Family of 4 salary and school - Berlin

Hi,

Welcome on our website.

Be careful because German companies do not like salary discussions of this type. This is the best way to lose the contract ... you'd better look for fringe benefits.

For the rest, you'll soon receive more precise information from German expat specialist

You would certainly survive on that money and have space for some little extras, but you wouldn't be able to sum up a lot of savings... depends on how good you are with money. To negotiate a salary is a normal thing to do, if they don't want to give more, they'll tell you. There always is a risk in life.

Thank you for this advice. But generally wouldn't it be safe to ask this question if I don't call out the company by name?

The median pre-tax income of a German family of four was €62500/year in 2018, according to official statistics (Statistisches Bundesamt). That translates to €40000/year after tax.
Thus what you are offered is certainly reasonable, but depending on your lifestyle expectations may or may not be enough. (Is money ever enough?)
Of course all expenses that average Germans won't have, like school fees, home trips, etc. go on top of that.
I suspect an international school that is free cannot be good - cost and quality usually go in tandem here! German public schools, on the other hand, are free of charge (the authorities cover all costs), offer good quality and reputation and give your kids the unique chance to settle well into their new home. At their age, they will have no problem picking up the language and being near fluent by the time they enter primary school at the age of 6 or 7, especially if you send them to a German kindergarten until then.

I googled JFK school: In case you mean the one in Berlin (which, unlike some others with that name elsewhere, has a Wikipedia entry), it is a public bilingual school with a high percentage (about a third) of American kids and teachers.
In general (and I don't know if JFK is an exception here), bilingual schools in Germany are geared towards enabling German kids to learn a second language more intensively. Only some of the lessons are held in English, starting with one or two per week in earlier years and up to half later on. The rest (and especially the more difficult topics) are held in German.
Because of this, we decided that a bilingual school is not the right choice for our daughter (who is bilingual, but English is her weaker tongue) and sent her to a normal German school instead.

I've mentioned this subject many times before but one's choice of schools can be critical. Some people who come and have kids already in school and are not staying more than a year or two might feel compelled to put their kids in International schools that instruct primarily in English but then they cost 12 to 15 thousand euros a year. Not the kind of thing you would afford on such a salary. This is exactly the kind of fringe benefit people looking at high level jobs will try to negotiate. The reason some would not want a free but good public school is that much of the first year will be focused on getting the kids up to speed in German. This might mean losing a year academically. In the long run not a big deal but for a shorter stay not ideal at all.

You have the advantage that the kids are young enough that within a year they can be speaking good German in time to start school. But like Beppi said, such a bilingual one is more intended to strengthen the English language skills of the otherwise German speaking kids rather than meaning an alternative for kids who can't speak German. That said, such schools are very happy to have native English speakers. It means kids can and will often speak English amongst themselves rather than it just being taught by the instructors. And if a lot of Americans go there then this might be socially a plus for American kids. Not that they should avoid integration but having some people who understand their culture and language first hand might be positive. What is questionable is if they get much academically from it.

The time and effort spent on English instruction is kind of a waste for ones who already speak the language natively. Seems this time would otherwise be spent on other subjects they could learn. Not to say that choosing such a school is a mistake but one should get a good idea of how it is really run and decide for themselves if it is optimal or really advantageous to a normal public school. Kids usually go to a school nearby to where they live. Thus picking a particular school like this means limiting their search for accommodation, one of the most difficult factors of moving to Germany, to a close proximity to the school - or be faced with getting the kids there from farther away.