Student coming to Munich seeks enlightenment

Hello all,

This is my first post on TT

I'm a student studying Software Engineering in th U.K and have been accepted for a work placement in Munich for a 6 month period with the possibility of extending to 12 months based on my performance.

My monthly wage is 850 euros a month - this must encorporate rent, commuting, food, beer (I know, I know, it's dirt cheap compared to the UK), and everything else required to survive.

I would just like to know how far this would stretch on a realistic basis? I have read about taxation rates being very high and that you can get taxed based on your religion etc. but would like topics like this clarified in a single topic if possible.

I'm going to try and keep this initial post short so please respond with anything that comes to mind.

Also, if anyone has any money saving tips I'd love to hear about them (ie: I hear that bicycles are very popular in Germany and a good way to cut travel costs).

I'd appreciate anything you have to say on this matter.

Thanks a lot,
smillard

I think a student of software engineering would be able to use the SEARCH function...

Can't tell you exactly how high the tax is but you don't get taxed based on your religion, but you have to pay a church tax if you are a member of either Protestant or Catholic Church (so when you register after arriving in Germany tell them you are neither).
Using a bike would be a good idea. I'd probably try to get a cheap, used one if you're only staying for a short amount of time, also because that way if it gets stolen you don't lose a huge amount of money. Else use public transport and get a monthly ticket for that.
You will probably have to live in a shared apartment if you 'only' make €850 before taxes. That is also a good idea because you can save on Nebenkosten (TV, phone, internet) as you split all these costs.
Try if you like drinking tap water. It is cheap and of excellent quality in Munich so if you like the taste (some don't but most do), stick with that.
Try not to accumulate too much stuff while you live in Germany or be ready to sell/leave most of it when you leave, else shipping it back might get a bit expensive.

I think given that the terms and conditions of registration for this site require all users to speak fluent English you would be able to read the entire post

Sometimes its hard to know where to start searching, and reading through piles of people's well-meant but not quite to the point comments can take a while.

I can't comment too much on things for you Smillard, but do know that when you move here you have to register with the local authorities within 7 days. You then have a choice as to whether to declare a religion or not - if you do, you pay I think its 5% in church tax, but you can leave this section blank and then pay no church tax...

Not sure about rent as I live out of Munich, commuting will depend on where you live and where you work, but try looking at www.immobilienscout24.de to get an idea of rents, type the 5 digit postcodes (e.g. 82008) into www.multimap.com (remembering to set the country to Germany) to get an idea of where it is and then use www.s-bahn-muenchen.de to look at the travel network.

Whereabouts is the company based?

Good luck!

You mean you expect everyone to do your work for you and collate all relevant information into one single post for your convenience?

I'm sorry, I got mixed up because the post got moved.

Kay, no I don't expect everyone to do my work for me, it's just hard to get accurate answers on such a vast area of research.

kellyl - The company is at "Rosenheimer Straße, 81671 München" (pasted in from the company website). I don't want to mention the company name in case it is not their wish for me to do so. The information on postcodes and the websites you gave are of excellent help, thank you!

Smillard,

I understand exactly why you would start your thread in this fashion. So that when someone in almost the same situation who has ALREADY done the research comes along, (me) they can easily respond with many of the answers you seek.

Depending on where you are in the city and if you're able to buy a ticket for the bahn network that only starts after 9am (after the usual rush hour) you'll spend somewhere between 20-50ish euros for a bahn card. (I think this is the best way to start in Munich, move on to a bike if you can.)

Food per month is going to cost you around 60-100 euro (depending on your appetite and eating out habits)

Getting a room in a flatshare will run you somewhere between 250 on the low end all the way up to 500 on the higher. I'd say a good average for a decent place is 350. (I've been searching the flat sites religiously for a while now as I'm looking for my own WG)

I'm not sure about taxes, but I'll actually be going to the tax office tomorrow, so If you'd like I can PM you the results

Hope this helps!

Hi,
I´m not sure which religion you are, but I am Church of England, and am NOT expected to pay tax here for the privelege!
good luck!

Allisiana - does this price include bills (gas, water, electricity etc?). And what's a WG?

WG= Wohngemeinschaft = flatshare/commune

On 850 a month, I think a "money saving tip" is to forget the idea of "commuting" costs. Live near enough your workplace to either walk or cycle.

Or you could provide appropriate information AND do a little research yourself beforehand.


Am gonna shoot with "Boo hoo!". Yes, it's not the simplest task in the world to wade through the shite and pull out the useful stuff. But, as I pointed out to you earlier today, why should someone who has already posted the useful stuff do so again just because you're too fucking lazy to do a bit of research for yourself. Christ, you kids wouldn't have had a hope of surviving before the internet came along.


How can you even estimate this without knowing the person in question. Sure, you only have yourself to go on, but try this, I spend about €75 per week (€300 a month for the weak of adding) on food-stuffs. You do say that it depends on the individuals eating habits, but don't estimate an actual value as it's nonsensical unless you know how that person eats.

Kaydeck - unless you have something constructive to say keep quiet! All 3 of your quotes and responses are useless and a waste of space in, what I was hoping to be, an efficient and factful topic!

Some people...

You think? Ok, at least spell the name right. Then I might respect your opinion a little.

Pretty much all you asked has been answered many times before on this site. If you haven't got the gumption to do a bit of research then you deserve nothing but derision.

You're obviously an idiot and I'm trying to be nice to spare your feelings, honestly I am, so at least try to help us out in helping you.

I'm an idiot?! How the HELL did you derive that from the few posts that are in this topic?! Look, I came here to ask for some simpe advice... if you have some decent information on what I am asking for then go ahead and spell it... otherwise go and spam some other forum with your keyboard worrior attributes. I am NOT here to play games with invalids such as yourself, kEyDeck.

Thankyou to all that have contributed thus far, your help is much appreciated

Ok, I'll try to make it simple for the weak of understanding. Don't worry, I appreciate that students are a little slow on the uptake so I'll use small words where possible.

You didn't really ask any specific questions in your initial post except something about how you can save money in general. Most questions you will have on the very general subject of living expenses have already been asked and answered, as indicated in the response of HEM. Do you have any actual questions you would like to put to TT or are you just here to moan about how little income you will have? If you have questions, by all means go for it, after suitable Searching of course.

And please, sort your English out. It's appalling.

you tell him kaydeck you big bossy know it all, i hope you enjoy the rush of power that you so richly deserve and that can be obtained
by throwing your weight around in a forum from the security of your own home.

http://www.spiegel.de/wirtschaft/0,1518,223811,00.html

if you know how to figure out this thingymabobby it wiil give you a pretty good idea of your net income from your gross
but the big factor is health insurance if you have your own private insurance you should clear around 740
if you dont then you will lose about another 70 a month for that = 670
so then around 300- 400 for rent

gives you about 260-360 for food drinks and all the other stuff like mobile phones
bout 50-60 a week .

Dude look for some under the table work to fill in your spare time.