tooboocoo

The Tatras lie mostly in Slovakia, which could be another option for you. Especially with its relatively low cost of living and not-very-crowded cities.

Ugo51

Yes, and Slovakia is very close to Vienna

It seems to be quite hard to find English speaking jobs in Slovakia, even in academia.

scot47

And Batislava was connected to the Imperial Capital in the days of the Empire. Plans are afoot to reopen that tram link - https://spectator.sme.sk/c/20125184/...a-streets.html

Rete

I was there this summer and fell in love with Batislava. If there were a European destination that I would want to live in for a year or so, other than my home country of Germany, it would be Batislava.

tooboocoo

I really enjoy bRatislava...it's a smaller, cheaper, less crowded Prague or Vienna or Budapest. OK, there aren't quite so many architectural or historical or cultural gems or events, but still more than enough for anyone.

scot47

Sorry for my typo IIt is of course Bratislava In German Pressburg and in Magyar Pozsony

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bratislava

tooboocoo

I just spent a very pleasant week in Bratislava - nice warm-ish weather, mostly blue skies and the summer tourist rush over.
There's an outdoor exhibition in place outside the Presidential Palace, showing life-size versions of some of those famous pictures from August 1968 when the Warsaw Pact tanks rolled into the then Czechoslovakia - crowds of students protesting, people standing in front of the tanks, etc. Very striking, documentary B&W images.

Later during the week I met with three acquaintances who, as it turned out, were all teenagers at the time, in Bratislava. They all recalled the events very clearly and very vividly - all had been on the streets. One was particularly moved even talking about it now - the sense of doom, of not knowing what would happen next, the despair that a brief period of small, tentative moves towards opening up a few cracks in the authoritarian system had been crushed completely. Another of the trio was about 15-20m away from a girl who was hit and killed by a brief burst of gunfire when one of the soldiers panicked and fired - there were a few isolated cases where shooting broke out, I think about a dozen people died in all, in the whole country.

All three of my friends ended up in Canada and made new lives, but all maintain significant links and spend a few months per year in Slovakia.

wisdomseeker

I loved visiting Vienna but don't know if I could live there year round. Before making the move, make sure to visit during Winter! It's a beautiful city but it can still end up very cold there.

With that said, I found everyone to be quite welcoming, though I don't know how that translates to the workplace.

Thairetired2016

Visiting and living here is a different experience.
I'm presently doing a trial living in an Austrian city.
Reminds me of Thailand: friendly people, welcoming, always positive but they don't mean it. A 'yes" means little.
Nevertheless, I enjoy the summer and return to Asia in a few months.

wisdomseeker

Passive aggressive smiles?

Still - better to live somewhere polite than angry.

scot47

Bratislava, and other towns in Slovakia are reported to be very racist.

tooboocoo

Really, by whom? I didn't see any signs of that.

scot47

Reports from Scottish-Asian family who live there.

OrangeMango

The job market is ultra conservative in Austria. Titles and degrees are valued and important, especially doctor's degrees and engineers. One is also expected to address a colleague by their title.

People in Salzburg seem to be friendlier than people in Vienna and that's not only my perception of things. Viennese people are known for being unfriendly, grumpy and ranting often, even towards other native Austrians. Another issue is that the Viennese love smoking cigarettes and would just use any moment just to light up. Austria also doesn't allow dual citizenship which might be an issue for Brits after Brexit. Yes, Vienna is nice, historical and cultural, classical music, ballet and the opera play a large role as well but more a place to visit than to live and work in unless one gets a job with the United Nations.

Compared to Germany and salaries in Germany life in Austria is more expensive, everything from car insurance to food in supermarkets is more expensive. Public transport and train service is good in Vienna but I would never put it before Munich. I know both cities well.

Interestingly Vienna often tops the list of the best cities to live in, but even the locals don't know how that ranking comes up. In the German speaking region, I'd put Zurich in Switzerland and Munich in Germany before Vienna any time, Better pay, better infrastructure and closer to mountains, all things where Vienna has clearly less to offer.

On the positive side: There is no council tax in Austria and if so, it's very very limited, and health care is rather good.

scot47

In the 1960s on my student travels I was struck by the subjective difference between Berlin and Vienna. Give me Berlin, Barndenburg and Mecklenburg any day !