Housing and real estate market, cost of living

Frankfurt is a city with an outstanding quality of life, but a very reasonable cost of living. According to studies, the city ranks 7th worldwide, and 5th in Europe, in terms of quality of life, while ranking only 62nd when it comes to cost of living, indicating the comparative affordability its residents enjoy.

In Frankfurt, AMLA employees can benefit from rents and real estate prices that are quite reasonable compared to other European centres of trade and finance. The Frankfurt Rhine-Main region, too, offers a good range of high-quality yet comparatively affordable housing. Housing options range from refurbished 19th-century Gründerzeit villas, to flats in skyscrapers, to detached family houses.

Refurbished flats in older buildings in inner-city locations are at the upper end of the price range, while new buildings on the outskirts of the city are less expensive. Housing is also generally more affordable in smaller towns outside the major cities in the region. Most of these smaller towns in the Rhine-Main region have excellent connections to Frankfurt by efficient public transport and have a well-developed road infrastructure, keeping commuting times very short.

Education

Frankfurt and the Rhine-Main region offer great international educational facilities for the children of AMLA employees.

The European School Frankfurt has a contingent of places for children of EU officials and offers an excellent education from nursery right up to the European Baccalaureate. To show its appreciation and support for the growing European School, Frankfurt has offered a new and very attractive site for the construction of a bigger facility. It is located very close to the ECB and can be easily reached from the city centre – and thus from the potential AMLA headquarters – within 10 minutes by car or public transport. In the future, the school will have approximately 2,250 students, who will benefit from the public swimming pool and the local park in the new neighbourhood. In addition, Frankfurt has more than 50 state and private schools offering an international education and, in some cases, dual qualifications – such as the German Abitur combined with the French baccalauréat or the Italian maturità – or the International Baccalaureate (IB). Most schools offer after-school care. A large number of international and bilingual kindergartens complement the educational facilities available to younger children.

To show its appreciation and support for the growing international community, Frankfurt is providing a new and very attractive site for the construction of a bigger facility for the European School

Social security, medical care and labour market

The German social insurance system was introduced as early as the 19th century and later served as an international role model. Today, Germany still has one of the world’s best social security systems by many standards. No other EU state allocates more resources (in relation to GDP) to health care than Germany. When it comes to the number of hospital beds or physician density, the German system sets high standards. During the Covid pandemic, Germany’s large reserve of intensive care beds enabled it to provide support to numerous emergency cases from other EU countries. In the Frankfurt Rhine-Main region, residents and visitors have access to approximately 25 clinics, many of them with highly specialised departments in all medical disciplines. Moreover, there are a large number of practices in Frankfurt where doctors of all specialities offer their services not only in German but also in English or another EU language. AMLA employees and their families thus have access to excellent medical care in Frankfurt and the entire region, which is both easily accessible and available in a wide range of languages.

Frankfurt offers excellent medical care, not only in German – many doctors also provide their services in English and other languages of the European Union

The Rhine-Main region is one of the most dynamic economic regions in Europe. Its well-functioning labour market provides ample opportunities for the family members of AMLA employees, too. In November 2022, unemployment in Germany stood at a mere 3.0 %.

Internationality

Frankfurt is an international city through and through, not only because of its long tradition as an international trade fair location. For decades, people from all over the world have been welcomed here with open arms. The entire Frankfurt Rhine-Main region is a melting pot: a region whose prosperity derives from its cultural diversity. Some 30 % of Frankfurt’s inhabitants hold a foreign passport, and people from 170 countries call the city their home. People from all over the world quickly gain a foothold here, in no small part thanks to the high level of English language competency in the region. Existing international networks, including international schools and kindergartens, sports clubs, and cultural institutions, not to mention international lawyers and tax advisors, all make it easy to get started. The region also offers exceptionally trained, English-speaking young people with international backgrounds for all types of positions. Many of the region’s 250,000 students even study in English-medium programmes.

Culture

With a large international community and a vibrant cultural scene, Frankfurt boasts many leisure activities and a high quality of life, with a rich array of renowned museums, theatres and entertainment options. The city has 35 theatres in total, including seven foreign-language theatres, two opera houses and 60 museums and art galleries. Both opera houses offer special events for young people, and the Papageno music theatre is dedicated solely to children. In 2022, Oper Frankfurt was designated “Opera of the Year” for the sixth time, an award given to opera houses in German-speaking countries. There is also a variety of cultural events in Frankfurt all year around, like the Museum Embankment Festival with its 2.5 million visitors, the World Club Dome, where 180,000 guests celebrate in what has been called the “biggest club in the world”, the open air music and cabaret festival in the Günthersburgpark, the Night of the Museums and Europa Open Air, a cooperation between the ECB and the Frankfurt Radio Symphony. Internationally, Frankfurt’s tradition as a trade fair city is closely connected with the world’s largest book fair. Not only Frankfurt, but the entire Rhine-Main region offers cultural facilities and events of the highest standard. Just half an hour away, for example, is the capital of the state of Hesse, Wiesbaden. The “City of Historicism” is not only an architectural experience. Wiesbaden also captivates visitors with its renowned cultural offerings, from the Hessian State Theatre to the globally significant Art Nouveau collection in the Wiesbaden Museum.

Leisure, sports and nature

Frankfurt and its surrounding area are known for a diverse range of high-quality restaurants and clubs. In 2022 alone, two more restaurants were awarded the coveted Michelin star. This means that the number of Michelin-starred restaurants has risen to 10. And according to a worldwide ranking by Forbes magazine, Frankfurt is home to one of the 10 “Coolest Restaurants To Eat At In 2023”. In addition, the Rhine-Main area is also known for its rich local cuisine in the traditional cider restaurants.

The world-famous Robert Johnson techno club in Offenbach, located directly on the Main, offers a place to relax after work. Techno culture is also celebrated at the new Museum of Modern Electronic Music, which looks more like a club than a museum. In general, Frankfurt is more attractive to Generation Z than many other major European cities. According to a recent study, this applies in particular to the criteria of digital services, climate change action, safety, remote working and affordability.

In the summer, numerous street festivals in different districts of Frankfurt and in the surrounding region attract visitors with local dishes, wines, live music and theatre performances. The “Dippemess”, the largest folk festival in the region, lasts three weeks and attracts around 750,000 visitors twice a year with its fairground rides. International festivals such as the Thailand Festival in Bad Homburg reflect the region’s diversity.

Residents and visitors can look forward to outings to one of the roughly 50 parks. The city also has two zoos and a botanical garden. Around 4,500 hectares of city forest form Frankfurt’s extensive green lungs. The Taunus and Odenwald mountain ranges can be seen on the horizon to the north and south, respectively. The weekends provide time for exploring the many forests, castles, lakes and vineyards in the environs of Frankfurt, which can be conveniently reached by public transport. Many destinations are located in the Rheingau, a popular nearby tourist region, which also offers the Rhinegau Music Festival, one of Europe’s largest music festivals.

In addition, the Frankfurt/Rhine-Main region hosts numerous international sporting events every year. Eintracht Frankfurt, an internationally successful women’s and men’s football club, is just as much a part of the city’s sporting life as, for example, the Fraport Skyliners, which play in the 2^nd Basketball Bundesliga. From the balcony of the Römer, Frankfurt’s town hall, the German national teams are traditionally welcomed by the city and celebrated by fans when they return from European or world championships. Other sporting facilities include 426 sports clubs and fitness centres, 11 swimming pools that are open to the public, tennis courts and golf courses.