For many neighboring communities of the capital are the good numbers: The surrounding area benefits from Berlin's boom. In 2017, the city lost a good 7000 people to the neighboring communities, more than 6300 moved to the rest of the surrounding area, according to recent figures from the Hamburg Institute for Urban, Regional and Residential Research (GEWOS).
The development is accelerating: In 2014, only 6700 people emigrated from Berlin to the neighboring communities and almost 3700 to the surrounding area. This is also reflected in the population records of many communities: Between 2011 and 2017, the number of inhabitants of villages in the immediate vicinity of Berlin has increased by about eight percent, while in the wider surrounding area this figure has risen by three percent. "Although Berlin grew a little stronger, but the surrounding area has increased considerably since 2014," says GEOWS CEO Carolin Wandzik.
The fact that the population of the capital is still growing despite the move away, mainly due to the job-related immigration from Europe, says Wandzik. "But the more than 25-year-old starter households and the young families are mostly from Berlin."
Similar migration movements can also be observed in other German cities: The situation is similar in Frankfurt, even though households of 25 to 30 year-olds still prefer to work in the city there. Many people shy away from the high real estate prices in the metropolitan areas. In Berlin, the costs of buying a home have risen by more than 115 percent since 2008, and in Frankfurt by more than 140 percent (more on this topic can be found here: how expensive has that been living in your region).
However, GEWOS also draws attention to the fact that new forms of work also promote relocation to the surrounding area, such as home-office arrangements and flexible jobs, such as in the coworking office.
