Agreed on all points. I'd also recommend checking out the the Mitwohnzentrale, which was IIRC located near KuDamm. Mitwohnzentrale ("Live-Share Center") derives in spirit from the Mitfahrzentrale ("Ride-Share Center"), and it is basically a semi-formalized arrangement for subletting apartments. When I dropped by during a visit to Berlin years ago, I saw a listing for a nice apartment near KuDamm that rivaled my apartment in [mid-sized Midwest US city] in terms of rent. AirBNB inherits much from the Mitwohnzentrale. http://www.mitwohnzentrale.de/