Hello all,
Today I will try to answer some of the most asked questions: “How much money you will need when you arrive in Germany?”, “How high are the living costs in Germany?”.
Living Costs in Germany
If you studied in another city than your parents, or you had own apartment, then as you can imagine there are a lot things that you should pay attention and pay by yourselves.
Accommodation Costs in Germany
One of the highest expense is the apartment cost. According to your marital status, number of kids, you will figure out how big apartment that you need. Which city you will live and type of the apartment will affect the costs of accommodation.
If you are searching an apartment, you can read this article to get the basics of accommodation search in Germany.
Rent
As described in the article how to find accommodation in Germany, there are two type of rent, one with heating, water, maintenance costs included, other is just the rent.
According to city, location of the apartment, you can find one room apartment for 300 Euro up to 700 Euro. Two/three room apartments cost 500 – 900 Euro per month.
The rent should be paid at the beginning of the month that’s why you should have around 1000 Euro for your first rent as cash.
Deposit
Generally, landlords will ask for a deposit to have a guarantee with 2-3 months of rent. That will be a bit hard at the beginning, maybe you can ask to pay this deposit in two – three installment.
However to be on the safe side, you should have around 2500 Euro to pay the deposit.
Health Insurance
If you need state health insurance as student, you can have it from an insure company, which will be around 90 Euro per month.
But if you need a family insurance, you will pay according to your income and it can be around 7-8% of your gross income.
You can check the cheapest options and compare them under check24.de.
Furniture cost
If you don’t have furniture in your hometown to bring in Germany, then you should buy some furniture.
When we keep number of the furniture minimal, you should have a bed, a table, a wardrobe, a couch, a chair for your one room apartment as student. If you buy them from ikea, you will give around 800-1000 Euro, according to quality and style of your belongings.
If you have a bigger apartment with 3 room for you and your partner, then the furniture costs will go up. You will need a bigger bed, dining table, some cupboards, some carpets, more chairs and so on. Then furniture costs will increase around 3000 Euro for two person apartments.
Utility Costs
Size of the apartment will increase some utilities like gas, electricity and water. Also tax for house will be increased with size.
If the costs for gas, electricity and water are not covered with rent contract, then you should check some offers online. Online offers are always cheaper than what you got from company in person. To find the cheapest offer, you should find out your consumption. Then you can select easily. In Germany for these, you will pay monthly constant rates according to your contract. At the beginning of the year, you should collect your consumption value from the counter and then your consumption will be calculated in Euro. If you paid more than your consumption, then you will be paid back, if you paid less than consumption then you must pay the difference.
Internet costs vary with the internet packets, which is specific for each company. Unity media can be one of the options for internet.
Utility costs will be placed in between 150 Euro to 300 Euro depending on how many people live in the apartment, size of the apartment and consume behavior at the end.
Education
The standard of German education is high, and it’s a great way to integrate with the people and culture of Germany. State education is free at schools. But the costs related with education is high and change one state to another one. Average cost is around 7700 Euro per year according to Statistisches Bundesamt for school related expenses. [1]
Education costs in Germany are very low when it is compared with the United States. For example, state universities in Germany costs under 200 Euro per semester at most of the states, just in Baden Wurttemberg, it costs 1500 Euro per semester for international students.
Student fees for some universities also cover public transport in the city. If not, their semester fees will be under 200 Euros.
German course
When you arrive in Germany, if you cannot speak German, the daily life can be a bit difficult at the beginning. Especially at state agencies you should have someone with you who can speak German to translate. Otherwise it is not very easy to get your job done there. Also for your integration into life in Germany you should learn German as soon as possible.
According to course type, the costs of the course will vary between 300 Euro – 1500 Euro for each level. Intensive courses, with 4-5 days per week who have 4-8 students, will have higher costs than the other courses.
You can check the prices and also course dates from below.
Public Transportation
If you will drive every day from work to home and/or the city center with public transportation, it makes sense to buy monthly ticket for the city. You should check the prices and how many zones you will travel with public transportation. The prices will go high with the number of zones and change one city to another. Bigger cities like Stuttgart and Munich all zones tickets are around 150 Euro per month, but you can buy 2-3 zones ticket for 50-60 Euros per month.
Cost of Groceries
The grocery costs will be around 400 Euro per month for two people.
Food Costs in Germany
In a standard restaurant at city center, you will pay for a dinner (with alcohol) 25-40 Euro per person. But it is also possible to eat something cheap like döner for 3.5-5 Euro or pizza for 8-15 Euro per person. In addition, if you are a student it is possible to eat at canteen of the university for 1.5-4.0 Euro based on your meal selection and the amount that you have taken.
Thanks for reading this article, 30 Awesome Tips for Germany and 40 Awesome Tips For Germany can be also interesting for you.
