Being financially free means having enough passive income to support a lifestyle that can be

maintained without the need to work. How much passive income would you need to support the cost
of living in Berlin, Germany?
Each of us would have our own idea of an ideal financially free lifestyle, which can range from the
most basic to ultra-luxury. Of course, a basic lifestyle would require less passive income and shorter
time to achieve.
To simplify things, financial freedom depends on to 3 key variables:

 Income
 Expense
 Rate of return on the difference (between Income and Expense)
For a person (or family) that has a vision to achieve financial freedom at the earliest possible
timescale, assuming that income and rate of return remains constant, the easiest way will be to
minimize Expense.
Also, even after we achieve financial freedom, with passive income cash flow coming in at a constant
level (e.g. dividend or annuity), moving to a city or country with lower cost of living has been
considered by many to keep Expense controlled at a lower level, while maintaining a good life at a
new place for a few years.
In this article, using data from various public sources, let us try to explore and better understand the
cost of living in Berlin, Germany.
Cost for a single person to live in Berlin

Item Cost (EUR)

Estimated monthly living expenses for a single person (excluding rent) 732

Rent/month for 1 bedroom apartment outside of city centre (lower est.) 547

Total monthly cost of living estimated for a single person 1279

 
Cost for a family of 4 to live in Berlin

Item Cost (EUR)

Estimated monthly living expenses for a 4-person family (excluding rent) 2497

Rent/month for 3 bedroom apartment outside of city centre (lower est.) 1050

Total monthly cost of living estimated for a 4-person family 3547

 
Cost of basic food in Berlin

Item Average (EUR) Range (EUR)

Milk (regular), (1 liter) 0.79 0.50-1.10

Loaf of Fresh White Bread (500g) 1.28 0.65-2.00

 Item Average (EUR) Range (EUR)

Rice (white), (1kg) 1.63 1.00-2.80

Eggs (12) 2.08 1.32-3.00

Local Cheese (1kg) 8.8 4.65-20.00

Water (1.5 liter bottle) 0.62 0.20-1.00

The population of Berlin

 With six million residents, the capital region of Berlin-

Brandenburg is the second largest metropolitan area in Germany.
 With its roughly 3.75 million residents, Berlin is the largest city
in Germany (49,5% male, 50,5% female).
 In 2018 the population of Berlin has grown by  36,218
residents.
 Berlin is a young city: 55 percent of the population is younger
than 45 years of age, the average age was 42.7.
 40,163 children were born in 2017.

Foreign population of Berlin

 People from more than 190 countries call Berlin home and
make this city a truly international metropolis.
 Around 748,472 foreigners were registered as living in Berlin
at the end of 2018, with roughly 37,200 of them having been
added that year.
 20% of the population is foreign-born, most of these residents
coming from Turkey, Poland, and Syria.
 Workers from western European industrial nations and the
states of central and eastern Europe are migrating to Berlin.
The average life expectancy of Berliners was 80.5 years in 2015, 8.6 years longer
than in 1982, the German Insurance Association reported on Tuesday, citing the
Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research.