[simonhn]

You need to be willing and able to learn German in addition to simply working in Berlin. Depending on your ability to pick up new languages, this can be quite a lot of extra work in the evening and/or weekends (it was for me).

Not everyone can, or is willing to (e.g. in banks) speak English, or you may sometimes find yourself on the wrong railway platform, or having a long wait in the wrong queue when you cannot understand German.

The big German cities I know well: Berlin, Hamburg and Munich are all very nice places to live and work.

[bergie]

Sure, things are nicer if you speak even a little German. I don't, and have been doing fine in Berlin. Other German cities on the other hand are a different story.

Oh, and on banks... At least Sparkasse got me an English-speaking rep when I asked for one.