Thinking of moving to Vienna - any advice or experience you can share?

[QueenStromba]

I saw an ad for postdoc positions in Vienna today and I'm seriously thinking of applying. Has anyone lived in Vienna? Did you like it? How is it different from London/UK in a day to day living sense?

Also, if an apartment is listed as X euros in rent is that going to be per week or per month? E.g is this flat 500 a week or 500 a month? Is there anything weird like the German rental system where it's normal to have your own kitchen and take it with you to your new place when you move?

I gather that most people speak English as a second language - is it possible to get by without German or would that need to be learned to a decent level before we go? Academia is done in English so I wouldn't need it for work but would my DP (he's a software engineer)?

Sorry for the millions of questions, this is just one of those ideas that's burrowed straight into my brain and Google isn't being helpful enough quickly enough.

We don't have any kids if that makes a difference.

a month i would imagine....
i did spend some time near Vienna but so long ago now that it doesn't count

i think you would need German though

I don't know about living there, but we spent a week there, recently, and it's just so lovely and civilised.

It seemed possible to manage without German for daily use, at least in the middle. You'd want to pick it up though, I think.

The rates on there seem to be per month - at least, there are some apartments with similar rates on craigslist that are explicitly monthly rates.

It's a great place for kids, but that's not too relevant.

Thanks. We'd definitely try to learn some basic German before we left - it's easier to get proficient once you're surrounded by a language so it's good that we could get by without good German. Anyone know what areas are good to live in?

Hi! Why don't you pop over to the Life in Germany thread. There are two mnetters on there who live in Vienna :)

Sorry, I didn't mean the thread that seems to have been brought back to life about life in Germany, but the Kaffeeklatsch one...

Thanks :)

I'll have a look at it.

I spent a couple of years as a postdoc in Vienna, pm me if you want any further information. It's a wonderful place to live.

Rent is usually per month. Many long-term rentals don't have kitchens but they're usually 5-20year leases (standard time frame often with penalties for leaving early) so as a postdoc it's often easier to find private rentals which are often furnished and more flexible in length of contract s. Agents also charge a fortune just for showing you through the door.

Lack of German shouldn't be a problem for a postdoc but can make it difficult to get work outside of academia.

I live just outside Vienna and love it here. I find it has less of a hectic, big city feel to it than London and things like eating out, public transport, wine (!) etc can be (much) cheaper. OTOH certain items can be more expensive and there seem to be far fewer bargains (BOGOF is virtually unheard of, for example).

I think it's slightly less common for rented accommodation not to have a kitchen than it is than in Germany (both places we rented before we bought already had kitchens in them). Rent would normally be per calendar month.

It's possible to get by without much German (especially in Vienna) - DH has had overseas students working for him who don't speak any German - but learning it definitely makes life much easier.

I don't know too much about the different districts, but the 3rd seems to be quite popular with expats and is also fairly central. A friend of mine used to live in the 10th district, which I wasn't so keen on; the 18th district is supposed to be nice.

There's another poster in Vienna on the Living in Germany and Austria thread who may know more about the districts. It's pretty quiet on there atm as quite a few posters are away/busy over the summer holidays (I'm actually back in the UK at the moment), but feel free to pop in or PM me.

You really do need German for jobs outside of academia. My stepdaughter has spent the last 18 months there and struggled to find work because of her lack of German.
It's very different from London, hard to compare. It has an amazingly high standard of life and is a fab place to live, and quite affordable. Public transport is a a dream compared to the UK I am Viennese so maybe a bit biased

before decide you can find general information about Vienna from www.fokuswien.com .