Nicole Engbers has remained true to Münsterland - even from afar

Starting a job in the big city

Nicole has been a "fan of the Rhineland" since she was a little girl and has been travelling to the region with her family for years. When she was finally offered a job in Cologne after completing her Bachelor's degree, she thought: That fits. To get out of the small town, to step on the gas at work, to get to know agency life in a big city as a marketing specialist - Nicole accepted. She worked in Cologne for several years before taking a career leap to an even bigger agency in Düsseldorf.

Great love: Münsterland

Nevertheless, she never completely turned her back on Münsterland. At weekends, she often went to her former home, sometimes for family visits, sometimes for birthdays or the classic Schützenfest. Finally, there was her boyfriend, who worked and lived in Münster. For Nicole, that meant weekends with a lot of driving, a life out of a suitcase, the feeling of always being on the go. So her boyfriend and she decided to move in together, preferably in Münster, where Nicole's boyfriend was reluctant to give up his job.

The two went looking for a flat via Immobilienscout - and found one sooner than they thought. "We were totally lucky," Nicole remembers. The flat they had chosen was in Münster-Hiltrup, was still being completed at the time, "and somehow everything just fitted. So when they got the contract, they didn't think twice. Nicole's only problem: "I hadn't found a new job in Münster yet." Nevertheless, the now 33-year-old moved in the summer of 2016 and initially commuted. Around two hours to Düsseldorf for work in the morning, and two hours back again in the evening. "I was lucky that I could work on the train and that this time was already recognised as working time," Nicole explains.

At the same time, she continued her search on job exchanges . And was finally successful. In January 2017, she also gained a professional foothold in Münster and now works at the LIVING CONCEPT agency in Münster as a project management team leader. "I was positively surprised when I realised how many larger companies and agencies there are in Münsterland as well," she says. "And at the agency, we have just as exciting clients as we did back then in Cologne or Düsseldorf." What she still likes: riding her bike to work. "That wasn't possible in the Rhineland, it was just too dangerous in the big cities," she recalls.

City and country life: In Münsterland she has both

And she discovered her new favourite place in Münsterland after only one night in her new flat. "The forest around the corner here." As an avid jogger, Nicole likes to go running there in the morning. Because as much as she appreciates city life in Münster - "I'm still the Ochtrup girl who likes the countryside." Now she has both - depending on which direction she is facing.

Many people have come back to Münsterland and are more than happy with their decision. Read through more portraits of people who have chosen this region as their new home and tell us what appeals to them about Münsterland.