Berlin vs Strasbourg for couples

Berlin, in Germany, and Strasbourg, in France, are about 593 km apart. Every figure below comes from the data behind our city pages: an estimated monthly cost for a couple, tax tier, annual climate, safety, healthcare, internet speed, language and residency rules. Berlin leads on safety, getting by in English and residency rules; Strasbourg on cost and internet speed.

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Side by side

Factor	Berlin	Strasbourg
Country	Germany	France
Size	Large: 1 to 5 million people	Mid-sized: 250,000 to 1 million people
Setting	Near the coast	Inland
Est. cost for a couple	€3,844 a month	€3,665 a month
Tax tier	High tax	High tax
Average temperature	11°C	12°C
Rainfall	584 mm a year	687 mm a year
Safety	65 / 100	52 / 100
Healthcare	79 / 100	80 / 100
Internet (median fixed)	~90 Mbps	~230 Mbps
Main languages	German	French
English	Good English	Some English
Long-term residency	Comparatively open	Possible, with conditions
Self-funded income route	From $1,270 a month	From $1,720 a month
Visa-free short visits	93 of 198 passports	93 of 198 passports

Source: the datasets behind our city pages. Cost is our model estimate (a country-level cost index scaled for city size); tax tiers are assigned by hand from each country's top marginal income tax rate and overall tax reputation; temperature from the Open-Meteo archive (2019 to 2023 averages); rainfall from TerraClimate (1991 to 2020 normals); safety and healthcare are our own country-level estimates; internet from the Ookla Speedtest Global Index; English from the EF English Proficiency Index; residency from our hand-reviewed residency dataset (not legal advice); short-stay entry from the passport-index dataset.

Factor by factor

Cost of living

Strasbourg is cheaper: we estimate about €3,665 a month for a couple living centrally, against €3,844 in Berlin. That is €179 a month, or 5%, less.

Taxes

A tie: Germany and France both sit in our high tax tier.

Climate

Strasbourg is 1°C warmer on average over the year: 12°C against 11°C in Berlin. Berlin is drier, with about 584 mm of rain a year against 687 mm in Strasbourg (15% less).

Safety

Berlin is the safer pick: Germany scores 65 out of 100 on safety, 13 points above France (52).

Healthcare

Close: Germany scores 79 out of 100 on healthcare and France 80.

Internet

Strasbourg has faster home internet: about 230 Mbps median fixed download against about 90 Mbps in Berlin.

Language

Main languages: German in Berlin; French in Strasbourg. English goes further in Berlin (good English) than in Strasbourg (some English).

Residency and visas

Long-term residency for people from outside the EU, EEA and Switzerland is easier to obtain in Germany (comparatively open) than in France (possible, with conditions). The cheapest self-funded income route we track starts at about $1,270 a month in Germany and $1,720 in France. Citizens of the EU, EEA and Switzerland have freedom-of-movement or simplified residency rights in both. For short visits, 93 of 198 passports can enter Germany visa-free and 93 can enter France.

Which one fits a couple

If one of you puts safety (65 against 52 out of 100), getting by in English (good English against some English) and residency rules (comparatively open against possible, with conditions) first, Berlin comes out ahead. If the other cares more about cost (€3,665 against €3,844 a month) and internet speed (230 Mbps against 90 Mbps), Strasbourg does.

Size differs too: Berlin is a large city (1 to 5 million people) and Strasbourg a mid-sized one (250,000 to 1 million people). Berlin is near the coast; Strasbourg is inland.

OurNextCity has each partner answer 12 questions privately, then ranks Berlin, Strasbourg and 913 other cities for both of you at once.

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