- Antoine Mariaux
What I really like about InterNations Munich? The wonderful crowd of outgoing and lively expats at our local events, of course!
Get tips, join events & make friends in Munich
Learn the ins and outs of life in Munich from our expat community and find out how to meet other Indians and global minds in your city.
Experiencing German culture can be exciting and fun. But there are moments in life when it’s just nice to spend some time with your fellow countrymen. We’re not just talking about Diwali and Holi here — having a network of people who know what it’s like to live abroad comes in handy more often than you think. Luckily, our community has you covered!
Why you'll love InterNations in Munich
and countless possibilities for fun and friendship!
Why Indians move abroad (& how they like it)
Every year, we run one of the biggest global surveys among people working and living abroad and ask them about various aspects of their expat life. Learn what motivated our Indian members to move abroad, what keeps them there, and what they struggle with or miss about home.
The pros & cons of living in Munich
No place is perfect; there’s always the good, the bad and the ugly. Find out what our Indian members love about their lives as well as the challenges they face in Munich.
Pros:
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High standard of living: Germany in general, and Munich in particular, offers a comparatively high quality of life. This includes great public services such as healthcare and education.
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Work–life balance: Munich offers a good work life balance for Indians with a legal minimum of 20 vacation days a year and many additional public holidays in Bavaria.
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Safety: Munich is a very safe city. Walking around alone at night, even as a woman, you’re unlikely to get pickpocketed or be exposed to violent crime.
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Public transportation: With trains (both suburban and underground), trams, and buses, Munich offers a comprehensive transportation network. Services are efficient and frequent, but not exactly cheap unless you’ve got the monthly ticket.
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Walkability: Next to public transportation, you can also easily get around Munich on foot or by bicycle.
Cons:
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Cost of living: Compared to India, the cost of living in Munich is considerably higher. Adjusting to the vast difference in currency (1 EUR equals not quite 100 INR) and expenses can be difficult.
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Language barrier: Normal day-to day activities and interactions are do-able without speaking German. But doctor’s appointments, registration at official offices, finding rental apartments, and so on are much harder without knowing the language. And most expats also find learning German quite difficult.
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Bureaucracy: German bureaucracy has been known to annoy not only expats with its refusal to be more modernized. There’s often a lot of rigorous paperwork and formalities required when registering your address, applying for work permits, and handling other necessary paperwork.
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Cultural differences: Adjusting to the cultural difference between Indians and Germans can be a hurdle. Indians are generally warm and expressive, while Germans can be more restraining with their emotions and come across as distant and cold.
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Climate: Depending on where you’re from in India, the cold weather might take some adjusting. Throughout the year, Munich sees significant variations in temperatures, ranging from below zero in winter to a pleasant average of 20 to 25°C in summer.
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Taxes: Germany can be brutal with its tax system: both income tax and social security contributions will eat up a large share of your income, especially compared to India. In fact, Germany was ranked second for high tax burdens amongst 31 other OECD countries.
Meet Indian expats at our events in Munich
Making friends and building a network in a new city can be hard. Luckily, at our events, everyone is from somewhere else! So it’s completely normal to introduce yourself to people and ask about their own expat journey. You’ll get to know a bunch of internationals in no time and get first-hand information about your new home.
Check out our upcoming events and become part of Munich’s large expat family. Especially our Newcomers’ Events are great for people who’re new to the city: our Ambassadors will greet you with open arms and introduce you to other newcomers or more experienced expats living in Munich.
Want to meet other Indians at our events?
Frequent questions about living in Munich
If you’re looking for fellow Indians to watch some cricket with live, you can always try sport bars like Killians pub. Holi is also popular in Munich, so you can meet other Indians while celebrating the festival of colors. And there are of course many Indian restaurants in Munich — some more, some less authentic. Few things are better than bonding over love for food.
Still, that’s doing it the hard way in our opinion. It’s much easier to make friends when attending activities specifically for global minds. Our InterNations events are a great opportunity to meet Indian and other English-speaking expats in Munich. The Newcomers’ Events in particular are geared towards introducing newbies to the community, which makes finding your first friends a whole lot easier than trying your luck in a restaurant.
Munich is a very international city that receives a substantial number of foreign tourists every year (and not just for Octoberfest). So, it’s not too hard to get around with no to very limited German skills.
But this will surely feel limiting at some point. You’ll run into the proverbial language barrier more than once when trying to connect with locals and might find yourself struggling when you need to get official paperwork done, find a flat, or see a doctor, for example.
So ideally, you treat your time in Munich as an opportunity to learn some German. There is a wide variety of affordable language schools to get you started. These days, you can of course also try your luck with various apps that allow you to improve at your own pace and budget.
Still, to make your time in Munich a bit easier, we’ve collected some services that cater to English speakers (these services are not affiliated with or endorsed by InterNations):
General practitioner (GP) | Directory by the US embassy List of English-speaking doctors and medical services in Munich; includes their location so you can find one close to you |
Dentist | Zahnarztpraxis Dr. Topp The dentist speaks multiple languages besides English; easy to get to by U-Bahn or bus Munich Smiles Easily reachable dentist in the city center |
Urgent care | Helios Hospital providing medical assistance in the language you speak in, with several locations across Germany |
Immigration assistance | Immigration-Germany.co Relocation- and visa-support with a full-service approach |
Tax advisor | Privatax A tax adviser that will prevent you from being double taxed and help you navigate the German tax system |
Instant interpreting service | Dolmetscher agentur 24 Round the clock interpretation services and more |
The average cost of living in Munich can range from 2,000 to 3,500 EUR, depending on your circumstances. Most people say to live comfortably in Germany with your family, you should earn about 5,000 EUR monthly.
Let’s break down the costs of living in Munich (based on an exchange rate of 1 EUR = 93 INR):
| INR per month | Local currency per month | |
Utilities (power, water, etc.) | 28,000 INR | 300 EUR |
Rent for a studio apartment | 139,600 INR | 1,500 EUR |
Rent for a small family home | 186,000–232,700 INR | 2,000–2,500 EUR |
Public transportation | 4,650 INR | 50 EUR |
Mobile phone & internet | 5,580 INR | 60 EUR |
Meal at a restaurant (per person) | 5,580 INR | 20 EUR |
Groceries (per person) | 18,600–32,600 INR | 200–350 EUR |
Basic health insurance (public) | min. 14.6% of gross salary |
Meet other Indians in Munich
Our Global Partners
Find friends to pursue your passions with
Do you want to continue with your hobbies — or discover new ones — while living in Munich? There’s a variety of InterNations Groups you can join, including everything from theater visits to golfing.
These groups are run by dedicated Consuls with at least one activity each month. Enjoy dinners at Munich’s finest restaurants with the DinnerNations Group or join the Outdoor Explorers for outings with other expats to discover all that the city and its surroundings have to offer. From sports and entertainment to networking and philosophy, there’s something for everyone!
Find other Indians to share your hobbies with
Enjoy the international experience with InterNations
We’re not just active in Munich — InterNations offers lively communities in most of Germany’s major cities. Whether you’re traveling or considering moving elsewhere in the country, check out our Indian communities in Berlin, Hamburg , Frankfurt, Düsseldorf, Essen, Cologne, Bonn, Regensburg, Heidelberg, Stuttgart, and more.
But that’s not all! If you’re in the mood for a nice night out while traveling further abroad, you can find us in 420 cities across the globe. Browse all InterNations Communities worldwide.
- Antoine Mariaux
What I really like about InterNations Munich? The wonderful crowd of outgoing and lively expats at our local events, of course!
- Chen Ming
I had my first "mass" of Oktoberfest beer at the InterNations event for the Munich expat community - thank you, InterNations! :)
