📍Munich: The Front Door to the Alps

My wife and I landed in Munich with two backpacks, a rail pass, and no car. The plan was simple: take the train south through the Alps, stop in the towns along the way, and get a feel for everyday life in each one.

We can’t help it. Every trip we take turns into a scouting trip. We walk the neighborhoods, sit down with agents, property managers, and project sales teams, and check the listings. And we ask two questions: could we live here part of the year, and would the numbers work?

Thirty-five years in real estate will do that. We may never buy in most of these towns, and that isn’t the point. The point is knowing what to look for, and now we’re sharing it with you.

The idea behind these scouting reports is simple: a lock-and-leave base or two that you live in a month or three at a time, that holds its value while you’re away, and that gives you options if things change at home or in the markets. Some towns stretch a dollar further. Some offer a life you can’t get at home. The best do both.

So in every town, we ask: could you live your best life here part of the year? Could you work from here, fill your days, and settle into the rhythm of the place?

Then comes the investor’s question. Does this town make a good pied-à-terre base, one you own, live in one to three months a year, and rent out the rest to cover the costs, or even turn a profit? Or is it smarter to book a furnished monthly rental and keep it simple?

We go, we look, and we report back what we learned, so your own scouting starts a few steps ahead. Look for the 📍 in the subject line. It means a new boots-on-the-ground scouting report just landed.

First stop: Munich.

If the Alps are the house, Munich is the front door. You land, catch a train, and you’re in the mountains by lunch. The mountains were our real target on this trip, but we gave Munich a couple of days to ask a bigger question: could it earn a place in your mix, as the hub you fly into between mountain trips?

Best for: someone who wants a city base with culture, a world-class airport, and the mountains as a day trip. Not for a quiet Alpine hideaway or rental income.

Access. Munich airport (MUC) has direct flights from several US cities, and passport control took us five minutes. Trains south leave from the main station.

Live. A big city that runs like a village: neighborhood bakeries, beer gardens under chestnut trees, and the English Garden right in the middle of it all. It felt safe and easygoing everywhere we walked.

Run it from here. You’re six hours ahead of New York and nine ahead of LA. Handle email and European business in the morning, take US calls in the afternoon, and still make the beer garden by evening. Coworking is everywhere, and when a deal needs you in person, the airport has you anywhere in Europe within two hours.

Play. Lakes and mountains are about an hour south by train. Salzburg is 90 minutes away, Innsbruck under two hours, and Zurich and Vienna about four. As a base, it’s hard to beat.

Rent or buy.

Who rents: Trade fair visitors, convention crowds, and Oktoberfest drive the short stays. For an owner, the group to watch is professionals relocating to companies like BMW, Siemens and Allianz, who sign furnished leases of six months or more.

Can Americans buy? Yes. Germany has no restrictions on American buyers.

Own or rent? For a second home or investment property, short-term rentals are effectively off the table in Munich. You’d need a change-of-use permit, and fewer than 5% of applications are approved. Fines for operating without one run from €5,000 to €500,000, and the city checks the platforms. The legal path is the mid-term lease: furnished rentals of six months or more to professionals relocating for work.

For your own one to three months a year, a serviced apartment in the city or a monthly rental around Lake Tegernsee is the simpler move. Buy here for the life, not the income.

Arabellapark, Bogenhausen · €299,000 · 31.7 m² (341 sq ft) · Furnished

On the 13th floor in Arabellapark, two minutes from the U4 subway and about 10 minutes to the old town. Renovated and sold with the furniture included. Small and priced like Munich, but it’s a true lock-and-leave base.

View the listing

Next stop: Garmisch, the Bavarian ski and hiking town at the foot of the Zugspitze, Germany’s highest peak. In 1987, I competed there in the Air Force alpine ski championships. Nearly 40 years later, we went back to see if it could earn a spot in our pied-à-terre rotation.

Andy