Where to live in Frankfurt, tips for newcomers

[DanHessen 2,964]

Westend is quite pricey for what you get. Certainly nice... but dull. I would agree Sachsenhausen is a nice compromise. Not too pricey, got a bit of everything. Parts are upscale, other parts are a bit wonky. Plenty of eateries and bars but you can still find quiet streets.

[Guest]

Agree with the Sachsenhausen comments by NewFromOz, we also looked into the areas in detail and after a fortnight of looking around were set on Sachsenhausen. We have pretty high grocery standards (we're vegans and cook a very diverse range of cuisines) too so we wanted somewhere near a Basic Bio or Alnatura nearby... and also not too far from the Kleinmarkthalle, so not too far from a subway stop was a requirement for us.

[pumpkin9 53]

Hi Woolers, I just moved from the UK (South East) to Frankfurt a few months ago and really like it here. I lived in Westend-South for a few months and really liked it. Close to downtown shopping/markets, Palmengarten, good restaurants in the area, also close to Bockenheim (one of the University areas). The Grüneburg park (in Westend) is great for jogging!

 

Perhaps you can also find temp. accommodation for a few months? It would give you time to view flats and determine which neighborhood you like most.

 

Good luck!

[Philsta 149]

€62k is a massive salary, easily above the average in Frankfurt (last I heard this is about €50k, but could be wrong).

 

I think a lot of people seem to be able to waste and awful lot of money here. €62k is about 1.5x as much as I earn as a teacher and I still manage to live extremely comfortably here in Frankfurt. I have an apartment by myself right near Eschenheimer Tor, eat/drink out a few times a week, buy a monthly train ticket, regularly go away on holiday and still manage to send about €400 back home to Australia each month to cover my mortgage there.

 

Anybody who struggles to live on €50k+ needs to learn how to be more responsible with their money.

 

Westend would probably be my recommended area in which to live. I think technically I am in the Innenstadt just outside of Westend. But yes, it is certainly far more expensive than many other spots.

 

 

Frankfurt (population 660k) is a fraction of the size of London (7 mill).

 

I regularly hear stuff like this about Frankfurt but I fail to see why people use these numbers. I guess it means that the population of Frankfurt itself (that is, the city centre) is 660k but that does not include areas which are on the outskirts of Frankfurt. Places like Bad Homburg, Hanau etc. could really just be called suburbs of Frankfurt since they are only 25 minutes and €3.80 or so on the train. The actual population of the Frankfurt urban area is well over 2M and the metro area is something like 5.5M.

[bluewaves 33]

Philsta, thanks so much for piping up about the salary. I was starting to get a bump on my forehead from banging my head against the keyboard. Who in the world are you people who call €62k decent, managable, and average...and can I have your job? When I retire, I will be making that much, if I'm lucky. €62k is what I can only dream about now. My husband and I are both living on about half that and this is the most we've had, ever. We're comfortable, eat out, buy lots of wine, and also send home money regularly. Anyone who doesn't know what to do with their money, please PM me; I accept donations.

 

OK, time to be useful: I second/third/fourth Westend. You'll be able to find a lovely apartment there. Get one with a balcony. May I also make a plug for Bornheim? I like the atmosphere there, a bit more artsy and laid-back.

 

Commuting is not a problem. Frankfurt is compact and you can get around quickly by train.

[RainyDays 2,451]

 

I think it would be quite a while before Ostend becomes comparable with what Westend is now.. like 10+ years.

 

I concur. At the moment, Nordend is becoming the new Westend, see "Häuserkampf im Nordend", FAZ, 8 Nov. 2010. It's interesting to see the development of Ostend, but meanwhile you might be living in between construction sites and without many shops and other amenities nearby in the area close to the river (though I find the riverside apartment buildings quite nice).

[Purple Muffin 264]

 

Anybody who struggles to live on €50k+ needs to learn how to be more responsible with their money.

 

I could not agree more. I was a bit blown away by the 62k being 'average' comment as well.

 

The thing is you really would like to think that people who are in jobs earning 50€K plus are actually intelligent enough to be able to budget and know how to live within their means. Otherwise I'd seriously worry about why they are doing that job.

 

I agree people do seem to waste ridiculous amounts of money here and I can't understand it. But then these are the people who tell me that they couldn't afford to go on 6 ski trips a year like I do. It is just about prioritising and knowing you can't have everything. Yes maybe I travel a lot, but for that I drive a clapped out old banger for a car. It is just more important to me.

 

Anyway I have gone slightly off the point here. But I agree you can quite easily live a very comfortable lifestyle here earning under 62€k per year.

[swimmer 3,706]

 

Who in the world are you people who call €62k decent, managable, and average...and can I have your job? When I retire, I will be making that much, if I'm lucky.

It is just pretty much the local average full-time salary. Simple fact. Local market rate. The Hesse average is 55k (google it, the facts are out there, German average is 42k). And this is one of the best earning parts of the state - so more. It's a typical graduate starting salary round here in law, IT, finance etc. What is it net for a singleton - 3000 to 3500 I'd guess? You have to remember that tax eats into it. It's no way as much "net" as it may be in some other nations.

 

But then a 100 sq m flat in those areas we mentioned will account for 1000 to 1500 of that (warm). Add on a grand a month to live off (not a lot if you add up everything, not just food but clothes,gadgets, furniture, going out etc etc). Maybe 500 if you want a car. And another few hundred for a couple of typical local holidays (the Maldives and skiing, say, is the middle class norm round here). Plus a bit of spare cash to save for a house etc. Ramp those up of course if you are paying for a partner and kids of course. You assume you can live on a couple of k - and you can - but not the middle class high life now.

 

There - 60k salary, gone! No sweat. I've done the maths in nearby - just as expensive - Darmstadt. I have to in order to manage to live here. Apartment alone is 1300. My hardly profligate life certainly needs at least 3k net and that's without a car! I certainly could not afford a sustainable middle-class life on half of it.

 

30k is part-time salary here, not full-time. You can pull it in from part-time English teaching. (And if you are in, say, consultancy you can be part-time and still be past six figures, not unusual here, it's what my ex did and he managed to burn thatup easy enough ). There are a lot of high earning people and a lot of cash swilling round.

 

I am not sure it is a German thing. Plenty of "middle-class professionals" in, say, London, would get through 40k GBP (10% more that average 35k) easily, certainly if they wanted "good" areas! And that 40k would not be considered "high". Similarly, half (18k) would certainly be considered lowly paid. This is a modern phenomenon that a lot of us are catching up with - that a lot of the "A list" places (where people want to live and so with lots of high earners) just are very expensive now. I certainly know people in London are struggling with this - that 40k GBP there is no big deal and does not buy a lot, let alone leave a lot left oer.

[RainyDays 2,451]

I'm feeling poor as a church mouse ...

[Purple Muffin 264]

I would really love to see the statistics on that because I don't believe that 55€K is average. It also totally depends on what industry you are in and the job. I work for a large medical company and I can assure you that an annual salary of 55€K here is way than above the average salary. I don't think there is anybody working within tariff here (I don't know for sure as I am Außentariff) who gets that much and we are a leading supplier, a Dax company and we are rising, our turnover is huge. Perhaps 55€K might be an average salary in the finance sector but everywhere else it would be classed as above average and is certainly high for this area.

 

Yes a 100qm would be setting you back about 1000-1500€ but I think the OP a single person living alone is not going to need a flat any near that big.

[NewFromOz 61]

I thought it was obvious.. People earning €50K have a different definition of "extremely comfortable" than those earning €30K.

 

(Maui, two people earning €30K are actually bringing home €300 more per month than one person earning €62K)

[pumpkin9 53]

 

I find it weird that people take their kitchens??

 

Yes they do! I had to negotiate for mine from previous tenant. See this thread: http://www.toytowngermany.com/forum/index.php?showtopic=109791

[Philsta 149]

 

But then a 100 sq m flat in those areas we mentioned will account for 1000 to 1500 of that (warm). Add on a grand a month to live off (not a lot if you add up everything, not just food but clothes, gadgets, furniture, going out etc etc). Maybe 500 if you want a car. And another few hundred for a couple of typical local holidays (the Maldives and skiing, say, is the middle class norm round here). Plus a bit of spare cash to save for a house etc. Ramp those up of course if you are paying for a partner and kids of course. You assume you can live on a couple of k - and you can - but not the middle class high life now.

 

There - 60k salary, gone! No sweat. I've done the maths in nearby - just as expensive - Darmstadt. I have to in order to manage to live here. Apartment alone is 1300. My hardly profligate life certainly needs at least 3k net and that's without a car! I certainly could not afford a sustainable middle-class life on half of it.

You must be one of those people we are talking about who just can't seem to handle money.

 

A 100 square metre flat for one person? Why throw away so much extra money for unnecessary additional space? One person could live perfectly comfortably in a flat half that side and pay about half as much rent. I think it is 'normal' in the US and Australia where I come from for people to live in way more space than they need (like every family of four needs a five bedroom house with two living areas, three bathrooms and multi-car garage), but as far as I can see it is not normal in Europe.

 

Think of what you could do with an extra €500 a month by living in a smaller apartment... given that tax takes away almost half your income here, it would be equivalent to getting a pay rise of over €10k.

 

And a grand a month to live off; again I have no idea what people are doing if they are spending so much money on day to day living in Frankfurt. I am used to living quite an expensive lifestyle (I earned a LOT more money when I was living in Australia) but in Frankfurt I can live comfortably for about €500 a month. Food here is not expensive (even eating out rarely costs more than €25 or so, including a couple of drinks), train ticket is €75 a month, internet €15, phone €20 or so. Perhaps if you average out the cost of clothes and bigger items then it would be a bit more each month but anyone who spends €1000 a month for day-to-day living here needs to learn to take better care of their money.

[Woolers 5]

WOW!! - Thanks everyone.. you're very helpful... Yes I think a flat of 100sqm is a bit big.. my current flat in London is tiny, probably about 30sqm & I'm happy in that (it's "cosy" shall I say!)..

 

I'll look into the places that have been suggested & see what comes up.. Yes I'm being housed in an apart-hotel for my first month working whilst I find a proper place to live.. then I'll fly back to the UK, set up my belongings to be relocated.

 

I'm pretty shrewd about my money affairs luckily so won't be frittering it away on dining out all the time (I pride myself on my home cooking!)... So as long as I can find somewhere quiet & where I can get Sky TV I'll be more than happy.

 

Seems to be a pretty good community on here.. So you guys ever meet up for drinks or anything.. I probably owe a few of you a beer or two to say thanks!!

 

Woolers

[sassylad 31]

My flat in london is probably about that too and it's over £390 a week ex bills, taxes and all my other expenses - i've not seen a single flat anywhere in Germany on London scale rents (for zone 1 london) even in the biggest/richest cities.

[Guest]

Without going into the extensive discussions here, as everyone has a different definition of "comfortable", I would think that 62k would be very comfortable for a single in a place at 1000 warm. Its pretty much around what I'm hoping to get once my permit arrives, and will be enough to cover me and my wife living in a place that costs a bit more than that. We tend to need around 1000 a month for bills and groceries, but we do buy almost everything "Bio".

[NewFromOz 61]

 

I'll look into the places that have been suggested & see what comes up.. Yes I'm being housed in an apart-hotel for my first month working whilst I find a proper place to live.. then I'll fly back to the UK, set up my belongings to be relocated.

 

If you only have 1 month to find somewhere to live, I suggest that you prioritise this ahead of other things. You might get lucky and find somewhere straight away, however I think that the average amount of time would be around 4-6 weeks. Having an agency help you could speed things up a lot, but that is costly.

[NewFromOz 61]

 

You must be one of those people we are talking about who just can't seem to handle money.

 

A 100 square metre flat for one person? Why throw away so much extra money for unnecessary additional space?

 

...

 

Think of what you could do with an extra €500 a month by living in a smaller apartment...

 

Why is it a bad thing for people to spend their own money on something which makes them happy? If two people were given €10K per year, one of them spends it on vacations, and the other spends it on accommodation, why would you think that one of them is more intelligent with their money than the other?

 

If someone can afford a higher standard of accommodation, then I would think that they CAN handle their money.

[Keydeck 9,245]

 

A 100 square metre flat for one person? Why throw away so much extra money for unnecessary additional space? One person could live perfectly comfortably in a flat half that side and pay about half as much rent.

What a daft pile of crap.

 

 

 

 

Perhaps if you average out the cost of clothes and bigger items then it would be a bit more each month but anyone who spends €1000 a month for day-to-day living here needs to learn to take better care of their money.

Why? Does your definition of what is "comfortable" in terms of standard of living apply to everyone?

 

Do you buy all your clothes from 2nd hand shops? I mean, they are perfectly serviceable and you'd save a load of money.

[Philsta 149]

 

Why is it a bad thing for people to spend their own money on something which makes them happy?

Nothing wrong with it all.. of course everyone is free to spend their money on whatever they like. The point I was trying to make was that it is very easy to waste a lot of money on little things and then get to the end of the month and find that you've spent 1000 euro and really have little to show for it. I guess an example would be somebody who buys a couple of cups of coffee each day and by the end of the month they don't realise that they've spent over 100 Euro on it.

 

Maybe my words were a little harsh.. happens sometimes after a drink or two.. sorry if anyone was offended

 

 

If someone can afford a higher standard of accommodation, then I would think that they CAN handle their money.

 

Hmm.. I would disagree with that. I mean if they actually CAN afford it then it's fine... but isn't that how a lot of people get themselves into serious financial trouble? Thousands of people a year have their homes repossessed by the banks so obviously there are plenty of people who think they can afford something which they really can't. There are plenty of examples in Australia of people who borrowed as much as possible while interest rates were at record lows and now are crying poor when the rates rise.