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Cost of living in GermanyEstimate from my university seems too highemilysium

13.Jun.2008 - 10:14 hrsThe estimate given for my university to live in Berlin and Goettingen seems much higher than Iwould have anticipated. They estimate that, for Berlin, it will cost 3840 USD (2492 euros), for approximately a 4 month stay for room and board, and they estimate another 1880 (1220 euros)for other expenses.

For Goettingen, they estimate 14340 USD (9305) for room and board for a 12 month period,

and another 4590 (2978) for other expenses. Is food really so expensive? How much do peopleusually spend on food a month? I know it varies a lot by a person's habits, but for the averagecollege student who is not so extravagant?

Also, the budget worksheet emphasizes that this is a minimum estimate. I suspect that maybethey make such high estimates and then say it is a minimum is because they don't wantstudents to wander over to a different country without enough money...that, or I'm completely

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missing something here, and I'm crazy.

Is it really this expensive? They say that for Goettingen our rooms will cost about 150 euros,though I don't know if this is cold or warm. I don't really understand how the program can saythat the room only costs 150 euros, and then in the same breath say that it will cost a total of 14340, unless people are spending close to 1000 USD on food a month.

If it's important, the worksheets can be found here:http://eap.ucop.edu/eap/country/germany/bu...sdam-spring.pdf http://eap.ucop.edu/eap/country/germany/bu...re-ilp-year.pdf http://eap.ucop.edu/eap/forms/0809/germany...ptions_0809.pdf

Tell me I am not insane.

Gorgo

13.Jun.2008 - 11:00 hrsit depends a lot on your habits, but I spend around 200-300 euros a month on food, a room in astudent residence in Munich is around 250-350 eur (everything included), public transport is 40eur a month and health insurance 60 eur, so I pay around 700 euro a month minimum. But thenMunich is really expensive and living in a city like Gttingen or Berlin might be significantlycheaper.

You probably want to do some traveling and having fun instead of sitting at home saving money,so a minimum of 1000 eur / month seems like a sensible estimation to me.

There are several existing topics about cost of living, http://www.toytowngermany.com/search/

RainyDays13.Jun.2008 - 11:10 hrs

The estimates you mention seem high to me, too, but it is better to give people figures that areon the safe side.

To give you an idea from a different, non-student context what living on little money, or better: on the breadline, in Germany means: A single person on welfare gets (in addition to rentand heating subsidies) exactly 347 per month for food and all additional costs. There is a lot of criticism about that, and welfare organisations calculate that the real minimum subsistance levelis almost 1,000 per month. This isn't accurate either, though, as living costs vary considerablythroughout Germany.

In your case, how much you'll spend depends for a large part on the kind of accommodation youchoose. A room in a dormitory operated by the Studentenwerk is probably the cheapest option.Does the program secure a place in a dormitory? Otherwise, it is advisable to apply for a room

http://eap.ucop.edu/eap/country/germany/budgets/0708/potsdam-spring.pdfhttp://eap.ucop.edu/eap/country/germany/budgets/0809/goettingen-pre-ilp-year.pdfhttp://eap.ucop.edu/eap/forms/0809/germany/gotfallyearILP/Housing_Options_0809.pdfhttp://www.toytowngermany.com/wiki/Health_insurancehttp://www.toytowngermany.com/search/http://eap.ucop.edu/eap/country/germany/budgets/0708/potsdam-spring.pdfhttp://eap.ucop.edu/eap/country/germany/budgets/0809/goettingen-pre-ilp-year.pdfhttp://eap.ucop.edu/eap/forms/0809/germany/gotfallyearILP/Housing_Options_0809.pdfhttp://www.toytowngermany.com/wiki/Health_insurancehttp://www.toytowngermany.com/search/

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ASAP. If you prefer a shared flat, it is not a good idea to wait with the search until shortly beforethe semester starts. There is a wider choice of rooms at the end of Vorlesungszeit, e.g. now midJuly, the end of summer term.

There are other variables to the total living cost, for instance how much you need to spend ontextbooks which can be very expensive if not bought secondhand. The estimates from theprogram you are considering probably also took into account a travel budget because that'swhat foreign students come here for, to get to know the country/Europe.

kato13.Jun.2008 - 11:23 hrs

Well, "room and meals" for Gttigen is given at $11,650. On current exchange rate, that's 7,550Euro.

Stuff that i'd include in that are:

Bare room costs 150 -> 1,800 per year, 5,850 remainingUtilities are 50-70 minimum -> 720 per year, 5,150 remainingFood around 7-8 per day minimum, 225 per month -> 2700 per year, 2,550 remainingSome basic other daily stuff around 2-3 per day minimum, 75 per month -> 900 per year, 1,650remaining

Dunno what they're doing with the 1,650 left over. Deposit down, and you're at around 1,500 per year, 125 per month.

Of course the above food is calculated based on cooking yourself, and not eating out at all.Include ordering a pizza once per week, and you're down to 90-100 Euro. Buy bottled water for drinking (in addition to whatever other amenities) and you're down to 60-70. Splurge a bit onheating during the winter, and you're easily down to 30-40 left per month over the entire year.One beer per day maybe?

emilysium13.Jun.2008 - 11:24 hrs

Ah, I should probably also mention that my parents pay for my room and board (rent and food).Everything else - tuition, books, health insurance , traveling expenses, etc - I pay. So I guess Iam just a little concerned because I need to be able to estimate a reasonable amount of moneyI can ask my parents for a month. In the US, I typically ask them for about 6,500 euros a year,and I somehow figure out the other 10,000 euros or so by myself...I am hoping to be a little lessdependent on them.

kato13.Jun.2008 - 11:35 hrs

http://www.toytowngermany.com/wiki/Health_insurancehttp://www.toytowngermany.com/wiki/Health_insurance

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So, with 500-600/month u can lead a decent life.

cheers

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