Cost of living in Frankfurt

i am moving to frankfurt next august...i have no idea what to expect...i'll b working in a suburb in the west...where do i find good furnished apartments...is the city safe?? whats a good salary..if im earning 1000 e..is it enough to get by? i wld like to live in a lively area..where its safe to walk at night...is nordend this sort of area? is shopping cheap? is there some sort of a whole sale supermarket thats got everything like the safe way?..im a bit lost righr now...any useful info would b appreciated...thnx

A little information about yourself might help someone answer your questions.

Cheap? Cheap is relative. Where are coming from? What is your idea of "safe"? I find Berlin safe...some people don't.

There is a ton of info on this site. Try searching for the specific topics you are looking for. I bet you'll find answers to a lot of your questions.

Best of luck with the move!

ok... i live in egypt and earn a salary in egyptian pounds that gets me by comfortably...when i say cheap i mean if im living on a tight budget...(1000 erous) is this amont ok to live comfortably?...not luxuriously...i spend most of my money on books ,cds ,work out studios , when i go out i eat at restuarants that r not posh but good... my grocery n clothes shopping is average here...how much money is "average" over there for grocery n shopping... by safe i mean that suppose i walk from the subway to my home late at night...10-11 pm..is it safe? i mean last yr i was in florence and walking home from the bus stop at that time was nightmarish,do people get harassed in the streets...is nordend the kind of aea where its a bit lively at night and u feel safe going home coz there r people still in the streets...two other questions..how does internet connection work..i mean want to b connected to the internet at the flat im renting how do i do that and if i want to buy a mobile phone line chip..do i just go to a comp?do they send the bill to ur home like they do in cairo? and what are the costs?..i know im asking a lot of quetions but really i have no friends who have ever lived in germany...thanks again

1000EUR before taxes in Frankfurt!!! Yeah whatever. For your information, on your profile it said Australian, Frankfurt is EXPENSIVE, it makes Sydney look cheap. You might need at least 2000EUR a month AFTER taxes to tread water. Not to mention that the Australian dollar is even worse than the US Greenback in terms of buying things in Europe.

ive stopped converting to australian dollars long ago...and i havent been to australia for ages...but...r u for real?? do i need at least 2000e?... 1000 after taxes wont do?

1000 Euro after taxes will do - barely.You need to estimate about 500 Euro for rent, and you need to pay for telephone, internet, transportation, etc.
Shopping is definitely not cheap, not in Frankfurt, but you'll soon find out which shops are less expensive (ALDI).
You most likely won't find a furnished apartment, they are generally unfurnished.
Being female, you should rather not walk out at night alone.The city center itself might be safe, though, but I wouldn't say the same for the outskirts.However, you shouldn't get harassed "a lot", but it can happen, sometimes.
Food shopping - about 200 € p/month in my experience.
Internet and telephone can be a hassle, most Internet providers have a minimum contract length of 12 months.Setting up thw whole thing is comparatively easy, just go to a T-Punkt (a shop of Deutsche Telekom), they'll be happy to sell you telephone and internet acess, but be prepared to wait several weeks for activation.Bills will be sent to your home.Costs are about 30 per month for DSL, initial setup will cost around 100 - 150.Phone bill depends on how often you call
people, naturally.

Empress, avoid walking around the main train station area in Frankfurt, especially at night, as I find this to nr one of the spookiest places in Frankfurt and I don't really scare that easily. I lived in the Frankfurt area for many years and yes it's expensive. But it does depend on your lifestyle as well and 1000 Euros per month does not buy you much lifestyle in Frankfurt.

illic, lavender rain...thank u so much for ur advice especially the details on monthly expenditure...actually i have not yet recieved the contract details so i guess i should try to push for more...i usually dont make a lot of fuss about money coz ive always earned very well here...but i guess cairo and frankfurt, the egyptian pound and the euro are not comparable...thanx again

You have chosen to live in the second most expensive city in Germany, good luck on surviving on 1000EUR a month there, if this was another city, Düsseldorf, Cologne, or Eastern Germany, sure you could survive on that. In Berlin, there are areas where rents are as low as 200EUR for apartments without utilities and furnishings. Assuming you might want to do something besides sit in your flat all day and eat ice cream, you will need at least 2000EUR a month AFTER taxes to have fun in Frankfurt.

Why the heck did you leave Australia???

It depends on what sort of lifestyle you want really. If you do not want a nice luxurious flat and are willing to just rent a room in a place then you could get this for about 350-400€ including bills (internet, electricity etc) no worries. You'll not have enough money to go away every weekend and afford nice holidays and expensive restaurants every night but you would be able to get by without much difficulty - money does not lead to a happy lifestyle it is the life that you have.


I think 1000€ after taxes will do - I imagine most English language teachers do not earn much more than that. As I said you'll not have lots of money left over to save every month and would need to budget well but I am sure it can be done. I am certain that the happiest times I have had in Germany were they days when I did not earn as much money as I do now (not that I am loaded now though - or unhappy )

As for walking around late at night on your own well I do it and have never really felt unsafe in Frankfurt but that does not mean that I am advising you to do it


Do not agree with that one bit. I know loads of people on less than that who still have fun!

investorclass dont start on politics coz i can pretty much thrash u and ur government around for hours on end and i wont get tired or bored...supid american ,thanx for ur advice anyway

purple muffin its great to hear that i dont have to be a millionaire to survive frankfurt...i'll try to push for more...thanx a mil

empress- it will be tight, but you can afford to survive on 1000 per month, I have coworkers that do and that is here in Munich. Rent is not cheap, but you might find a shared accommodation to help you save costs with internet and phone hook up already. Groceries can be cheap or expensive depends on what you want to eat. There are alot of ways to cut costs, but don't let some bad advice from some people detear you from a new life challenge.

Oh and on the grocery shopping front I usually buy all I need for 15€ a week in aldi. I am not much of a cook though so just simple things like pasta, salads etc! You can eat very cheaply of you are inventive

Guess maybe I eat out too much!!

empress,
try looking for apartments on immoscout24.de for places. This is a great source of apartments and houses for rent or lease. And I'm sure you can find some info here and other places on the internet to learn a bit more about the various areas of the city. At first glance I saw a place on there in Bockenheim that was actuallz furnished for 450€ a month warm. Of course it's only 35 sq m but how much space do you really need? And IKEA is a great source for furniture when you're on a budget. BTW, if you do end up getting an unfurnished apartment, you will also likely need to buy yourself a kitchen. They are generally not included built into apartments here.

thx txblond and everyone else for ur help, im checking things out... u've all been very helpful

immoscout24.de is in german i got as far as selecting the city i want to live in...

but no worries i'll try till i get somewhere..

Yeah it is in German but in most cases you're going to have to at least try to deal with a German realtor because there aren't all that many that cater to English speaking people...especially if you're looking for lower cost places. At least the very basics you are going to need to know so you should start early. Also, apartments often go very quickly in Frankfurt so it's never too early to start looking. I don't recommend moving here before you find a place. There is a lot of competition and you won't get a hotel all that cheaply either.

Mieten = Rent
Wohnungen = Apartments
Bitte geben Sie einen Ort ein: = Please enter the city
Weiter = Forward
Zimmer = Rooms
Wohnfläche=Living Space
Kaltmiete= Cold rent (no hot water, utilities, etc)
Nebenkosten = Additional costs for the apartment (Hot water, optional parking, etc)
Möbiliert = Furnished
Teilweise Möbiliert = Partially furnished

leo.org is an excellent English/German translator btw

Good luck

thanx again...i figured out a few myself but this is excellent...danke

Well I moved to Frankfurt am Main 3 weeks ago, spent one week in the International Youth Hostel in Frankensteiner, and in around the middle of that week I found an apartment on the website www.city-residence.de , note that you have to pay city residence a fee for finding you a place. They also rent rooms ranging from 200 euros a month to 600.

As for the cost of living, I earn 1300 a month after taxes, my apartment which I share with a friend is 320 per month, which includes heating/electric and the internet. Buy a monthly U-Bann ticket for 70 euro, so that leaves me with 910 which imo is plenty for myself. If you restrict yourself to around 15 euros a day after travel expenses, you can spend more on the weekend to enjoy yourself.

Empress,

your 1000 euros may go surprisingly far if you can get a cheap place to live. I find it much much cheaper here for food, and especially alcohol, than in Australia. That goes especially for eating and drinking in restaurants. You won't be able to save anything, but I think it would take you much further than 1600 aussie dollars a month would in an Australian city. Clothes, you can buy on sale or whatever. After 2 years here, I'm still shocked at how cheap things are in comparison with in Australia. Compared to Egypt, though, it may seem expensive.

My gym membership costs about 13 euros a week, but if you like sports in general, you may find that joining a sports club is a great way to meet people, and get exercise at the same time, and saves you the cost of joining a gym.

Good luck,

Monkel

Hey guys. Myself and a friend are going over to live in Frankfurt for the year. We will be moving there in July and are looking for an apartment preferably in the Bockenheim region. We want a 2 bed apt and are willing to pay up to €600 a month. All the websites we looked at arnt much use, were going over for a 3day visit next week. Any advise or help you could give us on websites or rental agencies??? tanx a mill, brenkiwi

I am assuming by a 2 bedroom apartment you mean what is actually a three room apartment in Germany (ie 2 bedrooms plus a living room). To be honest you might be hard pushed to find a place that size for 600€ in Bockenheim so I guess your options are either to agree to pay a little more rent for living centrally or look outside of Frankfurt where you may well find something of that size in the price range.

Here are a few sites:

Wohnungsboerse

Immoscout

However if you want to avoid the agency fees you are best off looking in the Rundschau.

Hope this helps

Sorry I am not quite clear if you are willing to pay 600€ each ie 1200€ together for the flat then I have no doubt that you will find something suitable in Bockenheim

Have just been offered a job in Germany (hurrah!), however it's predominantly commission based, realistic earnings Netto are 2300 Euros/month. Is this enough to live off (rent, 'Nebenkosten' etc) in the area north of Frankfurt-small towns perfectly acceptable. The job comes with a car, so that's one expense covered, but what about everything else (groceries, general cost of living etc)

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Yes 2300€ net is a decent enough salary to live off either in the city or on the outskirts.

Hi everybody.

There is the chance that I will be offered a job in Frankfurt, and I'd like to know your opinion about the conditions they are offering me...

Pay is 18€/hour, 7-8 hours per day (around 2500€/month, before tax); they are also offering a furnished apartment (supposedly in the city center), rent free and all bills paid; and also an allowance of 23€ per day for food.

My wife and two children would eventually move to Frankfurt with me, and I guess that then we would have to move from the apartment and rent something bigger (2 bedrooms al least)...

How does that sound?

Thank you for your help.

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sounds good check your net wage though. I got a big shock when I found out there is almost a 50% difference with me. But as you are married and have kids that will lower your tax. Also saving on expenses per rent is good. Just find out a net wage and get them to put their estimate on paper to you (per email or whatever)