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Edit: Sorry, skipped the home ownership part. Berlin's real estate market is currently too hot right now. In Munich it's the same - I know some millionaires who
by mockingbirdy 8y ago
Edit: Sorry, skipped the home ownership part. Berlin's real estate market is currently too hot right now. In Munich it's the same - I know some millionaires who couldn't afford homes (with more m2) for their families there. It's generally better to rent for yourself and buy a home as an investment (you get tax breaks and the tenant basically pays the mortgage).
Can vouch for Berlin, too. In Berlin Mitte near Alexanderplatz there are great apartments for approx. $2k/month (around 60m2). It's one of the more expensive areas, but I think it's better for young families who want a calm place.
You will make way less money, though. $5-7k/month should be possible. At SAP you can make $10k/month after some years. But in general it isn't really comparable to US salaries.
For the lang. barrier: Most people speak english and there are many coffee shops where 80% of the employees can only speak english.
Alternatively: I heard that Zurich also pays good, but that the people are not too social and it can be hard to build a social circle there.
- imAsking9836 8y agoHow about bureaucracy processes and getting up and running with internet, gas, bank, etc? Doubt that call centers have English speaking guys or forms in other languages
- ben_w 8y agoFor your bank I recommend N26; it’s one of the tech startups here, an online-only bank, and they talked me through the setup process over my phone in about 10 minutes, in English. Don’t bother trying it before you actually move though, because the website appears to be geo-locked and the American and UK versions aren’t open yet.
- expertentipp 8y ago> I recommend N26 > an online-only bank It's a direct bank as any other, quick internet search will reveal more options in Germany. Their "innovations" in comparison with personal banking even in neighbouring Czechia (e.g. Fio), or Poland (e.g. mBank, Inteligo) are laughable.
- ben_w 8y agoWhat do you mean by “direct”?
- expertentipp 8y agohttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Direct_bank https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Direct_bank
- ben_w 8y agoThanks! I’d never heard that term before. I had originally tried getting an account in a Sparkasse branch, but it was much more difficult than N26. No doubt there are other online only banks, but I cannot comment on their quality without using them.
- atlasunshrugged 8y agoI had Deutsche Bank and N26 when living in Berlin (in addition to my personal accounts) and strongly recommend N26. Super easy online setup, Black card has some good benefits, and clean mobile and web experiences.
- mockingbirdy 8y agoIt may be cumbersome, but it's one of the things you do once. Colleagues can help you with translations. Many internet, phone and other companies employ young people for support tasks who can speak english most of the time, so it shouldn't be a big issue. Especially if you go to offline stores in Berlin to fill out the forms.
- atlasunshrugged 8y agoI had the opposite experience that I would get constantly hung up on by government offices and even places like Doctors when I lived there and couldn't speak German but still worth the tradeoff and definitely easy enough to get a friendly colleague to help you with translations