Cheapest cities in Germany

The cost of goods is very much the same all over Germany.
What varies is the cost of labour and real estate. Those are cheaper in the countryside than in the cities, and much cheaper in the former Eastern Germany than in the West.
The reason is that there are far fewer jobs than job seekers, causing higher unemployment, lower wages and migration to the West (thus plenty of empty apartments).
So, while it is certainly cheaper there and some people might be happy, it cannot be generally recommended to move there as a foreigner.
On average, you get what you pay for - and the expensive cities do offer a better quality of life.

Thanks for the feedback, Beppi.

Hi I moved for work.  But I do agree that real estate in country side is much cheaper than the city.. Buying food outside is more expensive than the US, but groceries are much cheaper.  Driving is very expensive, but it is encouraged to use public transportation. 

I've only lived in Giessen which is 60 KM away from Frankfurt and my experience is based on there.

I think Beppi's answer is brilliantly concise. The biggest cost difference can be in rent or property prices. One might find significantly cheaper possibilities in very small rural communities far from a big city. But then one might have a dire lack of work or shopping opportunities and maybe not even a school. One would probably have to have a car and drive a lot to do most things. Not a good choice for most people. But for someone retired, thus no kids or need to work, who likes a slow paced life and nice countryside – such a thing might be ideal. On the other hand Germany is not the country many choose to retire to. Most choose a warmer climate but again this is a matter of taste.

Living in Stuttgart is on the expensive side but the quality of life, especially for families, is quite high.  The food can be as cheap or as expensive as you want it to be. There are Aldis and LIdls on the cheap side and high end markets for the rich folks. Farmers Markets are all over the place.

The Schwäbisch language is impenetrable and is spoken widely here.  So, just knowing some German might not cut it.  If you don't have family you will have to stick with other ex-pats for a social life.

It is near impossible to find a flat or a house and sharing a WG (roomates sharing a house or apartment) might be your best bet.  The driving radius for people working in town is expanding and it's not uncommon to see people living 50 km away and commuting into work. The public transportation system is totally reliable and second to none. You don't need a car and for less than €100 a month you can go just about anywhere as fast as you would in a car and sometimes faster.  The traffic is infamous for its Stau (traffic jams).  Stuttgart is in a large valley and a lot of the traffic going in and out of town has to pass through two-lane tunnels.

If you want cheap or inexpensive housing then the East is where you want to go - head East, young man!  But just like the old west, it is going through a lot of change and transformation and the social amenities might not be up to a westerner's expectations, as has been stated by the other posters already.  There might be some bigger towns there that might be having a renaissance. Maybe someone will post about it.

Hello,

thank you very much for your Email in conjunction to your your request on almost affordable cities in Germany . Please see its links and you you enjoy German ground floor as ideal as if you havent ever been to Germany as follows :

    https://welcome-center-germany.com/top- … s-germany/http://www.oecdbetterlifeindex.org/countries/germany/

Mr. Bernardi-P wrote:

Hello,

thank you very much for your Email in conjunction to your your request on almost affordable cities in Germany . Please see its links and you you enjoy German ground floor as ideal as if you havent ever been to Germany as follows :

I thought I should comment to this post since it uses such bad English as to be incoherent. The links are anyway legitimate. The first one is an article about the 5 most affordable cities in Germany. The second gives many statistics about wages, cost etc. in Germany. So both have relevance to the subject.

Yes please I would like to know each and everything on these cities