Discovering Frankfurt
Whether you are an active person who loves to explore the outdoors, someone who values good food and new flavors, or an artistic personality who gets lost for hours in museums and art galleries, Frankfurt is the right expat destination for you. Besides, Frankfurt is Germany's financial center, meaning that expatriates can achieve the desirable work-life balance and share their time between their professional demands and Frankfurt's beautiful parks and charming cafés.
Also, studying in Frankfurt can boost your career and allow you to quickly set foot in the German labor market, as Frankfurt has reputable higher education institutions such as the Johann Wolfgang Goethe University, which is among the best in the world for law and finance.
Geography and transportation in Frankfurt
Frankfurt expands along the Main, which is the longest tributary of the Rhine River. The city has two sides: the well-preserved old character, with its medieval castles and cathedrals and the new side, with landmarks such as the Main Tower — an architectural masterpiece and the first high-rise building in Europe with a fully-glazed façade. Frankfurt has a wide and comfortable transportation system, consisting of the U-Bahn (underground), S-Bahn (train), tramway, and a network of day and night buses. Also, the city is a traveler's hub due to the Frankfurt international airport, which is very close to the city center and connects the city with the rest of the world.
Living in Frankfurt
The city offers good quality of living to both solo expatriates and young couples and families with children, which is not a surprise considering the abundance of activities you can do in Frankfurt alone or with your family. Of course, as with every new destination, adjusting to the local culture may take a while, but Frankfurt is a very international place where you will find people from all walks of life, making the city interesting and sparking your curiosity. Food might be one of the big adjustments in your everyday life in Frankfurt, but as long as you like boiled potatoes and eggs, and are eager to combine them with the Frankfurt green sauce (a cold sauce made of seven different herbs, which is said to have been a recipe of Goethe's mother), you will be fine!
Accommodation in Frankfurt
Frankfurt is a very green city, making you feel as if you are living in the countryside while having all the amenities, entertainment, and infrastructure that a big city offers. The Frankfurt Green Belt (Frankfurter Grüngürtel), a protected forested area of about 8,000 hectares, surrounds the city and functions as its lung. Accommodation in Frankfurt is affordable and, depending on your needs and lifestyle, you can opt for a house with a garden in the residential areas of Frankfurt or an apartment in the city center. Regardless of where you live, weekends are for farmers' markets visits, and spring in Frankfurt is for festivals. Talking about seasons, note that in the summer, temperatures can reach up to 21 degrees Celcius, whereas in the winter, it is not uncommon to have temperatures below five degrees Celcius.
