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Comment by MatthiasP | Hacker News Reader

The amount of tech workers migrating is minuscule compared to the number of unskilled migration coming from countries like Syria and Afghanistan to Berlin. That is where the demand shock on the housing market comes from.

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You're both right. Correcting OP, desperate tech workers accepting being lowballed, hopping between temporary apartments each couple of months, being replaced in 2 years by someone even more desperate, hoping to get their feet in the door (into a place with minuscle payrises and impossible housing market). Ideal candidate is someone from outside of EU (or an EU country but troubled with decades of economic crisis) with a spouse and a child. Have fun you all, because I'm out of this freak place!

> number of unskilled migration coming from countries like Syria and Afghanistan to Berlin

These people cluser in the city districts ruled by Middle Eastern organized crime (if you ask Germans, no such phenomenon exists). There, market forces don't apply and housing market is hermetic to the outsiders - and it doesn't matter because you wouldn't want to live there.

I kind of disagree with this view over salaries. There’s a lot of rules to bring a skilled worker from outside of EU. One in particular deals with how low can your salary be, which if I remember correctly is around 45~50k. The main problem I see is with poor countries inside EU. I remember a Portuguese girl in my previous company with similar role and experience making 30k a year, she left when while complaining about salary they said they could offer a 10% raise which would be an amazing raise for her. Same situation on the current company, this time with a Hungarian guy.

45-50k is not enough to make a good living in Berlin, when your rent and utilities (everything included) is around 1k to 1,250 EUR, which leaves you around 1k EUR to live by.

Is that a joke? With €45k+ in Berlin you have a pretty decent way of living, that’s higher than any median or average. And you can have good rent if you don’t live in trendy areas where prices are inflated.

> With €45k+ in Berlin you have a pretty decent way of living

Then cancel you rental contract, rent something new again and now... if not homeless (or stuck with airbnb)... re-estimate what the decent salary would be.

I’m in the process of moving right now (literally in a week), I’m quite aware of rent prices. Maybe we have a different definition of “decent” in this context.

So what when that’s higher than any median and average? It’a enough money to survive in today’s Berlin, but it’s far far away from anything decent! Started almost decade ago with these €45k in Lindau, 800€ rent, 400€ unavoidable expenses. Add some savings and an upkeep costs of a 7 years old car and it’s gone.

>7 years old car

Mr. Big Shot

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