Living in Bremen There are many reasons why living in the Hanseatic City of Bremen is delightful. With its 570,000 inhabitants, including 31,000 students studying at one of the six universities, Bremen could not be more multifaceted: the city and rural suburbia lie right next to each other. There is a very vibrant student scene, but you will not get lost in overcrowded streets. The river Weser is on your doorstep, each district is full of delightful cafés and plenty of cultural activities are going on—a city that combines green surroundings with a modern lifestyle. - Check out more information about Bremen here:
Getting around in Bremen and its surroundings VBN (Verkehrsverbund Bremen/Niedersachsen) is the public transport association of Bremen and its surroundings. The VBN region offers an endless variety of destinations. Why not simply hop on a bus, tram or train with your semester ticket and start discovering.
Bike Sharing in Bremen If you prefer getting around in Bremen by bike, you might think about sharing a bike or subscribing for a bike. You can also borrow a bike at the campus and use it for free for 30 Minutes.
Costs of Living Your living expenses depend on your lifestyle. The largest share of monthly expenses is incurred by the rent, which usually makes up one third of students' living expenses.
Opening a bank account Prerequisite: You need to complete the city-registration asap. You need to make sure your name is on the post box. After the city registration you will automatically receive your tax ID (a letter to your address in Bremen). Now you can open a bank account/ unblock your account.
Work There are many possibilities to earn money during your studies, but international students need to make sure they comply with the legal regulations stipulating how much they are allowed to work. Attention EU students: If you work in Germany, you need to get registered with a German health insurance. Driving licence If you want to drive a car during your stay in Germany, be prepared to show an international driving licence or your home-country driver's license. Know that, as a general rule, foreign licences are valid for six months. Waste separation: There are five waste categories in Germany: • Lightweight packaging (LWP) made of plastic, aluminium, tinplate or composite materials, • Bottle banks for glass, • Paper and cardboard, • Residualwaste, • Biowaste. Finding accommodation The International Office of HSB offers you support in finding suitable accommodation in Bremen. For this purpose, we have set up the accommodation database Into Rooms offering furnished rooms and is exclusively accessible for our exchange students. All apartments in "Into Rooms" are checked by the International Office and are offered by trusted landlords. Shared apartments, single flats or rooms in a family home are available. The monthly rent ranges from 280 to 480 €. We strongly recommend you to make use of our Into Rooms service, because in recent years it happened that students got victims of fake accommodation offers and deposit frauds on external websites. So please do not make any deposit payments before your arrival in Bremen except to landlords in Into Rooms. Please make sure you start your search for accommodation as soon as possible, otherwise the best offers are gone and the later you start with your search, the harder it will be to get a good offer that matches all your expectations. - In case of any problems or questions, please contact the International Office's accommodation service at intorooms@hs-bremen.de
Safety Bremen is a very safe place to live. There are no “no-go areas" in Bremen—students do not have to avoid any particular districts of the city. Nevertheless, with a population of almost 550,000, you may experience conflict and become the victim of crime. In case of an emergency (accident or fire or if you encounter violence), call the Germany-wide emergency numbers: - 110: Police
- 112: Fire brigade and ambulance/emergency physician
- 116 117: Medical Emergency Service
Find more detailed information in the brochure | 
