# Cost of living in Rhineland Palatinate and cost of health insurance questions



## rodap

Hello, I would like to know what is the cost of living and what is a medium income for a family of 3 in RP / Mosel Valley area. 

I know how much is rent but how much are the montly bills for electric, gas/oil, water, garbage, TV, internet, house insurance , house taxes , car insurance . 

How much is private health insurance for a family of 3 ( non german ) , healthy and in good shape. 

Would 3000 euro / month will do ? 

Thanks in advance


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## ALKB

rodap said:


> Hello, I would like to know what is the cost of living and what is a medium income for a family of 3 in RP / Mosel Valley area.
> 
> I know how much is rent but how much are the montly bills for electric, gas/oil, water, garbage, TV, internet, house insurance , house taxes , car insurance .
> 
> How much is private health insurance for a family of 3 ( non german ) , healthy and in good shape.
> 
> Would 3000 euro / month will do ?
> 
> Thanks in advance


Private health insurance?

What visa are you going to be on?


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## rodap

Private insurance ( husband is gonna work remote for US company ) 

No visa , we are US / EU citizens .

And I was thinking 3000 Euro after housing . 

Thank you !


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## ALKB

rodap said:


> Private insurance ( husband is gonna work remote for US company )
> 
> No visa , we are US / EU citizens .
> 
> And I was thinking 3000 Euro after housing .
> 
> Thank you !



Okay, I'll let somebody else answer the health insurance question, then.

Everything else you have listed depends on your lifestyle - size of your house/flat, how well is it insulated, do you like it quite warm and want to wander the house in a T-shirt in winter, where exactly you live, freeview, satellite or cable TV, what kind of broadband contract do you want, etc. So it's a bit of a 'how long is a piece of string' topic.

So, the only thing I can tell you with certainty, is that a TV license is € 17.50 per month, per household.

If he is working remotely for a US employer, does the US company pay half of his social security contributions, as a German employer would? If not, he'll be liable for the entire amount, which can be hefty.

Have you looked into the tax situation?


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## vronchen

rodap said:


> How much is private health insurance for a family of 3 ( non german ) , healthy and in good shape.


That depends on your age and what kind of insurance you want. If you want extras like single room in hospital, low deductible, better dental care. 
Maybe this will help: https://pkv.check24.de
As you are not employed in Germany I am guessing you will have to either check "Freiberufler/Selbstständig" or "nicht erwerbstätig", as a german employer would pay roughly half of your health insurance cost.


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## ALKB

vronchen said:


> That depends on your age and what kind of insurance you want. If you want extras like single room in hospital, low deductible, better dental care.
> Maybe this will help: https://pkv.check24.de
> As you are not employed in Germany I am guessing you will have to either check "Freiberufler/Selbstständig" or "nicht erwerbstätig", as a german employer would pay roughly half of your health insurance cost.


When I was living in German but working for a non-EEA Embassy (so for all intents and purposes, I was working outside of the EU) the Embassy paid me my gross income. I had to inform the local tax office and they calculated and took tax directly from my account every month by direct debit.

My health insurance (not private) had a special department for people like me and they arranged a direct debit for my health insurance and all social security contributions, which they then passed on to the relevant government agencies.

The OP should talk to different insurances and ask how they deal with these situations.

It might also be a good idea to talk to non-private insurances and see whether it would be easier/cheaper to be insured with them and get free family insurance for the rest of the family.


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## rodap

vronchen said:


> That depends on your age and what kind of insurance you want. If you want extras like single room in hospital, low deductible, better dental care.
> Maybe this will help: https://pkv.check24.de
> As you are not employed in Germany I am guessing you will have to either check "Freiberufler/Selbstständig" or "nicht erwerbstätig", as a german employer would pay roughly half of your health insurance cost.


Ok, so I put our dates of birth and check what you said and is 253 Euros for me and my son and 346 for my husband. Is that per month ?!??? Ouch ! That take a lot from my budget .


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## ALKB

rodap said:


> Ok, so I put our dates of birth and check what you said and is 253 Euros for me and my son and 346 for my husband. Is that per month ?!??? Ouch ! That take a lot from my budget .


As I said, contact a non-private insurance and ask how much it would be for your husband to be insured under these circumstances.

Your son would be insured for free under his policy and you as well until you start working and having your own income.

It might or might not be cheaper/easier.

Also take into consideration that there are no deductibles or paying upfront for treatment to be reimbursed later if you go for non-private. What you pay per month is what you pay. (There are some exceptions like dentures or if you have to stay in hospital for a while, I think it costs around €10 per day - this might be outdated - in hospital but there is a cap for that so you don't end up paying thousands if you get really ill and need long term hospitalisation.)

Personally, I have good experiences with both SBK and Techniker Krankenkasse.


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## rodap

ALKB said:


> Okay, I'll let somebody else answer the health insurance question, then.
> 
> Everything else you have listed depends on your lifestyle - size of your house/flat, how well is it insulated, do you like it quite warm and want to wander the house in a T-shirt in winter, where exactly you live, freeview, satellite or cable TV, what kind of broadband contract do you want, etc. So it's a bit of a 'how long is a piece of string' topic.
> 
> So, the only thing I can tell you with certainty, is that a TV license is € 17.50 per month, per household.
> 
> If he is working remotely for a US employer, does the US company pay half of his social security contributions, as a German employer would? If not, he'll be liable for the entire amount, which can be hefty.
> 
> Have you looked into the tax situation?



Are you thinking retirement when you asking about social security ? 

We live under our means so we don't waste energy or water , don't care for AC ( it's cold in RP anyway ) but love heat , not to stay in a t-shirt but to be comfortable ( our house in winter is 24 degrees ) . We like the outdoors so free stuff like walking, hiking , biking, strolling the cities. I cook so just 2-3 times / month eating out, Germany is cheaper though so maybe we will go out more . We want to travel though , weekends around Europe so that will be our biggest expense. 

So my thinking is : 
850 Euro Health Insurance 
750 Euro House Bills 
750 Euro Food 
650 Euro Miscellaneous Expenses 
Total = 3000 Euros / Month 

Is this a real budget ?!???  

We gonna pay our regular IRS taxes since will work for US . Don't see a problme there. 

Thank you again for all the info ! I appreciate the help , opinions and advice


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## rodap

ALKB said:


> As I said, contact a non-private insurance and ask how much it would be for your husband to be insured under these circumstances.
> 
> Your son would be insured for free under his policy and you as well until you start working and having your own income.
> 
> It might or might not be cheaper/easier.
> 
> Also take into consideration that there are no deductibles or paying upfront for treatment to be reimbursed later if you go for non-private. What you pay per month is what you pay. (There are some exceptions like dentures or if you have to stay in hospital for a while, I think it costs around €10 per day - this might be outdated - in hospital but there is a cap for that so you don't end up paying thousands if you get really ill and need long term hospitalisation.)
> 
> Personally, I have good experiences with both SBK and Techniker Krankenkasse.


Thanks , I forget that the health insurance in Europe in general is better then US. Here you pay more monthly , you pay co-pay and deductibles and you get a bill after you where treated probably ....

We are prety healthy now and have a healthy lifestyle so my only concern is if I get really sick like cancer or life threating illness ...is the insurance gonna cover all my treatments for that ?!??


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## ALKB

rodap said:


> Thanks , I forget that the health insurance in Europe in general is better then US. Here you pay more monthly , you pay co-pay and deductibles and you get a bill after you where treated probably ....
> 
> We are prety healthy now and have a healthy lifestyle so my only concern is if I get really sick like cancer or life threating illness ...is the insurance gonna cover all my treatments for that ?!??


Yes. Both my parents are cancer patients and they are not paying a thing. There is a small fee of about € 5.00 per prescription but that is no matter how expensive a medication is, even if it costs hundreds or thousands of Euro. 

I have never seen a doctor's bill in my life and have been very happy with the treatment I have received in Germany (including hospital stays, giving birth and surgery).


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## ALKB

rodap said:


> Are you thinking retirement when you asking about social security ?
> 
> We live under our means so we don't waste energy or water , don't care for AC ( it's cold in RP anyway ) but love heat , not to stay in a t-shirt but to be comfortable ( our house in winter is 24 degrees ) . We like the outdoors so free stuff like walking, hiking , biking, strolling the cities. I cook so just 2-3 times / month eating out, Germany is cheaper though so maybe we will go out more . We want to travel though , weekends around Europe so that will be our biggest expense.
> 
> So my thinking is :
> 850 Euro Health Insurance
> 750 Euro House Bills
> 750 Euro Food
> 650 Euro Miscellaneous Expenses
> Total = 3000 Euros / Month
> 
> Is this a real budget ?!???
> 
> We gonna pay our regular IRS taxes since will work for US . Don't see a problme there.
> 
> Thank you again for all the info ! I appreciate the help , opinions and advice



If you are living in Germany you are tax resident in Germany. While there is no double taxation as far as I know, you still have to declare your income to the tax office and might or might not have to pay some tax in Germany.

With social security contributions I mean unemployment, retirement, long term care insurance, Solidaritätszuschlag

English Translation of â€œSolidaritätszuschlagâ€� | Collins German English Dictionary

I think you need to research tax and social security a bit more. This working remotely for a US employer could be more complicated than you anticipate.

Well, the warmest I ever heat my flat to is 20 degrees, four degrees more would mean quite a bit higher energy bill.

The chances that you find a place to rent with AC in Germany are close to zero.

I hardly ever spend more than 100€/week on groceries including toiletries (family of four).

I would be very happy with € 3000/month after rent and tax.

EDIT: Car insurance might be quite high for you as you are starting without prior driving history in Germany. How much it will be also depends on the type of car.


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## ALKB

rodap said:


> Private insurance ( husband is gonna work remote for US company )
> 
> No visa , we are US / EU citizens .
> 
> And I was thinking 3000 Euro after housing .
> 
> Thank you !


Another thing: monthly premiums of private health insurance go up with age and once you are privately insured in Germany you can't easily switch to statutory health insurance. Statutory health insurance is linked to income, not age.

If living in Germany is supposed to be a long term thing, you may have to take this into consideration.


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## Nononymous

rodap said:


> We gonna pay our regular IRS taxes since will work for US . Don't see a problme there.


It doesn't quite work that way - not so simple. Once you move to Germany (with the intention of staying more than six months) then you pay German taxes and social security, which will be higher than US taxes. You'd then file US returns (as all US citizens must do, though of course many don't) and use exemptions and credits to reduce your US tax bill to zero (in a typical case). Consequently you don't want to be a salaried employee of the US company, with taxes and social security deducted from your US paycheque - nor is there any point paying for US health insurance - so it's best to set up as a contractor and invoice the US employer, which also means some paperwork and bureaucracy to set up as self-employed in Germany. You'd need a Steuerberater (tax accountant) to help you with all this.


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