A famous job market is not automatically your market
Berlin, Munich, Hamburg and Frankfurt attract attention, but a useful destination is where your particular transition has evidence: recurring vacancies at the right level, employers open to your background, workable language expectations and housing that does not consume the entire starting salary.
Collect twenty recent vacancies across several regions. Record the German job title, experience requested, language, salary if shown, on-site expectations and whether the employer appears able to hire internationally. Patterns are more reliable than a single exciting advert.
Include the surrounding region
German labour markets often extend beyond city boundaries. Stuttgart connects to employers in Böblingen, Ludwigsburg and Esslingen; Düsseldorf sits within a dense Rhine-Ruhr network. Compare commute time and transport frequency rather than looking only at municipal borders.
Housing deserves its own evidence. Check realistic warm rent, deposit, temporary accommodation and the documents landlords commonly request. A lower nominal salary in a smaller centre may leave a more manageable first year.
Keep two viable locations
A primary and secondary region make the search resilient. They should both suit the work, not merely serve as opposites. Revisit the choice after ten serious applications: response patterns may reveal that your title, language plan or evidence matters more than geography.