German Opponauts? Cost of living question.

"RallyWrench" (rndlitebmw) 08/29/2014 at 00:26 • Filed to: None

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So I'm in California & have a job opportunity in Germany that would involve moving my family and some of our stuff, including at least one car.

How much can I expect to pay for shipping a vehicle? How does cost of living compare? Obviously fuel is considerably more expensive, but throw out some numbers for basic consumables- milk, bread, etc. What does a basic 3-4 bedroom house rent for, roughly? I'm sure I'm forgetting something important, so there will be more questions, I'm sure.

To put the Oppo in opportunity, I'd be in the Eifel region, next to a certain popular toll road.

norskracer98-ExploringTheOutback > RallyWrench 08/29/2014 at 00:43

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You might wanna repost in a couple hours or plan on staying up for a while. Yay for 5-8 hour time differences.

Arben72 > RallyWrench 08/29/2014 at 00:50

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Not German, but I can help you a bit. It cost me 2,500 to ship my SUV to Eastern Europe, and food wasn't that much more, unless it was meats. 3-4 bedroom is far from basic there, too. Hope this bit of info helps.

RallyWrench > norskracer98-ExploringTheOutback 08/29/2014 at 00:51

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I figure they're waking up soon, it's about 9 hours ahead. But I'm sure I'll repost if things move ahead, lots of dumb Yank questions I need answered.

norskracer98-ExploringTheOutback > RallyWrench 08/29/2014 at 00:53

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Yeah it's almost 1 est so I assume around 7 am in Germany,

Brian, The Life of > RallyWrench 08/29/2014 at 00:53

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My daughter spent last school year in Germany and I have a friend (expat) living/working there now in Munich. Roughy speaking you'd need a 20-30% salary increase to not "feel" the cost of living difference. Germany is definitely more expensive than the average US city, less so than cities like San Diego and New York, of course.

RallyWrench > Arben72 08/29/2014 at 00:54

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Thank you! I don't need a huge place at all, but have kid space to consider and we're in a 3-bed now so I'm trying to compare apples to apples.

Mr. FiSTer of Team FiST Fetish > RallyWrench 08/29/2014 at 01:55

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Fuel is the big one, it's crazy expensive, 1.50 euro for a liter which translates to like $7.50 a gallon.

Food isn't crazy expensive unless you go out to eat which can add up quickly. But beer is cheap!

Klaus Schmoll > RallyWrench 08/29/2014 at 06:58

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For consumables, just take a look at aldi's homepage to compare prices: https://www.aldi-sued.de/de/sortiment/p…

As for renting a place, it all depends on location. The Eiffel ist exactly densely populated or pricey. You might get a house for around €1000. If you want to live closer to cologne, for example, you can double or triple that.

BZiel > RallyWrench 08/29/2014 at 12:35

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You would only be a little over an hour from me here in Frankfurt.

Housing in that area will probably be much more reasonable than it is here...I'd imagine €1700-2200/mo should get you a very nice place. But, you may be shocked when you see how small German apartments and houses tend to be. Don't expect an "American sized house" or you will be disappointed.

Overall, the cost of living in Germany is about 15% higher here than in the US. Food is higher, (ie. a liter of milk is €1.50 here), meats do cost more (but are much better quality and fresher IMHO)( ie. 1 pound of ground beef €5.99), electricity, water, and TV/Internet are about the same. Transportation costs can add up quickly...trains, buses, and cabs, while very efficient, can become a budget item real fast.

As for shipping a container, when I shipped mine in 2012, the total came to around $3500USD for everything including port costs, and truck delivery to my home.

As for the car, be prepared for about another €500-1200 in TuV fees, insurance, licensing and registration, and possibly drivers school to to obtain a valid German drivers license.

m2m, apex detective > Mr. FiSTer of Team FiST Fetish 08/30/2014 at 14:31

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That's an easy one. Grab a Diesel wagon. :D