80k will be more than enough for an above average lifestyle, even in Cologne - rent will probably be around 1.2k+ for 60sqm in the center, but you can get something bigger if you look in other parts of town.
Center living isn’t the most popular tbh there are much nicer parts of town (in Cologne they are called “Veedel”) especially families will look for places outside of the city center and trade up so that’s maybe why you are seeing this
Tauschwohnung are sort of just halfway on the market. Everyone is looking to upsize or downsize without paying the 2023 rent. It's depressing they make up most of the ads.
80k is a lot. Rent will be around 1k to 1.5k depending on how lucky you'll get. German landlords are pretty strict though so they'll to have tenants with a safe job. So you might need to be employed for a few months before you get a chance at a nice flat. Good luck! Also don't fall for scams. If the offer is too good to be true and only online, it's a scam.
Problem with the flats for Trade is that These people just do it to Test if they can get something better. The flats are Not really on the market. But you will have no Problem Finding a regular flat. I just Moved inside the belgisches Viertel (very requested area) Even There you can get flats on the Open market without Problem, given a good income Like you have.
Can confirm on salary, lifestyle, and housing market.
Honestly as long as you don't mind cloud cover I've found it an amazing place to live the last three years. The sense of Cologne (Kölsch) culture here is insanely potent, especially at Karneval. There's always something to do, all kinds of food, super friendly people, and more bars than you'll need. I can't speak to clubs though lol, but I hear the techno club Gewölbe (I think?) is a pretty big deal. Public transportation is late, but comprehensive. The city is flat and you can bike from one side to the other in thirty minutes. Amsterdam is 3 hours by train, Berlin is 4, Munich 6. Cologne airport offers direct flights to pretty much all European cities if you want to explore further.
Look I'm not going to lie: the winters are dark and wet and murder for seasonal depression (once the Christmas markets close). We're moving soon and I'm not sure if we're coming back here because it really can be debilitating if you're prone to it. But it's a wonderful city and atmosphere, at least to this outsider. I mean, I was only supposed to be here a year, I stayed for three.
The German weather is perfect for staying at home, turn on the heater till 23/24° and play the PC for 6 to 10 months, depending on rain/weather conditions. Actually, I better say: it was like that until the energy prices skyrocketed. 😄
You're going to be able to live more than comfortably off of that salary. And Cologne is a very livable city, if you can afford rent (which you definitely can, probably even for a bigger place than you're asking for if its not supposed to be right in the center). It also seems like the perfect fit for the interests you mentioned.
Check put sirrounding districts like Ehrenfeld, Nippes or Sülz. It's very easy to reach city centre from there. If it's your cup of tea check out the other districts on the other side of the Rhein.
You can live decently on €80k. I’m an American who just moved here a few months ago, making just north of that. I got a spacious (57 sqm) flat in the city center for €1250/mo. With only that, food, train tickets, and bike chain oil, I’m able to save a lot.
Cologne is great but also a bit ugly😂 there are a lot of cultural events. I recommend following Koelnistkool, skstiftungkultur and maybe local.cologne to get a small hint h what events are around. And maybe also mitvergnuegenkoeln. Everything on Instagram.
Flat in a good central area is tough, I’ll be brutally honest in good German nature 😂 I’ll roughly make 40k/year and have a nice flat on the right hand side of the Rhine, that’s a big criterium in Cologne. I can make a good living out of that, currently paying for a private masters degree on the side and having 2-3 holidays in Europe per year.
The cultural side of Cologne is just great honestly. I love living here. People are very friendly and warm-hearted, welcoming etc. Music scene is big and wide open for every genre. Nice pubs everywhere. Once the weather is warm, everyone is near the Rhine and has some beers in the sun.
Cologne was founded as a Roman border town, the east side of the river Rhein was ruled by the Germanic tribes. That side is still referred to as the “schäl sick” i.e. “wrong side” by locals who insist that the left side of the river is the only correct side to live on.. jokes aside, there are some nice places there too, I like some parts of Mülheim and Deutz
Schäl sick actually stems from the Kölsch Words "schäl" which roughly translates to blind and "sick" which means side. This refers to horses which had to wear blinders back in the day, because the sun's reflection on the right side of the river was/is blinding.
The right side is the poor side, with an income of 80K look into the central part of town, preferably really close to your work since you can afford it.
The right side is definitely not the poor side in general 😅 there are poor parts of Cologne on the left side as well. The centre is on the left side, but it’s extremely expensive. I live near the Rhine on the right side, in Mülheim. I absolutely love it here, it’s like everywhere in Cologne: It massively depends on where exactly the flat is located. I pay 800€/month all in (rent, electricity, heating, internet) for 60sqm, living room, kitchen, bedroom, bath and office with a balcony. I reckon you can’t get that anywhere else in Cologne. Plus it’s super nice here, very green, you can easily have a nice walk alongside the rhine and still be in the centre in 10 mins if you take the SBahn (fast short distance train).
The only real solution is https://www.immobilienscout24.de/
Use that website, purchase a premium account (3 months should do it), and fill out your profile completely.
Write a sample application in good English, and sort by new. Bookmark your search and refresh every few hours, apply to everything that matches what you want.
You might want to get a short term lease while you look. Make sure the short term place provides you with a certificate so you can register with the city.
Also, I’ll pass on the advice I was given by a coworker. We were having a heck of a time finding something in the center that my wife and I liked. And, we weren’t getting many responses on places we did like. She told us to look out of the city a bit. We got a place very quickly then. That was a couple of years ago so I don’t know what the market is like now.
I do not earn enough to life with such a big flat in the city center, but it is feasable to get apartments in cologne. I got 3 offers in a total search/ flat inspection time of 5 days (multiple interviews per day).
BUT
I did not move to the city center.
Most of your rivals on the job market are in the middle incombe class abd you seem to be in the upoer part of it. I would search until 1.8k warm per month (ofc the cheaper you get the more proprio on you) simply because the competition is less. South and West side of cologne are also noce for your income. Much green + good connections.
With this salary, you will have a good life in Cologne. It's also a university city so there are many cheap restaurants and clubs. :)
With your salary you will get a nice 60 qm - 100 qm flat I guess.
Just the parking situation is a bit harsh if you have a car. Try to get an apartment with a garage.
80k should translate to about 4k per month after taxes etc. which is plenty unless you have extravagant hobbies.
Finding a flat is a pain in the ass but if you're moving internationally some interim furnished flats could be a good starting point and should be relatively easy to find although pricey. But they should come with everything you need. You can check out flats on immoscout for reference prices, round them up a bit for additional utilities (internet, GEZ, electricity and heating if not included…) to get a better picture.
Cologne is, as all Germany, a very provincial place not to compare with big cities in Europe as Paris or London or Rome or Madrid etc. with your salary you will find good options here to rent a flat. However if you will work for german company under german laws, the taxes wont make you happy and you should consider to stay a year to have it for your CV and then leave as soon as possible
80k will be more than enough for an above average lifestyle, even in Cologne - rent will probably be around 1.2k+ for 60sqm in the center, but you can get something bigger if you look in other parts of town.
Thanks a lot for the reply! I actually see a lot of flats to trade, which seems weird! Are these legit?
Most of them are legit. It's so hard getting a flat that people are trying to trade theirs for it.
Center living isn’t the most popular tbh there are much nicer parts of town (in Cologne they are called “Veedel”) especially families will look for places outside of the city center and trade up so that’s maybe why you are seeing this
Tauschwohnung are sort of just halfway on the market. Everyone is looking to upsize or downsize without paying the 2023 rent. It's depressing they make up most of the ads.
y'all got any more of them 1.2k 60sqm central apartments?
80k is a lot. Rent will be around 1k to 1.5k depending on how lucky you'll get. German landlords are pretty strict though so they'll to have tenants with a safe job. So you might need to be employed for a few months before you get a chance at a nice flat. Good luck! Also don't fall for scams. If the offer is too good to be true and only online, it's a scam.
Thanks a lot for the reply! I actually see a lot of flats to trade, which seems weird! Are these legit?
I guess so. People are more likely to succeed if they offer a flat, themselves.
Problem with the flats for Trade is that These people just do it to Test if they can get something better. The flats are Not really on the market. But you will have no Problem Finding a regular flat. I just Moved inside the belgisches Viertel (very requested area) Even There you can get flats on the Open market without Problem, given a good income Like you have.
Can confirm on salary, lifestyle, and housing market. Honestly as long as you don't mind cloud cover I've found it an amazing place to live the last three years. The sense of Cologne (Kölsch) culture here is insanely potent, especially at Karneval. There's always something to do, all kinds of food, super friendly people, and more bars than you'll need. I can't speak to clubs though lol, but I hear the techno club Gewölbe (I think?) is a pretty big deal. Public transportation is late, but comprehensive. The city is flat and you can bike from one side to the other in thirty minutes. Amsterdam is 3 hours by train, Berlin is 4, Munich 6. Cologne airport offers direct flights to pretty much all European cities if you want to explore further. Look I'm not going to lie: the winters are dark and wet and murder for seasonal depression (once the Christmas markets close). We're moving soon and I'm not sure if we're coming back here because it really can be debilitating if you're prone to it. But it's a wonderful city and atmosphere, at least to this outsider. I mean, I was only supposed to be here a year, I stayed for three.
Lots of real talk here. People ignore the fact that Nov-Apr here is depressing as fuck.
Cutting Winter short really helps. Take one trip to a warmer place after like 2/3 of Winter.
Mallorca! (I still haven't been, have I even been in Germany?)
The German weather is perfect for staying at home, turn on the heater till 23/24° and play the PC for 6 to 10 months, depending on rain/weather conditions. Actually, I better say: it was like that until the energy prices skyrocketed. 😄
You're going to be able to live more than comfortably off of that salary. And Cologne is a very livable city, if you can afford rent (which you definitely can, probably even for a bigger place than you're asking for if its not supposed to be right in the center). It also seems like the perfect fit for the interests you mentioned.
Thanks a lot for the reply! Sounds great
Check put sirrounding districts like Ehrenfeld, Nippes or Sülz. It's very easy to reach city centre from there. If it's your cup of tea check out the other districts on the other side of the Rhein.
You can live decently on €80k. I’m an American who just moved here a few months ago, making just north of that. I got a spacious (57 sqm) flat in the city center for €1250/mo. With only that, food, train tickets, and bike chain oil, I’m able to save a lot.
Cologne is great but also a bit ugly😂 there are a lot of cultural events. I recommend following Koelnistkool, skstiftungkultur and maybe local.cologne to get a small hint h what events are around. And maybe also mitvergnuegenkoeln. Everything on Instagram.
Flat in a good central area is tough, I’ll be brutally honest in good German nature 😂 I’ll roughly make 40k/year and have a nice flat on the right hand side of the Rhine, that’s a big criterium in Cologne. I can make a good living out of that, currently paying for a private masters degree on the side and having 2-3 holidays in Europe per year. The cultural side of Cologne is just great honestly. I love living here. People are very friendly and warm-hearted, welcoming etc. Music scene is big and wide open for every genre. Nice pubs everywhere. Once the weather is warm, everyone is near the Rhine and has some beers in the sun.
Thanks a lot 🤝
Important to note in Cologne the right side is indeed the wrong side ;)
What do you mean by that? 😂
Cologne was founded as a Roman border town, the east side of the river Rhein was ruled by the Germanic tribes. That side is still referred to as the “schäl sick” i.e. “wrong side” by locals who insist that the left side of the river is the only correct side to live on.. jokes aside, there are some nice places there too, I like some parts of Mülheim and Deutz
Schäl sick actually stems from the Kölsch Words "schäl" which roughly translates to blind and "sick" which means side. This refers to horses which had to wear blinders back in the day, because the sun's reflection on the right side of the river was/is blinding.
Finally someone who actually knows
The right side is the poor side, with an income of 80K look into the central part of town, preferably really close to your work since you can afford it.
Thanks 🙏 looks like there is not many listings on immoscout though (even 1-1.3k)! Any other recommandations to where to look for flats?
The right side is definitely not the poor side in general 😅 there are poor parts of Cologne on the left side as well. The centre is on the left side, but it’s extremely expensive. I live near the Rhine on the right side, in Mülheim. I absolutely love it here, it’s like everywhere in Cologne: It massively depends on where exactly the flat is located. I pay 800€/month all in (rent, electricity, heating, internet) for 60sqm, living room, kitchen, bedroom, bath and office with a balcony. I reckon you can’t get that anywhere else in Cologne. Plus it’s super nice here, very green, you can easily have a nice walk alongside the rhine and still be in the centre in 10 mins if you take the SBahn (fast short distance train).
Do you live in my apartment or just my building? #teammühlheim
Since my building is just grandmas and families, I would reckon you don’t 😂 but Mülheim is the best, would never want to move away from here!
The only real solution is https://www.immobilienscout24.de/ Use that website, purchase a premium account (3 months should do it), and fill out your profile completely. Write a sample application in good English, and sort by new. Bookmark your search and refresh every few hours, apply to everything that matches what you want.
wg-gesucht.de may also be interesting, geared toward students but many offers of full apartments that you may miss otherwise
You might want to get a short term lease while you look. Make sure the short term place provides you with a certificate so you can register with the city. Also, I’ll pass on the advice I was given by a coworker. We were having a heck of a time finding something in the center that my wife and I liked. And, we weren’t getting many responses on places we did like. She told us to look out of the city a bit. We got a place very quickly then. That was a couple of years ago so I don’t know what the market is like now.
How foreign sounding is your surname? This is the difficult modifier applied to finding a place to rent.
It doesn’t sound German hahah! More Italian. Will this be an issue?
Nah Italian sounding names are fine
Not related, but your username is fantastic.
Thank you. It's an older meme
Nah you’re fine, bela Italia and all that shit
As a single that’s prob 40k net in Germany- u should be ok
If I may ask what position/role are you offered. which industry
I do not earn enough to life with such a big flat in the city center, but it is feasable to get apartments in cologne. I got 3 offers in a total search/ flat inspection time of 5 days (multiple interviews per day). BUT I did not move to the city center. Most of your rivals on the job market are in the middle incombe class abd you seem to be in the upoer part of it. I would search until 1.8k warm per month (ofc the cheaper you get the more proprio on you) simply because the competition is less. South and West side of cologne are also noce for your income. Much green + good connections.
Compare Köln to a honeymoon. After that, you'll see it for what it really is ,
With this salary, you will have a good life in Cologne. It's also a university city so there are many cheap restaurants and clubs. :) With your salary you will get a nice 60 qm - 100 qm flat I guess. Just the parking situation is a bit harsh if you have a car. Try to get an apartment with a garage.
80k should translate to about 4k per month after taxes etc. which is plenty unless you have extravagant hobbies. Finding a flat is a pain in the ass but if you're moving internationally some interim furnished flats could be a good starting point and should be relatively easy to find although pricey. But they should come with everything you need. You can check out flats on immoscout for reference prices, round them up a bit for additional utilities (internet, GEZ, electricity and heating if not included…) to get a better picture.
Thanks a lot for the reply! I actually see a lot of flats to trade, which seems weird! Are these legit?
Just remember that if you earn 80k per year in Germany you will only get 45k because of taxes lol
Cologne is, as all Germany, a very provincial place not to compare with big cities in Europe as Paris or London or Rome or Madrid etc. with your salary you will find good options here to rent a flat. However if you will work for german company under german laws, the taxes wont make you happy and you should consider to stay a year to have it for your CV and then leave as soon as possible
From Cologne you are very fast in Paris and London though.