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Hi Diana,

I am living in Stuttgart myself and can give some advice:
- Rental flats in Germany usually come completely empty - no furniture, no lamps, no curtains, etc. Some, but not all, have a built-in kitchen with appliances (called "Einbauküche" or EBK in the ads).
- Rents are high in Stuttgart, and usually quoted excluding utilities (heat, water, electricity and other incidentals) - this is indicated by the word "kalt" near the rental price. Utilities add another €100-250 to the rent.
- You may want a two-room flat, which will cost €400-700/month, depending on size, location and amenities. Remember to bring (or buy) your own furniture!
- A security deposit (due before move in) of three months rent is common.
- Many places are handled by property agents. If you rent such a place, you need to pay the agent's fee as well.
- The best sources of rental ads are quoka.de, classifieds.ebay.de and immoscout24.de (the latter mostly agents). You need German language skills to understand the ads, contact landlords and understand the rental contract - so get some local help!
- You need to be in Stuttgart to view available flats and meet the landlords. For your own and the landlord's security, you cannot rent anything in Germany without having visited in person.
- To find a nice place takes time. In addition, termination notice periods are three months or longer (by law) and most places are advertised (and often rented out) right after being terminated. So you might need to wait a while until you can move into a place you found.
- Thus you should arrange for temporary accommodation (e.g. in a hostel, or with friends) for the first two to three months, until you have found and can move into your own place.

Please feel free to ask further questions (or contact me by PM if you need help personally).
Good luck!

Really??? Oh my god!!!

I was looking for flats in those webpages, but i supose that they are not going to answer. I have a German friend who can help me, he lives in stuttgart and he told me that he will call in my place, but I have just noticed that it is so difficult and I cannot live with him and the Max Planck resident is full.

I will continue try, i was thinking to rent a room by aribnb thinking that i will just need some weeks to find something, but maybe it will be too expensive.

I more or less understand the ads...usually they add the nebenkosten and then the heat....but i did not know that i should also pay agents?

Iam going by car!
do you know something about the insurance there??

Thanks so much for your help

Diana

Rooms in shared flats (called Wohngemeinschaft or WG) or as subtenant (Untermiete) cost €300-400/month and are probably your best bet if money is tight - but two people in one room isn't very comfortable. Having a German friend who helps you is a very good idea!
I have no idea about car insurance, but having a car limits you to the suburbs - no parking space in the city!