Downsides of living in Austria 🇦🇹👎🏻
ฝัง
- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 12 พ.ค. 2024
- Moving to Austria! Even though Austria is one of the most developed countries worldwide, there are still some drawbacks that you'll need to consider in case you are interested in moving to Austria.
Do you want to talk? Let's chat on WhatsApp or email:
+41782105446 / wa.me/41782105446
hello@bestcities.ch
Playlist containing more videos:
• Moving to...
German channel:
/ @4franz4
Sources:
www.expatica.com/at/living/in...
www.expatica.com/at/working/e...
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tobacco...
www.stadt-wien.at/wien/news/r...
russianvagabond.com/19-pros-a...
www.numbeo.com/cost-of-living...
neuezeit.at/wie-wohnen-die-wi...
www.laenderdaten.info/durchsc...
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Taxatio...
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Median_...
www.thelocal.at/20211201/vien...
www.europeandatajournalism.eu...
www.thelocal.at/20220406/the-...
theworldpursuit.com/facts-abo...
worldoflina.com/50-interestin...
![[Vowel]물고기는 물에서 살아야 해🐟🤣Fish have to live in the water #funny](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/3G9MH063Cx4/mqdefault.jpg)
"Downsides of moving to ..."-playlist:
th-cam.com/play/PLns1AMrfKe398GuF80498WNAKPm26NRz2.html
What makes you think people from the countryside cant speak english we literally start learning it in primary school
Yes such a bullshit ...
lmao yeah, pretty much everyone here can speak it but some just dont feel comfortable using it
That‘s right, but given the fact that we are an old society, most people are old and the older a person, the worse it‘s english in general. And in comparison to other european countries, austrians arent that great in english. So yeah, he isnt totally wrong with his assumptions either.
When do you start learning German?
@@alidemirbas6566 1 year before we started with english. But imagine using german in Austria lol
I am an Austrian and I love the calm Sundays. In our culture I think it is very important to have at least one quiet day in the week. It invites you to go out for a walk, enjoy nature or just calmness. Oh and if we talk about vienna: Don't worry. You might not be able to go shopping or buy groceries, but going out or eating in a restaurant, or even staying at a café is very easily done on sundays.
same, im austrian aswell and even tho it can be annoying sometimes, im already used to it. like you said, its nice to just relax on sunday.
@@numberoneglo Totally. Also, opening on sundays would mean, that sooo many more people would have to work on that day and then they would have even less free time. I guess, at least in Austria, it would cause social problems (illness, depressions, etc). I mean, shops have open until 20.00 pm now. When I was younger, closing times around 18.00 pm was normal.
@@Gylfaginning16 1980 most closingtimes friday 12:00am CLOSED. :)
And no one needs longer openening times... for what!?
there are still alot of people working .. calm sunday ... only shops are closed compared to saturday;
@@Oida-Vodadont tell me you havent had the urge to buy milk at 2am on sunday, pffffft 😂. Just joking, of course. Long opening times are ridiculous.
2:29 You got the taxes wrong, when you earn 18000 - this means the first 11k is 0%, the rest 7k is taxed with 20%. If you make 31k, again 11k with 0%, 7k with 20% and 13k with 30% - the taxes are applied incremental from 0% up to xx but it means not that because you earn 31k that all is taxed with 30& but with 11k with 0%, 7k with 20% and 13k with 30%
It's actually so bad that this misconception is perpetuated again and again. I mean tax brackets aren't an Austrian invention. Many countries have them, as does the U.S. But a lot of people don't know about it and are afraid of reaching a new tax brackets because they think that makes them earn less, which is bullshit of course.
wanted to comment the same thing so many people get this wrong straight up not true that you "work every second day for the government" should definitely clarify that or remove that part from the video. to add to this they even lowered the tax for the lowest bracket and made the 50% one start at 90k instead of 60k in 2016
@@raiko8411 Even if that was how taxes worked, this statement would still be bullshit. Logically the statement just doesn't make any sense whatsoever.
also its missing the social security taxes aka healthcare taxes (Krankenkasse + Pension)
The fact that a sizable portion of the electorate does not know how taxes work is I think one of the greatest impedements against progress there is@@44r0n-9
It's a bit ironic for me, when people complain about how cold and long the winter in Vienna is.
When I was a child, we used to have a lot of snow for us children to play in and temperatures below 0° C were the norm, rather than the exception in winter.
Today we usually get something around 2 to 4 days of snow per year in Vienna and only a handful of days on which the temperature dips just a little below freezing.
This is particularly noticable on christmas day. There hasn't been snow on the ground in Vienna on christmas day for more than 10 years. In fact by now most times around christmas there are minor heat waves, lifiting the temperature to something between 10 to 20° in the middle of winter, making it more more likely to see blooming flowers than snow while you put up your christmas tree.
If you now think I'm some ancient eremit, well into his retirement, you are mistaken. This change took place over the last 20 years. Us Austrians got quite the front-row seat to climate change.
Yeah, thats because we have much more sun than in the past. Lesser pollution means lesser clouds and more sun.
What’s funny is for me near St Pölten it’s the same, but you drive up north 65km and you’ll get 0,5 to 1m snow and -17 degrees. My luck was great in 2021, got sent to Allentsteig for basic training, one of the coldest places in Austria. Back during Nazi Germany they used it as a training ground for operation Barbarossa
1970 has Vienna the climate for Stockholm today!
:)
I live in near Zwettl and I usually have snow on the ground from November to May :)
I live 6,5 ears in Vienna: I have not seen any cold or long winter, unfortunately almost no snow : (
I´m a Swede and have been living in Vienna since nine years. Never regretted moving here - it is where I will live, love and die. For the supermarkets closing early, I actually like it now (it took some years to get used to though). First, working in a supermarket is "one hell of a job". The folks that do that really deserves some free time too. Second, if you just plan what to buy a little in advance, you need to take a rest on Sundays. You can´t do anything, so the only option is to relax. Take a walk with your friends, go to a café/restaurant or eat and take a long nap.
For the language barrier, I find it is true - it exists. When you learn German, you learn Hochdeutsch. Every Austrian understands that, but many don´t like to speak it. They speak dialect. This could easily be turned into a fun thing though. Ask folks where they come from, show some interest in learning dialects and in "worst case" ask people to speak slower. Luckily, most Austrians are very polite (though they don´t always mean it), so they will speak slower and make an effort for you to understand them. Besides, most of my Austrian friends tell me that they TOO have troubles with understanding all the dialects. :D
Oh!! Jag älskar Sverige och Svenska spräket! Never thought there'd be one here
(sorry if there's a mistake I just listen to one singer and know some other things)
Well, as a Swede you're probably better off everywhere, even on the Gaza Stripe 😊
-most Austrians are very polite (though they don´t always mean it) christoph walz used that in a great interview called the difference between germans and austrians - look it up its hilarious
@@theprophet2444 Not sure what the tragic conflict in the Middle East has to do with anything Swedish, but it´s true I feel welcome in Austria, as a Swede. Many Austrians view Swedes as something exotic and ask me why I even moved to Austria? For expats there are usually only two answers - work or love.
For me, it was love. We are still together, just celebrated 10 years. But I have two loves - the second one being Vienna. Even if things don´t work out in my relationship (it still works great, thank you), I´d stay in Vienna.
Leiwander Kommentar, Servas aus Wien !🤣
As an Austrian it is beyond me how somebody can ruin a Schnitzel with Sauce, this is my first time hearing that and I swear if I ever see someone doing this I will take their plate away and keep them from doing more of such heinous crimes against humanity :P
As an austrian, i strongly disagree with Ezio. I always eat my Schnitzel with Lemon and Ketchup.
aber wirklich haha das ist echt ein verbrechen
I must say I do love the Jägerschnitzel in the bad pubs in Germany. You get it with pommes and a lot of sauce. It gets even worse, because it´s Schwein, not Kalb. I do understand the Austrians that want to protect their heritage, it´s like me with the Swedish meatballs (I´m a Swede). But still, fair enough - eat the Swedish meatballs anyway you want. Though it is WRONG. At least you eat "Swedish meatballs". I eat Schnitzel in the same way, come hell or high water. :D
Amen oida xD
@@certaindeath7776Me too, and It is annoying, that everyone says: austria=vienna, there is a huge difference between vienna and us from vorarlberg. Even many austrians can't understand our dialect. Vorarlberg is also the most expensive part of austria. We are not that unfriendly like they are in vienna
Foreigners who complain about the High Tax Rates in Austria or Germany always forget thst this includes full Health Insurance for medical costs up into the millions, and pays for your Childrens School from Ground school to University. It also covers social Insurance if you get unemployed, or if you get ill.
which is pretty damn good. Even in australia university is not free. We have tafe which a lot more affordable but if you aren't eligble for subsidies it is still a few thousand dollars
The cope is crazy
And all the African and Asian invaders… they are expensive, you’ll find out. It costs over $750,000 a person just to have diversity in a European society. Look at the US. You’re going to have riots on the regular and say goodbye to safe street ergo no more commerce. It’s going to be bad.
The language being a "downside" of a country... This is ridiculous and borderline racist imo.
"Like Spain is cool, but Spanish is annoying." It's exactly that mindset that has Americans living in Berlin for 10 years without learning German. It's arrogant, lazy, and stupid.
there you go, proving my point thanks.@@starxenoon8848
@@starxenoon8848
Search A.E.I.O.U. Earth is indeed Austria
I just got back from a trip in Vienna and really found the people very nice. There were maybe three people that were the traditional "direct and to the point" kind of rudeness. Other than that I was able to converse with everyone on a basic level. Almost everyone was easy to reciprocate a smile and make sure you are ok. Asking strangers for help with directions was incredibly easy and nearly everyone spoke English. Those that don't speak English are still happy to help you if you speak even basic German. Honestly I think the people that say the Viennese are rude simply don't know how to approach. I've been to Rome, Amsterdam, Montreal, and all over the US and Vienna was one of the nicest cities, with the nicest people, I've ever visited.
Thank you for your kind words but consider being „straight to the point“ is not rude, it‘s just honest. real > fake
du warst nicht in den hochkultivierten Bezirken
Viennese are polite and often direct, but they some times mean it ironically. This often results in a misunderstanding. Also with the Germans.
.
@@austriadiamolo Favoriten? Thats nothing, come visit Neukölln in Berlin
People where nice? What has become of my old home town 😞. That is not the Vienna I grew up in, where the attidue to everyone was just a good old "leave me alone, I was unhappy enough before you where here".
Taxes are the price for living in a beautiful and orderly society. Do you like that the Austrian trains are so good? Do you like how beautiful Vienna is? How do you think that is paid for? As for things closed on Sunday, thank God there is still a Ruhetag or day of rest, and thank God they don‘t surrender everything to the culture of making and spending money and the Church of Consumerism!
YES!!
Completely right! Also you can go to school, university or the doctor without paying
As someone living in Austria, it’s so high level, that it’s boring. Yeah, Austrians are boring. Almost everything is working. But it’s very rural, even Vienna. Shops have very short opening times. There are an awful lot of Muslim people in Vienna, and they are not integrated at all.
What's wrong with having Muslims, perhaps you could make an effort to make friends with them!
Higher taxes means higher social equality and less crime, less poverty…yes USA…less people living under bridges or dying from curable illnesses…simple really.
thanks to brown ppl there is a crime problem in austria
but not if u import criminals "en mass"
@@xxxy9928 exactly
@@xxxy9928 not if you do any of a plethora of ‚‘other‘ things…irrelevant comment.
well good thing Austrian crime statistics do not show that to be the case@@xxxy9928
I thoroughly disagree with you about opening stores on Sundays. If you really need something, you can go to a Bahnhof for groceries on Sunday. However, I grew up in the US and saw what happened as stores started opening on the weekends and staying open 24/7, as well as what happened as malls started popping up outside of and near the suburbs. This pulled businesses away from the city's center. The damage that it caused to society was a domino effect. Parents working more hours for those low-wage jobs, taking them away from their families, especially kids. Inner-city slums developed as businesses left the cities and this also affected families that lived in that area. They had trouble getting to where the jobs were, which snowballed into creating more unemployment or had kids without their parents around. So kids raised themselves ineffectively and this increased crime rate. I could go on about the effects, but this should give you a general sense. I now live in Austria and will gladly adjust my shopping schedule to keep this from happening to this country. I live in the vibrant city of Vienna and small shops are still able to stay open and provide a comfortable living to those concerned.
100% correct
Agrred
Lived in Vienna from 99-04. Had to move back home to take care of parents and parents in law. Been depressed ever since. It was beyond belief incredible
Where is home? The USA?
Yes. There are so many great things about living in the US. I live in a rural town which is very, very safe! (Guns and violence is usually ppls first thought). I am very proud of my country in a lot of ways.
But the struggle is real. A lot of the people at my job had to have re-entry training and/or counseling. I also worked with Canadians, Mexicans and South Africans, as well as from USA. The struggle was real for all of us.
Austria is just so amazing
@@kellyrhoads1067 Austria WAR mal großartig
jetzt kannst du die Menschen hier vergessen!
alle extrem unfreundlich
Is there an explanation? What could have happened in 20 years? Surely it’s worse in Vienna, but that is all over the world. Big bustling cities tend to be more unfriendly. Was it events on the world stage that led to this?
Is there an explanation? What could have happened in 20 years? Surely it’s worse in Vienna, but that is all over the world. Big bustling cities tend to be more unfriendly. Was it events on the world stage that led to this?
"Making friends" is a bit more personal than in other countries. Of course it is down to the individuals, you find introverted or extroverted people everywhere, but as a general trend I would say Austrians make less, but more intimate friends. But that might just be my own bias. It is difficult assessing a culture that you are immersed in yourself.
Beautiful pictures! I was glad to see you included Grundlsee and the two Lahngang lakes where there are trails to some of my favorite places in Totes Gebirge.
Aaaand... judging by the comments under this video the Austrian grumpyness is real. People here tend to be a bit on the pessimistic side and often overlook what a beautiful place we have as a homeland and how well we are still doing compared to many parts of the world.
The thing about the tax is that one can pay tons of tax and also see that it goes to education, housing, healthcare, and pushing most to the middle class. You’re basically funding a lack of homelessness and poverty and making sure that everyone in country get a fair chance to be where they want to be. That’s hard because you’re forced to pay for it. However, you could also have a totally “you pay for what you get.” Kind of society, but then you get places like USA with mad homelessness, crime, not being able to afford healthcare if you’re not middle class, etc and you don’t get to keep what you make totally, you’re really paying below Austria but not by a whole lot in taxes. It’s a problem.
So what is best? I don’t know. It really depends what your priorities are. I guess that people who stay in Austria have chosen their better devil.
I totally agree. Taxes are the price we pay for a civilized country. People who complain about their taxes are also the first to complain if services are not so good. That is, they think they can have something for nothing.
Exactly
Average salary doesn't tell you anything. Who is this average guy?🤔
Median would be a bit more interesting.
.
@@jonnes__4657 are you responding to me and if so what are you referring to as far as what I’ve said is concerned?
As Austrian I mostly agree - but I might add, you also get a lot for your taxes, ranging from free education to healthcare to state pension. I am also self-employed and gladly pay the taxes for these securities offered. Also almost any jobs are subject to a ‚public‘ union for workers that offer a great amount of worker/minimum wage protections (which is probably one of the reasons of the high median income). For grumpiness - well imho not such a big thing with the younger generations and as you mentioned depending on your German abilities - as in many countries Austrian appreciate it to try to accustom to local social behavior and learning the language… also the English skills of the older generation in cities are probably not that bad - but lacking in the countryside outside of touristic centers. There might also be (some and depending on the circle of persons you encounter) problems with racism… outside of Vienna people are not that used to foreigners and my have reservations about them. Don’t think it’s much worse then most of the world but can be noticeably, especially for black and Muslim people. Hope you all have a good time in Austria
Most of the racists in Austria are the migrants... they like to bully people...
"free"
Nothing is "free". The majority of the burden to pay for it takes the middle class through taxes. And due to the last 40 years, the middle class is shrinking. Want to know why? Taxes
oh wow... didn't expect a flood of moronsplaining how a social healthcare/education/rent system works. Also - no, taxes are not the sole reason for the decline of the middle class. Pls, spare me
@@Colki12 obviously. But most people would not want to have to fork out hundreds of thousands of dollars because of an illness they weren't ready for. Plus free education benefits society as a whole, it lifts everyone up. If you compare someone on minimum wage in america, vs someone on minimum wage in europe, you tell me who is less free. If you have no help at all you basically are a wage slave.
Winters in Vienna are very mild for the region. Temperatures rarely and barely drop below 0°C even during nights and this totals to maybe a week per winter. Maybe twice per between a decade and 15 years one gets a real winter with real snow.
A small correction.
Austrian super markets rarely stay open past 19:00 o'clock, although there are some exceptions and some stay open until 19:30 but never past that time and on Saturdays they only stay open until 18:00 o'clock.
that's actually not true for vienna, especially in more heavily frequented or touristy areas lots of super markets will stay open until 20:00. there are even a few like billa corso or interspar pronto that are open until 23:00
@@tinylama 🤯What, 23:00? Is this really how it is in Vienna?
Wow that's actually crazy! Please excuse my ignorance, I wasn't aware of this specific fact about Vienna, you see I'm now 6 years living in Austria but I'm currently in a small village near Wörgl in the Tirol province and here everything pretty much dies down after 19:00 o'clock 😭
@@user-vw5ps9bj2t It's the same here in Graz, especially Hofer and Lidl are often opened until 20:00. There are also 2 Spar branches which are open until 22:00.
But if you leave the city, it's more likely for the supermarkets to close at 19:00 - 19:15.
In small villages, stores often close around 17-18:00 and on the weekends already around noon.
Graz Hbf Spar is even longer open than in Vienna : )
I have lived in Austria and can confirm most of the things said in this video.
Compared to Sweden, Austrian working culture is pretty awful. Sure you might ear a bit more money but you pay it with your own health. You are expected to stay at work until the job is done and "leaving early" and here I mean ontime is rarely possible. Office people work a lot and they have lots of stresses. Overtime is paid with hours and not extra cash for the most part. Unless you are a very valuable member of some project. In Sweden office people work 34-35 hours a week and overtime is not permitted. Which goes together with system called "Lagom" not too little but not too much either. Working culture compared to Austria is more relaxed and people are more understanding and dont stress you out. Things are sorted out by fighting out and not by diplomacy.
I am not bashing Austria by any means, I think it's a great country to live if you have lots of money because buying a house or apartment is not possible even if you are upper middle class. The housing prices there are a bubble that will burst sooner or later. Overall its a great country, if you are very lucky with a) Company b) good housing option c) you have luck meeting nice people d) you dont live in Vienna, but somewhere more rural e) dont heat your house or apartment during winter and use very minimal electricity because bills you will get will be insane.
I believe you had a bad experience with your job. I come from Italy where working 40 hours a week, in the private sector, is simply not possible, they always force unpaid overtime on employees. Working in Austria, by comparison, is much more relaxing. Of course Swedish working standards are a galaxy away. I agree with b, c, d and *sigh* also e unfortunately, since my heating bill is over 110 a month for 57 sqm.
As an Austrian I hope the shops will remain firmly closed at night and on sundays. Working there is not a stressful and unhealthy job already, so don't make it even worse. The taxes are necessary to keep our social standards on the high level they are now.
Hi! Thanks for making this interesting video about my beloved Austria :)
If you don't mind, may I add my inputs to your video? I've been living in Austria 7 years already and have had experience with some of the points you mentioned, so wanted to share info with you and your viewers.
1) subsidized apartments: in Upper Austria (where I live) you can only apply for this if you have lived at least 5 years in Austria or have an indefinite leave to remain. Not everybody can apply for this to live in a subsidized apartment because there are also Austrian citizens, some portion of whom have a lower income and they would like to live in subsidized apartments too.
2) limited career opportunities: I don't live in Vienna but live in Upper Austria (as already mentioned above). Even though it may be thought that Austria is limited in terms of career, this is not true. Most of foreigners (like I am) I personally know, think that there are most opportunities for them in Vienna rather than outside of Vienna. I believe this is because not many of them speak German. If you speak German and English too, the country has so many things to offer.
3) high taxes: I work as an accountant and let me explain the table you showed in the video (although it's outdated now for some of the thresholds).
If you earn €50K a year, your first €11K will not be taxed (tax free), then €7K (from €11K to €18K) will be taxes with 20%. €13K (from €18K to €31K) will be taxed with 30%. €19K (from €31K to €50K) will be taxed with 42%. I hope it makes sense now? And this is not true that almost every 2nd day you'll be working for the government, i.e. paying high taxes, unless you earn a lot? 😉
Also, there are more of VAT types apart from the standard 20% VAT rate.
4) harder to make friends: I think it depends on a personality as you mentioned in the video. However, I've heard it from so many Austrians that the most friendly people live in Upper Austria. I think that it why I didn't have any difficulties in making friends in Upper Austria ☺️
5) shops close early: why supermarkets are closed on Sundays - this has to do with the religion. Honestly, I'm happy that worker's rights in Austria are preserved and that supermarket employees can enjoy their day off on Sundays and they close on Saturdays at 18:00 (on weekdays at 20:00). I have lived in another countries where Americanization came in, working longer hours for satisfaction of customers, and I didn't like this because you'll be considered as a small piece of a big machine but not as a human being... I love it so much how things are set in Austria and hope it won't change any time soon. P.s. if you really need to buy food late at night or on weekends, you can go to tank stations and there are small conventional stores where you can buy essentials.
You need to observe that the higher tax values are only calculated for the income above the limit. With 32.000 (going by the table which I didn't check), that is 20% for 7000, 30% for 13000 and 42% for 1000. Summed up it is 18% at 32.000 income.
It's still incredibly high. They need to move the thresholds up in line with inflation.
@@xXdnerstxleXx High compared to what ? US is lower, but not much for lower income (and you get much less in return aside from a big military). Scandinavia is much higher. Monte Carlo might be cheaper but better be a millionaire.
@@reinhard8053 too high compared to historic values. The entire point of income tax brackets are to give poor people a competitive edge in building up wealth. Inflation increased all kind of prices and pay but they don't move tax brackets up. The difference between middle class and rich class taxes are too low. You pay the high taxes now much earlier with much lower wealth.
This is a common problem across Europe which is why the right wing partys become so strong everywhere. People get poorer.
@@xXdnerstxleXx The limits didn't change for years. But it changes right now. The tax percentages are lower from 2022 on, and the limits will be adapted with inflation in the future.
That is one argument the employers use to only propose minimal wage adjustments with only a fraction of the inflation for the next year for metal workers because the tax is "so much lower".
@@reinhard8053 I get where that reasoning can come from but it's pretty stupid. When you could do the same work and start a business on your own without being dependent on an employer: Just do it yourself.
Then you are competetive to your last employer because you pay like 40% less income tax and boom, employer will be forced to increase loans to stay in business. That is the entire idea of rich people having to pay high taxes and poor people paying less. Market will create a strong middle class. The fact that these tax brackets weren't changed for decades despite inflation is the number 1 reason for populations getting poorer. Number 2 reason is cutting taxes for the rich, pretty much creates the same issue. For the working class and middle class taxes right now are too high.
Die Steuertabelle auf 2:27 wird falsch erklärt. Laut dem Video wird ein Einkommen über einer Million mit 55 % versteuert. Das würde bedeuten, dass bei einem Betrag von 1 Million ungefähr 550000 Euro an den Staat abgeführt müssten. Diese Rechnung ist jedoch falsch! Die Steuertabelle funktioniert so: bei einem Einkommen von 1 Million und 1 Euro wird von den ersten 11000 keine Steuer berechnet. Für den Betrag zwischen 11000 und 18000 werden 20 % Steuer berechnet, also ca. 1400 Euro. Für 18000 bis 31000 ca. 3900 Euro. Für 31000 bis 60000 sind es 12180 Euro und für 60000 bis 90000 sind es 14400 Euro. Für 90000 bis 1 Million sind es 455000 Euro. Und alles über 1 Million wird mit 55 % versteuert. Das bedeutet bei einem Betrag von 1.000.001 würde ca. ein Betrag von 486880,55 Euro an Steuern anfallen und nicht wie im Video erklärt 550000 Euro. Die Differenz in der Rechnung beträgt immerhin über 63000 Euro. Das ist entspricht schon einem guten Jahresgehalt in Österreich. Beste Grüße
I lived in Vienna for 10 years and now I moved to Vorarlberg. I used to live in Switzerland and in Bratislava too, but Austria is such a special place and I love everything about it. The village between a lake and the mountains where I live now is full of people on the weekends while all of them ride bikes and go hiking it is insanely beautiful
I live in Lower Austria and have begun to love it. And I like the people. The tax seems ok, but SVS is expensive, and so are other things like cars and insurance. It's totally worth it, though. It's a safe, clean, calm, and beautiful country. I am blessed to be here, and I'm happy that my children are growing up here. And I love speaking German as I learn it. Oh, and I like that shops close early. Austria has its priorities right. It seems quite laidback to me.
The only things I find frustrating are the over adherence to and enforcement of rules and the small limited supermarkets. Having two duvets on the bed was the best game changer ever. No more tugging at the same one and I get to have a thinner one than my partner as she likes to be crazy warm.
As someone living in Vienna, there is a common misunderstanding that most people have about taxes. Let's say you earn €100,000 per year. For the first €11,000, you won't pay any taxes. For every euro you earn beyond that, up to €18,000, you would have to pay a 20% tax rate. Beyond €18,000 and up to €31,000, you would pay a 30% tax rate, and so on. This doesn't mean you don't pay substantial taxes, but for the aforementioned €100,000 income, you would have an average tax rate of 37.88%.
Perhaps it's easier to understand if I outline the calculation:
Taxes on the first €11.000 (tax-free) = €0.
Taxes on income between €11.000 and €18.000: €7.000 x 20% = €1.400.
Taxes on income between €18.000 and €31.000: €13.000 x 30% = €3.900.
Taxes on income between €31.000 and €60.000: €29.000 x 42% = €12.180.
Taxes on income between €60.000 and €90.000: €30.000 x 48% = €14.400.
Taxes on income over €90.000: €10.000 x 50% = €5.000.
Adding these up: €0 + €1.400 + €3.900 + €12.180 + €14.400 + €5.000 = €37.880
So, €37.880 / €100.000 ≈ 0,3788, which is approximately 37,88%.
As a small fun fact: Austria, due to its historically lenient espionage laws and its role as a hub for espionage activities in Europe between WWI and WWII, has earned Vienna the nickname "Spy Capital." A former head of the Austrian intelligence service once stated that more than 7.000 spies were active in Vienna during that time.
BRO WHY DA FUCK CAN I SEE MY HOUSE IN THE FIRST CLIP OVER THE HILL BACK THERE THA FUQQQQQQQQQ
All I heard is the upsides of living in Austria 😅 Regard taxes, according to some Austrian financial calculators, the rate is much lower than stated in the video.
So much misinformation, it is insane.
1) How is moderate living costs a downside?
2) limited career opportunities? get real, unless you want to be the CEO of Volkswagen, you can literally become anything in Austria with 100% free education
3) High taxes as in all of Europe, it is hardly better in the EU anywhere
4) Harder to make friends? Compared to where? You will have 3 times the friends in no time as compared to any nordic state.
5) 8 PM is early? I mean if you cannot manage shopping groceries in between 7 AM and 8 PM the issue might be on your side. :) It is not like everything closes down when dusk falls.
6) Smoking is / was indeed true but that is a thing of the past
7) Climate? What? Long winters in Vienna? Vienna had barely any snow over the last 15 years. Vienna had 31 degrees celsius as of 14.10.2023 (yes 31).
8) Rural exodus is completely false information, quite on the contrary. People from rural areas tend to stay or move back after studying in Vienna/Graz/Salzburg or abroad.
9) Good food is now a downside. Aight mate.
🤩
Your are right on all points but 2. You can get leading Jobs in austria but compared to other countrys this jobs are not as good paid than in other euro countrys. So to make ALOT of money you need to get to the top of the company. If you are just a Master or Foreman you just get paid a little more than your workers while in other countrys you get paid a lot more compared to your workers.
Absolutely, as an austrian who wants to become a teacher once he's done with high school (so soon!) teacher is not just an incredibly fun job imo and can bring so much joy and life satisfaction but damn
*it pays well*
Like I'm so proud I live in one of the few countries ok earth where teachers are paid well
@@newergamer7974 I was a guest teacher in the states, and I must say that it had to be the MOST FUN job a person could have, especially with younger kids, is being a Physical Education teacher. If I knew then (when I was your age) what I know now, I would have gone straight into it instead of where I initially went. Good luck to your future.
Switzerland is in middle of Europe and has much lower taxes and more international companies
The different tax percentages only apply for the specific income within the span shown in the table, so the real tax is lower but adding the social tax and so on you will get approximately the shown tax burden in whole.
Hi, from Vienna, really great video. But I have to point out there are a pair of big mistakes. Rent in Vienna is far more expensive than 10€/m², much more like 20€/25€ to 40 depending on the position. But it's even more incorrect that it's hard to make friends...I'm Italian, came here with no friends whatsoever, now I'm overwhelmed, and they say the same too. Also, I don't think the average salary is 35.000€. maybe brutto? Because the average NET salary is around 27.000€ in my opinion. For the rest great video as I said 💪
What is the average price for a 1-bedroom rent in Vienna, and what is the most common salary for someone working more than a job at your local Lidl :D ? Thanks for the response!
@@Prussian_Defence I'm paying 410€ per month for 16m², far from city centre but right by the metro station, local Lidl is 1.400€/ 1.550 netto per month
Thank you for sharing your experiences!👍🏻👍🏻
This is your experience tho, majority of expats tend to have a more bleak experience.
@@TheYostef5 In London it's about 3 times as much.
i was born in austria / vienna and its true about the food - mostly i do cooking my own food like with chicken, vegetables, noodles, sometimes spaghetti, 3-4 times a week i buy salad or i order chinese or japanese food with fish, sushi, "sea food" in general - because if you want to buy sea food in normal shops - its too expensive nowadays - 300g fish for 8-12€ in a normal food store, thats why i order sushi lol its very much cheaper - if you go in restaurants nearly every classic austrian menues are full with fat. just like the wiener schnitzel or the belly meat, pork knuckle, and even the classic dessert kaiserschmarrn.
At 4:53 you speak about Vienna but show Graz (Austria's second biggest city) in both drone footages
[For the language barrier part] This is becoming less and less, I live in an area with a very hard to understand dialect, but most of the younger people speak with almost no dialect, but instead use a lot of english words (we call this (english + deutsch=) denglisch)
I would like to see the upside or downsides of moving to spain or andorra contents
Thank you very much for this video! I have just looking at good infomation from this type since I had to take a decision about continuing my relationship with my austrian bf, well know ex bf. I loved him very much, but he wanted to go back to Austria and I just can not see my self in a place like this. It is an awesome country with out a doubt, but when you come from a very opposite or different country is hard to see yourself in a place where you do not speak the languge, where you do not know if you can handle the cold weather, when you are super friendly an nice and then you thing of Vienesses grumpiness, where food does not have that much variation, it was just a lot, and also where a considerable part of you money goes to taxes... I wish him all the luck in his life back in Austria tho....
If anyone is wondering, the town in the beginning of the video is Hainburg an der Donau
Hello there,
You got the taxes wrong. First you have to pay the health insurance and then you pay depanding on what is left of your yearly income in staggered taxes. Meaning you get the first 11k tax free after this you pay 20% for the next 7k (11k-18k) and so on.
The Details with the taxes could be more clear. You would only pay 42 % for the amount between 31.000 and 60 000; if you make 40.000 a year, only 9000 would be set at 42 %, the rest is lower, and the first 11.000 are tax free. Of course it depends with what you compare, but I know countries where you start paying taxes much earlier.
4:53 talks about Vienna, shows Graz.
Talks about Vienna, shows Salzburg...
Living expenses should always be compared to average income (e.g., London vs. Vienna; in London people earn 50 % more money on average - this means that appartments are more expensive in Vienna considered the average income of people living there).
Well done!
You explained the tax System wrong, the percantage is always for this amount between those 2 you earn, so per income you get Taxed differently multiple times for example if you make 35k, 11k are not Taxed, 7k are Taxed 20% 13k are Taxed 30% and 4k are Taxed 42%
Imo the viennese rudeness boils down to being direct, honest and not shying away from adressing if we think someone is an idiot. But yeah, compared to other folks we're pretty rude lol
at 4:57 the city is Graz not vienna
I live almost for 8 years in Vienna and I dont have any austrian friend. Its true that people here are not very friendly. But also my german is not really good, especially I dont often understand local dialect. In the university and on the streets people speek almost different languages
What are you doing there ?
@@SuperKanuuna I study here and almost done with it. I plan to go back to my home country
@@IX-fc4po Thats nice to hear
@@IX-fc4po Then you are doing something wrong. Wherever I go I make friends within weeks
Only downside is that there are less and less Austrians living in Austria.
It's becoming a multi cultural nation, with all drawbacks that brings
as a native austrian i think its great! vienna is becoming better and better (it was always great though)
@@a54635 it's good for you if you feel that way.
as you say it is getting better, i have a serious question: do you think it will also be better (for you) when there will be
What is better? The terror attacks we had, rape and killing of teenage girls, knife stabbings, groping of teenage girls in public baths...
All thanks to cultural enrichment.
Are you living on the moon?
@@BatAtBat why are you lying like that? where the hell do you get those numbers from? looks like they came directly from the Stammtisch
@@AliBaba-og6nl amazing - my reply to you stating sources were deleted
So it's not possible to talk about that at all
And that's why you think it's a lie, while it is happening in reality
But Google for it - as long as that is still possible!
brought up in austria i cannot wait yo move to another country
Austrians sometimes do eat wiener schnitzel with sauce at HOME. When its a homemade or frozen version from the supermarket which tastes not as great. Then they treat it more like chicken nuggets. But never ever in a restaurant
Not true, in on 26.Oktober 55 was the first day without a foreign soldier on austrian ground (actually last one left on the 25.). The law was already passed half a year earlier (not enirely sure when)
2:30
The tax thing isn't entirely true. You only pay the respective tax rate on the income that exceeds the value.
For example: Income €35,000 = 11,000x0% + 7,000*20% + 13,000*30% + 4,000*42%
It may be high compared to other countries, but in Austria we get double the salary in summer and winter (13th and 14th wages).
We also have a very good health system and in the capital Vienna you can use all public transport for €365 per year.
The key is the total annual salary and this is far below other countries comparing similar skills and experience.
You did not understand our tax system, let me explain it for you.
We have "tax classes" here and you only pay the percentage of each class you are in.
For example you earn 35.000,00 €:
for 0-11000 you pay 0%
for 11000 to 18000 you pay 20% tax, you only pay 20 percent for those 7000 wich are between 11k and 18k
for 18000 to 31000 you pay 30% tax, so you pay 30% of those 13000 wich are between 18k and 31k
I mentioned before that you earn 35.000,00, so in the 4th tax class, wich is from 31.000 to 60.000, you have 4k to be taxed with 42%.
Most Austrians don't even know how our tax system works, so no worries ;))
That 'most livable city' ranking is super weird. After living in South East Asia, I had to move to Vienna for reasons largely beyond my control. Career opportunities, dullness and omnipresent cigarette stink make it hell. High taxation is also offputting. I've met many friendly people and am treated well at work, but it's regress on a personal level for me. I understand though that moving to Austria can be a significant upgrade for many people - it depends on where you've been and what you aim for in life.
Well, why such focus on Vienna? Austria is not just Wien.
It‘s not easy to make friends in any middle european country compared to more laisse affaire countries like the US or Canada, but if you do manage to make a friend, it‘s a real one. We do not call someone a friend easily. Same in scandinavian countries.
half the points are not valid or easy explainable,
Im a Austrian who has worked around the world half his life.
What people dont get for example is its not harder to socialize or find friends in austria than every other country, it just works differently, in a lot of countrys its realy easy to meet people but very hard to get into the inner circle called friendship, in austria its reversed, hard to meet someone but if you connect you are something like a friend already. compared to the US where you can just ask a stranger to go for a drink with you without a problem but not beeing "friends" after doing it for a couple of times, you are propably already part of "family" here.
Language Barrier is always a problem if you leave your country and biggest reason we are called unfriendly is because most of the expats are germans, its not that we dont like them generaly but a lot of people think we are alike because we share the same language- we are absolutely not and a lot of germans dont get that.
You maybe right for example on taxes BUT
you get something for the money:
Infrastructure in Austria is a lot better than in low tax countries.
Hospitals, roads, public transport etc is all paid for with taxmoney
Don’t you get all of that in Switzerland with much lower taxes?
@@tecumseh4095 have you ever seen the cost of living in Switzerland? That makes Austria look really cheap.
Im my opinion it would be great if you worked in one of those shops that work 24/7
2:54 you don’t get the taxes.
You only pay the taxes for the additional money. Everyone had 11k tax free
Having recently moved to Austria, I'd say that even if all of these were true, it's still well worth it.
Prost!
Још је рано,срећно😊
Noooo way, the footage at 3:56 is where my grandpa lives. Reisach, Austria! Where did you get this footage from??
Ich habs von envato.com (kostet)
love the content keep it up
@ 2:40 it's absolutely wrong to tell ther's a tax rate of 30% for incomes of up to 31tsd €. In fact it is 17% for 31tsd €. It is already visible from the tabelle shown.
Wh6 would you eat sauce with Schnitzel? Jeez!
"Luckily, now it is prohibited to smoke in restaurants and bars."
You meant: "Now, its sadly prohibited and the owners of a cafe cant decide for themselfs."
The thing with the taxes you have to know that once you get in a higher tax class, the higher percentage doesn't get applied to your whole income, but only to the difference to the lower class and so on. Still taxes are high, but not AS high as you might expect from that table you showed...
After 10+ years, being well-integrated and speaking perfectly German, I can confirm that Austrians, in general, are an extremely unfriendly nation. For me personally the grumpy, narrow-minded and hostile people in Austria spoil all the good sides of the county. I've left this country and has never regretted it.
Yes, we are grumpy. When you go to a cafe dont say "good day", just excuse for disturbing the waitor. The coffee should then be alright.
@@loutreck4910 "Tschuldigung für die Störung. A Verlängerter für mi bitte." Like this? =)
When I visited vienna and got out of the tour bus, the very first thing I noticed was a car driver heavily yelling at a pedestrian. Was not the only time all preconceptions were matched there xD Beside that the first austrian person I met was very unfriendly as well haha. Now, working for an austrian company the colleagues are really nice but sometimes things may escalate quickly xD Which I don't mind and which surely holds true for the non-austrian colleagues as well ^^
It's just not my country at all, also political a nighmare for me personally. But the history and the cultural richness is very nice, also the beautiful nature ofc. I don't like my home country germany as well. Just to harsh people and society. Especially bavaria is to conservative to me Switzerland I like very much on the other hand.
Schnitzel ohne Sauce geht gar nich ;D Außer es is mit bolognesekäse überbacken xD
Vienna and Bavaria are too conservative? Can you explain? Did you mean politically?
@@kellyrhoads1067 What do you consider conservative, culturally or and politically?
Well, I have just heard that it has gone extreme far right in Austria, with political parties. 20 years ago it was a pretty decent coalition with the spectrum of politics.
Don’t know if there was a change in the views toward auslanders and people with alternate lifestyles. That was what I meant.
I don’t know how to word it
I worked with refugees down in traiskirchen. People used to be pretty accepting of the refugee situation, especially after Iraq. Has it changed?
@@kellyrhoads1067 yes,very much
Well I can totally relate, living in Austria for the past 3 years, now I'm finally moving... Especially getting friends here, I mean, in 3 years I barely got in touch or really close to anyone here. Would say I got like maybe half a friend here...not very open and welcoming overall (not everybody's the same, sure). They seem to not have much of a concept of hospitality (the majority at least). To do something, hang out or whatever, you have to plan thing like a month in advance, seriously, they invite me for birthday like 2 to 3 month before..wtf I mean in times like these I can be dead next week... there's no "hey let's go for a drink tonight", brains explode 🤯. Also I wanna add that here for a parking fine you could end up in jail...lol for me that's kind of crazy..
Guess I stick to what an anthropologist said, that cultures related to countries not having a seaside they are usually more closed towards other people
6:33 Where is that castle?
Is it really so hard to do your Groceries before Sunday?
I remember a time were many stores were closed during lunchtime and opened again at 15:00 o Clock
and on Saturdays they only ever had open until 12:00 but are open now till 17:00 or 18:00 depending on the store
considering this one should think things have already gotten a lot easier for foreigners to do their shopping
Dont forget the Langer Einkaufssamstag one a month where everybody went shopping because that was the only saturday in the month where stores had open in the afternoon and so you could go shopping with the whole family.
With this video you become one step more to be austrian better you did the important part you complaint called Granteln in austria, the one of the biggest things to do here...
What you have to say about taxes is that only the contribution that exceeds the category limit is taxed, not the full contribution
For example, you make 20k a year
2k are taxed with 30%, 7k are taxed with 20% and 11k are not taxed
Austrian taxes are explained wrong. We have progressive taxes meaning the first x€ are free of taxes the next 10k € are taxed like 20% the next 10k are taxed 30%. So it is not not 30% flat.
Long winters in Vienna? Climate change says "no (more)". In the last years -5° was the worst and didn't last longer than 3-4 days. We have an olive tree and a pomegranate tree in the garden, the climate has become much more southern. Written on October 21st, with 24° today.
Sorry, but in Vienna you pay ~20+€ per square meter rent, if you move now… for new apartments even more
10 per m" never ever ,.. its higher in vienna ,... 35 m" für 500 or 60m2 for 800
I'm from rural Austria. I don't wanna live here anymore. Vienna would be nice but I think there are places that are much more beautiful out there
great coverage ... but ... 1st whether smoking prohibition in restaurants is an up or downside depends on your point of view ... 2nd no sauce on wiener schnitzel = absolutely agree, that's not far from a capital crime ... 3rd mozart was not an austrian he was born in 1756 in salzburg and died in 1791, salzburg at that time was independent and became part of the austrian empire first in 1806 and finally in 1816. so it would be rather appropriate to put arnolds image at the 1 euro coin.
One downside, if you work and live in Austria, it is one of the most expensive countries in the world.
Taxes for working are high but the social insurance is for most of the people higher than that. Except rich people. Workers pay about 300-700€/month, billionaires max 1060€/month.
300 bucks as a lower bound is pretty high, but you are definitely correct: social security in Austria is heavily regressive!
Well, I am Austrian and all I do is pay high taxes. But we have to finance those coming to us without intention to work at all. Weather is terribly cold from fall until late spring. And now with inflation prices have risen more than in other European countries. Our standard cannot be kept for much longer. I am very sure about that.
People like to complain, don‘t they? Why not complain about something important, like the American-Russian war or that the fossil fuel we love to consume is killing us all, and not even slowly any more?
immigrants in Austria bring in significantly more money than they cost. Don't worry so much.
@@starxenoon8848? What is heartless?
@@Strauss- Haha, you must be joking. Look at all the Syrians and Afghanis, most of them will never work. They get too much money from the Austrian government, they have absolutely no intention to work. Too many of them here in our country.
Mozart is not austrian. he was born in Salzburg, which was not part auf austria at this time. it was one of the many states in the holy roman empire
Your take on Taxes is wrong, you dont pay 30% taxes if your income is 18k, please inform yourself right about progessive tax curve befor say something wrong. For you to pay 30% income Tax you would need to earn about 70k before taxes.
Woooo zahlt man 10€ pro m2 in Wien???
I think the reasons why expats vote vienna as the unfriendliest city, is that viennese culture and expat culture aren't that compatable. Shops closed early and on sundays for example. We also tend to use sarcasm all lot and like to tease (to put it mildly) people, which i think makes it sometimes hard to understand what we actually mean
Yo! Quick pop in about point 11 (Im Viennese). I actually eat schnitzel with ketchup, and its really good.
At 2:35: You haven't understood the Austrian tax system (which, btw, is working like any modern tax system the world over). You are quoting the MARGINAL tax rate, which is not what a person is actually paying. People are taxed at their AVERAGE tax rate, which is lower. So it's not: 'if you earn more than X, than your are taxed x% ...'
The correct wording is: 'amounts earned above X are taxed at X%'
Having said that, Austria IS a high tax country, almost Scandinavian, but also one with a high level of social services and protections. The locals seem to like that ...
10 euro per square meter, that's so last year now! prices have gone way up!
Austria was the only country, wchic wa ocuppied by Soviets, and left alone.
I am very grateful to Austrians, when as teenegers tthey granted me a shelver, and asylum, so I could start my life in Australia ; ) I worl on Austrian farm during the summer, and fully enjoied great hospitality of the employewrs,sharing their house, meals and being well remunerated. Viva la Austria!
Well , there are at least ten other countries, that were occupied by USSR, and left alone: GDR, Czechia/Slovakia, Hungary, Poland,Estonia,Latvia,…
@@kriskross63 mate, literally all the countries you are mentioning used to be behind the iron courtain. whats your definition of being left alone? XD
rent is awfully high btw
That is so everywhere today. Structural problem.
From outside all the world looks cool …. BUT …. If you look closer … then you see what F******** is going on … 🔥🔥🔥✌️😂✌️🔥🔥🔥🌎🔥🔥🔥
Would love to return from England, this place is getting darker.❤
In France the government spending is almost 60% GDP and you have to work 207 days in a year to pay taxes (#1 in the world), so not just a Scandinavian problem
The french maximum tax rate is lower than the Austrian tax rate, with every euro you earn above 170k being taxed 45%. It is mathematically impossible for a Frenchman to give 207 days of your year in taxes.
are you sure? i was just in Austria… and they know how to speak English, and Austrians are friendly. i mean … i should know German since i am visiting Austria. One thing as an American, that annoys me is that we expect all countries to speak English, while we are the ones visiting who should at least learn the language of the place we’re visiting.
I like how u play your ads in the evening now 😢😢😢
I dont think Austrians are unfriendly or grumpy, but the rest of the world doesnt vibe with the Austrian sarcasm and cynicism that is often said in jest I guess