European Union Forums

[VanessaJGibbs]

It has always been my dream to travel to Germany and learn to read, write, and speak German. I am very intelligent and a very quick learner. The only way for me to learn the language is total immersion. I would like to try to stay for at least six months. I have looked at various language schools but they are way too expensive for my budget. How do I stay in Germany on a budget? $5000 - $10,000 is my budget . All money is in U.S. Dollars.

[MarieJHamlin]

Well...I have been alot in Germany and can really recommend it. Much like Americans, Germans can sometime be a bit of a nuisance when abroad, but once you go there, you'll find they are the most friendly and generous people one can imagine. Just like Americans.

I would strongly recommend trying to work as an Au-pair! That would leave you with total immersion and a budget which might well be +/- 0 apart from the airline ticket (some families will even help you pay for that)

Try surfing the web looking for families needing help. A good place to start would be this site:

http://www.europa-pages.com/au_pair/german.html

[Ethen]

Yikes. In US Dollars?
1 Euro=1.3 US Dollars.

I went to Germany for one week and it cost me a few thousand. That's just one week.
I'm sure it's possible though. Manage your money, have a job while you're over there.
Maybe apply for a job before you go over there.

Germany is beautiful! We went for a concert band trip in Spring of '08. I still have a ton of pictures.

Best of luck to you! Have fun!

[CarlLOlson]

Well set aside $1000 for the flight. If you don't take accomodation into account I would say it's about $700 per month. (This is without going out to eat a lot and trying to buy the best deals when you go shopping). I earn about $700 per month and I have enough for health insurance, food, internet costs, with about $275 leftover for whatever. My rent is free though. Rent can be anywhere from $275 and up. If you are a student, Studentenwohnheims are a cheap option. Or you could look for other people to live with. Depending on how old you are, you could also look into doing Au Pair - this gives you an allowance per month and you wouldn't have to worry about food and accomodation!

[JackieDRhodes]

$5,000 to $10,000 is not going to get you very far, especially given that the exchange rate is hovering around $1.40 to the euro. A decent two week trip will cost you about $5000 alone. Also, if your'e going to be staying for 6 months, you're going to need a visa and a residence permit. And place to stay, even like a Wohngemeinschaft (shared aparment), are going to run you somewhere in the range of 300 to 500 euros a month, without utilities. Honestly, I just don't think you can do what you want without significantly more money or a well-paying job over there.

Also, if you're going to learn the language, don't expect to learn it and be fluent in 6 months, no matter how fast a learner you are. German is a very complex language, and can vary greatly by local dialects. "Total immersion" just doesn't work with German; get a good grounding in the basics first.

I'm planning on moving to Germany in the future, and just for the first year, to get established, find a job & a place to live, and improve my German to where I can easily function on a daily basis, I'm planning on needing somewhere around $100,000. And I can already speak a basic level of German.

My advice for you:

1. If you really want to learn the language well, start here with classes to teach you some of the basic grammar & vocabulary. Just being able to read signs & do day-to-day things like grocery shopping will be much easier. Like I said, German is very complex-- there are four cases and three genders (plus plural and formal address), and the articles and word endings change for every one.

2. Do a *lot* more research on living & working in Germany as a foreign national. Try http://www.toytowngermany.com/ for some basic advice. Also, figure out what area you're planning on being in. There's a big difference between cities and towns, and locations. Life in Munich is different from life in Stuttgart which is different from like in Berlin & so on.

3. Save up money wherever you can. Germany is a very expensive place to live. The sales tax/ VAT alone on everything is 19%, plus the horrible exchange rate.

4. Consider waiting a few years. Germany's getting hit by the economic downturn, too. Not quite as bad as the US, but it still hurts. And keep in mind it is law that German citizens get preference in jobs and hiring. An employer who hires a foreigner must show that the person has a skill or qualification that cannot be filled by a native German.

5. Don't give up. Moving to Germany, even short term, is not easy or cheap, but it is possible. That said, I honestly think you need to seriously readjust your plans. Unless you've got a photographic memory, becoming fluent in German in 6 months just isn't possible. You can come for 6 months, but you're going to have a tough time getting a visa and/or residence permit if you don't have a job or enough resources to support yourself. (And to get a residence permit, you will have to prove to the Auslanderamt that you can support yourself-- proof of employment and bank statements are just two of the things you many be required to provide.)

Like I said, what you want to do is prefectly do-able, but not necessarily in the timeframe and within the budget you've stated. Start digging around on the internet-- there are tons of resources out there if you look.

Viel Gluck!

[TeresaESolano]

try--

dirtcheapberlin.com
lonelyplanet.com
roughguides.com

[Emerson]

First of all if you aren't an EU citizen you can't stay in Germany for 6 months, neither will you be able to work.
Also 5000 $ will never be enough money for the period of 3 months you ae allowed to stay.

http://www.auswaertiges-amt.de/diplo/en ... sicht.html

[Dillon]

Now I can't tell you much about living over here because my husband is military and of course we live on base...so what I have to say won't help. Other than this...Try to time when you come over here based on flight rates. I flew my parents over here to see us in May for $460 per ticket!!! BUT if I had flown them in June or July the price doubles!!!! So just check out NorthWest airlines (if you are in the states) they were the cheapest but my parents said that it was a really nice flight considering they were on the plane for 9 hours ;o) Atleast that would save you about $500 or so.

Good luck!!!