High costs and low amount of space in rented rooms and shared apartments for students in Berlin

Students carrying out their studies in the city’s educational institutions often rent a room to live in on the city outskirts due to high apartment rental costs in the central part of the city.

Occasionally, there may be a more affordable, spacious room in the centre of the city. Who wouldn’t want to live there? When these rare opportunities arise, they are in very high demand.

However, they’re uncommon as the monthly rent for a room can vary significantly depending on the area. For example, it’s possible to find a small room for 400 euros per month in the peripheral areas, but there are also options such as sharing an apartment with other people where a monthly rent of 900 euros would be paid. This second option typically consists of sharing an apartment and its expenses with people who work or study at other universities in Berlin.

Some expenses could be lower if the rent includes bills for basic expenses such as electricity, water, internet, and essential food, which will depend on the type of contract made with the homeowner and the adjustments it has.

That’s why, for students renting a room, it’s important to pay close attention and check the rental conditions before signing a contract. In any case, you should always consider and plan for extra expenses, such as food, sports, activities, transportation to the university, and errands, such as going out to buy food. These monthly expenses combined with the rent can add up to quite a bit, even reaching between 1000 and 2000 euros.

Calculating and planning the costs for a student who migrates to a city like the German capital is essential, especially where the costs are quite significant. A large percentage of foreign students, also known as expats, are part of the student base in Germany, especially in the capital. Over time, this has increased the rental demand significantly. Also, approximately 20% of the population of Berlin are migrants or foreigners who work or study <<Statistik Berlin-Brandenburg, 2024>>, which impacts the rental cost in the city. Essentially, out of every 5 people who reside in the city of Berlin, one person is a native of another country <<Germany Population 2024>>.

Cluttered Living Spaces Aren’t Beneficial for Student Life

For young people beginning their university studies, an orderly living space becomes increasingly essential. It is not only a matter of taste or mental health to avoid the stress caused by living in narrow, enclosed, and messy spaces; it also helps create a more comfortable, pleasant study space.

For many people, having spaces that are a little messy, like our work centre or desk with multiple notebooks, books, and devices, is part of their daily life and way of working. However, saturated and messy living spaces generate distractions, often negatively affecting concentration or attention problems. Also, it can create the perception of an uncomfortable and messy space, which can turn a room into a very narrow space.

Although it could be said jokingly “many things will be at hand”, over time, we understand large spaces are much better for our peace of mind. This is not only true because there is less to clean and they accumulate less dust, creating healthier spaces, but also because they offer a more favourable, clear, relaxing, and suitable environment for resting and enjoying.

We must take advantage of the space we have and achieve a clean, well-lit, pleasant environment to help us reduce stress. As students, being part of an apartment with shared rent or renting a room in a family house often means it’s difficult to modify or alter the distribution or furniture. For example, when we rent a room where the spaces are not typically planned for maximum comfort and storage, it can be challenging to create an enjoyable environment.

Decor, comfort, and practicality are closely linked to the room furniture, all of which help create a pleasant space. An enjoyable environment has a lot to do with the storage capacity available and how we arrange our belongings, both those we take initially and purchase later.

For example, a bed with built-in drawers offers additional storage space to help prevent items from accumulating dust and mites. This is a clear example of how to take advantage of a space in a room rented for a student, which can help optimize other spaces such as the closet, desk, or dresser. In many cases, this is only an ideal scenario, as space is quite limited. This leads many students to consider a cheap external storage solution, such as a mini or small unit.

A Smaller Room

“I have a wardrobe and a small chest of drawers in my room, but they are very limited spaces. I love my books but I can’t have them all with me, or many of my other things, because I had to move from a room that was bigger to a smaller one…”
Tyrol, Wilhelmstadt – Ortsteil

Sharing an Apartment Reduces Costs but There Are Always Security Considerations

Most students in Berlin share an apartment with others or live in student residences, as seen in many advertisements through different media, such as university bulletin boards, advertisements, internet portals, or in the university’s own National Association of Student Affairs.

A shared apartment offers advantages beyond distributing a high monthly rent and having a property with a better location and conditions. One additional advantage for foreign students is the ability to learn the German language in a faster and more efficient way. However, sharing an apartment also requires protecting one’s own belongings. With roommates offering access to the apartment to others, such as friends, the security of one’s items must be considered.

Keeping the environment of one’s own room as tidy as possible and with only necessary items also helps with item security. Even though most people are respectful and take care of the belongings of those in the residence, sometimes it can get out of hand. That’s why it’s important to take preventive measures, such as storing belongings in a small storage unit.

From a Shared Apartment to a Residential Room

“Between my studies and work I don’t have much time, and the little time I have I dedicate to my friends and family. I moved from a shared apartment to a room I rented. One of the people I lived with no longer wanted to continue with the shared rent. Now I have much less space and has me drowning in my own things.”
Ayla, Alt-Hohenschönhausen – Lichtenberg Ortesteil

Safely storing and protecting belongings

“My room is small and I live in a student residence, I can’t have all my things and they are exposed to others, many things have been accumulating and now everything looks messy, boxes and things everywhere and I even trip over my own things…”
Andreas, Hermsdorf – Reinickendorf Ortesteil

Save Time and Money on Storage from the Berlin Outskirts

Often, our clients who live on the city’s outskirts need to store their things in a small unit and are looking to save money without paying for unnecessary space.

However, it can be costly to transport their belongings to the storage facilities and time-consuming, making it tedious. Travelling from Mitte to Spandau to retrieve a stored item demands a good amount of time.

Yet travelling to the centre of Berlin, even in ideal conditions, can take around 2 hours one way. Taking Spandauer Str., Falkenseer Chaussee, Altstädter Ring, and then going along Ruhlebener Str. toward Köningin-Elisabete-Straße, a route through Berlin we know very well, or alternative routes, such as the one that runs along Seegefelder Str., passing by IKEA and then Spandauer Damm, can take on average between 40 or 45 minutes by car and almost an hour by bicycle.

Of course, this travel time depends on there being no setbacks, which can cause even longer commutes. When we think about saving money on these commutes, making the trip on a bicycle is a great option. But in many cases, what you want to transport cannot be done on a bicycle due to the risks this can represent.

I study and work with little time available

“Living on the outskirts of Berlin is very nice because the environment is calm, but it takes me a long time to get around the city. Every day it takes me more than two hours to go to university, to work, to buy things… having you pick me up and return my belongings is very good”
Heidi, Britz – Neukölln Ortesteil

Comparing the Cost in Money and Time of Moving Your Things from the Outskirts of Berlin

m²	Pickup cost with BOXIE24	Cost of moving it yourself	Cost of using a moving company
1	0 €	8 € ~	69 € ~
2	0 €	119 € ~	99 € ~
3	0 €	119 € ~	129 € ~
4	0 €	119 € ~	159 € ~

We know saving money and time by living on the outskirts of the city is valuable to you. With the solution we have designed at BOXIE24, we can help you resolve all space issues in your room, leaving you with an open, pleasant environment to rest and relax. We help you save money, time, and inconvenience while keeping your items stored safely no matter where you are in Berlin. We understand your storage needs well. That’s why we designed our solution to make the process simpler and easier for your needs.

Click here to check our storage space offers in Berlin.