# Living around Frankfurt



## tokyomoto

Hello,
Evaluating some options to move to Frankfurt and have some questions:
a. What is a decent annual salary for an asian expat moving to Frankfurt on a Manager's position in the IT domain?
b. Let us assume the salary is 40,000 Euros and we are a couple - husband working and wife at home - what would be the Income tax on this amount?
c. How much would it cost to rent a house with a bedroom, toilet, bathroom, kitchen, living room for a couple in Frankfurt?
d. How much would I have to spend on Groceries for a couple of people on average for a month?
e. How much would eating out for dinner in an average restaurant cost for a couple?
f. How much is the monthly utilities bill in Germany for Broadband, Telephone, Gas, Water, Electrity etc?
g. Is it normal that the employer provides a car as well as fuel to the employee? How does this work? How much would it cost to maintain a car per month for basic stuff like going to work daily, a couple of trips over the weekend to the supermarket etc.?
h. Are there any other deductions in pay apart from income tax?
i. What are the normal work hours in Germany?
j. Do people speak English or is German an absolute must to work in Germany?
k. Is there a hint of racism in general today german society or is that a thing of the past?

Thanks in advance for your help and advice.
Cheers


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## James3214

_a. What is a decent annual salary for an asian expat moving to Frankfurt on a Manager's position in the IT domain?_
Guess it depends on the skills you have and if you can speak German but it looks like the average is 57k € according to the following salary checker website:
Gehalt - IT-Projektmanager / IT-Projektmanagerin

_b. Let us assume the salary is 40,000 Euros and we are a couple - husband working and wife at home - what would be the Income tax on this amount?_
Around 1400€ per month. A salary calculator website:
VData Software-Entwicklung GmbH - Lohnsteuer-Rechner 2011

_c. How much would it cost to rent a house with a bedroom, toilet, bathroom, kitchen, living room for a couple in Frankfurt?_
Probably better to get an apartment but it depends on the number of square metres, the area and how close or in Frankfurt you want to live. I would say a decent place would start around 800€ per month. This is a good site to get an idea
Mietwohnung Frankfurt am Main: Wohnungen mieten in Frankfurt am Main und Umgebung bei Immobilien Scout24 
Don't forget you also have to normally pay one months rent to the agent for finding a place.
_
d. How much would I have to spend on Groceries for a couple of people on average for a month?_
Difficult to say, but I spend about 150-200€ a month on groceries for myself but you could do it cheaper if you shop at the discount retailers like Aldi, Lidl, etc.

_e. How much would eating out for dinner in an average restaurant cost for a couple?_
Nothing too special for around 40-60€

_f. How much is the monthly utilities bill in Germany for Broadband, Telephone, Gas, Water, Electricity etc?_
Monthly, I pay around 50€ for broadband/phone/digital TV and about 100€ for Gas/Water/Electricity

_g. Is it normal that the employer provides a car as well as fuel to the employee? How does this work? How much would it cost to maintain a car per month for basic stuff like going to work daily, a couple of trips over the weekend to the supermarket etc.?
It is only normal if you are a high ranking employee to normally get a car and it is taxed too._
Not sure about the cost as I don't have a car anymore. Obviously depends on the distance but the price of a liter of normal petrol is around 1.45€. I have a car share which I book over the internet and costs around 30€ a month. For longer distances and times I can hire a car over the weekend for around 100€. Public transport (and connections, etc) in Germany is normally very good and punctual (although the Germans will probably not say so!)
_
h. Are there any other deductions in pay apart from income tax?_
Your biggest cost will probably be Health Insurance/Krankenversicherung. (I pay around 350€ on a private one) Your cost will depends on your salary, age, health, etc. There are also other taxes and even an optional church tax
_
i. What are the normal work hours in Germany?_ 
38-40 hours with a 5 day week. A lot start earlier.

_j. Do people speak English or is German an absolute must to work in Germany? _
English is widely spoken in the cities and certainly very common in Frankfurt.
Not a must if you have other skills. English is the widely used 'business language' in a lot of international companies.

_k. Is there a hint of racism in general today german society or is that a thing of the past? _
Not really noticed it myself although I have heard of situations in the past and think it is more of a problem in the former East German states. Frankfurt is very multi-cultural and you will not have a problem here. Most of the people that live here were not even born in Frankfurt and a lot outside of Germany. The Turkish 'gast arbeiters' are the biggest immigration group in Germany.

There is a lot more info on this site which may help with your questions.
How To Germany - Home

Hope you enjoy your stay.


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## tokyomoto

Hello James,
Thanks a ton for your detailed replies...
I thought of some more questions meanwhile:
a. Is there an agent fee when i go looking for a house or do i get in touch with the owner myself and talk the deal through?
b. Are the houses normally fully furnished or semi-furnished or unfurnished?
c. Is there an advance to be paid to the owner for renting his house? How does it normally work?
d. Is fish and chicken easily available in all places?
e. If we have kids in Germany, what benefits with regards to taxes and other things do i get to enjoy?
f. How easy or difficult is it to run a small business (maybe a restaurant) in Germany as something on the side? Is that income taxed too?
g. Does the tax cover all health ailments and insurance on my health?
h. does it also cover pregnancy and delivery expenses of my wife if i were to have a kid there?

Thanks again.
Cheers


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## James3214

Here we go...

_a. Is there an agent fee when i go looking for a house or do i get in touch with the owner myself and talk the deal through?_Yes, there is normally a commision or fee (known as 'provision' in German) and is normally one months rent + vat if you go through an agent. However, if you find a private seller or see 'provisionsfrei' on the advert then you won't need to pay it.

_b. Are the houses normally fully furnished or semi-furnished or unfurnished?_Normally, unfurnished and that means they take everything out including the kitchen sink. It may sound crazy but they even take out the fitted kitchen units but often they ask for money for the kitchen or something that they have added such as 'parket flooring' for example. Semi or fully furnished properties are rare.

_c. Is there an advance to be paid to the owner for renting his house? How does it normally work?_Yes, normally two months rent as a deposit.

_d. Is fish and chicken easily available in all places?_Chicken yes. But fresh fish is difficult to find in most of the local supermarkets. However, the kaufhof and karstadt dept stores in Frankfurt have a good selection and there are a lot of speciality shops and food markets where you can normally get what you need. The lack of fresh fish annoys me as Frankfurt airport has more fresh fish coming through it in transit than any other airport in the world!

_e. If we have kids in Germany, what benefits with regards to taxes and other things do i get to enjoy?_ I think you get something like 200€ a month as a benefit for each child.

_f. How easy or difficult is it to run a small business (maybe a restaurant) in Germany as something on the side? Is that income taxed too? _All income is taxed in Germany. It is a separate tax to 'Lohnsteuer (salary tax). It will probably be difficult if you don't speak German but I wouldn't do it 'on the side' if you want to make a success of it. Don't forget about the sometimes strict employment laws here in Germany.It costs employers a lot to employ people, especially the older they are. Saying that there are a lot of immigrants who have made a success of restaurants all over Germany.

_g. Does the tax cover all health ailments and insurance on my health?_ No. You need separate 'Krankenversicherung/Health Insurance' Your company can probably help you with this as they normally pay half of the insurance if you are fully employed with them.

_h. does it also cover pregnancy and delivery expenses of my wife if i were to have a kid there? _ 'Krankenversicherung' normally covers this but check the policy.


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## melmoth

Hi 
I am moving To Frankfurt at the end of the month with my girlfriend and I think that could be much easier look for a flat directly there, so I need a place to pass the two first week without paying a lot. do you have any reference??
Regards
Ed


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## James3214

Melmoth, Try the Hotel Palmenhof which is in Westend and pretty central. I suggest you get one of their 'long stay apartments' for a month (total cost including VAT and cleaning ends up around 1267€ per month) so it gives you a bit more time to find a decent place.

Welcome to Frankfurt!

http://www.palmenhof.com


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