How is the life (in all aspects) as a graduate student in Munich, Germany?

Amadasun has a great answer to this. However, there are a few inaccuracies and aspects I would like add since I find them important: Speaking German is beneficial, but it is also really easy to learn - no matter what others tell you. If you speak English, German can be almost mastered within 3 months, because the two languages are extremely similar (German used to form a dialect continuum with English). You will find quite some people who tell you otherwise, but I want to strongly emphasize how wrong they are. Their perception is based on incompetent language learning techniques. The right technique how anyone proficient in English can master German within 3 months is throwing all grammar/academic language books out the window, using Duolingo, Yabla etc. and reading Benny Lewis' exceptional blog (http://www.fluentin3months.com). I promise you, only your willpower matters, not your intelligence in becoming a master of German. Finding housing in Munich is not that difficult as many people claim. I have helped a couple of people find housing in Munich and the only thing it needs is knowing the right people (e.g. me :-)). Many found great places in less than 3 weeks. Munich's pricing is not expensive, it is moderate. 700 € of rent might seem high to you, if you are from a low-income country. But you can only compare Munich to London, Paris, New York, San Francisco. In SF for example, you'd pay around 1500-2000 € for what costs 700€ in Munich. In fact I have lived in California and Munich is so much cheaper! Munich has an extremely high quality of living. According to Mercer, Munich is one of the Top 5 in the whole world and therefore has a quality of living that is superior to Paris, London, New York and San Francisco. Doing a doctorate in Germany is not being a graduate student, but instead you are a researcher. The point is: You work for a professor and do research. You need to organize yourself and this challenges you more than it would in the Anglo-Saxon world. The German academic system is fundamentally different from the US, UK etc. in that it requires you to figure out everything on your own and make many decisions on your own. This is by design and Germans will often point out how this system is superior to the Anglosaxon system. Don't worry though - everyone wants to help you and advise you. You have to make decisions, but you won't be left alone. Munich is a very international and open city. Most of the prejudices you will hear about Germany or Bavaria do not in fact apply to Munich, no matter how often people will repeat them. For example, you will often hear Munich was a very conservative city. This is clearly not true: It has many immigrants, expats, startups, international students, researchers. Munich attracts so many people from all over Europe and the world right now and you hear people speaking English often. The conservative Bavarian government has very often faced strong opposition from people in Munich and often had to give in, leading to Munich being a very open and liberal city. You will find that a minority around 20% of the population are actually relatively conservative, but they are not important. I have always ignored them and not had many issues. Also note that Munich has many conservative laws in theory, which are hardly enforced in practice and lose importance in daily life. Munich was conservative in the past and still is on paper, reality has changed drastically. What Amadasun wrote about Youtube and Netflix is not true (anymore): In Germany and especially Munich it is in 2015 quite easy to gain access to any international media. Netflix launched last year and offers a very extensive catalogue. Apple's iTunes-based offering has also been around for quite some time. Most offerings provide the original English soundtrack to movies. Munich has quite a number of movie theaters that run the movies with their original soundtrack (i.e. mostly English). YouTube's partial restrictions can be circumvented very easily using tools like HotspotShield, or other VPNs. In fact, YouTube is one of the few remains where such stuff is necessary since so many big media companies have been offering their stuff in Germany for some time now. Torrenting is not necessary: Germany  has tons of legal media offers in high quality. Shops not opening on Sunday is not quite true and becoming less relevant: There are exceptions, because gas stations and shops in special locations are often open 24/7 or 20 hours every day, just like in the US. Also, in Germany the smart people don't go shopping: You have stuff delivered to your home. DHL, Germany's biggest logistics company has started expanding in delivering food. Delivering everything to your home is both cheaper and things have higher quality. If you really need to go to a shop, e.g. for clothing, you still have 6 days of the week to do that. Germany has a relatively liberal immigration law: If you are a tech person, you will get a job here on the spot. Munich companies are waiting for you and, as Amadasun has already explained, come to your doorstep every couple of weeks. Just work hard and be smart and your job is guaranteed. Germany does not have high importing customs fees at all: Different than Amadasun claimed, importing stuff to Germany is neither difficult and as a student you will never have to. Germany, being a member of the European Union can not impose customs tariffs for most products within the EU. Such fees are only imposed if you important from outside the EU. I don't see why any normal person would do that. Buying clothes from outside the EU is usually a bad idea - the quality is mostly not that good. Shopping clothes online in Germany is comparatively inexpensive. Travel is inexpensive: Germany is on the countries with the harshest competition in terms of travel offerings and Germans love to find great deals, driving prices down. German travel infrastructure is very efficient and inexpensive to use. For around 30€ you can travel from Munich to Berlin or Hamburg. For only around 7€ you can travel from Munich to many places in Bavaria or to Salzburg. Munich has the best airport in Europe, according to Skytrax. A roundtrip from Munich to the US East Coast costs only around 450 €, sometimes less if you find a special bargain. You can fly to many European locations and back for 150€ or less. Dating is relatively easy in Munich due to its diverse population, many parties and open culture. I suggest you use OkCupid, Tinder and hang around other students. There is a common misconception of Germans being cold in public locations. I often hear people say that Germans do not like socializing on the subway or so. This is clearly not true: While most Germans will not approach you on public transport, they will be happy if you do! They are just too shy to do it themselves.

Amadasun is spot on about Munich in general. I have moved from Berlin to Munich to study aerospace engineering at TUM and have spent six years there, before moving back to Berlin. I'd like to touch on the subject of Garching specifically, because if you are going to receive your PhD in mechanical engineering (aerospace, thermal, helicopter, mechanical engineering in general, mechatronics, etc.), IT, physics, chemistry, or mathematics, your will spend most of your time in Garching. Rumor is that the EE faculty is also going to move to Garching in the next few years. If you are not going to be in Garching, you can ignore my post. Garching is often called Garcho-Sibirsk, for a reason. The atmosphere there, especially with the PhD students and the graduate school is pleasant. People are usually nice and approachable. You will spend a lot of time with them, and therefore it is easy to make friends. The campus is new and modern (with the exception of the chemistry building...that thing just looks hideous). The mathematics building even has a slide! Unfortunately, I fucking hate Garching. Why? I am glad to answer: The campus is isolated from the city of Garching, and worst case it takes you about 40 minutes to go and get back from the city, even though it is just two stops, because the train only runs every 20 minutes during the day. If you live in Munich it takes you about 20-60 minutes to get to Garching campus, depending on where you live (this does not include waiting times). The trains to Garching have a very shitty schedule. During rush hour (in the mornings and afternoon when everyone gets off work) they run every 10 minutes, any other time they run every 20 minutes. The trains are obnoxiously full in the mornings, because people from Munich are very bad at traveling. Your food choices are very limited. When I first got there in 2009, you could only choose between the Mensa and a few cafeterias. All are producing way beyond their capacities, have a very limited selection, the food is unhealthy and tastes like shit. Last year we got two food trucks, one for Asian food and one for döner. They are helping out a little. Unfortunately, another problem is that if you go to lunch at midday, you'll have to wait at least 30 minutes in line. This might sound overly pessimistic, and unfortunately we humans tend to focus on the negative aspects much more than on the positive ones. But consider this: I have not met one student at Garching who liked it there. Everybody was envious of the students that got to go to the main campus in Munich. TUM is a great university and my learning experience there was mostly positive. But if you are going to go to Munich as a PhD student, and if you will have to go to Garching campus, you should strongly consider these aspects when thinking about overall quality of life in Munich as a PhD student at TUM.

I'm having a hilarious time here in Munich compared to other countries because STUDIES ARE FREE =). That's surely the best part of it. And if you need some cash on top, you just do some quick microjobs on http://jobruf.de or http://getdoido.com/ and your purse is filled for a weekend trip to the mountains just around the corner. Doesn't get any better.