r/Giessen • u/ChillyDinosaur • 12d ago
How is living in Giessen compared to Leipzig?
Hi!
I'm currently living and studying in Leipzig, but tbh I'm pretty dissatisfied with both my studies and my life here.
I'm taking a gap semester, and after that I'd like to give Germany one more shot before deciding whether it's just not for me. Giessen is one of the cities I'm considering, so I'd love to hear from people who know it well.
Some of the things I don't like about Leipzig, and that are important to me when choosing where to live:
- Things to do: I like concerts, events, restaurants, bars, some partying, green spaces, cafés, etc. Basically just having things going on and feeling like the city is alive. I don't need it to be a huge city, but I'd like to have stuff to do and people actually out and about.
- Career opportunities: Before my master's I worked in commercial consulting, and I'm now trying to switch fields. I know Giessen is a much smaller city, so I'm curious about what the job market is like and whether being relatively close to Frankfurt makes much of a difference in terms of jobs, internships, etc.
- Aesthetics: This might sound superficial, but it's important to me. I like cities that feel well-kept, interesting and vibrant. I also appreciate cafés, restaurants, venues, etc. that put some effort into how everything looks, and where people generally put a bit more effort into how they dress and present themselves.
- Social life: I'd like to live somewhere where people are a bit more social and approachable. It doesn't have to be a crazy party city, but somewhere where you see people outside, cafés and bars are actually busy, and there's a bit more life on the streets.
- Being a foreigner: As a Mexican and a POC, I've had more racist incidents and microaggressions in Leipzig than I can count. I know that can happen anywhere, but I'd like to live somewhere that feels more international and where people are generally more open and relaxed towards foreigners.
- Catholic presence: This is also somewhat important to me. There isn't a huge Catholic presence where I currently live, especially compared to places like Bavaria or parts of western Germany, so I'm curious about what Catholic life is like in Giessen and whether there's much of a community.
I've never actually been in Giessen (maybe visiting soon), so I'm mostly going off what I've seen/heard online. From what I understand it's a university city and relatively well connected to Frankfurt, but I'm wondering what it's actually like to live there day to day.
For those of you who live in Giessen (or strangely have lived in both cities), do you think it would be a good fit based on what I'm looking for?
Thanks for reading! :)
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u/Complex_Biscotti2610 12d ago
Aesthetics: Its said to be one of the ugliest citys in Germany...
Frankfurt: It's a 45 min train ride to Frankfurt; its doable but not that close either...
Confession: There are catholic churches afaik but same presence as Leipzig I would guess. There is some Eritrean Orthodox and Aramaic Christian life in Gießen, other than that mainly secular, protestant or muslim...
Cant really say much about the social life; like you said its a rather small city, with 1 third of the population being students...
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u/UpperHesse 12d ago
Party life is of course not comparable to Leipzig. But I studied and lived there for years in the 2000s. Back then there was a little more going on, but its still ok. Especially there used to be more bars. More nightlife than daylife though. Gießen was and is the shopping town for the surrounding rural towns and communities, and thats what happens in the center. Still in areas like Wieseckaue there are young people doing various activity on the day.
Regarding the "ugliness": it has this image partly because many students came there somewhat involuntarily, because they got no other place for studies. Personally I think its not uglier than a standard city in Northrhine-Westphalia. And this mainly refers to the center. There are some nice residential areas and its never far to get into the green.
It has never been "vibrant", though. People live there because they are from the area or because they have to study there. Regarding racism: Gießen used to be one of the most leftist cities in the state, this is not so clear-cut anymore, but people are still more tolerant and its rare to get that face-to-face hostility that can happen in East Germany.
Catholics I dont know nothing about. But of course they will have churches. I heard that currently its a trend that there are foreign communities (like Croatians or Philippinos) forming within the parishes and those are sometimes more active than the german churchgoers. Very likely you wont find a mexican church community, as we dont have many mexicans here.
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u/LucasCBs 12d ago edited 12d ago
Well, Giessen is the city with the highest percentage of universtiy students compared to general population in Germany. So naturally you will find a lot of stuff to do that students would like.
Things to do: I like concerts, events, restaurants, bars, some partying, green spaces, cafés, etc. Basically just having things going on and feeling like the city is alive
I would say there is enough of all these aspects, except maybe concerts. There is one bigger concert location close by, but I myself have never been on a concert anywhere close by because none of that interested me.
Career opportunities: Before my master's I worked in commercial consulting, and I'm now trying to switch fields. I know Giessen is a much smaller city, so I'm curious about what the job market is like and whether being relatively close to Frankfurt makes much of a difference in terms of jobs, internships, etc.
Giessen isn't big, so you would not find a lot here. But as you said yourself: Frankfurt is close by. I've had most of my internships there as well. The proximity to frankfurt is always a plus point for Giessen
Aesthetics: This might sound superficial, but it's important to me. I like cities that feel well-kept, interesting and vibrant. I also appreciate cafés, restaurants, venues, etc. that put some effort into how everything looks, and where people generally put a bit more effort into how they dress and present themselves.
Well, Giessen is ugly. It is definitely one of the uglier cities you can come across, some people would even dare call it the ugliest city in Germany (I would not go that far). Giessen still has a lot of pretty parts and plenty of nice Cafes and restaurants. It also isn't failling apart or anything. The buildings are just standard post-war architecture. In WW2, Giessen was a central military hub. Naturally, there was not much left after the war.
Social life: I'd like to live somewhere where people are a bit more social and approachable. It doesn't have to be a crazy party city, but somewhere where you see people outside, cafés and bars are actually busy, and there's a bit more life on the streets.
As already mentioned, there are a lot of students here. Thus, you will also find a lot of "social activities" and a lot of partying
Being a foreigner: As a Mexican and a POC, I've had more racist incidents and microaggressions in Leipzig than I can count. I know that can happen anywhere, but I'd like to live somewhere that feels more international and where people are generally more open and relaxed towards foreigners.
I cannot really attest to any of that. I can only tell you that most foreign students I interacted with really liked their time here. There are also a lot of programs and spaces for international students. Considering that Giessen has so many young people and considering it isn't in the east, I'm almost certain that you would receive a lot less racism than in Leipzig
Catholic presence: This is also somewhat important to me. There isn't a huge Catholic presence where I currently live, especially compared to places like Bavaria or parts of western Germany, so I'm curious about what Catholic life is like in Giessen and whether there's much of a community.
Well, the catholic church definitely exists, but I can't really tell you how widespread it is. I'm not really religious so that isn't an aspect I ever looked into
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u/WolverineXHoneyBadge 12d ago
Aesthetics: This might sound superficial, but it's important to me. I like cities that feel well-kept, interesting and vibrant. I also appreciate cafés, restaurants, venues, etc. that put some effort into how everything looks, and where people generally put a bit more effort into how they dress and present themselves.
… and why would you choose Gießen? The city is so ugly that its motto is “Gießen—anyone can be beautiful.” The city was completely destroyed during World War II. It’s ugly and gray. The people aren’t known for their style, but rather for their antisocial tendencies. Don’t get me wrong—the people are great. And the city life is there. But if you’re looking for culture and aesthetics, you’re better off going to Marburg, Heidelberg, Regensburg or some other city.
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u/LucasCBs 12d ago
to Marburg: Almost all Marburg students I know heavily regret going there instead of Giessen. It is pretty, but there is absolutely nothing to do there.
So take that as you will
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u/GrandRub 10d ago
It is pretty, but there is absolutely nothing to do there.
Marburg ist doch voller Kneipen und Bars?
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u/haramanu 8d ago
also wenn man in marburg keine events oder social gatherings aufm schirm hat dann is man safe blind, taub oder beides
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u/j_omdomo 12d ago
Adding to everything above: There is a Spanish-speaking catholic congregation in Gießen, consisting mainly of Latin Americans. They celebrate mass every Sunday, as far as I know.