Searching for shared flat in Berlin (from june)

Shared flats are definitely the cheapest way to go. But good luck finding one that fits as the vast majority will be students and young people up to the age of 30. But one can always try.

If by "acommodation in academies" you mean student hostels, I have to disappoint you: Those are by far the cheapest options you will find!
Also, what do you consider "so expensive"? On the open market, budget €300-400/month (plus utilities) for a room in a shared flat and €500-600/month for a one-room-apartment. Utilities (heating, water, garbage, electricity, etc.) will add another €100-150/month.

At academies that i checked, cost 480 euros per week in a shared flat.

Can you tell me more about students hostels???

Nowadays, there are a lot of people living in shared flats, not just young people. Wellcome to 21st century!!!

What are these “academies” which charge so much for accommodation!?! I have never heard of such. For this price you can stay in a cheap hotel!
Student hostels are strictly for university students only and are usually run by a public organisation called Studentenwerk (although there might also be a few privately run ones, or by churches). The application procedures are individually different, but they usually have long waiting lists.

Thanks for the information.

That´s one of these academies; https://www.sprachenatelier-berlin.de/en

I think there might be a bit of a misunderstanding running through the tread. In English, to study is a very loosely used word that means to learn and anyone at any kind of a school can be called a student. In German, the word "study" strictly means to learn at a University. And a student is someone at University rather than say at a language school. This is something to be aware of that there are words that are nearly the same in both languages (what the French called “false friends”) that actually have some distinctly different connotations.

It sounds like the poster is going to be at a language school and not university thus they cannot get the benefits only given to such students. And although I don’t know details of such language schools in Berlin, I can easily imagine that they manage to charge a lot for people coming for short periods of time not wanting the stress of finding and furnishing a room.

And my comment that most WGs - as shared flats are called in German - are for young people is correct. I didn’t say none exist for older people but it will be a simple matter of statistics that a large majority are people not older than 30. And the place one usually finds rooms in a WG is by putting up advertisements on pin-boards at Universities and other learning institutes. So, not that some WGs with older people don’t exist but the question is where one is most likely to find out about ones with available rooms…

While Tom's post above is entirely correct (Thanks!), I want to add some more information:
I don't know about Berlin, but here in Stuttgart a full-time student at a private language school CAN get a room in a Studentenwerk.run student hostel, although possibly waitlisted at a lower priority to "real" students.
WGs are mostly for younger people, because older ones often have family, expectations or life routines that make shared living difficult. I personally lived in a stereotypical student WG for six months seven years ago. I was in my mid-fourties and needed a temporary space, so I brazenly applied for one advertised for "somebody up to 30 years old". It turned out the two flatmates were so disorganised that in the end I was the only candidate left - and they took me. The place was as dirty as student housing usually is: If you needed a clean dish, you had to wash one from the huge pile in the kitchen, I cleaned the bathroom twice in the six months - and nobody else, and the climax was when one night I caught a life rat in the living room with my bare hands. But we clicked well and had long, interesting conversations over bottles of red wine (supplied by me, as I was the only one with enough money) and they liked eating my food (I was also the only one who could cook). I consider this a great experience, but it is certainly not for everyone!
Now, looking at the "academy" webpage you linked to above: It seems to offer mainly short-term intensive classesin summer - in which case you probably have no other coice than their accommodation or a similarly priced hotel. Renting on the open market or in a student hostel is only for long term (at least 6 months to a year) and those places are almost always unfurnished.

The "academy" you linked to does not offer its own accommodation, but on the following page lists some options in the vicinity, which are all very reasonably priced at €10-25/night for a dormitory bed or €40-60/night for a room. You won't find anything cheaper!
https://www.sprachenatelier-berlin.de/e … ation.html
And I must say their full-time language courses are also very cheap at or below €100/week, even though the classes only run 3 hours per day.

Beppi, thanks for the input about language school pupils being allowed to apply to the Studierendenwerk for housing. I didn’t know it was allowed.

But I would not get my hopes up too high for such a situation if one is given low priority. I don’t know about Berlin but in Stuttgart this organization has around 8000 places scattered all around the region. But Stuttgart University has 35,000 students and then if other non-university pupils are also allowed, then one can just do the math and realize there is a huge shortage of housing.

I think it is correct that a WG is the best budget option but it will probably be a challenge to find a fitting situation.

TominStuttgart wrote:

Beppi, thanks for the input about language school pupils being allowed to apply to the Studierendenwerk for housing. I didn’t know it was allowed.

I also didn't know and was actually surprized when our ex-Aupair (who continued studying German full-time at a private language school) managed to get a room there.

I'm assuming that "accommodation in academies" means accommodation offered by private language schools, which is usually just a step cheaper than a hotel. So no, not the cheapest option. It's not uncommon in Berlin...a lot of people come here to learn languages and "all-inclusive" options that offer accommodation are somewhat of an industry here.

Anyway, if you want to save money, look outside of the ring and be willing to share – you'll have to add 100+ Euros to the prices beppi posted if you want a place inside the ring (if you can find one at all)...

Look for rooms to rent over the short-term. A lot of students give up their rooms when they go travelling (especially over the summer), and the prices are usually based on an older rental contract (meaning cheaper). Almost everyone in Berlin uses WG Gesucht to look for rooms: www.wg-gesucht.de. There are also Facebook groups dedicated to short-term flat and room rentals, which are also popular.

Studentenwerk is probably a no-go...it's hard for actual long-term students studying at local universities to get rooms with them, let alone people coming over here for short-term language classes. Maybe worth trying, but I wouldn't hold my breath.