# Studying in Köln (Cologne) or Jena as an international student



## gap408 (Mar 12, 2016)

Hi~ all. lane:

I am a research scientist from South Korea and I have a plan to study for my Ph.D in Cologne or Jena in this autumn. I am wondering what the life in those cities would be like. Could you give me any advices or opinions for me?

Here are my questions and any other advices is welcome.

1. How much is the average living cost of the cities? To save religion tax, do I need to declare I am a atheist?

2. Do they have a efficient public transportation system or do I need a car? My daily excursion would be from home to school, institute, mart, or gym. How much additional cost do I have to pay if I own a car (cheap used car)?

3. I really like playing tennis, and I want to join a tennis club. By the way, is tennis a popular sports in Germany? Speaking of Germany, soccer comes across my mind at first. I want to play tennis on regular basis. How can I become a member of a tennis club? Are any armature tennis tournaments held in Germany?

4. extra questions) In Korea, the biggest issue now is the ‘Go’ game between a Korean ‘Go’ champion and a artificial intelligence “alphaGo” developed by Google. Go is a game which is mainly played in Korea, China and Japan over 5,000 years, and considered the most complicated games ever. Most of people in these countries predicted the man ‘Go’ champion would win the game easily. However the alphaGo won by 3:0 and many people here got shocked. Mass media expressed concerns about people losing their jobs in the close future, since artificial could replace men in a lot of working places. In the worst case scenario, someone is worrying that the future might be like the movie “Terminator.” In Germany, is it also a big issue?

Thank you for reading.

Cheers,
Kang


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## ALKB (Jan 20, 2012)

Hi~ all. lane:

I am a research scientist from South Korea and I have a plan to study for my Ph.D in Cologne or Jena in this autumn. I am wondering what the life in those cities would be like. Could you give me any advices or opinions for me?

Here are my questions and any other advices is welcome.

1. How much is the average living cost of the cities? To save religion tax, do I need to declare I am a atheist?
*You are only asked whether you are Roman Catholic or Lutheran, these are the two churches for which taxes are collected. Methodists, Hindus, Atheists, non-denominational Christians, Muslims, Buddhists, Jedi, etc. do not pay church tax.*

2. Do they have a efficient public transportation system or do I need a car? My daily excursion would be from home to school, institute, mart, or gym. How much additional cost do I have to pay if I own a car (cheap used car)? 
*Germany generally has excellent public transport, especially in bigger towns, cities. Personally, I wouldn't weigh myself down with a car unless I lived in a cottage in the woods.*

3. I really like playing tennis, and I want to join a tennis club. By the way, is tennis a popular sports in Germany? Speaking of Germany, soccer comes across my mind at first. I want to play tennis on regular basis. How can I become a member of a tennis club? Are any armature tennis tournaments held in Germany? 
*Tennis is quite popular, maybe not quite as much now as when Steffi Graf and Boris Becker were at the height of their careers but still very popular. Shouldn't be a problem to find a club.*

4. extra questions) In Korea, the biggest issue now is the ‘Go’ game between a Korean ‘Go’ champion and a artificial intelligence “alphaGo” developed by Google. Go is a game which is mainly played in Korea, China and Japan over 5,000 years, and considered the most complicated games ever. Most of people in these countries predicted the man ‘Go’ champion would win the game easily. However the alphaGo won by 3:0 and many people here got shocked. Mass media expressed concerns about people losing their jobs in the close future, since artificial could replace men in a lot of working places. In the worst case scenario, someone is worrying that the future might be like the movie “Terminator.” In Germany, is it also a big issue?

*What? No, I don't think this issue is very high on the average person's mind right now.



Living expenses should be lower in Jena. Köln is a more diverse city within a system of bigger cities and quite good access to neighbouring countries. Personally, I'd go for Köln. *

Thank you for reading.

Cheers,
Kang


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## gap408 (Mar 12, 2016)

thanks for reply~ ^^ I am glad to know tennis is quite popular in Germany, too. Without owning a car, how much is the general living cost roughly?


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## gap408 (Mar 12, 2016)

Speaking of "Go", Yesterday the man won 1 game. The total score is now 3:1. It was impressive to see him win a game after losing 3 games in a row.


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