If I'm applying in a university in Germany ...?

Question

... is it easy to find a "cheap" place to stay in until I find eine Wohngemeinschaft oder eine Wohnung? And is it easy to find a job (for students) to help me??

I didn't decide which university and where yet... ich bin Ägypterin und kann Deutsch sprechen (aber nicht sehr gut *shhhhh*). Is it easy for me as an Egyptian girl to live in Germany alone?

Answer 1

If you want to live in a city like Hamburg, Munich, Berlin, Stuttgart, Leipzig and so on its easy to find a Wohngemeinschaft (abbreviation: WG, common used)  

if you are likable.

Could be interesting for you:

http://www.wg-gesucht.de/

http://www.studenten-wg.de/wohnungsmarkt...

Answer 2

Ja es ist einfach. Wenn Du ein offizielles Austauschprogramm besuchst, wird man dir in 98% aller Fälle eine Wohnung geben. Das heisst, Du bekommst ein Zimmer in einem Studentenwohnheim.  Gleich am ersten Tag.

Yes, it is easy to find a cheap place to stay. If you are with an official exchange program chances are very high you'll be given a place in a student dorm on the very first day you arrive in Germany.

When I was at uni I was a mentor and volunteer guide for international students, my job was to pick up foreign exchange students at the airport and show them around town and the university and help them with their papers. There is probably something similar with your exchange program.

My suggestion to you: Buy the Lonely Planet Germany guidebook, there is a lot of information on travelling and living in Germany in there. The Lonely Planet tells you how to get from A to B and where there are cheap places to sleep.

Apart from hostels there are also hospitality sites like couchsurfing.com. You write to people listed on the site and you can sometimes stay with them for free. This is the cheapest way. Of course it is not very safe, there are a lot of bad people out there so beware and if in doubt it is better to stay at hostels.

It will be difficult for you to find a job if you don't speak German well and or wear a muslim headscarf. Muslim women with a headscarf are discriminated against, they are usually asked to take the headscarf off.

BTW, if you got a student visa you can legally work up to 20 hours per week. I strongly recommend that you go to the Ausländerbehörde and apply for a work permit. Do not work illegal "under the table", you'll be banned from entering Germany if you do that.

If you wear a headscarf your best bet of finding a job is either with other muslims. You could work in the kitchen of a Turkish or Arab restaurant or as a babysitter for a German muslim woman who wants her children to learn Arabic. Put up a note at the local mosque.

If you like children you should also look into doing Au-Pair, there are sometimes muslim families from Germany who look for Arab speaking Au-Pairs.

Feel free to email me if you got more questions. I'm German and muslim myself.

Answer 3

It really depends on the city. You can probably stay in a Youth Hostel (http://www.jugendherberge.de/en/) for the first time.

Rents for appartments or Wohngemeinschaften vary a lot. Berlin is cheap, Munich is expensive, everything else inbetween.

I am not sure whether you will be allowed to work with a student visa in Germany. Actually I doubt it.

Here is a little list from a German University(!) for international Students: http://www.ruhr-uni-bochum.de/zsb/aa_kv-...

Answer 4

First of all you have to start with obtaining a visa to get permit to reside in Germany for studying purposes.

http://www.timaticweb.com/cgi-bin/tim_we...