I am contemplating a possible temporary residency in Germany next year (retired). Yes I know the Schengen rules, and would apply for a longer term residency, NOT permanent. I can speak/understand German passably, and have been to Deutschland 7 or 8 times thus far, last in 2019.
I have a few target towns/small cities in mind, all from Frankfurt and south.
But I would like ease of transport to mid/larger sized cities.
I would like to scope out Buedingen or Tuebingen this year for a few WEEKS to see if it fits the bill. I will not have a car, will be using trains.
Generally prefer smaller town/cities with a choice for groceries and restaurants/cafes/ Baeckereien.
If anyone has been to both, which did you favor, and why?
(I realize Tuebingen is a mid-size University town).

Hi mokka4, let me preface this by saying I have been to neither, but I do have peripheral experience of them. In the university program that I look after, we send some of our 4th year students to Tübingen for a year abroad most years. It's a very popular destination with them, even after returning. And last time I went to Germany I visited my Wiesbaden friend and asked about Büdingen as a day-trip destination - I have done most of the surrounding towns. She seemed to think it was a waste of time, didn't know what the fuss was about, so I didn't go. If you were in Büdingen, because it's small, I imagine you would be out in other towns in the region a fair bit (you have the whole of the Rhein-Main conurbation), so I would be looking at transport connections to judge how convenient (or not) they might be. Check to see that it's not a Busghetto. You don't want to get stuck somewhere after the last train or bus has left! My choice would be Tübingen, because universities bring lots of interesting extra-curricular events and I like the buzz of university towns.

Hope you can find someone with first-hand experience!

Lavandula

Clearly Tübingen. It's a lively picturesque university town on the Neckar river with good rail connections to Stuttgart, the capital of the state of Baden-Württemberg. Tübingen has 93,000 inhabitants and nearly 30,000 students, wheras Büdingen has only 22,000 inhabitants. It's a nice old town, but may be a little sleepy at times.
In Tübingen you have tons of possibilities concerning culture and nature.