german here. a net income of 40k will put you somewhere in the top 20% of german households [1], . berlin is generally a really cheap city (see this [2] article

german here. a net income of 40k will put you somewhere in the top 20% of german households [1], . berlin is generally a really cheap city (see this [2] article from 2014.. cost of living/rents below german average), so saying "that's enough for owning a bicycle" is just not true. [1] (https://www.bundesbank.de/Redaktion/EN/Downloads/Publications/Monthly_Report_Articles/2013/2013_06_household.pdf?__blob=publicationFile https://www.bundesbank.de/Redaktion/EN/Downloads/Publication...)