I'm pretty sure the ventilation in the garage door is actually there for Carbon Monoxide mitigation reasons. I hadn't really noticed it much or thought about it much before making the video, but after thinking about it more, I'm pretty sure that is why it is like this. Landlord said it's required by German law, but was not 100% sure why. There really isn't a ventilation system of any kind in the entire building that I am aware of. Heating is all under floor, and there is no AC. The unfortunate side effect of this open ventilation system in the garage is that it becomes an extremely wet and highly corrosive evnvironment in the winter. For nearly 4 months last winter, it was quite literally never a dry floor in the garage, and also very salty due to road salt being tracked in. It made the brake rotors on my car rust so badly the car often feldt like the parking break was locked on when I first tried to drive, but it was the pads rusted solid to the rotors. It's so corrosive that I am honestly considering purchasing a car protection system, basically a mini climate controlled garage.

I take it you mean September 2022? If so that should give you plenty of time to research. The only really key differences between the American and German apartment marketplaces are in Kitchens, deposites, and utilities payments from my experience. Many German apartments do not include a kitchen, with the renter being expected to provide their own. I would make sure you set your search for only places with a kitchen to avoid this, but expect those apartments to be a bit more costly. When it comes to a deposit, expect to pay 4 months rent as your first payment, with three months worth as the deposit itself, plus the first month of rent. When it comes to utilities, an estimate of that is usually included in your monthly rent, then at the end of the year the actual costs are calculated out and your landlord either refunds you some money, or you have to pay some extra depending on how accurate the estimate was. Rental prices are usually listed as "kaltmiete", German for Cold Rent, which is the price without the estimated utilities costs. Expect the actual "warm" rent to be a bit over that. My estimated utilities costs add 350 Euro to my monthly rent, but my place is pretty big and I have been under so far so I got a refund. The system takes the surprises out of month to month expenses, but you could get yourself in trouble if you use a ton of heat and owe a big bill at the end of the year. When in doubt, estimate high. Best of luck with your research and move. :)

@@TheAlanFish Correct 2022, this is great advice Alan, I grew up between Ireland and the UK, but even those two countries seem to be more similar to the US when it comes to apartments. I had noticed when browsing various websites that Kitchens aren’t a given, I’ll definitely have to pay close attention! Fortunately I’m transferring through work and I’ll be working remotely so I’m not limited in terms of location, ideally I’d be looking at a municipality on the outskirts of a bigger city, I’ll of course be bringing savings over so the 4 months deposit shouldn’t be an issue. Thank you very much for the advice, this is incredibly helpful! Do you expect to remain in Germany for the forceable future?

@@Snacksaloon I'll be here for at least another 2 years barring any unforeseen circumstances. With a little luck, maybe a bit longer. Having some locational flexibility should really help out with finding a nice place. I'm tied to a physical location for my job, and rent rates are really high here, but thankfully my employer provides a very generous housing allowance.

@@TheAlanFish could I ask what line of work you're in?

@@filetmignon9978 I work in a boring and arcane technical field that has to do with managing all of the frequencies used by systems that rely on wireless signals.

None of the cars in that garage cost more than around $40k, or around half of the average full-size pickup truck these days. Lol! Mercedes and Audi are basic transportation here in Germany. Most taxis are Mercedes E-Class or Audi A6 for example. Also of note, most of the cars you see in the video are diesels. I think only 3 are gasoline powered.

No problem. Glad someone found it helpful. I honestly just posted it for family and friends so it's been a surprise to see it get a bunch of views all of a sudden.

Sorry, I'm not completely comfortable listing what exactly I pay in rent. That's why I had not answered several previous questions about it. Suffice to say, it is quite high, as the apartment is obviously quite nice and the Frankfurt area is not cheap to live in. I love the underground garage, but if I'm honest I would prefer to have the washer/drier in the apartment rather than down in the basement. I constantly forget when my clothes will be done, and end up with wrinkly clothes that need to be run though the drier again. Having it close enough to hear the ending beep alleviates my forgetfulness and my clothes end up looking better. To each their own I guess. :)

@@TheAlanFish Do you think that you could install your own inside of the apartment, or is that impossible for that apartment and with your landlord? Because I really want a place just like that! I do not mind the downstairs washer and dryer, but I am just like you! I want one inside of my living area!

@@JHP2001 It would be logistically difficult to install them inside the apartment at this point. There are no water lines for them, and no place that would be an easy spot to run them that makes much sense as a place for the units. I think my landlords would probably be ok with it if I insisted as they are awesome people, but it's just not an easy thing to do so I will just ride it out. If it were a deal breaker, I would have chosen another apartment, as there are a number of apartments that do have the washer and drier in the apartment here as well. Usually they tend to put them in the Kitchen for some reason, often concealed in the cabinetry from what I saw during my apartment hunt.

@@TheAlanFish Thanks for your insight of German living. A living person's opinion often beats that of the news, because they have live it. I hope that you make more videos, so I can watch them. I subed.

@@JHP2001 I'm honestly a little bit shocked that people other than my family and friends ever found this video. It was uploaded purely to share where I was living with those close to me and not able to visit on Facebook. I didn't expect it to ever find any other audience. It sat at like 60 views for nearly a year before suddenly taking off for reasons I am not privy to. I'm not a "creator", or anything like that in the normal sense, I'm just a dude who happens to live in Germany. That said, I am perfectly willing to answer questions to the best of my ability. It would be an honor to help someone else achieve their dreams. in any small way I could :)

I used Immoscout24.de for my apartment hunt. Just use chrome and the auto-translate feature if you don't speak the language. Be aware that in Germany, many apartments are rented with no kitchen included. People transport their whole kitchen around with them to new apartments for some reason. If you need a kitchen, make sure to include it in your search criteria. You should be able to find something nice in Stuttgart area if you can afford to spend a little bit of money.

There are definitely some things here that I prefer to American homes. In particular, bathrooms feel higher quality. It's more in the execution of material choices like tiling the whole room, etc than appliance quality or anything like that. I think you could get a good contractor to do the same thing in the States. The building is also made out of quite thick concrete as well, which is extremely rare to find in the USA.

@@TheAlanFish agreed completely with you.

@@TheAlanFish I love it in Germany. Dusseldorf is where I go and compared to the UK its just better. As places to live can't complain. Your place looks amazing - we'll done indeed my friend. All the best.

@@duncanboyd7835 I've been quite happy living here near Frankfurt, though I might choose a less costly area if I had the option. My only real complaint with this area at the moment other than the cost of rent is all of the construction closures. Seems like half the country is closed for construction at times. LOL!

@@TheAlanFish aye you have a point. Count your self luck though you must like the European angle. Great place to be. Hope your Deutsch is better than mine! Ha ha. Tus.

Berlin is supposedly quite a bit cheaper than where I am. It did seem pretty flat when I was there, so finding a place with a view might be a bit tougher.

Alan Fish Building was built in 2017, so it is indeed quite new. Rent is quite steep. Not willing to post exact numbers for personal reasons, but it is over 2500 Euro per month.

I would say these apartments are slightly above average for new built ones here in Germany. Overall construction is pretty much the same as most other German buildings, but this building has smart home tech that is a bit more advanced than average. There are others that are far nicer, but I most people can't afford them unless they work for the big banks, which is what drives the prices up around here.

I'm honestly not sure about educational costs, so anything I said there would only be speculation. As I understand it typically Germans do not pay for their education, it's included in their taxes, so I do not know how much it might be as a non-German student. Lodging costs vary quite a bit by area, and the area I live in near Frankfurt is quite expensive when it comes to rent, but if you are in a more rural area the costs go down quite a bit. They do have small university student apartments that are quite cheap, though they are also quite small and sparse. I would take a look at a site like immobilienscout24.de to get an idea of what you might be dealing with if you had an area in mind. Just use google chrome and the translate option if you don't speak German. Be aware that often German apartments do no include a kitchen. You either have to buy your own, or look specifically for only ones with a built in kitchen. Eating at restaurants I would say is around average. Typically you can get a very nice meal for around 15-20 Euro including drinks, or often less at less formal places. One thing to note here is you are typically expected to pay for bottled table water which is usually carbonated, tap water is not an option they generally like doing. A beer typically runs around 3 euros, but it does depend on the size as they offer 3 or more sizes in most establishments. Fast food typically runs around 7 euro for a meal. Other living expenses, such as food at the grocery store are quite low. I'm always surprised just how little I spend when I go to the German grocery store. It's at least 50% less expensive than I was accustomed to back in the USA. As far as the sparseness of the apartment, that is a combination of the fact that I am a single male who really doesn't care much about decorating, and the fact that I had only recently moved in. There is a little more ambiance in the place now in the form of wall hangings and the like, furniture on the terrace, etc. It would still likely feel sparse to a lot of people, but I'm happy without a bunch of clutter. :)

@@TheAlanFish thank u so much for these useful information ur even better than google to be honest Thank u 🙏

Thanks man. I actually just made it for friends and family, so it's been weird to see it have this second life like a year later. I'm about 20 minutes west of Frankfurt am Main. The website I used was immobilienscout24.de, which covers all of Germany.

I'm not really much of a "creator". This video was really only intended for my friends and family back in the US who might never get a chance to come visit. I would suggest looking up a channel called Kelly Does Her Thing here on KZfaq. She did a pretty good job of covering lots of key items for German living. She has since moved elsewhere, but the older videos are still good. Another good one is German Girl in America, who talks about a lot of thr differences she has noticed living in the US, if you happen to be coming from the states. Hope that helps.

Rent is quite a bit. Not completely comfortable talking about such matters in public, but suffice it to say that rents in this area are not cheap, and this place is on the higher end as you might imagine. It's over 2500 Euro per month.

@@TheAlanFish Thanks for your reply. It is expensive but you have a great sized, modern apartment. There are USA apartments that would be comparable to this price wise. Most apartments here are one or 2 bedrooms and fewer 3 bedrooms but they do exist.

Rent for 2 months is a go full 3 bedroom house here in kenya

@@jullieisaac4868 It would be nice if housing was less expensive here. A decent 3 bedroom home that doesn't need a ton of repairs and has off-street parking for two cars would cost a minimum of 700,000 Euros or so in this area. Most people live in apartments or condominiums.

The crime rate here in my village is virtually non-existent. I have not heard of any crime at all in the three plus years I have lived here. Worst I have ever seen in a neighbor shouting at another for making too much noise on a Sunday. LOL!

@@TheAlanFish Wow! I can handle neighbors yelling at each other 😃

@@TheAlanFish what do you do for work and how hard was it to find a job? im looking into moving to germnay

It's really not that bad. You just have to get used to them. :) The main davantage is you can leave the window cracked open without fear of a break in, and when fully open you can get a lot of air moving. The only thing I really am not a fan of is the lack of screens to keep bugs out. We get a few mosquitos here.

There is a water softening system for the entire building down in the basement. The water in this area of Germany is very "hard" as we say in English, which means it is full of a lot of minerals. Conversely, "soft" water means it has very few minerals. Hard water can be a problem for the plumbing, as it tends to form white chrystals on everything, and can damage things like a coffee machines, clothes iron, and can clog up shower heads. The water softening system helps remove most of those minerals, but it's not perfect. I would say it probably reduces the meineral content by about 80%, but 20% remains. I still get white spots of mineral buildup on the glass in the shower for example if I don't use a squidgy to get the water off after every shower. The water itself is very clean and sanitary, as in all of Germany to my experience. There is no problem with drinking it even without a water softener, and it will never make you sick, but it does taste better when softened. Hope that answers your question, and if not please let me know.

@@TheAlanFish thank you very much!! It solved my query.

This apartment is not in a city...it's literally in the middle of nowhere on the outskirts for Frankfurt...which means he only pays about 1300 Euro per month (cold rent).

@@shellybelly6563 Don't I wish! Unfortunately, rental prices are high anywhere remotely in this area. You would have to drive at least an hour from here to find anything remotely like that price for such an apartment. My cold rent is more than double the figure you listed unfortunately. I'm not completely comfortable advetizing exact prices etc. Not trying to be mysterious, but this video was really only intended for friends and family and was only made public because some family had trouble getting it to play. Somehow the KZfaq algoryhtm seems to have gotten a hold of it over a year later and it took off completely unexpectedly. Glad people enjoy the video, but I never really planned on being a KZfaq "creator" or anything like that. I'd be happen to answer specific questions via email, just not in a public forum like this.

@@TheAlanFish you should at least give us the range how much is the cost

@@sydney8734 I don't believe he "HAS/SHOULD" to do anything. He already gave us range above (double 1300/month), which is more than we are entitled to.

Its better than living in India X10000000

I honestly don't know the answer to your question. Generally payments in Germany are made via IBAN bank transfer rather than cash. As far as passport issues, I am an American citizen rather than German, but I have not had an issue from that perspective.

Not trying to fool anyone. Yes, it is a rather expensive apartment. That said, it is quite a bit nicer than most others at the same price in this area, and I feel lucky to have found it.

Most Americans can't afford apartment like that

Not impressed .. no warmth .. small kitchen .. fridge is impractical.. too small ..

Bullshit.. Germany i a rich country...

@@NancyNoo7007 not sure why you would think the kitchen is small. It's quite large in all honesty. It's nearly 10 feet from the counter across to the fridge for example, and no problem to have 6 or 7 people standing around and talking. The fridge is small by American standards, but is literally the largest size available in Germany. Most are much smaller here. Works for me, but if you have a large family it would be problematic. Many of my neighbors have a freezer in their storage area to supplement. My old phone (Pixel 2) did have a strangely zoomed-in lens, which makes things feel closer than you are used to with the average iphone video for example. Could be why you were thinking it's tight. Apartment is 1650 square feet for reference.

I used a website called immobilienscout24.de, Rose.

I'm in a slightly unusual situation where my employer pays for my rent. They give us an allowance for housing up to a maximum amount that is based on your pay grade, and family size. You do not get to keep anything you do not spend, it is use it or lose it, so I have a nicer apartment than I might choose if I were paying for it myself.

@@TheAlanFish oh now I get it it’s a furnished company-paid apartment yes they do in Germany for ex-pats on a temporary basis

@@frommykitchenasma7183 it's not actually furnished. All of the furniture is my own, such as it is. I do pay the rent myself, it's just that my employer gives me the money for that in my paycheck.

It's located about 20 minutes west of Frankfurt, and it is a rental. Wish I could buy a place, but it is unfortunately a bit difficult as a foreign citizen.

@@TheAlanFish thank you. I lived in Berlin and in Olsterholz-Scharmbeck.

@@CreedTravelsTheWorld No problem, Sir.

According to Google, 153 Square meters is 1646.878 square feet. I'm no expert on that sort of thing, but I find it a little difficult to believe that it would be incorrect the exact same way 2 different times when I searched it. You might want to double check your math? Nothing to prove here. Just slightly confused by the accusation I guess. Edit: I later realized that your impression of it's size might have been influenced by the camera itself. The camera lens on the phone (Pixel 2 XL) used to record this video is sort of the polar opposite of a "fish eye" lense. It always seemed to feel a little too zoomed in for normal shots, and could make things feel closer than they actually are. The apartment is indeed 1650 square feet. The main living area and kitchen alone are nearly 750 square feet after measuring and doing the math.

It is not far from Frankfurt, Germany.

die Kaltmiete beträgt mehr als 2500 Euro. Leider ist es in dieser Gegend recht teuer.

I live in a small villiage about 20 minutes drive west of Frankfurt.

@@alexanderlotharson5634 Very close to there, yes.

Apologies that it took me a little time to see this, Dennis. My apartment would be wheelchair accessible, with one possible issue being vehicle parking and building entrence from the garage due to rather heavy door closures and somewhat tight parking spots. A side door ramp on your vehicle would be problematic unless you rented two parking spots to ensure access. When it comes to finding a place, there is an option on the largest apartment listing site for limiting results to those buildings with "stepless access", which could imply wheelchair accessibility. There are certainly options that could work, but I am not sure there is quite the same wide consideration for accessibility here in Europe in general as there is in the USA. In many German restaurants for example, the bathrooms are downstairs, and it is not common for there to be elevator access. Most buildings here are quite old, and were built long before attention was paid to such things. Hope that answers your question to some degree, and if it brings up any more questions don't hesitate to ask.

That's a bit complicated to answer. The short answer is communications.

U have actually really good job sir 😌nice apartment

That would be my guess as well. It is a bit annoying though, because in the winter it makes the interior of the garage quite damp, which promotes corrosion. There are several windows in the garage as well. This winter the floor of the garage stayyed completely wet for nearly 2 months straight. My brake pads routinely would rust nearly solid to the brake rotors within days.. Then you have to rock the car to break it loose, and the brakes sound like they are full of rocks for the first few km. Would much prefer a system where there was a carbon monoxide sensor tied to a vent window or something, as I feel like it is worse for my vehicle than sitting outside at the moment.

You mean they really banned them because they were afraid of people hurting themselves? In the country where I can drive 200 mph on my way to work? LOL!

@@TheAlanFish uh i cant remember evere seeing them here 😅 but yeah, very weard rules here we germans dont even understand them quite often.

For me its a mistery why americans like garbage disposal in the sink? Garbage, I mean the word says it all, belongs in a garbage bin. Living in the states for a few years, never used it. The thought of washing waste food down the drain, was not appealing to me. Same with our so very small fridges, some have build in freezer compartments some don't. As a family of four we don't need bigger ones, as we buy fresh food. My time in Texas was different, we had to travel 30 miles to the next supermarket, the bigger fridge made more sense.

@@stormyweather8280 The beauty of the garbage disposal is that organic waste stays out of the waste bin, where it invariably makes a foul smell in very short order. It keeps the bin cleaner and less smelly. Here with the biodegradeable bags I either have to take the trash out every day, which feels wasteful with all of those bags going out with only a handful of food in them, or the bin ends up reaking to high heaven in 2 or 3 days. Also the smell goes right through the biodegradeable bag and sticks to the plastic, requiring a very thorough washing to get rid of. The small fridge doesn't really bother me, as I am single. You are right that in the states, it's often about the distance to the store. We also refridgerate more items in general, eggs for example, because eggs in the USA are washed by aw, which removes the protective layer that allows them to be stored unrefridgerated here in Europe. I run into more of a problem with food waste personally because the size of vegetable options at the grocery seems to always be way more than I can eat before it goes bad. I don't want to eat Brussel sprouts 7 days in a row just to not waste them, you know? Wish you could get something other than like a 1 kilo bag of them and other greens, as that's way too many for one person. I know smaller portions = more plastic, but if I keep having to throw the old out and buy new, that doesn't actually work out.

Alan Fish mmh....yes garbage does smell, I know especially when I noticed that the water pipe from my kitchen ended in my backyard , also the huge rubbish bins placed outside of a single household. In summer with temperatures around 36- 39 ° not nice. Here i buy small paperbags for biodegradable waste and my bin has a lid. But I don't know the real reason why they not in European kitchens. Maybe our waterpipes are inside concrete walls and not behind wood. I live in Cologne and I do buy my veggies at the farmers market, where I am able to get a handful of Brussels sprouts. You actually like sprouts? 🙂 Some don't like the taste. I moved quite a bit in my live and I noticed so many differences in houses in Germany, just have to travel 20 km outside the city . Same in the States, moved three time in Texas to large houses with large backyard, huge roaches and rattlesnakes. And a small cozy apartment and later house in Pittsburgh. Great experiences and met forever friends. Have a great time in Germany.?.......

Racist much?

Not a pro, and no camera mount. Just recorded with my phone and only intended for family and friends.

@@TheAlanFish OK but if you post on KZfaq you are posting to the whole world

@@andrewashdown3541 only reason it was ever made public is because family couldn't play it for some reason when it was initially posted as unlisted. No idea why it suddenly took off in views 2 years later. Any case, if younposted this on every poorly filmed video in KZfaq you'd wear your fingers down to nubs before you got close to finished.