Europe's startup and counterculture capital, where entire careers and social lives run in English. Endlessly stimulating; the flat hunt is legendarily brutal and the admin famously analog.
What it costs to live in Berlin
Rent here sits close to the national baseline for Germany, at roughly EUR 1,100 a month for a one-bed. That puts Berlin in the most expensive tenth of the 60 EU cities we profile, with 11 cities above it.
Against a typical net salary in Germany of about EUR 2,500, that is roughly 44% of take-home pay going on rent alone. City wages usually run above the national figure, so treat this as the cautious end.
What the economy runs on
Startups, media, politics, creative industries.
Berlin works best on a local salary or a settled remote contract, since neither the cost base nor the country's paperwork favours arriving without income already in place.
How far English gets you
English carries you a long way in Berlin, through work, restaurants and most services, though tax forms, rental contracts and municipal admin still arrive in German.
On our scores Berlin rates 78/100 for English against 65/100 for Germany as a whole, the usual gap between a city with international employers and the country around it. There is a fuller breakdown on the English in Germany page.
What day-to-day life leans on
Going out is easy and late: Germany scores 80/100 nationally for nightlife, and as the capital, Berlin is where most of that concentrates.
Worth weighing
Finding an apartment is a competitive sport.
Berlin is the cheapest of the cities we cover in Germany. For comparison: Munich (about EUR 1,430 a month) and Hamburg (about EUR 1,210 a month).
City picked, country still open? See the full Germany overview including cost of living, safety, healthcare and the path to residence, or compare Germany with other EU countries.