At first, Ruhr area and Rhine area are totally different in terms of culture and mentallity.
The Ruhr area is the post-industrial region dap-addict mentioned. Most cities didn't make it there, are very poor with a high percentage of unemployment and lots of islamic people who live in their own parallel societies.
Seriously, you don't wanna live in shitholes like Gelsenkirchen (= Schalke), Duisburg, Dortmund etc.
People here are proud of their coal mining past and their working class mentallity, but that's all long gone (probably since the sixties when the German coal mines started to close down).
The Rhineland people, mostly known for Düsseldorf and Köln (Cologne), are portayed as open-minded and funny (which is only half-way true, of course - in fact, a lot of them are kinda snobby), but those big cities have much more to offer than any city in the Ruhr area. They are well worth a visit, especially if you're into beer brewing culture (Alt, Kölsch

).
So Köln/Düsseldorf: yes
Ruhr area: better not
Oh and it's not overcrowded like in Tokyo or something like that. Yes, there are a lot of people living there, but the area is pretty huge overall.[/quote]
Thanks very much for great insights.[/quote]
Where are you originally in Ireland
I made a business trip to Ballina Mayo[/quote]
So cool thanks for response. Ballinrobe, Mayo! You're talking 40 years since I left it. But it never leaves you. I was adopted, I was actually born in county Monaghan. I really hope you had great time in Mayo Brother, it really is lovely, .
I remember one time I returned about 1996 - came to pub in Mayo. A hole in roof, a bucket there to collect rain. So darned cool. Cheers for memories. I really hope you've good memories! Thanks!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iYuV76r6Ov0[/quote]
I remember in '96 I walked from Knock to Croagh Patrick with a tour over 3 / 4 days. That was fantastic! Seeing Westport from the top of Croagh Patrick was amazing.