# 8 months studying abroad; realistic budget?



## cvpis4me (Mar 6, 2013)

My husband's university has a study abroad program and internship program which would be required for his dual degree of engineering and German. He won't be going to Germany for about 2-3 years but it's our hope that we can go over there as a family for the 8 months he will be over there and we need to start saving money now for that. 

We're a family of 3, possibly bringing our dog, and the universities in the program are in the Baden-Wurttemberg area. We will probably contact the university as well but they might not have many connections for apartments because they usually deal with younger students with no families who can stay in dorms at the university. Here is the monthly budget I came up with for a 1-2 bedroom apartment.

Rent: €800
Utilities (trash/television?): €100
Electricity: €130
Phone/Internet: €35
Food: €425
Transportation: €135
Misc: €300

We only plan to use public transportation during our stay but we may consider buying bicycles so staying somewhat near the city centre or near supermarkets is important. Our Misc. budget includes our sightseeing money as we would like to see as much of the local area as possible while we are there. I've looked for short-term rentals on such sites as Air BnB and HomeAway.com but it seems that our monthly rent budget doesn't come close to what they are asking for. Any feedback would be greatly appreciated!


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## Nononymous (Jul 12, 2011)

That's probably a reasonable budget for everything except rent. Rent could be higher depending on where you are. (When you say family of three, are you also considering child care costs?) 

AirBnB is not the best as it's oriented towards shorter rentals. You could try some of the agencies that handle longer-term furnished sublets (e.g. homecompany.de, or search for "mitwohnzentrale" or "wohnen auf zeit" for the areas you're interested in) but be aware that the commissions are pretty hefty, for 8 months you'd factor in another month or two in rent. You should contact the universities to see if they have student apartments suited to small families.


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## James3214 (Jun 25, 2009)

Homeaway and AirBnB are more aimed at short term visitors. immobillienscout24.de is probably one of the biggest and has a better selection.


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## beppi (Jun 10, 2013)

Rent is highly variable from place to place in Germany: A 2-bedroom (3-room in German parlance) flat can cost €300/month in an Eastern German small town, or €1000 and above in Munich, Hamburg, etc. Ask the university for a realistic assessment of expected costs!
You should also be aware that short-term rentals (and especially furnished ones) are rare and quite expensive in Germany. Thus you should budget at least double of what a "normal" (i.e. long-term and unfurnished, as quoted above) flat costs. Search for serviced apartments or similar!
Heating is the biggest cost factor for utilities, probably around €100/month for the flat above, and it's almost never done with electricity (too expensive!). There are also no electric air-conditioners and only energy-saving lamps etc. (by law!), so your electricity budget is too high.
I would budget a bit more for food and entertainment, since you as a foreigner might have "exotic" needs and also don't know where to buy economically.
And don't bother bringing the dog if there are formalities and quarantine required - too much effort for the short time! (Also, there is a need to register and pay a dog tax!)


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