With Berlin becoming more international day by day and an increased influx of capital I currently do not see any reason to leave Berlin to start a startup…expect maybe the sunshine rate 🙂 Startupbootcamp has an interesting startup cost comparison of the startup capitals Berlin, San Francisco and London.
Unsurprisingly Berlin is the cheapest and provides the best mix: low cost of living, low wages, low office rent and a great culture. What the comparison misses out though is that San Francisco still has a massive edge in terms of getting venture capital as you are at the startup hub of the world, getting press attention and the USA are a bigger potential market by nature. Berlin also hasn’t got as much available workforce but this seems to change as more people from around the world are currently moving here.
Personally I believe the biggest problem of Berlin is this typical German thing: skepticiscm (“yes, but …” instead of “yes, we can …”) and a lack of risk-taking.
combine that with the info from “25 best cities for young people to live in” and you’ve got game 🙂 berlin for ex. comes in at 16th place. http://list25.com/25-best-cities-for-young-people-to-live-in/