Whether we are going to Germany for school, course or work, the first thing we need to do is arrange a place to stay. Although the first option that most of us likes is to rent a house on our own, we may have to turn to the options of renting a dorm room or a room in a shared house mostly due to financial reasons.. Or there may be those of us who do not prefer to live alone for their social environment in the new country we will go to alone.. That’s why in this article I will give information about Germany dormitories and shared houses . You will find answers to many of your questions such as What is a Germany shared house (WG), how to find it, how much is the rent, what to do to find a student dormitory in Germany, what is the price of student dormitories in Germany, etc. in the rest of the article.
Of course I won’t tell you this time, as I don’t have such experience in Germany. I’ll leave the word to our guest writer, Kadriye.
We’re on our Youtube channel with Kadriye for Master’s in Germany and Germany’s We also have a pleasant and informative conversation on many topics such as how to get a bachelor’s degree, Is it necessary to know German, how much money is required, How much money can you earn as a student in Germany. we did. You can click on the video below to watch.
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Hello,
I’m Kadriye. I have been living in Munich for 6 years. I spent most of this time staying in German dormitories and shared homes.. I wanted to share these experiences with you through the Life and Travel blog.
If you are going to Germany for education or to find a job, it may be a little difficult for you to go home alone at first.. Especially if you do not speak German and do not have a contract with a good company.. In general, a financial statement is required for students.
What is Shared Home (WG – Wohngemeinschaft) in Germany?
Before I came to TU Munich in 2014 for my master’s degree, I first applied to all the dormitories I found.. Then I looked at the shared house (Wohngemeinschaft, WG for short).
As my departure date to Munich was approaching, I still could not get a positive response from anywhere.. All the dormitories were full and the shared houses generally wanted to choose you through one-on-one interviews with the candidates, so I had little chance.
Then I got lucky and found a room in an unlikely way. (I reached out to someone who has read the same department as me on LinkedIn to ask a question about the program and I mentioned that I was looking for a house, and he said he would leave his room, Bingo!)
The so-called WG the system is very common in germany. And it’s actually a method preferred by everyone aged 17 to 77 (for different reasons, I’ll mention them as well).
What is WG in Germany, it is a system in which people living in houses with 2 or more rooms rent out rooms they do not use to others.. In other words, renting a room at WG means you have a room of your own, as well as sharing common areas with others.. By common use area, I mean the toilet, bathroom, kitchen and if there is a living room and a balcony.
As I said above, I found my first WG experience easy with a little luck.. The only problem was that it was quite far from the city.. (Although my school was in the center of Munich, my house was in Freising, near the Munich Airport.) Although I did not have much choice in the first stage, I accepted it because I did not have much choice in the first stage, but later on, with the feeling of “I think I am missing something” brought by spending long hours on trains every day and living far from the city. I started looking at WG again.
How Much is Room Rental in Germany?
Of course, depending on which city in Germany you are looking for WG, WG’s conditions, distance to the city, etc. Prices will vary depending on the factor.. Munich is the most expensive city in Germany, the price of a WG room outside my city was 500 Euros in 2014, including bills.. Somehow, because the demand is high, the prices are high and you may have to search for WG in Munich for the prices you can rent a house in other cities of Germany.
Germany Dormitories: How to Find It
While I was searching for WG, I was thinking how nice it would be if I stayed in the dorm because I am actually a student.. It would also be much more advantageous for me financially.. However, I was still on hold in all the dormitories I applied for before I came to Munich.. This means that only one person will leave the dormitory so that I can enter.. Besides, my waiting line was at 200.. I mentioned this situation to a German friend of mine.. And he said, “There is no food for those who don’t cry” (Of course, he didn’t say that, but that’s what he said). At that moment, I realized that, instead of passively waiting for my turn, I had to go to the dormitories and explain my situation to the dormitories with a bit of exaggeration and ask for help.
I’m a student after all, I don’t have a lot of time. And if I get a dorm, my rent will be cut in half.. That’s why I went to the dormitory centers for a few weeks, and after going through the doors I found open and saying to the staff, “When will I get a dormitory, I don’t have a place to stay now” (the exaggeration part starts here), etc., they swell their heads again, Bingo!
My strategy worked and I received an email from the dormitory with the best location in Munich that a room was available.. If you know the city and the dormitories, the dormitory was Biedersteiner Wohnheim at the bottom of the Englischer Garten.
My dormitory in Munich
Germany Student Dormitories: How Much Are The Prices?
It’s almost the same thing to get you a dormitory in Munich and a lottery.. Because especially in Munich, students extend their student life as much as possible.. The state supports you while you study, and you can work 20 hours a week and earn good money tax-free (especially if you live in a dormitory) and you can lead a very good life.. Therefore, a German student living in a dormitory is enjoying his student life by extending his schooling, which he can complete in 6 semesters, to 10 semesters.
The dorm room that came to me was a single room.. I was sharing the kitchen, bathroom and toilet with 8 people and the dormitory fee was 265 Euros per month.. (It’s 2015, but prices don’t go up because there isn’t much inflation in Germany)
Dormitory rooms rarely contain a kitchen and toilet/bathroom.. These rooms already have a high price (around 320 – 370 Euros) and I think priority is given to PhD students.
How is Life in Germany Student Dormitories?
Of course, like every Turk, hygiene was important to me, but at that time, my priority was to finish my master’s degree, find a part-time job while studying, etc., so most of my time was spent outside the dormitory.. So this was not a problem for me as I only used the room for sleeping.. Of course, I would like to share the common areas with fewer people, but that was the case and I got used to it in a short time.
After all, everyone’s routine is different because you are a student.. Since the other students (mostly German) with whom I shared the common areas got up at different times and used the bathroom or kitchen at different times, I never had a problem with the use of these areas. Of course, in some cases, when other students started cooking together, or when they invited their friends and occupied the kitchen (which they always gave me a note in advance), I either cooked a quick meal or bought it from outside.
Although living in a dormitory is budget friendly, unfortunately, the rooms available to you can only be used during your education.. At the end of two years, when I officially graduated, it was time to leave the dormitory and I started looking for WG again.
The Subject of Cleaning in Germany Student Dormitories and Shared Houses How It Happened?
I wanted to touch on this issue at length since cleaning can be sensitive for many people.. You are responsible for the cleanliness of your own personal space while you are staying in the dormitory during your student period.. Apart from that, I think a cleaning company comes once a week for the cleaning of the common areas.. In other words, you get more than what you pay for the dormitory.
Except for general cleaning, everyone uses the common areas on the condition that they leave them clean.. We can say that there is a kind of social pressure.. For the simplest example, if your hair falls out while taking a shower and you leave the shower like that, you both disturb the people who use it after you and if this issue continues all the time, a warning comes from the people in charge of the dormitory.. The same is true for the kitchen.. When I lived in the dormitory, I wrote a note to someone who always left their food in the refrigerator messy, saying, “Your mother doesn’t live here.”. You live with a complete stranger at home, and since everyone’s routine or habits are different, it is inevitable that there will be little arguments at first until you get used to it.
In WG, where I live, the rest of the room in the other room the lady (German, 42 years old) was very sensitive about cleanliness. That’s why he made a detailed cleaning plan and hung it in the kitchen.. There was a detailed plan, from sorting the garbage, to who will clean the bathroom, who would sweep the floors and how often, and who would wipe the windows, that I had to follow weekly. Before leaving the house, they will also check who lives in the house in addition to the rent and location.
How is Private Life, Can Your Guest Come and Stay With You?
I would like to touch on the subject of private life apart from cleaning. While you are staying in a student dormitory in Germany, it is possible to host guests if there is enough space in your room.. As per the rules of etiquette, everyone was informing each other if a long-term boarding guest was to come.. After all, that person will also use the common areas, so other people need to know.. Apart from the boarding guest, everything is very comfortable when you have a plan to invite your friends and cook on the weekends or in the evenings.. Only if you are calling a large group, you are expected to inform by writing a note a day or two in advance.
The subject of private life and hosting guests in the shared house is also similar to that in the dormitory.. If you are going to invite a boarding guest, you inform your roommate.. Likewise, when you want to invite your friends home after work on weekdays and want to cook and drink, just inform your roommate.. However, if, for example, this situation is constantly and excessively affecting your sleep and comfort at home, it is the most sensible to gently convey this to the other party.
Types of WG in Germany and WG Life
The most important advice I can give to anyone searching for WG is to determine what kind of WG life you want.. In the most general sense, there are two types of WG. “Zweck WG” and “keine Zweck WG”. They usually write this in the details section when searching sites.
An example ad for “Keine Zweck WG” looking for a roommate.
The situation where you do not have much in common with the people you live in the same house, apart from renting the room they call “Zweck WG” (Zweck – meaning purpose, function) and using the common areas together. So if you are a student or an employee, if you want to rest your head at the end of the day and retreat to your room, this is for you.. Other people in the house have their own lives too, and you’re not expected to share anything other than “hello, hello.”
The other variant, “keine Zweck WG”, is the opposite.. In this type of WG people are obviously looking for friends. They already write directly in the advertisements what kind of shared house they want.. For example, if you are a student and there is no dormitory, it may make sense to live in this type of WG for a while.. You will make friends with whom you cook together, use common areas together (like living room, etc.) and socialize together.
By the way, when talking about WG varieties, there is a difference in price. I would like to draw attention to an issue that creates. All homes and WGs are priced in two ways, warm and cold.. I believe there are many informative articles on the blog, but in summary, the warm rent is all-inclusive (rent of the room, fees such as electricity, water, etc., and internet). Kalt (cold) rent is the case where they only write the rent of the room, which is usually written as warm rent in WG rooms.
How to Find a Room/Shared House (WG) in Germany?
The general room finding sites I use to find WG are:
https://www.wg-gesucht.de/
https://www.ebay-kleinanzeigen.de/s-auf-zeit-wg/
https://www.immobilienscout24.de/
There are also many Facebook groups specific to the city you live in.
I used WG-gesucht site most actively. That site is easy to use and has the most ads.. After choosing the criteria suitable for your budget and applying the necessary filters, the site shows the rooms that are suitable for you.. After this stage, all you have to do is to reach the people who posted by writing messages about yourself, adding information that you want the room and that you are suitable for WG life.
This process unfortunately takes a long time. and it takes patience. I think I’ve messaged more than 100 people, most of them don’t even get back to me.. They only reply to people they see fit and invite them for an interview.. It’s kind of like a job application process.. In addition, if you are working while you are looking for a house or room, it is just as difficult to arrange the dates and times to go to the interviews.. I remember, I was going to different houses every evening after work (I started doing a full time internship at that time) for about a month, introducing myself and meeting other people in the house.. Yes, it is a tiring process, but everyone finds a house or room in the same way.. Of course, if your financial situation is very good, you can also go directly to real estate agents.
Do you need to buy furniture for Germany Dormitory or WG?
If you are going to stay in the dormitory as a student, your job will be easier.. Because dorm rooms usually have all the items you need (closet, bed, table, chair etc.). Apart from that, how you want to decorate your room, it is up to you to beautify your living space by buying additional items.. During my stay in the dormitory, I did not buy any additional items other than the items already in the room.
If you are going to stay in a shared house instead of a dormitory, the subject of furniture may be a little different.. Generally shared houses/rooms, long-term unfurnished. Only short-term renters leave their belongings in the room. There was only a bed in the room I moved to after my dorm.. Everything else I slowly bought second hand. If your budget is limited, it’s also very easy to find free items, especially in Munich, through many Facebook groups or sites.
If you’re looking for second-hand items, Germany’ You can also use Ebay Kleinanzeigen, the most famous site used for second-hand shopping, there are many affordable alternatives. There are even free items in the “Zu verschenken” category.
I hope this information was helpful to anyone looking for a place to stay. Good luck everyone!
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If you want to contact Kadriye, her instagram account: eyirdakzamzik
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