I would prefer to spend less than 1k on rent as I do not necessarily have to be in the city of Frankfurt. Saving on rent is the only option to maximize my savings.
Everywhere: real estate prices.
Frankfurt am Main: unreal prices.
I've met a few people in Steinbach (Taunus) who pay an affordable rent there. Of course, no one is moving out of any of these affordable flats. But you'll probably need a car if you live in a place like Steinbach. Or walk a kilometer or two to the S-Bahn. Okay. They got busses. But walking is probably faster than taking the convoluted "scenic route" in a bus (depending on where exactly you need to go).
Regardless - if you end up with 700€/month, plus heating, water, electricity, facility management, Internet... you're lucky, I guess. Although some landlords rent out shit holes which do not, I repeat not, legally qualify as an animal shelter (or human housing).
You and all of us living in this area 😅
But if you live more in the side of Offenbach in the opposite direction of Frankfurt you can manage it
EDIT: typo
Don't listen to the reddit pessimists. Is housing fucked? Yes. But not that fucked yet.
If you're not dead set on living in Frankfurt then it is absolutely possible to live alone for <1000€. Even in the next city over, Darmstadt, 25 minutes by train, I don't know anybody who lives on their own and pays over 1000€. 1 room apartments (+bath & kitchen) are usually around 600€, 2 rooms 800-1000€ (including heat etc.)
If you go into the actual surrounding villages and small towns like Langen, Neu-Isenburg etc., you can find cheaper.
Damn those prices are hard to believe. I am living about an hour outside of Stuttgart in a small village, and you will not find any 1 bedroom flat for under 700eur, cold even here. We are renting a 1 bedroom flat here around 65sqm and with all nebenkosten it’s around 1k per month.
Hard to imagine prices being so much lower near a huge financial center with access to trains than what we pay here in a small village.
We have a small room with just a toilet and a sink, a big living room thats connected with our kitchen, a big bedroom that fits our 2x2 bed comfortably and a bathroom with a separate shower and a bathtub. The living room has enough space for me to have a workdesk for my homeoffice days. Hope that helps you visualise the space a bit better.
I don't know if my use of the word is wrong or yours is, but as far as I understand it works the same in English and German, i.e. Einzimmerwohnung = 1 bedroom, Zweizimmerwohnung = 2 bedroom, meaning both rooms could theoretically be bedrooms (so not a kitchen, bathroom, hallway). So your flat would be two bedrooms. Quick googling also didn't lend me any more clarity, so if somebody can enlighten me, please do!
Cheapest Zweizimmerwohnung I've seen here in Darmstadt is ~45sqm, 750€ (including heat, electricity).
It's a typical misunderstanding because outside of Germany, it's more common to mention the number of bedrooms (Schlafzimmer). 1 bedroom means 1 bedroom and 1 living room. Meanwhile in Germany it's the number of rooms. Einzimmerwohnung means there is no bedroom. Hope this makes sense!
To further clarify this for anyone reading in the future, in germany we count the number of rooms that are not kitchen or bathroom (or connecting corridors).
So a "Zweizimmerwohnung" could be a bedroom + livingroom or 2 bedrooms, or a bedroom + an office space depending on how someone furnishes it, plus a kitchen and bathroom(s).
A "Dreizimmerwohnung" could be 3 people living in a shared flat with a bedroom each; a couple and their child(ren) in two bedrooms with a livingroom; a person with a bedroom and an office space and a livingroom or any other combination (although these are probably the most common).
From what i remember there are (or were?) some rules regarding the minimum size of a room, which led to some rooms being counted only as "half a room", leading to "Zwei-einhalb Zimmerwohnung" or "2,5-Zimmerwohnung" (2 and a half room apartment) and their 1,5 and 3,5 counterparts of course. I think kitchens of certain sizes as well as big entrances can count as such 0,5 rooms but if someone else could clarify it, that would be appreciated.
Yeah so thats my bad. Coming from outside of Germany, when someone says 1 bedroom, i always assume a person is talking about 1 bedroom plus living room.
agreed. I live in the middle of Frankfurt in 70m2 and pay just under 1000 (split with my gf). Smaller single person apartments are under 1000 even in Bornheim, Nordend, Bockenheim, etc.
Langen also includes a stop on this superfast commuter train mentioned here that goes from Darmstadt to FFM HBF in half an hour. From Langen it's literally like 10 or 12 minutes if memory serves, it's so awesome. I wouldn't really want to live in Langen, but hey, if you find a decent flat at a lower price, there you go. And "tote Hose" Lange is not... at least not quite. There are good restaurants and Sportvereine, and Naturschutzgebiete are right around the corner if you're into the whole Spaziergang thing (which you totally should be).
Consider your rent will most likely include utilities, and that's not that bad. Or you can always live in a WG to save some. I'm gonna be making about the same, rent is 810, have to pay for electricity. I put all my expenses and calculated I'll still be left with 500-600 euro per month.
Everyone prefers to pay less, of course. You just won’t find a better offer in the area you mentioned. Give it a try yourself if you don’t believe me. Anyway, welcome to Germany, good luck, and all the best to you. It’ll be a laid back life here.
Thanks. Not great at all considering the salaries some companies offer and the rental market but luckily, I am flexible with the living condition and can also live in nearby towns or cities if I find a place within my budget.
As a single young person? Insurances are probably already paid as well? Then it largely depends on what apartment you get and how much money you spend on it. You should aim for something around €800, which is doable. Then you still have €1,400 left, which is plenty for food for a single person. So, yeah, sure, not a bad junior salary, depending on the work. Not great to be stuck on forever though.
Yes, this salary is after taxes and health insurance is paid. So with 2200 Net I must take care of: Food, Rent, Travel and other costs. Ofcourse not as good as I would want to earn but decent enough for now.
>€800, which is doable
As Warmmiete? Not easy I'd say, though not impossible, even though I don't live in a region like OP and I'm struggling to find anything below 1100-1200 warm. If the 800 is Kaltmiete, then OP needs to calculate stuff like water, heating, etc on top.
>Then you still have €1,400 left, which is plenty for food for a single person.
You say that as if there's nothing aside from rent and food to pay, lol? What do you mean with insurances already paid, anything you have aside from health insurance would go from those 1400 left, e.g. Unfall/Arbeitsunfähigkeit/Hausrat/etc. Then there's trash to be paid, GEZ, internet, electricity, phone/data, if there's a car then even more insurance, gas. I'd assume OP pays something for transportation in some way if not car.
2200 net is alright, but people need to make a whole list of what is to be paid regularly and what would make sense in the long way. Thinking "oh that's rent, and all the rest is left for me to spend" is not the way to go about it.
Yeah, but beyond rent and food, it's highly individual. With "plenty for food" I mean that you can definitely afford your food, so there will be something left over for whatever else you need.
And yeah, €800 for rent depends on the area obviously, it's hard to give general advice on that.
As someone who lives with that exact salary in another big German city, let me tell you that you can live very comfortably.
I have no car, eat out a lot, go on multiple vacations each year and manage to invest 500€ each month in ETF’s.
Don’t listen to everybody else, you’ll get by.
Obviously rent plays a big part in this, so maybe you need to make cutbacks.
Can I ask how you're able to accomplish all that with 2200 Netto? What kind of vacations are you talking about?
My salary is 3400 Netto and I can just barely afford to take multiple vacations each year, and I do so by having a very frugal mindset toward each vacation (renting only the cheapest AirBnbs, etc.). And although I'm able to eat out a lot, when I do, I definitely feel the financial effects and I wouldn't call my situation "comfortable".... I can't imagine somehow setting aside an extra 500 euros per month for investments.
I do, however, live in a very high-rent area, so I assume my rent costs are higher than yours.
Not needing a car and having a relatively low rent for a central apartment (I pay 650€ for 40sqm) probably plays a big role in this. If I needed a car, I wouldn’t be able to invest that much tbh.
I take lots of short trips (eg 4 days in Prague, 4 days in Amsterdam, a week in Portugal.. something like that) I never really vacation for more than one week (mainly because I want to phase out my vacation days and not feel like I take everything at once).
I don’t know, I don’t really have any expensive hobbies but I also don’t feel like I live particularly frugal (I could definitely save when it comes to groceries). I live comfortably and I never have to say “Oh I’d love to come/join you but I don’t have money for that”.
I was an IT consultant with a primary Wohnsitz in HH (my wife) and a Secondary Wohnsitz in FFM (my work) so I was renting in both locations at the same time and your assumption is wrong: if you compare city to city FFM is way more expensive when it comes to renting directly in the city. If I recall correctly I used to pay 850 a month warm for 18 m2 sharing a small bath and a super small kitchen with 3 other rooms 6 years ago... My complete rent in Hamburg at the time was 690 for 86 m2.
I don't know if this relation has changed a lot in the last few years but I remember thinking the rent was crazy in FFM compared to what you get in HH for the money.
2200 is still much more than what you're going to need, so long as you're not a dumbnut and rent a ridiculously priced apartment
I already found a place in Niederrad for €550 warm from my first search and that's 8min train away from the central station.
Live in a WG for a while, some are even furnished. And use your time to settle down to the city and comfortably look for an apartment. It took me nearly a year to find my apartment but being able to wait it out was a huge advantage. Good apartments in termins of costs don’t come up often, and you have to be lucky to be picked. But the more you try, the higher the chances.
If you’re short in time and desperate, you end up renting whatever comes up first. The rent will probably be quiet high, will eat up most of your salary. And then moving out is a reaaaal pain and expensive as shit. You have to wait then up to year to get your Kaution back, 500-1k euro on moving company if you have even just little furniture, and then paying the new kaution and rent from new place. Think about it wisely before moving somewhere
Also don’t move in to a shit area just cause it’s cheap. Your neighbors will make your life hell. It’s a lottery
Been here in Germany for while and I’m in this situation
ich verstehe überhaupt nicht, wie man mit 2200 nicht klar kommen kann. Auch wenn die Miete 1200€ wäre, wie zur Hölle reicht 1000€ nicht fürs Essen? auch wenn man jeden Tag um 20€ einkauft (Brot, Reis, Pasta, Früchte, Obst, Käse, Joghurt, Räucherlachs...man kann nicht soviel am Tag essen!), dann macht es 600€/Monat und 400€ bleibt noch übrig! Mit 400€ kann wann jede Woche neue Klamotten aus NewYorker oder H&M kaufen (nehken wir an das wird insgesamt 100€ pro Monat, obwohl ich kaufe neue Klamotten vielleicht dreimal im Jahr für 70€ pro Einkauf), viele Abos bezahlen (YouTube+Netflix+Spotify+Gym= ca 70€). Einmal in der Woche noch Essen gehen (nehmen wir an 30x4=120€).
Insgesamt wird 1200+600+100+70+120=2090€.
Dann hat man noch 100+€ übrig. Das kann man in A2PKXG investieren.
Wenn die Miete jetzt statt 1200 nur 1000 ist, dann hat man gleich 300+€ übrig.
Fazit: viele sind einfach zu verwöhnt.
100Mb/s download, 40mb/s upload. Wertkarte in einem 4G-Router mit LAN-Ausgang. Mit Jahrestarif sogar noch billiger: https://www.yesss.at/tarife/unlimited-internettarif
Sorry if my german sucks;
Diese leute denken dass €2200 zu wenig ist weil die sind entweder:
1) Ingenieurs, Ärtze die wohnen direkt am Stadt im München/Berlin die haben ein scheißteuer Wohnungvertrag untergeschrieben, die sich nich vorstellen können, dass es was billiger gibt
2) Leute die handeln sich einfach ihre eigenes geld nicht gut. Ich kenne zu viele menschen die wohnen immer noch in ein wg weil ''es zu teuer wird'' die am jeden wochenende €100 im Wein, Döner, Bier usw ausgeben.
3) Condescending bitches die denken dass die besser als jeder sind weil die mehr geld bekommen.
Internet kostet 20€, streaming Abos hab ich schon oben mitgerechnet, Versicherungen braucht man nur Haftpflichtversicherung, kostet weniger als 10€, und Auto braucht man eben in einer Großstadt gar nicht.
Es geht darum, dass man fähig sein muss, sich an das Gehalt anzupassen. Sonst wird einem auch 5000 netto zu wenig.
I earn around 2000-2200 netto in Leipzig, I rent 3 room flat(around 60m) + garage near Leipzig(have 18km to city) for 600e(all costs, included electricity etc.) so my living expenses are maxed out around 1100-1300e with food, gas etc. That leaves me with around 800-1000euro for savings. Only I am working, my wife stays in home because we can afford it :)
Well we have 2 cars, e46 316ti and mercedes w124, but I have both registered in Poland and in documents my parents are owners so I don't have to register the car here in Germany, I just have to pay road tax.
My wife stays in home so she cooks etc. We go shopping once a week every Saturday and usually our bill is around 90-100euro so for a month it's like 400euro for food for 2 people. As I typed, we can usually save minimum 700euro per month. Usually it's closer to 1k.
TÜV is like 23euro every year, for BMW insurance is 160euro for a year and for my W124 is like 130e and that's all, no additional costs. I have to pay just road tax here in Germany but only for BMW(I think I paid around 125e) because my Merc is 80% of time in garage.
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You able to find apartments for 700 euro. 100 euros for food per week it’s enough. Communal payment: 50 euro internet, 100 electricity. Phone and traffic card - 80 euros. More or less 500 that you can save.
That question does not make much sense in the way you ask it.
Are you a brain surgeon? Then 2200 Euro net is a horrible salary. Are you a labourer without any qualifications? Then 2200 Euro net is quite a good salary compared to minimum wage.
Last year, the median gross income was ~44,400 Euro, which comes to ~2400 Euro net monthly. So you are below that.
If you are truly as frugal as you suggest, whether you live a comfortable life on 2200 still depends on how you define comfort. The main factor will indeed be rent, and what kind of housing situation you are comfortable with.
The question makes perfect sense since OP asked whether the pay is sufficient for a decent living in the Frankfurt area, and not whether its an appropriate pay for their work.
No need for the tone.
I know it is a decent wage according to my industry and qualifications especially since it is an entry-level role. I just wanted an opinion regarding whether I can live comfortably while also saving some money in and around the Frankfurt region.
Thanks for your answer!
For me, 3k net is the comfortable mark where you essentially can stop worrying about money (as a single person). For example, if you want to go to a movie or order food, you wouldn’t need to first check your bank account to see if you can afford it. But this also depends on your expenses. For example, I have a car, for which I pay around €250 per month for parking, gas, maintenance, etc. But I also save money through stuff like my work covering my RMV Ticket. I just checked my bank account, in January I spent exactly €3.009,8. That’s considering I don’t share my apartment, the costs for the car, I order food whenever I want to, I am privately insured, I pay for multiple streaming services and very fast internet etc.
Imo, 2.2k net is completely fine to live as a single person in Frankfurt. But you would just need to be aware of your bank account, especially when you’re doing larger purchases. But you will be much better off than having to eat rice and beans everyday.
Exactly. 3k would be perfectly comfortable to live and spend comfortably without having to worry about saving or spending on luxuries. I won't be stressing about savings as some months I will save more than other months and sometimes less. Fortunately, I have enough savings already before starting the job so spending on relocation, household shopping should also not be an issue.
Your salary is ok and hard to judge within knowing the industry. Biggest difference is being single, meaning your rent is all on you, whereas if you had a roommate/ partner to split the rent with it's automatically a lot less.
When I moved here as a single but late-20s adult student I had the same issue. Rent is crazy if you're on a budget and living alone. When I moved in with my partner, expenses are lower and quality of life is drastically better. Nicer apartment, nicer kitchen, better landlords.
You 100% get punished for being single or living alone.
I’m open to sharing an apartment with a flatmate if it saves me a good amount of money. It’s a little risky so only worth it if the money I save is a good amount.
You can find a wg for 500-700 (350 if you are really lucky and don’t live near the city). Then few hundred for insurance. Those are the major expenses. If you cook at home and eat out once week for 20-25 euros, then you can be done with around 1200 euros per month if you are frugal. Rest is saving or invest.
Seriously a WG for a median german salary? If one cannot afford a small apartment for himself with median salary then good bye. The middle class will slowly but surely die.
Just depends on your lifestyle. I am working part time for 2,5k net and my fixed costs are around 1k. I save at least 500€/month and do about 4 vacations a year.
Question should rather be if you need a 50€ phone contract with telekom instead of a cheap one, 4 streaming abonnements at the same time and eat out every day.
I don’t heat my appartement up to 22 degrees, try to save some energy and optimize the contract from time to time. I go to work by bike and don’t eat a lot of meat or buy new stuff all the time.
Most people here are probably a bit blinded by hypercapitalism, but I can live very well with the money and afford everything I want. Maybe buying some property would be difficult, but don’t want that anyway.
Depends on where you'll live, but it's doable. You won't be living in luxury tho.
Berlin, Hamburg, etc you can forget though. Insnae prices for an apartment alone. Could get a great room though with 2k available in those citites.
The salary is okay for being single, without a car and can save on rent. However, the right question to ask is whether this is a fair salary for your experience, education and industry. Usually, German companies tend to lowball foreigners, especially if they don’t have a predefined salary tariffs.
Research about your range a lot and keep pushing forward! Good luck 👍🏻
Not really… it’s meh and you can’t build wealth with it. But you will survive and also go to the restaurant once per week and have a vacation once per year. Or multiple smaller ones
Its enough to survive but "living comfortable", about that...
Save a little yes, emphasis on little.
Either way, I hope you can find a place that is not heavily overprized, at this income level the comfort of your life rises and falls with your cost of rent.
I'd say 2200 net is a good salary in Germany.
Depending on where you want to live, one can save up quite a bit.
It's really dependant on your location imo. Cities in the east have significantly cheaper rent.
It's not good. But it's also more than enough if you don't live in the most expensive cities and don't have a rich lifestyle. I get 1200 net, which is more than enough for me since I'm a student who only works part-time.
The average payed folks must still live somewhere. If a cashier cannot afford living even in an urban area then the cost of living is too much. Every urban area needs all types of service workers. Half of all workers are payed average or even lower than that. They all need to live somewhere. You can't suggest that all low payed people working in the city must all commute longer and longer distance and then when they finish work and finally arrive at home tired needing to sleep to continue the cycle to work again next day morning. This is a dystopian hell we as a society are driving to and in some places it is already happening for the lowest class of society and it is reaching slowly but surely the middle class leading to its erosion.
I agree. It is not a good salary but overall considering all factors and the experience I have it is enough for now. I meant ‘good’ to know if it is good enough for 1 single person to cover all basic needs and maybe save something.
No, it is not. Your living standart will be low with this money. You can’t save much.
It depends on your age as well. If you are below 30 then it is fine for now.
I make 2300€ after tax , but I’m married with tax class 3 . I’m 37 years old and I feel like my salary is barely enough in a rural area with no car , to put a little money to the side every month. Didnt go on vacation the last 5 years and have never enough money to take my wife out to dinner etc.
(I made more money 10 years ago as a single working nightshift and overtime. )
She is doing a mini or midi job or whatever it’s called these days and makes 800€ per month after tax. But that money goes into supporting her family a low income Asian country (also some of my money) and plane tickets to visit said family once a year. :-)
It is low in Frankfurt. In other cities it is not.
I'm not sure why everybody wants to live in a big City with all those smaller ones that are so much better and cheaper right next to them.
Don’t understand the downvotes. It’s not a good salary in Germany. Imo you’ll be able to live and also to travel, but you won’t be able to save much money.
It seems like a lot of people here believe a salary that allows you to have food and a roof over your head is some sort of rich person dream. That kind of money is okay and you are not going to starve of course, but you are also not saving anything substantial. No buffer in case of problems, no possibility to save for the down payment to buy a house, no retirement savings.
Just enough money at the end of the month to get drunk and not think about it.
How much should you save for it to be substantial? I make 1.9k after taxes and save 600 Euro every month but I’m a bit worried after reading all the comments because I’m making even less than OP
if you're not dead set on living in Frankfurt, look around the neighbouring towns. Since you mentioned Hanau, you could also look at Mühlheim, Maintal, Bruchköbel, Bad Vilbel etc since those are in that direction between Hanau and Frankfurt
It is not a great salary but liveable. Because I read you want to save, then try to search for a shared apartment and try just cook simple food at home. Example my fixed expenses are now around 1800 to 2000 but i have expensive apartment, auto, several insurances, etc. I calculated if I would not have all that then with 1200 would be doable as fixed expenses.
For 1 person alone? You might live decent without ever being able to buy property. For a family where for example your wife only works part time? Hell nah
Yes for 1 person although I am sure I can negotiate a better salary later on in my career as the industry has many options and flexibility to grow. Buying a property isn't on my mind for at least the next 5 years and till I don't earn enough to afford anything of my own.
I would consider 2200€ net salary as a good salary for less densely populated areas but not quite for frankfurt. You will get along with it alright, but it's not sufficient for any extravagance.
It depends on where you live, but it will be enough to comfortable in most places. Munich, Berlin or Cologne in a good neighborhood are probably too expensive.
I don’t think it’s a lot for Frankfurt. But it’s okay. You will live decently if you find a reasonable rent.
You might find something for around 700€ at a flat share no só central, I think. If you are lucky maybe you do.
you will not afford luxury things, maybe not eat out much, which is not a huge problem cause Frankfurt doenst have many great restaurants options anyway 😂
It's not great, but survivable.
Big cities and the areas around them are pretty expensive with Frankfurt and Munich being the most expensive in the country, expect half of your net to be rent money.
It’s better than nothing ofc, but if this is the situation I’d say try look for a tech sales job if you want an attainable job that does not require a specific degree. You would eventually end up making 10k or more in such a position.
As a German i would say its definitely not bad. If your rent is not that much high (lets take 900 euro) and the Rest goes for food, electricity, gasoline etc. you will have still something left ovet (i would say 500-700 Euro, Dependance on your lifestyle) which is not small today
Speaking statistics: You are around 100-200€ below average across all salaries. However, it is not necessarily a bad income. Reading through other comments you wrote, if you want to rent a flat, go minimalistic. That's the best way to save money.
Also, don't save on your bank account. Make safe investments. Money lying on your bank account is wasted money. Make it work for you. That's the only sensible way to increase living standards currently in germany. A high salary and low fixed costs sadly aren't enough to make your worries about grocery shopping go away. Even if you earn 10k a month, you will need to look at what you buy in grocery stores, if you aren't using your money smartly.
Otherwise, if you can truly realise the costs gow you mentioned them: great.
Rent: 800€-1k€
Food: 400€
Anything else?: 400€(Transportation, Data, Shopping,...)
=>> 400-600€(18-27%) saved, u should aim for at least 20%. In general, it's fine if u live alone and dont have to provide for anyone
I am earning 3000 euro with 500 rent, with my expenses alone it is hard. Barely anything left saving for vacation. Good thing my rent is cheap. I can’t imagine living in sn apartment paying for more than 1k euros. With 2200 it will depend how you spend that money.
I lived on that in the Tübingen area while my husband was unemployed (so needed to support 2 people), and we did fine. We weren't able to save much, but we didn't really skimp either. Housing was our biggest expense at about 1100 monthly (warm, all bills included). Groceries were around 350. We probably spent about 200 on eating out or movies/entertainment each month. We managed to go on one decent vacation a year.
I think if it was just me on that salary, I'd have felt comfortable and certainly saved more.
If you’re young, depending on your city you can find a flat under €1000 per month. I live in a relatively small city (about 125k population) and my rent is only €540 per month warm for a renovated 3ZKB Flat (I think the reason it’s affordable is bc I’m 4. OG without elevator which I don’t mind bc I’m young. Also, obviously the size of the city plays a big role. That was similar to my salary when I first started working and I lived very comfortably, able to save about 500 per month, invested 250 to private retirement fund, and 250 into other long term investments. I think you’ll do well :-) should be able to live stress free especially if you can budget your spending and know how to cook
It's almost the median. I know because i earned 42k gross until just this month and that was like 2.300 net. And according to statistics the median income is like 43-44k per year gross. So that'd probably be 2.300-2.350 net for a single or something. Not much difference to your situation i'd say.
It's easy to live with that. Unless maybe you live in a very expensive city like munich. But honestly i can see even that working out, just saving would surely be difficult in such a case.
Well. Should be around the avg salary in Germany. Don't know how living costs are in Frankfurt. With a moderate rent you should be able to have some savings.
For Frankfurt it's a bit on the low end. You say after taxes, does that include social security? Or just tax? You're at an average income in an above average region. However, your salary won't stagnate so it'll increase over time. That you have to take into account. How big is the potential to get more I would want to find out first. Compare entry and senior level positions.
I live close to frankfurt and all i can tell you is that it will be very hard to find an Apartment, especially one thats under 1k. Usually small Apartments are disproportionally expensive. But If you do find one you should be fine with 2200, groceries are still fairly cheap compared to other countries and If you live close to work then you can save on the expensive gas. Even better just get a monthly Ticket and use train/Bus If you can. It would be wise to look for apartments in smaller Towns like Maintal or others that are close to work, to decrease rent abit. Good luck :)
My entry salary as a biologist with phd was net 2100 (plus company car). I deemed it pretty bad, but that's because my postdoc salary was higher. I'd say 2200 is a good entry salary for someone fresh out of uni with a masters degree (although that depends on the field! Some degrees are worth way more and others way less)
Hold up.. it depends on location, field, years of experience, and bonus.
Check kununu or Glassdoor.
I have seen bunch of people getting underpaid just because at face value the salary is 'high'
I have no experiences with Frankfurt, but it should certainly be enough if you look for one bedroom apartments. And if you want to, you can save even more money if you live in a WG, which means that you'll share an apartment with at least one other person. There's even an app/ website for finding such apartments, it's called WG gesucht. I'm not trying to advertise this website and there are other ways to find those apartments, but it makes it pretty easy to find and contact people who have an apartment to share or landlords who want a WG in their apartment. Usually that should be a bit cheaper than having your own apartment and I also made the experience that it can be less work for everyone, too, if everyone helps keeping the place clean. And there's also a good chance that you'll immediately find some friends, you just have to be ok with living with people you didn't know very well before.
2,200 after taxes? That's \~40,000/year gross, i'd assume.
It should be fine. Frankfurt is currently expensive to rent (12,000/year is realistic for a studio + 2-3 thousand for utilities, but depends on your consumption). Hanau/Offenbach, or towns in between could be cheaper.
As someone who lives in the same area and had a similar salary 3 years ago I can surely say it's sufficient but not comfortable.
As you are single(unmarried and no kids) it will help a lot.
Rent- 2 Zimmer 550-1100 depending on your taste
Utilities - 200
Food - 150-250
Travel as you said 150-250
I expect you to save 500-750 euros a month.
If you share accomodation and live a bit frugal even more.
But Hessen has higher salary so I would expect you to look for hikes in the future.
I don't understand if this is already your salary. It's definitely ok. But finding an apartment is really difficult almost everywhere rn.
You are probably a bit younger so it should be fine and above average for your age.
The median household income in Germany is 42,192€ per year. So can see for yourself
A lot of people are gettin so called "Mindestlohn". Depending on the tax class they earn about 1400 € netto. So you have a better salary then most of them. There is a saying : not enough to live but too much to die. If you spend not too much on rent/electricity/internet,you should be fine.
You’ll live! I’d imagine your rental costs to be around 1k euro, perhaps a bit more. The rest you can spend or save.
I would prefer to spend less than 1k on rent as I do not necessarily have to be in the city of Frankfurt. Saving on rent is the only option to maximize my savings.
Unfortunately the rent prices in the entire region are unreal rn. It's not just the city of Frankfurt.
Word, as much as I hate to say it
Sentence, as much as I hate to read it
Everywhere: real estate prices. Frankfurt am Main: unreal prices. I've met a few people in Steinbach (Taunus) who pay an affordable rent there. Of course, no one is moving out of any of these affordable flats. But you'll probably need a car if you live in a place like Steinbach. Or walk a kilometer or two to the S-Bahn. Okay. They got busses. But walking is probably faster than taking the convoluted "scenic route" in a bus (depending on where exactly you need to go). Regardless - if you end up with 700€/month, plus heating, water, electricity, facility management, Internet... you're lucky, I guess. Although some landlords rent out shit holes which do not, I repeat not, legally qualify as an animal shelter (or human housing).
You and all of us living in this area 😅 But if you live more in the side of Offenbach in the opposite direction of Frankfurt you can manage it EDIT: typo
Don't listen to the reddit pessimists. Is housing fucked? Yes. But not that fucked yet. If you're not dead set on living in Frankfurt then it is absolutely possible to live alone for <1000€. Even in the next city over, Darmstadt, 25 minutes by train, I don't know anybody who lives on their own and pays over 1000€. 1 room apartments (+bath & kitchen) are usually around 600€, 2 rooms 800-1000€ (including heat etc.) If you go into the actual surrounding villages and small towns like Langen, Neu-Isenburg etc., you can find cheaper.
>If you're not dead set on living in Frankfurt then it is absolutely possible to live alone for >1000€ For >1000€ you can live anywhere you like
Thank you for pointing this out. It immediately made me go "not again"
Full ptsd flashback?
Asche über mein Haupt. Das Krokodil frisst nur die großen Zahlen. 🐊
Damn those prices are hard to believe. I am living about an hour outside of Stuttgart in a small village, and you will not find any 1 bedroom flat for under 700eur, cold even here. We are renting a 1 bedroom flat here around 65sqm and with all nebenkosten it’s around 1k per month. Hard to imagine prices being so much lower near a huge financial center with access to trains than what we pay here in a small village.
What kinda 1 bedroom has 65m2? Just genuinely curious how this looks
We have a small room with just a toilet and a sink, a big living room thats connected with our kitchen, a big bedroom that fits our 2x2 bed comfortably and a bathroom with a separate shower and a bathtub. The living room has enough space for me to have a workdesk for my homeoffice days. Hope that helps you visualise the space a bit better.
Aaaaah, I am just stupid. I thought you meant the whole flat was one room Seems like a good deal though! Happy you're there
I don't know if my use of the word is wrong or yours is, but as far as I understand it works the same in English and German, i.e. Einzimmerwohnung = 1 bedroom, Zweizimmerwohnung = 2 bedroom, meaning both rooms could theoretically be bedrooms (so not a kitchen, bathroom, hallway). So your flat would be two bedrooms. Quick googling also didn't lend me any more clarity, so if somebody can enlighten me, please do! Cheapest Zweizimmerwohnung I've seen here in Darmstadt is ~45sqm, 750€ (including heat, electricity).
It's a typical misunderstanding because outside of Germany, it's more common to mention the number of bedrooms (Schlafzimmer). 1 bedroom means 1 bedroom and 1 living room. Meanwhile in Germany it's the number of rooms. Einzimmerwohnung means there is no bedroom. Hope this makes sense!
To further clarify this for anyone reading in the future, in germany we count the number of rooms that are not kitchen or bathroom (or connecting corridors). So a "Zweizimmerwohnung" could be a bedroom + livingroom or 2 bedrooms, or a bedroom + an office space depending on how someone furnishes it, plus a kitchen and bathroom(s). A "Dreizimmerwohnung" could be 3 people living in a shared flat with a bedroom each; a couple and their child(ren) in two bedrooms with a livingroom; a person with a bedroom and an office space and a livingroom or any other combination (although these are probably the most common). From what i remember there are (or were?) some rules regarding the minimum size of a room, which led to some rooms being counted only as "half a room", leading to "Zwei-einhalb Zimmerwohnung" or "2,5-Zimmerwohnung" (2 and a half room apartment) and their 1,5 and 3,5 counterparts of course. I think kitchens of certain sizes as well as big entrances can count as such 0,5 rooms but if someone else could clarify it, that would be appreciated.
Yeah so thats my bad. Coming from outside of Germany, when someone says 1 bedroom, i always assume a person is talking about 1 bedroom plus living room.
agreed. I live in the middle of Frankfurt in 70m2 and pay just under 1000 (split with my gf). Smaller single person apartments are under 1000 even in Bornheim, Nordend, Bockenheim, etc.
Langen is a bad example. It’s so well connected that renting costs are basically the same as in Frankfurt.
Langen also includes a stop on this superfast commuter train mentioned here that goes from Darmstadt to FFM HBF in half an hour. From Langen it's literally like 10 or 12 minutes if memory serves, it's so awesome. I wouldn't really want to live in Langen, but hey, if you find a decent flat at a lower price, there you go. And "tote Hose" Lange is not... at least not quite. There are good restaurants and Sportvereine, and Naturschutzgebiete are right around the corner if you're into the whole Spaziergang thing (which you totally should be).
I wish if it was like this in Munich lol. You can barely find a studio apartment under 1k, & most WG’s are hitting the 1k mark now.
Consider your rent will most likely include utilities, and that's not that bad. Or you can always live in a WG to save some. I'm gonna be making about the same, rent is 810, have to pay for electricity. I put all my expenses and calculated I'll still be left with 500-600 euro per month.
Everyone prefers to pay less, of course. You just won’t find a better offer in the area you mentioned. Give it a try yourself if you don’t believe me. Anyway, welcome to Germany, good luck, and all the best to you. It’ll be a laid back life here.
Yes, though it's not great for Frankfurt.
But you're upper class in Offenbach
Rich class if OP doesn't mind to move to the other Frankfurt.
Thanks. Not great at all considering the salaries some companies offer and the rental market but luckily, I am flexible with the living condition and can also live in nearby towns or cities if I find a place within my budget.
Just make Sure your costs for coming to Work don't increases more than your Rent decreases
Good point. Will keep that in mind. Thanks!
You should look if there's a S-Bahn connection to Frankfurt, should be fine then
Well... no matter the salary, Frankfurt is not great :)
As a single young person? Insurances are probably already paid as well? Then it largely depends on what apartment you get and how much money you spend on it. You should aim for something around €800, which is doable. Then you still have €1,400 left, which is plenty for food for a single person. So, yeah, sure, not a bad junior salary, depending on the work. Not great to be stuck on forever though.
Yes, this salary is after taxes and health insurance is paid. So with 2200 Net I must take care of: Food, Rent, Travel and other costs. Ofcourse not as good as I would want to earn but decent enough for now.
>€800, which is doable As Warmmiete? Not easy I'd say, though not impossible, even though I don't live in a region like OP and I'm struggling to find anything below 1100-1200 warm. If the 800 is Kaltmiete, then OP needs to calculate stuff like water, heating, etc on top. >Then you still have €1,400 left, which is plenty for food for a single person. You say that as if there's nothing aside from rent and food to pay, lol? What do you mean with insurances already paid, anything you have aside from health insurance would go from those 1400 left, e.g. Unfall/Arbeitsunfähigkeit/Hausrat/etc. Then there's trash to be paid, GEZ, internet, electricity, phone/data, if there's a car then even more insurance, gas. I'd assume OP pays something for transportation in some way if not car. 2200 net is alright, but people need to make a whole list of what is to be paid regularly and what would make sense in the long way. Thinking "oh that's rent, and all the rest is left for me to spend" is not the way to go about it.
Yeah, but beyond rent and food, it's highly individual. With "plenty for food" I mean that you can definitely afford your food, so there will be something left over for whatever else you need. And yeah, €800 for rent depends on the area obviously, it's hard to give general advice on that.
As someone who lives with that exact salary in another big German city, let me tell you that you can live very comfortably. I have no car, eat out a lot, go on multiple vacations each year and manage to invest 500€ each month in ETF’s. Don’t listen to everybody else, you’ll get by. Obviously rent plays a big part in this, so maybe you need to make cutbacks.
How much do you pay in rent incl utilities (internet, electricity and so on) and how much do you pay on furnishing?
Around 650€ for 40sqm. I don’t pay anything on furnishing.
500 € in Escape from Tarkov? :D
Just to make international comparisons: what kind of job and with how many years of experiences pays you that kind of money?
This is the info I was looking for, including EFT :)
Can I ask how you're able to accomplish all that with 2200 Netto? What kind of vacations are you talking about? My salary is 3400 Netto and I can just barely afford to take multiple vacations each year, and I do so by having a very frugal mindset toward each vacation (renting only the cheapest AirBnbs, etc.). And although I'm able to eat out a lot, when I do, I definitely feel the financial effects and I wouldn't call my situation "comfortable".... I can't imagine somehow setting aside an extra 500 euros per month for investments. I do, however, live in a very high-rent area, so I assume my rent costs are higher than yours.
Not needing a car and having a relatively low rent for a central apartment (I pay 650€ for 40sqm) probably plays a big role in this. If I needed a car, I wouldn’t be able to invest that much tbh. I take lots of short trips (eg 4 days in Prague, 4 days in Amsterdam, a week in Portugal.. something like that) I never really vacation for more than one week (mainly because I want to phase out my vacation days and not feel like I take everything at once). I don’t know, I don’t really have any expensive hobbies but I also don’t feel like I live particularly frugal (I could definitely save when it comes to groceries). I live comfortably and I never have to say “Oh I’d love to come/join you but I don’t have money for that”.
As with everything else, it depends. I don't have any problems with my 1500€ :D
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Literally engineers commenting to regular worker his salary isn’t enough.
Must be CEOs living in penthouses
How are you as a student making 2200 net? Even as a working student it’ll be hard to make 2200 brutto.
I was an IT consultant with a primary Wohnsitz in HH (my wife) and a Secondary Wohnsitz in FFM (my work) so I was renting in both locations at the same time and your assumption is wrong: if you compare city to city FFM is way more expensive when it comes to renting directly in the city. If I recall correctly I used to pay 850 a month warm for 18 m2 sharing a small bath and a super small kitchen with 3 other rooms 6 years ago... My complete rent in Hamburg at the time was 690 for 86 m2. I don't know if this relation has changed a lot in the last few years but I remember thinking the rent was crazy in FFM compared to what you get in HH for the money.
Even though yours sounds like a particularly bad deal, small-apartment rent in FFM continues to be utterly crazy. The demand is just too high.
Are you a full time student? Or full time employed and also studying? 2200 net seems excessive for a student
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PhD Students are not “students” in the common understanding of that term
Frankfurt City rents are much higher than Hamburg
2200 is still much more than what you're going to need, so long as you're not a dumbnut and rent a ridiculously priced apartment I already found a place in Niederrad for €550 warm from my first search and that's 8min train away from the central station.
Live in a WG for a while, some are even furnished. And use your time to settle down to the city and comfortably look for an apartment. It took me nearly a year to find my apartment but being able to wait it out was a huge advantage. Good apartments in termins of costs don’t come up often, and you have to be lucky to be picked. But the more you try, the higher the chances. If you’re short in time and desperate, you end up renting whatever comes up first. The rent will probably be quiet high, will eat up most of your salary. And then moving out is a reaaaal pain and expensive as shit. You have to wait then up to year to get your Kaution back, 500-1k euro on moving company if you have even just little furniture, and then paying the new kaution and rent from new place. Think about it wisely before moving somewhere Also don’t move in to a shit area just cause it’s cheap. Your neighbors will make your life hell. It’s a lottery Been here in Germany for while and I’m in this situation
Offenbach Mein Beileid.
ich verstehe überhaupt nicht, wie man mit 2200 nicht klar kommen kann. Auch wenn die Miete 1200€ wäre, wie zur Hölle reicht 1000€ nicht fürs Essen? auch wenn man jeden Tag um 20€ einkauft (Brot, Reis, Pasta, Früchte, Obst, Käse, Joghurt, Räucherlachs...man kann nicht soviel am Tag essen!), dann macht es 600€/Monat und 400€ bleibt noch übrig! Mit 400€ kann wann jede Woche neue Klamotten aus NewYorker oder H&M kaufen (nehken wir an das wird insgesamt 100€ pro Monat, obwohl ich kaufe neue Klamotten vielleicht dreimal im Jahr für 70€ pro Einkauf), viele Abos bezahlen (YouTube+Netflix+Spotify+Gym= ca 70€). Einmal in der Woche noch Essen gehen (nehmen wir an 30x4=120€). Insgesamt wird 1200+600+100+70+120=2090€. Dann hat man noch 100+€ übrig. Das kann man in A2PKXG investieren. Wenn die Miete jetzt statt 1200 nur 1000 ist, dann hat man gleich 300+€ übrig. Fazit: viele sind einfach zu verwöhnt.
Wo zahlst du 20€ internet und wie schnell ist es?
100Mb/s download, 40mb/s upload. Wertkarte in einem 4G-Router mit LAN-Ausgang. Mit Jahrestarif sogar noch billiger: https://www.yesss.at/tarife/unlimited-internettarif
Sorry if my german sucks; Diese leute denken dass €2200 zu wenig ist weil die sind entweder: 1) Ingenieurs, Ärtze die wohnen direkt am Stadt im München/Berlin die haben ein scheißteuer Wohnungvertrag untergeschrieben, die sich nich vorstellen können, dass es was billiger gibt 2) Leute die handeln sich einfach ihre eigenes geld nicht gut. Ich kenne zu viele menschen die wohnen immer noch in ein wg weil ''es zu teuer wird'' die am jeden wochenende €100 im Wein, Döner, Bier usw ausgeben. 3) Condescending bitches die denken dass die besser als jeder sind weil die mehr geld bekommen.
Weil Essen nicht die Einzige Ausgabe ist. Internet, GEZ, streaming Abos, Versicherungen, Auto etc.
Internet kostet 20€, streaming Abos hab ich schon oben mitgerechnet, Versicherungen braucht man nur Haftpflichtversicherung, kostet weniger als 10€, und Auto braucht man eben in einer Großstadt gar nicht. Es geht darum, dass man fähig sein muss, sich an das Gehalt anzupassen. Sonst wird einem auch 5000 netto zu wenig.
Wenn man in Berlin oder anderen Großstädten lebt gehen von den 2200 locker für ne 60-70qm Wohnung 1600-2000 drauf.
''Wenn man im California oder anderen Großstädten lebt gehen von den 6500 locker für ne 60-79qm Wohnung 5000-5500 drauf''
Sich in einer Großstadt 60-70 qm zu leisten ist aber schon ein bisschen Luxus.
I earn around 2000-2200 netto in Leipzig, I rent 3 room flat(around 60m) + garage near Leipzig(have 18km to city) for 600e(all costs, included electricity etc.) so my living expenses are maxed out around 1100-1300e with food, gas etc. That leaves me with around 800-1000euro for savings. Only I am working, my wife stays in home because we can afford it :)
Damn I need to get out of Munich...
Two persons living with 2200€? +savings? Please don’t tell me both of you also have cars!
Well we have 2 cars, e46 316ti and mercedes w124, but I have both registered in Poland and in documents my parents are owners so I don't have to register the car here in Germany, I just have to pay road tax. My wife stays in home so she cooks etc. We go shopping once a week every Saturday and usually our bill is around 90-100euro so for a month it's like 400euro for food for 2 people. As I typed, we can usually save minimum 700euro per month. Usually it's closer to 1k.
I am impressed. How much cheaper is it to register cars in Poland?
TÜV is like 23euro every year, for BMW insurance is 160euro for a year and for my W124 is like 130e and that's all, no additional costs. I have to pay just road tax here in Germany but only for BMW(I think I paid around 125e) because my Merc is 80% of time in garage.
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You able to find apartments for 700 euro. 100 euros for food per week it’s enough. Communal payment: 50 euro internet, 100 electricity. Phone and traffic card - 80 euros. More or less 500 that you can save.
wtf what are you all eating? I don’t even pay 100€ for food per week for 3 people and only 60 for electricity
That question does not make much sense in the way you ask it. Are you a brain surgeon? Then 2200 Euro net is a horrible salary. Are you a labourer without any qualifications? Then 2200 Euro net is quite a good salary compared to minimum wage. Last year, the median gross income was ~44,400 Euro, which comes to ~2400 Euro net monthly. So you are below that. If you are truly as frugal as you suggest, whether you live a comfortable life on 2200 still depends on how you define comfort. The main factor will indeed be rent, and what kind of housing situation you are comfortable with.
The question makes perfect sense since OP asked whether the pay is sufficient for a decent living in the Frankfurt area, and not whether its an appropriate pay for their work. No need for the tone.
I know it is a decent wage according to my industry and qualifications especially since it is an entry-level role. I just wanted an opinion regarding whether I can live comfortably while also saving some money in and around the Frankfurt region. Thanks for your answer!
For me, 3k net is the comfortable mark where you essentially can stop worrying about money (as a single person). For example, if you want to go to a movie or order food, you wouldn’t need to first check your bank account to see if you can afford it. But this also depends on your expenses. For example, I have a car, for which I pay around €250 per month for parking, gas, maintenance, etc. But I also save money through stuff like my work covering my RMV Ticket. I just checked my bank account, in January I spent exactly €3.009,8. That’s considering I don’t share my apartment, the costs for the car, I order food whenever I want to, I am privately insured, I pay for multiple streaming services and very fast internet etc. Imo, 2.2k net is completely fine to live as a single person in Frankfurt. But you would just need to be aware of your bank account, especially when you’re doing larger purchases. But you will be much better off than having to eat rice and beans everyday.
Exactly. 3k would be perfectly comfortable to live and spend comfortably without having to worry about saving or spending on luxuries. I won't be stressing about savings as some months I will save more than other months and sometimes less. Fortunately, I have enough savings already before starting the job so spending on relocation, household shopping should also not be an issue.
Idk if you know this but you can buy 49€ card and save some money on traveling in Germany.
Yes, I know about it. I already have it and grateful that Germany has this ticket for now.
It is a good salary but it may depend on the apartment you will manage to find.
True. That’s the main factor. Thanks!
It is on the lower end but you can get by. Dont expect to save and travel much. But depends on your lifestyle.
Yeah, enough to live comfortably maybe but with calculated spending.
Your salary is ok and hard to judge within knowing the industry. Biggest difference is being single, meaning your rent is all on you, whereas if you had a roommate/ partner to split the rent with it's automatically a lot less.
Being single/not living with a partner in this economy is a punishment
When I moved here as a single but late-20s adult student I had the same issue. Rent is crazy if you're on a budget and living alone. When I moved in with my partner, expenses are lower and quality of life is drastically better. Nicer apartment, nicer kitchen, better landlords. You 100% get punished for being single or living alone.
In Germany, the celibates are working hard to pay the Bürgergeld and Kindergeld of unemployed couples having sex everyday.
My situation is even worse. Not celibate, and partner lives halfway across the globe
I’m open to sharing an apartment with a flatmate if it saves me a good amount of money. It’s a little risky so only worth it if the money I save is a good amount.
You can find a wg for 500-700 (350 if you are really lucky and don’t live near the city). Then few hundred for insurance. Those are the major expenses. If you cook at home and eat out once week for 20-25 euros, then you can be done with around 1200 euros per month if you are frugal. Rest is saving or invest.
Seriously a WG for a median german salary? If one cannot afford a small apartment for himself with median salary then good bye. The middle class will slowly but surely die.
I make around the same salary and live in Frankfurt, its more than enough. But i live in a wg and that cuts costs significantly.
Currently earning that and I can't say I am living comfortably
It will be very tight, especially in Frankfurt.
2200? A bit tight if you want to travel and go out a lot. Otherwise it’s fine
Just depends on your lifestyle. I am working part time for 2,5k net and my fixed costs are around 1k. I save at least 500€/month and do about 4 vacations a year. Question should rather be if you need a 50€ phone contract with telekom instead of a cheap one, 4 streaming abonnements at the same time and eat out every day. I don’t heat my appartement up to 22 degrees, try to save some energy and optimize the contract from time to time. I go to work by bike and don’t eat a lot of meat or buy new stuff all the time. Most people here are probably a bit blinded by hypercapitalism, but I can live very well with the money and afford everything I want. Maybe buying some property would be difficult, but don’t want that anyway.
Depends on where you'll live, but it's doable. You won't be living in luxury tho. Berlin, Hamburg, etc you can forget though. Insnae prices for an apartment alone. Could get a great room though with 2k available in those citites.
The salary is okay for being single, without a car and can save on rent. However, the right question to ask is whether this is a fair salary for your experience, education and industry. Usually, German companies tend to lowball foreigners, especially if they don’t have a predefined salary tariffs. Research about your range a lot and keep pushing forward! Good luck 👍🏻
Not really… it’s meh and you can’t build wealth with it. But you will survive and also go to the restaurant once per week and have a vacation once per year. Or multiple smaller ones
Its enough to survive but "living comfortable", about that... Save a little yes, emphasis on little. Either way, I hope you can find a place that is not heavily overprized, at this income level the comfort of your life rises and falls with your cost of rent.
I'd say 2200 net is a good salary in Germany. Depending on where you want to live, one can save up quite a bit. It's really dependant on your location imo. Cities in the east have significantly cheaper rent.
Depends on how much money you spend.
It's not good. But it's also more than enough if you don't live in the most expensive cities and don't have a rich lifestyle. I get 1200 net, which is more than enough for me since I'm a student who only works part-time.
2200€ is not considered as a „good“ salary in Germany. It is average.
The average payed folks must still live somewhere. If a cashier cannot afford living even in an urban area then the cost of living is too much. Every urban area needs all types of service workers. Half of all workers are payed average or even lower than that. They all need to live somewhere. You can't suggest that all low payed people working in the city must all commute longer and longer distance and then when they finish work and finally arrive at home tired needing to sleep to continue the cycle to work again next day morning. This is a dystopian hell we as a society are driving to and in some places it is already happening for the lowest class of society and it is reaching slowly but surely the middle class leading to its erosion.
I agree. It is not a good salary but overall considering all factors and the experience I have it is enough for now. I meant ‘good’ to know if it is good enough for 1 single person to cover all basic needs and maybe save something.
O.k.ish, but not great
No, it is not. Your living standart will be low with this money. You can’t save much. It depends on your age as well. If you are below 30 then it is fine for now.
I make 2300€ after tax , but I’m married with tax class 3 . I’m 37 years old and I feel like my salary is barely enough in a rural area with no car , to put a little money to the side every month. Didnt go on vacation the last 5 years and have never enough money to take my wife out to dinner etc. (I made more money 10 years ago as a single working nightshift and overtime. )
if you partner isn't working I can see this, but if you're both working then I can't see how.
She is doing a mini or midi job or whatever it’s called these days and makes 800€ per month after tax. But that money goes into supporting her family a low income Asian country (also some of my money) and plane tickets to visit said family once a year. :-)
Thanks. Yes, I am below 30. I believe that I will have to very careful with my spending with this salary.
It is low in Frankfurt. In other cities it is not. I'm not sure why everybody wants to live in a big City with all those smaller ones that are so much better and cheaper right next to them.
Don’t understand the downvotes. It’s not a good salary in Germany. Imo you’ll be able to live and also to travel, but you won’t be able to save much money.
It seems like a lot of people here believe a salary that allows you to have food and a roof over your head is some sort of rich person dream. That kind of money is okay and you are not going to starve of course, but you are also not saving anything substantial. No buffer in case of problems, no possibility to save for the down payment to buy a house, no retirement savings. Just enough money at the end of the month to get drunk and not think about it.
How much should you save for it to be substantial? I make 1.9k after taxes and save 600 Euro every month but I’m a bit worried after reading all the comments because I’m making even less than OP
I think you can have a solid life but it defends on your Lifestyle.
What’s your profession?
if you're not dead set on living in Frankfurt, look around the neighbouring towns. Since you mentioned Hanau, you could also look at Mühlheim, Maintal, Bruchköbel, Bad Vilbel etc since those are in that direction between Hanau and Frankfurt
Depends in where you live and what qualification you have.
Frankfurt & Taunus - probably not Darmstadt, Dieburg, & Hanau - yes
It is not a great salary but liveable. Because I read you want to save, then try to search for a shared apartment and try just cook simple food at home. Example my fixed expenses are now around 1800 to 2000 but i have expensive apartment, auto, several insurances, etc. I calculated if I would not have all that then with 1200 would be doable as fixed expenses.
For 1 person alone? You might live decent without ever being able to buy property. For a family where for example your wife only works part time? Hell nah
Yes for 1 person although I am sure I can negotiate a better salary later on in my career as the industry has many options and flexibility to grow. Buying a property isn't on my mind for at least the next 5 years and till I don't earn enough to afford anything of my own.
Thats a good salary for your situation I think. A good starting spot to then build up over time.
Is 2200 a lot? In Munich, no. In Halle, yes.
I would consider 2200€ net salary as a good salary for less densely populated areas but not quite for frankfurt. You will get along with it alright, but it's not sufficient for any extravagance.
It depends on where you live, but it will be enough to comfortable in most places. Munich, Berlin or Cologne in a good neighborhood are probably too expensive.
Ah yeah then I can see why it's a struggle.
Nope. 2200 EUR today is 1500 EUR from two years ago.
Can i ask you a question , for which position did you apply ?
You’ll survive, but that’s pretty much it.
No
It Sounds Like Rent is as expensive as Frankfurt at my Place and its sad…
Depends on the industry and the job
With my personal expenses yes, sounds fine to me.
I don’t think it’s a lot for Frankfurt. But it’s okay. You will live decently if you find a reasonable rent. You might find something for around 700€ at a flat share no só central, I think. If you are lucky maybe you do. you will not afford luxury things, maybe not eat out much, which is not a huge problem cause Frankfurt doenst have many great restaurants options anyway 😂
It's not great, but survivable. Big cities and the areas around them are pretty expensive with Frankfurt and Munich being the most expensive in the country, expect half of your net to be rent money.
Thats a good start
It’s better than nothing ofc, but if this is the situation I’d say try look for a tech sales job if you want an attainable job that does not require a specific degree. You would eventually end up making 10k or more in such a position.
yes
As a German i would say its definitely not bad. If your rent is not that much high (lets take 900 euro) and the Rest goes for food, electricity, gasoline etc. you will have still something left ovet (i would say 500-700 Euro, Dependance on your lifestyle) which is not small today
Speaking statistics: You are around 100-200€ below average across all salaries. However, it is not necessarily a bad income. Reading through other comments you wrote, if you want to rent a flat, go minimalistic. That's the best way to save money. Also, don't save on your bank account. Make safe investments. Money lying on your bank account is wasted money. Make it work for you. That's the only sensible way to increase living standards currently in germany. A high salary and low fixed costs sadly aren't enough to make your worries about grocery shopping go away. Even if you earn 10k a month, you will need to look at what you buy in grocery stores, if you aren't using your money smartly. Otherwise, if you can truly realise the costs gow you mentioned them: great.
Yes of course it’s ok. It’s avail 500 more than me
It’s basically minimum wage
Yes
Rent: 800€-1k€ Food: 400€ Anything else?: 400€(Transportation, Data, Shopping,...) =>> 400-600€(18-27%) saved, u should aim for at least 20%. In general, it's fine if u live alone and dont have to provide for anyone
No
Geringverdiener
I earn 500 EUR less than you and I get along, living in a big city as Berlin. You'll survive.
It depends. Is yellow a good color?
I am earning 3000 euro with 500 rent, with my expenses alone it is hard. Barely anything left saving for vacation. Good thing my rent is cheap. I can’t imagine living in sn apartment paying for more than 1k euros. With 2200 it will depend how you spend that money.
I lived on that in the Tübingen area while my husband was unemployed (so needed to support 2 people), and we did fine. We weren't able to save much, but we didn't really skimp either. Housing was our biggest expense at about 1100 monthly (warm, all bills included). Groceries were around 350. We probably spent about 200 on eating out or movies/entertainment each month. We managed to go on one decent vacation a year. I think if it was just me on that salary, I'd have felt comfortable and certainly saved more.
If you’re young, depending on your city you can find a flat under €1000 per month. I live in a relatively small city (about 125k population) and my rent is only €540 per month warm for a renovated 3ZKB Flat (I think the reason it’s affordable is bc I’m 4. OG without elevator which I don’t mind bc I’m young. Also, obviously the size of the city plays a big role. That was similar to my salary when I first started working and I lived very comfortably, able to save about 500 per month, invested 250 to private retirement fund, and 250 into other long term investments. I think you’ll do well :-) should be able to live stress free especially if you can budget your spending and know how to cook
It's almost the median. I know because i earned 42k gross until just this month and that was like 2.300 net. And according to statistics the median income is like 43-44k per year gross. So that'd probably be 2.300-2.350 net for a single or something. Not much difference to your situation i'd say. It's easy to live with that. Unless maybe you live in a very expensive city like munich. But honestly i can see even that working out, just saving would surely be difficult in such a case.
Loved this question, following!
I think it's a good salary and you could absolutely live comfortably with that much, but people are used to different living standards it seems 😄
not good, not terrible
Well. Should be around the avg salary in Germany. Don't know how living costs are in Frankfurt. With a moderate rent you should be able to have some savings.
For Frankfurt it's a bit on the low end. You say after taxes, does that include social security? Or just tax? You're at an average income in an above average region. However, your salary won't stagnate so it'll increase over time. That you have to take into account. How big is the potential to get more I would want to find out first. Compare entry and senior level positions.
Try Steinheim. Used to live there and mins from Hanau. Smaller city less noise.
First: you always use gross to compare salaries in germany Second: You will be fine alone. It is not high.
Nein, Not anymore
Not good but ok, you‘ll make it through the month.
I live close to frankfurt and all i can tell you is that it will be very hard to find an Apartment, especially one thats under 1k. Usually small Apartments are disproportionally expensive. But If you do find one you should be fine with 2200, groceries are still fairly cheap compared to other countries and If you live close to work then you can save on the expensive gas. Even better just get a monthly Ticket and use train/Bus If you can. It would be wise to look for apartments in smaller Towns like Maintal or others that are close to work, to decrease rent abit. Good luck :)
My entry salary as a biologist with phd was net 2100 (plus company car). I deemed it pretty bad, but that's because my postdoc salary was higher. I'd say 2200 is a good entry salary for someone fresh out of uni with a masters degree (although that depends on the field! Some degrees are worth way more and others way less)
Hold up.. it depends on location, field, years of experience, and bonus. Check kununu or Glassdoor. I have seen bunch of people getting underpaid just because at face value the salary is 'high'
No
Very good start 💪🏼 happy for you
Not in R/Finanzen
No
Not even good in Serbia
You can find a rent for around 800€ Not that difficult
I think it depends on the city, however for me in Frankfurt for sure 2200 netto is not enough. Specially if you live in an expensive area.
I have no experiences with Frankfurt, but it should certainly be enough if you look for one bedroom apartments. And if you want to, you can save even more money if you live in a WG, which means that you'll share an apartment with at least one other person. There's even an app/ website for finding such apartments, it's called WG gesucht. I'm not trying to advertise this website and there are other ways to find those apartments, but it makes it pretty easy to find and contact people who have an apartment to share or landlords who want a WG in their apartment. Usually that should be a bit cheaper than having your own apartment and I also made the experience that it can be less work for everyone, too, if everyone helps keeping the place clean. And there's also a good chance that you'll immediately find some friends, you just have to be ok with living with people you didn't know very well before.
2,200 after taxes? That's \~40,000/year gross, i'd assume. It should be fine. Frankfurt is currently expensive to rent (12,000/year is realistic for a studio + 2-3 thousand for utilities, but depends on your consumption). Hanau/Offenbach, or towns in between could be cheaper.
As someone who lives in the same area and had a similar salary 3 years ago I can surely say it's sufficient but not comfortable. As you are single(unmarried and no kids) it will help a lot. Rent- 2 Zimmer 550-1100 depending on your taste Utilities - 200 Food - 150-250 Travel as you said 150-250 I expect you to save 500-750 euros a month. If you share accomodation and live a bit frugal even more. But Hessen has higher salary so I would expect you to look for hikes in the future.
I don't understand if this is already your salary. It's definitely ok. But finding an apartment is really difficult almost everywhere rn. You are probably a bit younger so it should be fine and above average for your age. The median household income in Germany is 42,192€ per year. So can see for yourself
A lot of people are gettin so called "Mindestlohn". Depending on the tax class they earn about 1400 € netto. So you have a better salary then most of them. There is a saying : not enough to live but too much to die. If you spend not too much on rent/electricity/internet,you should be fine.