4 ms·
I moved to Berlin recently from Sydney. My rent is 60% of what I was paying in Sydney, and for a nicer apartment. I can't believe more people aren't moving here
by jlangenauer 11y ago
I moved to Berlin recently from Sydney. My rent is 60% of what I was paying in Sydney, and for a nicer apartment. I can't believe more people aren't moving here.
(Maybe I shouldn't say so. Keep the secret to those who know.)
- ido 11y agoIt's not much of a secret? Berlin has been growing fast these past few years, as are real estate prices: http://www.thelocal.de/20150707/politicians-struggle-to-keep-pace-with-berlins-growth http://www.thelocal.de/20150707/politicians-struggle-to-keep... And while rents are still cheap compared to other large western cities, they went (and are going) through about the same curve as these more expensive cities - it simply started lower here.
- GFischer 11y agoWell, as someone who's considering Australia and NZ as potential destinations, both language and visa situations are big hurdles to clear for moving to Berlin. Maybe you have an European or U.S. citizenship, but they're harder towards South Americans. Also, software development salaries weren't something to write home about last time I checked (that was some a long time ago admittedly). Edit: According to Glassdoor, Berlin Software Engineer Salary: €48000 (average) Sydney Software Engineer Salary: $80000 (average)
- ido 11y ago$80k AUD is €50k, sounds pretty close to me.
- GFischer 11y agoSo, not worth jumping through all the extra inmigration hoops compared to Australia or New Zealand, not to mention the language barrier. My grandfather was German-born and they didn't grant the citizeship to him, and I remember the ridiculous requirements he faced trying to get it (and he was more German than most actual Germans, a Fischer Reuter Spangemberg and more German surnames all the way down) http://www.spiegel.de/international/germany/skilled-immigrant-workers-face-obstacles-in-german-labor-market-a-938519.html http://www.spiegel.de/international/germany/skilled-immigran... "The paperwork is nightmarishly complex and requires a wealth of information, with endless pages and extra documents. Sometimes translations are required, sometimes not. In fact, she no longer sends the papers off without consulting an expert. Anders works as the human resources manager for Adidas. She is looking for skilled workers in Europe, the Middle East and Africa. These days, even a company like Adidas rarely finds new employees in Germany, especially IT experts and designers."
- ido 11y agoYeah I guess it depends on your situation. For us it was a lot easier due to EU freedom of movement laws. It just sounded funny ("funny") cause it always seemed so much easier than moving to the US when I looked into it. I also know a lot of Israelis who got German citizenships via their grandparents, but there might be special rules that make it easier for victims of the nazis (and their descendants) or people that fled the country. Either way the salary is probably never a reason to move to Germany (I don't think wages are higher than in any other western country), I meant more like that it's not a reason NOT to move in that particular example.
- JamesLefrere 11y agoHowever, after taxes, you're looking at about €29k, as opposed to $60k (€38k).
- ido 11y agoNot sure where you got that number, I've never paid 40% tax on my income in Germany (despite earning more than €48k per year).
- jlangenauer 11y agoI wouldn't touch a Software Engineering job in Sydney at $80,000. That doesn't buy much of a lifestyle in one of the world's most expensive cities. Visas are pretty easy to come by in Berlin - google "EU Blue Card".
- GFischer 11y agoThanks, that's a relatively new development, I wasn't aware of it.