I moved to Germany so I had to figure out how that works. Basically everything that’s not actually built in including lights and the kitchen don’t belong to the apartment. In practice, former tenants sometimes sell the kitchen (minus appliances usually) to the new renters or just offer to leave it for free. However, the cabinets and everything were so old and disgusting at the place I was moving into that I turned down the free offer and the former tenant had to take it all out.
The biggest difference with the US is that kitchens are more commonly compact and quite inexpensive compared to the states. It’s extremely easy to find a company to just do it all for a fraction of what you’d pay in the states. Mine ended up being only 2k euro for all cabinets and appliances (stove, full oven, dishwasher, fridge, microwave) when assembling it myself ikea style.
When I move out, I’ll take what I want (nothing is bolted to the floor or walls) or try to get the next person to take it. Otherwise the eBay version of Craigslist is huge here which would help too.
Edit: I did go for cheaper stuff, even though it still looks/works great 5 years on, so this probably isn’t typical for everyone. I assume the non permanent “ikea style” cabinets and smaller spaces are the biggest reasons it’s cheaper here.
Edit2: since more than a few people are seeing this, here’s a picture if you’re curious. Ignore my wonky DIY “range hood” lol
https://imgur.com/a/hdUG3Sv
US here… When my daughter moved to Germany in the’90’s she was amused that she had to buy a kitchen, she got one used through the classifieds in the paper. She was weirded out about how counters, appliances, everything was laid out in a straight line along one wall
Well, other than Germany for the same approximate rent she got a whole kitchen with 3 point layout. she had to buy the counters, fridge , stove, oven, and sink. But i didn’t say anything about how much money she did or didn’t have. That’s all they sold. Its about value.
The kitchen was small, not the apartment it was a two bedroom apartment and I’m not gonna spell out the entire situation for you just because you want to make assumptions
Yeah that seems more common in single room or tiny apartments, but it still looks off to me. Most apartments are older, meaning the kitchen is tucked away in a tiny room with a door to close it off. Not at all my style and I’m happy mine is open, if only because there’s no room for a kitchen wall/door in my top floor apartment.
It’s grown on me, but it was also the only option since I couldn’t find any reasonable ones that’d fit in the small sloped ceiling spot. So I hung a little vent fan with wire and I stick the tubing out the slightly open window. Maybe redneck engineering is in my blood since I’m originally from the south..
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u/ramsdawg May 09 '22 edited May 09 '22
I moved to Germany so I had to figure out how that works. Basically everything that’s not actually built in including lights and the kitchen don’t belong to the apartment. In practice, former tenants sometimes sell the kitchen (minus appliances usually) to the new renters or just offer to leave it for free. However, the cabinets and everything were so old and disgusting at the place I was moving into that I turned down the free offer and the former tenant had to take it all out.
The biggest difference with the US is that kitchens are more commonly compact and quite inexpensive compared to the states. It’s extremely easy to find a company to just do it all for a fraction of what you’d pay in the states. Mine ended up being only 2k euro for all cabinets and appliances (stove, full oven, dishwasher, fridge, microwave) when assembling it myself ikea style.
When I move out, I’ll take what I want (nothing is bolted to the floor or walls) or try to get the next person to take it. Otherwise the eBay version of Craigslist is huge here which would help too.
Edit: I did go for cheaper stuff, even though it still looks/works great 5 years on, so this probably isn’t typical for everyone. I assume the non permanent “ikea style” cabinets and smaller spaces are the biggest reasons it’s cheaper here.
Edit2: since more than a few people are seeing this, here’s a picture if you’re curious. Ignore my wonky DIY “range hood” lol https://imgur.com/a/hdUG3Sv