OrangeMango

Is anybody considering moving to Austria? Any practical experiences? - and no, they are not part of Germany.......

dmu

I think that BE members know this....
There aren't all that many members living in Austria, but you might get more response from those who've experienced this move if you give more info about yourself: German-speaking? looking for work? retired?

OrangeMango

I guess, most Brits would consider Austria as a holiday only. Mainly skiing or anything in the Alps.

It'll be looking for work, and language skill would be there as well. I was mainly looking for any experiences any user might have had while living there?

Probably not that many Brits living and working in Austria, otherwise there would be a separate forum for that.

Thairetired2016

There are obviously enough Brits in Salzburg to warrant a British shop. You can buy all the popular British treats like Branston Pickles ;-)

Richard8655

I've been considering Austria as well, as I fell in love with Salzburg and the surrounding southern German Alps region. Bad Reichenhall and Berchtesgaden in particular.

Unfortunately, I don't have practical living experience there and would also be interesting in any thoughts and input from Brits who may have settled there. Cost of living may be high, unlike some of the more popular Balkan destinations.

Thairetired2016

We spend a few months every year in Salzburg. Salzburg is a popular city and many foreigners fall in love with Salzburg and the way of life and music festivals.
Cost of living is high due to high cost for accomodation. And it is difficult to find a flat or house to rent or to buy. If you are happy to move a bit away from Salzburg or across the border to Germany price will come down a little.
Since your post is from September I wonder if you have gone ahead with your dream. We decided to move May next year to stay for 183 days to be considered resident and then go from there. Not sure if we can bear the cold in winter as we have been living in the tropics for 40 years.

Richard8655

Good to hear about your plans to move to this beautiful area. It sounds like you’re testing the waters for eventual permanent residence there. Something we should do too. Coming from Thailand (I assume) would be quite a climate and cultural change. For us, cold weather and Upper Midwest USA are synonymous, so not much of a shock expected here.

Yes thanks, I somewhat expected housing prices to be high in and around Salzburg. But as you say, across the border in Bavaria should be more reasonable. As I recall, there was nice local rail service for travel between Bad Reichenhall, Freilassing, and Salzburg, which are all very nice places to live.

We have not taken any action yet (we don’t think our cat would be happy with such a move). So still planning the best approach. But we definitely would need to have an extended visit again. I’m also worried about Brexit on March, 2019 if we don’t make it there by then. Who knows what our residency rights in Germany will be after that date.

Thairetired2016

Brexit is a concern for my husband too. I don't expect Austria to change much for Brits after March 2019. Germany is the most likely to change rights IMHO. You may want to look at taxation in Austria and Germany. It appears to be less bureaucratic to join the Austrian health insurance as a British pensioner than what it would be in Germany. We did look into the German contribution system. Overall Austria suits us much better. Instead of Reichenhall or Berchtesgaden you could look at smaller towns within Austria e.g. Bad Ischl (many Brits live there) Bad Goisern, Gmunden. Public transport within Austria is very good and more affordable than in Germany. Look at Vorteilscard from Oebb.
In general we find ppl in Austria nicer, more polite and condiderate/tolerant than Germans esp. after coming from Thailand. Plus we love the Cafehaus culture. Have you tried Cafe Bazar in Salzburg?
To find out what everyday life is like in Salzburg you can always stay for a few months by getting a serviced apartment (Kurzzeitwohnen or "Wohnen auf Zeit" in German). However, it would be difficult to move your cat just for a short time. Not worth the hassle and traumatic for the cat. We had a "travelling cat" for many years.

Richard8655

I wonder if the recent right-wing election in Austria might impact many of our movement plans, especially those looking to Austria. Apparently this new coalition government includes strong anti-immigrant elements, and that could affect soon-to-be-outside-EU UK.

Bavaria still has much sentiment for me from my past visits, and the scenery of Bad Reichenhall, Berchtesgaden, and Konigsee just across the border from Salzburg is still most appealing. But I have to admit we’ve never investigated Austrian towns and villages outside of Salzburg, as you mention. And we should (assuming we’ll still have some sort of path to migrate per just mentioned events).

scrubbedexpat142

I don't think UK citizens will have a problem in Austria, other than possibly some admin hurdles post Brexit. There is also some strong anti immigrant sentiment here in Hungary but it is not directed at us.

Thairetired2016

The anti immigrant sentiment won't affect Brits. It is about those who arrive with help of people smugglers. I would not be worried about "rightwing" in Austria.

Richard8655

From what I’ve read, these righting movements in Eastern Europe are not just about limiting and stifling people smuggling, but also those requesting asylum and immigration on humanitarian grounds.

But back to the topic. Why would you both think immigration would continue to be so easy for citizens of the UK, which will shortly be out of the EU and its freedom of movement benefits? No country allows free immigration without prior agreements or strict controls of some kind. On what basis - perhaps a Switzerland-like agreement?

HKG3

No country allows free immigration without prior agreements or strict controls of some kind. - What about EU 'freedom of movement'?

https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/...ruled-unlawful

It appears that it is illegal to remove EU nationals in the UK who cannot support themselves.

Look, the UK is going to pay her share into the EU pot until at lease 2020, so it is likely that a transitional agreement will be in place until 2020.

scrubbedexpat142

I am not saying it would be easy, hence the comment about "admin hurdles", the point we both made was in answer to yours about right wing anti immigration sentiment.

Richard8655

Yes, thanks, good point. But I’m really talking about moving after Match, 2019 or later (based on our plans). That seems to be the unknown.