelberg area

truenorth

Sorry for the delay. Health issues. OK now.
Volksbank Rot. Manager is Peter Oswald. Limited english but several clerks (Herr Christian Schott) speak excellent english. Competitive rates.
Zum Loewen used to be German. Now Italian. Good calzone. Zur Rose is a dump.
Shopping in the complex beside Harres (sport hall) is good with the Rewe and Edeka but we often went to the Globus outside Waghäusel/Wiesenthal. Be prepared for an experience! The Real store in Hockenheim had some good features as well.
Enjoy!

klondike

No problem, truenorth. Glad to hear you are better!

We're all worked in and love it...fantastic house, wonderful German neighbors, apothecary (Stephan speaks excellent English), Irish doctor, etc. My German stinks, but I will persevere!

FYI: "Zum Loewen" is now Greek/German, serving healthy portions of hearty fare finished off with a complimentary Ouzo, and Da Silvano is the Italian place just down the street, good, though we prefer "La Fontana di Capri" in Nulussheim for Italian. For a quick meal, the Döner shop has everyone beat. Because we spent 2 months in Schwetzingen while we waited for our household to arrive, we know those restaurants best and return often since we have an annual pass for the Barok Schloss gardens (wonderful!).

Have not noticed a "Zur Rose".

Did you ever do the local Sauerkraut Fest or the Feast of Corpus Christi pardon? We enjoyed being part of the local crowd for these.

Thanks again for the response.