note to self: don't convert euro to USD

Stuttgart in particular has a high cost of living, but the costs are not uniformly high. It's actually been very interesting to see what is cheap and what is expensive here. So here's a breakdown of some typical expenses in current value USD.

$0.97 basic pretzel from the bakery

$1.11 0.5 Liter local beer (single from the grocery)

$5.50 6 pack of .5 liter bottles of local beer
$1.25  Ritter Sport chocolate bar (100g)

$1.25 small bag of mixed salad (100g)

$1.25 large bag of carrots

$1.38 package of salami (200g)

$3.30 Single trip ticket for zone 1

$83.00 Monthly transit pass for zone 1 including central Stuttgart

$498.00 Monthly rent + utilities for a single large room in a house of renters not too far from the city.

$1,245.00 Monthly rent for a 2 bedroom apartment reasonably close to the city center

Generally speaking, bread, vegitables, and beer are very cheap here. Fruits and some processed meats like salami are also pretty cheap. Most meat is expensive, and dining out is very expensive. Local transit is surprisingly expensive, and rent is very high.