Ugo51

Hi all,

We (couple, no kids, but planning) are considering moving to Vienna.

I know nothing about Austria though. Where it is geographically, that they speak German (kinda...) and that Mozart and Freud were Austrian.
On paper it has great potential. We would love to be in central Europe (we are both European), we like mountains, Vienna looks like a great city and I have the potential to find a good and reasonably well paid job (50k€ gross, just to put things into perspective).
None of us speaks German, but I won't need it for my job and we will learn it as we are there. This is a not a small obstacle, I know, but that's the way it is.

What I would like to know more about is how open-minded, progressive and forward thinking are Austrians. Of course I don't expect all Austrians to be the same, but to give a concrete example, I would like to avoid living in a place like Italy (I'm Italian) were in a workplace seniority trumps skills, tradition smothers progress, and prejudice clouds interpersonal relationships.

Any other thoughts are well appreciated.

Thanks,

Ugo

scrubbedexpat142

One rating, published a few days ago -

Might be worth googling the actual report.

Ugo51

Yes, I read that.

I think it's as useful as reading a car magazine in the hope it might help to choose the next car. So not very much.
Trusting that score, Calgary and Vancouver would be both better than Copenhagen. I'm sure that's true for some people, but definitely does not apply to me.

Thairetired2016

Why not visit Vienna first?
it is a multi-cultural city and overrun by tourists. Great place to spend money. No high mountains near Vienna, 2 hrs to Budapest. Are Viennese friendly? No. Austrians are rather conservative, titles are important and open doors, economy is doing well, housing is scarce and expensive, cost of living is high. Excellent public transport and train service.
Greetings from Salzburg.

Ugo51

Is this (unfriendliness, cost of living and scarcity of housing) compared to Salzburg?

dmu

Hi, if you don't know Austria at all, it would be a good idea to visit both Vienna and Salzburg (and/or Graz or Innsbruck...) beforehand, to get a feel of the land/people. Check the unemployment rate in all areas in your line of work - you may have potential, but are there jobs going and how much competition would you have from multi-lingual local candidates? If you work at home, would you have to set up an Austrian business structure? Also, what would your OH do for work if she doesn't speak German?
Research is the key word, especially as you say you know little about the country....

Thairetired2016

Well, I'm not a Salzburger. We are here for the festival and to find out what living in Salzburg would be like on a permanent basis. Cost of living in Austria is high overall. My morning espresso e.g. is 4 €. May be this is reasonable for you?
Demand for accommodation is higher than supply all over Austria no matter if it is Vienna or Salzburg. Prices are similar. Austrians are friendly people up to the moment you tell them you plan to live there.
Go and find out about life in Vienna by booking in for a few months.

BritInParis

The questions you are asking are very subjective to your experience and expectations. My partner and I, having collectively lived in Australia, China, Japan, Germany, France and the UK would both jump at the chance of living in Vienna. It’s practically the only city on the continent we would consider moving to. I regard Viennese housing stock to be spacious, cheap and readily available but then I’m used to London, Paris and Tokyo. Likewise for quality of life, the beauty of the architecture and ease of public transport. I found people polite and customer service efficient but then I much preferred the Rhineland to Paris. If you’re considering a move then why not go for a week long visit?

Moses2013

Regardless of what the others have said, I would look at the Net salary. And not much has changed here either https://derstandard.at/2000068984918...ber-1-000-Euro

Ugo51

Yes, and the reason I posed such questions is because I am interested in hearing (well, reading) other's opinion.

Of course the answers are highly personal, but I like this sharing of opinion. Hard facts are easy to find. It's the human touch I am after (on a forum, I know...).

4€ for an espresso is unreasonable, I agree, but people here in London pay a similar amount for a broth-like mixture of coffee and milk in a paper cup. Their money, their choice. I don't.


In reply to Moses, net salary is on the 2.7/2.8K per month. Which is not as high as I hoped just by looking at the gross salary, but doesn't sound too bad either.

Moses2013

That depends if you are looking at 13/14 Bezug. You can calculate here and will see.
https://www.bruttonettorechner.at/

Ugo51

That gives quite a different result than what I obtain from Online Apps

Moses2013

It's the same, but you seem to have looked at the 13 & 14 as your whole salary. You get the 13th payment in June for example and the 14th around Christmas.

• Der Nettobetrag ist jener Betrag, welcher als Lohn oder Gehalt monatlich auf Ihrem Konto landet.
• Die 13. und 14. Bezüge stellen das Weihnachtsgeld und Urlaubsgeld dar

Ugo51

I see...

So the annual salary is divided in 14 months instead of 12?
Meaning, monthly salary = annual salary/14?

I need to look more into these additional "months". I think we have the same in Italy, but I never worked there so I am not very familiar with this

Thairetired2016

​​​​​​
I cannot find any info about how large a 1000€ apt. in Vienna is. We presently pay in an older privately owned house 1100€ for a 48 sqm 1 bed apt with the absolute min. of furniture. Location is about 20 min. bus ride out of Salzburg.