München : The most expensive city in Germany

There is enough office accommodation everywhere. In recent years a lot has been built and put on the market at high prices. But there’s still a shortage of housing – despite state subsidies. Prices and conditions vary greatly, however: it makes a lot of difference whether you live in northern or southern Germany, in a big city, small town or in the country.
It all depends of course on where you work. An hour’s commute is the maximum German employees expect.
If your journey takes an hour and a half or longer, colleagues look on you with a touch of admiration – or pity. And an employer may ask cautiously if it wouldn’t be better to find somewhere to live a little closer. People in Germany tend to stay put once they’ve built or bought a house. They are reluctant to move once they’ve become homeowners, and often stay in the same place till the end of their life.

It’s easier to find somewhere to live in northern Germany, somewhere that isn’t too expensive. In southern German, however, and especially in the Munich area, prices have soared.

Munich is the most expensive city in Germany. Even Frankfurt am Main has dropped behind. There are several reasons for this: the attractive setting and the surrounding countryside, the proximity of Austria and Italy, and also employment prospects. A lot of people travel to Munich not just on holiday or for leisure purposes, but also to work. In the past agriculture was the most important factor in Bavaria’s economy. But all that changed some while ago. The number of farms is dropping all the time.
Munich has become a powerful industrial centre: high-tech firms have set up business, famous car-makers such as BMW are based here, and the city is also a centre of the film and TV industry. The new airport has become an important international hub, and the new exhibition centre attracts exhibitors and visitors in large numbers from far and wide.

Grammar : Present tense / Strong verbs

	nehmen	essen	schlafen
ich	nehme	esse	schlafe
du	nimmst	isst	schläfst
er/sie	nimmt	isst	schläft
wir	nehmen	essen	schlafen
ihr	nehmt	esst	schlaft
sie/Sie	nehmen	essen	schlafen

Some strong verbs change:
e to i or ie (nehmen: du nimmst, essen: du isst)
a to ä (schlafen: du schläfst)

Grammar : Perfect Tense

mit haben

	kochen	wohnen	sparen	finden	lesen
ich habe	gekocht	gewohnt	gespart	gefunden	gelesen
du hast
er/sie hat
wir haben
ihr habt
sie/Sie haben

mit sein

	gehen
ich bin	gegangen
du bist
er/sie ist
wir sind
ihr seid
sie/Sie sind

When you talk about something in the past, you use the perfect.
For example: Gestern habe ich gekocht. Heute gehen wir essen.

The perfect is also possible in cases where you would use the simple past tense in English.

The perfect consists of two parts: Gestern habe ich Spagetti gekocht. You need the conjugated form of haben or sein (ich habe, du hast etc.) and the past participle (gekocht).

The past participle usually starts with ge- and ends in -(e)t (gearbeitet, gekocht) or -en (gegangen). It is placed at the end of the sentence, and the form doesn’t change.

In German as in English there are weak and strong verbs. Weak ones have the ending -(e)t, strong one -en.

Vocabulary : Useful expressions

Entschuldigung = Excuse me

Tut mir Leid = I’m sorry

Macht nichts = That’s OK

Einverstanden? = OK?

Du hast Recht = You’re right


Hast du Hunger? = Are you hungry?