Does anyone know what it is like to live in or near Amberg or Bayreuth? My girlfriend and I might be moving there for work but are worried the towns around there might be too small. We live in San Francisco now and enjoy going out for dinner and movies a fair bit. We also like to get outdoors and I am sure there is plenty of that in the area, we are more concerned about regular week night activities.
If anyone has any information or experiences living in the area that would be great. Thanks.
Nice towns and an attractive area to live. Cultural offers are for the size of the places really good. Esp. in Bayreuth which has 2 opera houses and some 25 museums. That's not bad for a place with 73.000 inhabitants.
Going out for dinner won't be a problem. Of course the choice of places is more limited like in big cities. Movies as such also not (e.g. Amberg has 2 cinemas with 4 screens). The problem with movies is however that they are mostly dubbed. The only cinema in the region showing mainly in original language (which means in most cases: English) is the Roxy in Nuremberg. By car you're in one hour in Nuremberg which offers anything a big city can offer.
Have also a look into this forum.
You'll have absolutely no problem on the weekends--you won't be far from Munich, Nuremberg, or Prague, which all offer their own excellent offerings for dining and culture.
But weeknights will be a little different and will be much different from San Fran. The lovely little towns around Amberg and Bayreuth will just offer their own forms of weeknight fun. Do you or your girlfriend speak German? Finding your favorite gaesthaus and getting in good with the stammtisch crowd, playing cards, and the like is a wonderful way to spend your weeknights like a local.
I lived about 40 minutes from Amberg and I absolutely love the area--even now I live in DC, so I'm not lacking things to do, but I still miss the charm of living over there in the oberpfalz. I'm glad I still have family there so I can visit!