Starting your career in Aachen: Which form of living really fits?

The three options and what they really mean

Anyone new to Aachen has three realistic living options: a room in a shared apartment, a temporary furnished apartment or an unfurnished apartment on the open market. Each of these options sounds plausible at first glance. But everyone has requirements that you should know before you submit your first request.

The shared room is the familiar path for many career starters because it is familiar from their time at university. According to current market data, the average rental price for a shared room in Aachen is around 400 to 600 EUR per month, depending on location and size. In Pontviertel, the classic student district near the city center, 500 EUR and more is the rule. In more distant districts such as Haaren or Forst, you can find cheaper, but accept longer distances. What is not included in these figures: A shared room is almost always unfurnished. Anyone who comes from another city or abroad and doesn't bring any furniture will quickly spend 600 to over 1,000 EUR on a bed, mattress, desk, cupboard and the most necessary kitchen utensils. In addition, there is a deposit of usually two months' rent, which is bound at the outset. And then there is the roommate question: A shared kitchen, shared bathroom, shared decisions about cleaning services, shopping lists and the question of who threw away the expired yogurt. That can be wonderful when the constellation is right. But it can also be a real burden if you simply want peace and quiet after a long first working week Friday and stumble into a strange household dynamic instead.

Having your own unfurnished apartment on the open market offers full privacy, but it is binding. Anyone who signs a two-year contract and at the same time knows that the first position is limited or that you are not yet sure whether Aachen will be the right place in the long term is taking on a significant risk. Dissolving apartments before the end of the contract costs either a fine or a lot of time searching for a new tenant. Setup costs are quickly in the four-digit range. And you have to organize all of this in parallel with starting your career, at a time when you actually need every free hour for a new job, a new social environment and getting to the city.

The temporary furnished apartment solves many of these problems at once. You move in and everything is there: bed, desk, kitchen, Internet access. No set-up costs, no full deposit, no long contract terms. From day one, you can concentrate on what you came to Aachen for. The additional charge compared to a shared room, which many see on paper, is significantly put into perspective when you include all actual costs.

What many do wrong when comparing costs

The most common mistake when choosing an apartment is a simple rent price comparison without a total invoice. If you compare a shared room for 450 EUR per month with a furnished apartment for 650 EUR per month and then say “The shared room is cheaper”, the calculation is incomplete.

In the first year, the shared room costs 450 EUR warm rent, the furnishing of around 800 to 1,200 EUR, a deposit of around 900 EUR and any additional costs, which are billed separately. This results in a total expenditure of around 7,000 to 7,500 EUR in the first year. The furnished apartment at 650 EUR per month, which includes additional costs and Internet and the deposit is lower or not, costs around 7,800 EUR. The difference is therefore less than 10 percent spread over twelve months. And that's before you factor in the time spent buying furniture, setting up, going to the authorities to re-register your main residence and the usual everyday hassle with the shared flat.

For young professionals who come to Aachen under time pressure, this calculation is often the turning point in the decision.

Four questions that clarify the decision

Instead of giving a general recommendation, four specific questions help you find the right form of living for your own situation.

First question: How secure is your own situation over a period of twelve to eighteen months? Anyone taking up a fixed-term position or is still unsure whether Aachen is the right place in the long term should choose a flexible form of rental. A long-term contract involving investment in furniture is an unnecessary risk in this phase.

Second question: How much time and energy do you have for the move? The first few weeks in a new job are intensive. Training, new colleagues, new processes, new city. Anyone who has to furnish an apartment at the same time sleeps less, recovers worse and starts their new job worse. That sounds like a soft variable, but it's a hard reality.

Third question: How important is privacy after work? It is not a question of introversion or extraversion, but a question of energy balance. Anyone who comes to a shared apartment after a full working day in which the roommates have planned a social evening must either participate or socially exclude themselves. If you have your own apartment, you decide for yourself.

Fourth question: Do you bring furniture or not? Anyone who moves from a fully furnished apartment and takes their furniture with them has a different starting situation than someone who comes to Aachen with two suitcases and a laptop. The latter should seriously consider the furnished path.

Typical mistakes that can be avoided when starting a career in Aachen

A mistake that many people make is to start looking for accommodation too late. Aachen has around 60,000 students, and good offers in locations close to campus or close to the city center are quick. Anyone who starts searching six weeks before the start date often has little choice. If you search three months in advance, you have significantly more.

Another mistake is to underestimate the situation. Aachen is compact, but the differences between the districts are noticeable. Anyone who lives cheaper in a suburb but needs 45 minutes a day to work loses several weeks of life on buses and trains over a year. A location close to campus pays off in everyday life, even if the rent is slightly higher.

A third mistake is underestimating the emotional costs of an inadequate housing situation. Anyone who lives in a shared flat with incompatible roommates sleeps worse, recovers less and starts their new job with less energy. This is not an abstract problem, but a very concrete one.

Living with the Good Shepherd: What the project means for career starters

The Good Shepherd residential project in Aachen is located directly on Campus West, one of the fastest-growing areas of the city around Aachen's Westbahnhof. The apartments are fully furnished, ready to move into and are aimed at people who are looking for an easy start in Aachen. This specifically includes professionals who come to Aachen on a project basis or who initially need flexible options when starting their career before making a long-term commitment.

What that means in practice: You book an apartment, clarify the move-in date, arrive and can go to work the next morning. No buying furniture, no setting up a marathon, no waiting for the Internet installation. Additional costs are included in the rental price, and the rental period can be arranged flexibly. For someone who comes to Aachen with a fixed start date and has no capacity for residential logistics during the familiarization phase, this is a real advantage.

The location on Campus West is not a random factor. Supermarkets are within walking distance, the RWTH University Sports Center is just a few minutes away, and the city center can be reached in ten minutes on foot. Anyone who works in the high-tech environment at RWTH or at one of the local companies also has short distances to everyday working life. More about the location: https://guterhirte-wohnen.com/lage

That is not a promise for every situation. Anyone who knows right from the start that they will stay in Aachen permanently and want to actively build a home for themselves will prefer their own apartment later on. But for the first phase, i.e. the first six to twelve months in a new job in a new city, the combination of immediate moving in, full equipment and a flexible rental period is hard to beat.

What you can do as a next step

If you know when to start in Aachen, the most sensible first step is to check for available apartments early on and make a direct enquiry. The earlier you start, the more choices you have. At the Good Shepherd, you will receive feedback on availability within seconds after a direct apartment request, so that you can quickly get clarity and move ahead with planning.

conclusion

The right form of living when starting a career in Aachen is not the cheapest on paper, but the one that costs the least energy in a phase in which this energy is needed for the job and the new life. If you want to combine flexibility, quick moving in and full privacy, you should seriously consider furnished apartments in a good location and calculate the total costs, not just the cold rent. On the other hand, anyone who already owns furniture, has time to furnish and appreciates social involvement in a shared flat can also go down this path. The decision is easier if you make it based on your own situation and not on the basis of general recommendations.

Ready to take the next step? Take a look at the available apartments and contact the Good Shepherd directly: https://guterhirte-wohnen.com/kontakt