Pros: A lot more green areas than Berlin, Englischer Garten puts Central Park to shame. Probably the safest city in Germany, and definitely top 10 safest cities in Europe if not in the world.
Alps are easily within reach, lots of hiking areas that are safe and clean, but you have to plan those trips ahead, you can't just wake up at 10 AM on a Saturday and decide "I'm going on a hike in 2 hours", in some other places like New York State that is more doable.
People will mostly leave you alone, which is great if you're an introvert.
Cons:
Rent:
It's very hard to find a place to rent unless you know someone. When I first came here I was lucky enough to take over the apartment of a friend of mine who happened to be doing his MSc here. Then my second apartment we found through my gf's PhD. Without luck and just looking at the usual apps one looks for apartments I would have easily paid 400 EUR more on rent a month, which is just disgusting.
Social life:
Your mileage may vary, I'm at an age where it's hard to make new friends and to be honest the drive isn't there either. Loneliness will still be a potential problem especially if you're a guy.
Public transport:
It is a joke, trains are always late, or cancelled. I actively avoid the S-bahn at all costs and would rather switch 3 U-bahn trains than have to depend on a single S-Bahn train.
Food:
German cuisine is not that great, kind of unhealthy, not even aromatically diverse, restaurant choices get boring quick. Not very accommodating if you're lactose intolerant, a lot of Germans seem to be completely unaware that it's a thing. I mostly gave up eating out and mainly cook at home. Thankfully that's also a cheaper option but depending on what you're making it can take a lot of time, but you can learn to optimize. Eg I prefer to cook one big pot of stew that I'm gonna eat from for 4-5 days, then it's okay if I spend 3 hours making it.
Neutral/Meh:
Job Market:
Half the jobs in IT require you to speak German, so as an expat you'll probably be at a disadvantage there. If I'm job hunting I will throw my CV at 200 companies and 20 will come back to me wanting to talk, and maybe I'll get 7 offers in the end of a tiring process. If you're aiming for a 6 figure salary you're going to have a tough time negotiating, a lot of companies seem to not want to budge over 80K a year, you'll have better luck at startups since they understand there's more inherent risk involved there, but if you're good enough and willing to just not settle for anything less than exactly what you want, and are able to play the long game, it's only a question of time.
Personally I prefer working in as diverse a workplace as possible, German work culture is meh, people don't really make friends at work, and you'll be looked at as a weirdo if you even try. Another reason that I've been gravitating more towards startups nowadays where the atmosphere is much more relaxed.
Final remarks:
Would I see myself living here for the next 5-7 years? Yeah sure why not. Raising kids here? Maybe. I feel very relaxed most days and I know how to keep myself busy and make my own life interesting.
Pros: A lot more green areas than Berlin, Englischer Garten puts Central Park to shame. Probably the safest city in Germany, and definitely top 10 safest cities in Europe if not in the world.
Alps are easily within reach, lots of hiking areas that are safe and clean, but you have to plan those trips ahead, you can't just wake up at 10 AM on a Saturday and decide "I'm going on a hike in 2 hours", in some other places like New York State that is more doable.
People will mostly leave you alone, which is great if you're an introvert.
Cons: Rent: It's very hard to find a place to rent unless you know someone. When I first came here I was lucky enough to take over the apartment of a friend of mine who happened to be doing his MSc here. Then my second apartment we found through my gf's PhD. Without luck and just looking at the usual apps one looks for apartments I would have easily paid 400 EUR more on rent a month, which is just disgusting.
Social life: Your mileage may vary, I'm at an age where it's hard to make new friends and to be honest the drive isn't there either. Loneliness will still be a potential problem especially if you're a guy.
Public transport: It is a joke, trains are always late, or cancelled. I actively avoid the S-bahn at all costs and would rather switch 3 U-bahn trains than have to depend on a single S-Bahn train.
Food: German cuisine is not that great, kind of unhealthy, not even aromatically diverse, restaurant choices get boring quick. Not very accommodating if you're lactose intolerant, a lot of Germans seem to be completely unaware that it's a thing. I mostly gave up eating out and mainly cook at home. Thankfully that's also a cheaper option but depending on what you're making it can take a lot of time, but you can learn to optimize. Eg I prefer to cook one big pot of stew that I'm gonna eat from for 4-5 days, then it's okay if I spend 3 hours making it.
Neutral/Meh: Job Market: Half the jobs in IT require you to speak German, so as an expat you'll probably be at a disadvantage there. If I'm job hunting I will throw my CV at 200 companies and 20 will come back to me wanting to talk, and maybe I'll get 7 offers in the end of a tiring process. If you're aiming for a 6 figure salary you're going to have a tough time negotiating, a lot of companies seem to not want to budge over 80K a year, you'll have better luck at startups since they understand there's more inherent risk involved there, but if you're good enough and willing to just not settle for anything less than exactly what you want, and are able to play the long game, it's only a question of time.
Personally I prefer working in as diverse a workplace as possible, German work culture is meh, people don't really make friends at work, and you'll be looked at as a weirdo if you even try. Another reason that I've been gravitating more towards startups nowadays where the atmosphere is much more relaxed.
Final remarks: Would I see myself living here for the next 5-7 years? Yeah sure why not. Raising kids here? Maybe. I feel very relaxed most days and I know how to keep myself busy and make my own life interesting.