Hello All! Grüezi !
I've scoured the posts for demographical information concerning (general) ideas regarding where to live - as I'll soon be doing so. I'm 27 / m / not married and have been looking into this for months - obviously don't want to end up near and Altersheim or in an exclusively family orientated area. where watching television, loud talking or toilet flushing past 22:00 will create and event! (I lived in such a house in Germany for 3 years and am eager not to repeat such a scenario!)
Kreis 3/4 (i.e. Seefeld, Uetilberg, etc) and anything near ETH and Uni come to mind immediately (and of course others I'm not yet aware of).
I'm curious (hello locals?!) if there are any "up and coming" neighborhoods in Zurich. Parts of Brooklyn, NYC, Hackney / Shoreditch in London, Kreuzberg in Berlin -- all come to mind as examples. Places with lower rents but thriving artistic and cultural amenities for young adults. Not necessarily where the American Apparel / hipster brigade hangs-out but progressive, fresh, preiswert, interesting and fun. Any ideas?
Given Zurich's size and the comparatively expensive rent / housing prices, I would think gentrification and urban renewal en masse would be rather difficult. But maybe I'm wrong...
Thought I'd ask. Anyone ?
Thanks / Merci vielmals
Like Williamsburg in Brooklyn??
I was told Gundeli was the "up and coming" area in Basel.
First up. I suggest you change your thread title to mention that you're specifically talking about Zurich.
As for "Up and Coming" areas, obviously that's Kreis 5. It's been up and coming for at least the last 10 years - has anyone else noticed that? You'd think by now it would have actually come up :-)
Zurich is small enough that living in exactly the right area isnt such an issue, but from the places you mention, Seefeld is probably the area you're after.
Oerlikon had it all for me...A bit noisy , but alive, and plenty to do. Excellent kebabs. I am now in Kreis 8, which isn't so bad with Bellevue down the road etc...It really needs a pool table , haven't found one close yet. Snooker either.
Thanks for the replies!
@tkn, yeah, for some reason I always think of Williamsburg when discussing gentrification and hipster/up and coming areas of the last decade. It's perhaps a bad example now as the estate agents have caught on and the prices are much higher, say, than 4 or 5 years ago (even in a recession!). But NYC has so much urban space that several pockets of 'up and coming areas' can exist at once. Obviously not the case with Zurich.
@ Fraser, that's what I had also thought re: size. However, it is really nice being right on the corner from the action - especially after work, on the weekend. I'll have a look at Kreis fünf.
@ Upthehatters: Late night weekend kebabs are essential! Again, Kreuzberg (home of the Döner Kebab) comes to mind!
Wife and I live in Kreis 5 and lots of restaurants/bars/clubs. A lot of 20 somethings every weekend and it looks like a warzone on Sat-Sun morning. And they have just finished opening a bunch of new shops under the Viadukt, so some cool new stuff. It gets my vote for the urban experience. Also a lot of ethnic shops and restaurants.
fduvall