Is Cologne a good city to live in?

Question

How is life in Cologne compared to Berlin, Munich and Hamburg?

Is there a lot to do in Cologne?

What is the political climate like?

What kind of weather does Cologne get?

How is the local economy?

Answer 1

I've never lived in Munich or Hamburg, but I have lived in Cologne for quite a while, so at least I can answer those of your questions that are about Cologne alone.

Yes, there is a lot to do. Cologne is a very lively city, great bar/pub scene, loads of Art, both traditional and avantgarde. The area is quite pretty too, mainly because of the river Rhine - a freidn of mine is in a rowing club there and he says that's the way to get the best views of the city. Cologne has a lot of history, so there are some beautufil old buildings (mainly chuches), and tons of Roman remains. They are building a new subway line at the moment and keep coming across Roman stuff.

The political climate is metropolitan, i.e. a bit of live and let live, which is also due to the fact that this is a university town with a strong young population. In Köln-Sülz, the Green party traditionally gets some of its highest elction results all over the country. The Mayor is a social democrat (moderate left), but there are some issues with a right-wing conservative political group called Pro Köln. Cologne has a strong Muslim community, and there is currently a lot of debate about their plans to build a new mosque.

The wewather is quite mild compared to the rest of Germany, and that's for three reasons: The general climate is influenced by the North Sea (it's a few hours' drive away, but that isn't much in meteorological terms), which means winters as well as summers are more temperate. The same is also true on a smaller scale for the river Rhine, and finally, there is the Kölner Bucht, an area that usually has its very own regional weather. Yes, you do get quite a lot of rain, but when we have carnival celebrations in February, people stand in the streets for hours to watch the parade without freezing any bits off.

Part yof the local economy is down to a strong media scene - papers, tv stations, production companies etc. There si also the Cologne trade fair that draws a lot of business, some traditional industry (Ford buiöds cars here) and a lot of tourism/service opriented businesses.

Answer 2

Yes