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Vienna is consistently praised by visitors and expats for its cleanliness, safety, and excellent public transport system. The city's architecture is stunning, and there are a variety of good food options from traditional Austrian to vegan and Middle Eastern cuisine. Its central European location and good train connections make it a convenient travel base. Many people enjoy the parks and walkable layout of the city, especially during the warmer months. For tourists, it's a great 2-3 day destination to see and explore the cultural and visual attractions.
On the downside, Vienna can be a cold and dull experience in the winter with less to do outdoors. Many report that the early closing times of shops and restaurants—even on weekends—are frustrating. While good for long-term living, it’s not considered friendly for digital nomads due to poor coworking spaces and unreliable internet in cafes. The cost of living is high relative to neighboring cities, and the general perception is that locals are reserved, which makes it challenging to make friends or integrate quickly. While suitable for tourists or long-term expats with a stable income, it may not be ideal for short-term stays or digital nomads.
AI-generated summary of reviews
Vienna is a great place to visit but do not DN here. The internet is either awful of non-existent—even in coffee shops.
2 years ago
Just visited Vienna for the second time and I figured that it would be worth writing a review about.
Things I liked:
- The architecture, as others have mentioned, is really beautiful
- Food/cafes are also really good. I recommend trying options in Leopoldstadt, where the choices were better (IMO) than the city center. Fromme Helene is close to the city hall and great for Schnitzel, strüdel, etc.
- Efficient public transport, though it can take a few days to get used to if you're from a smaller place
- Most people speak reasonable English (though many public transport announcements are only in German)
- Good links to the rest of Europe—you can get the train to Budapest, Bratislava, Zürich, and many other cities
- Well-run airport, which I found much better if you're travelling within the Schengen Area than if you're going outside (i.e. UK)
Things I didn't like:
- The service was really slow. I don't care about waiters not talking to you, and to be honest, I prefer things that way. However, be prepared to wait a long time for your food in many cases
- The inner city is quite crowded on weekends, mainly with tourists
- Like in Germany/Switzerland, many things are closed on Sundays. Keep this in mind if you need to visit the supermarket, etc.
Vienna is more expensive than other European cities, but I don't think it's as pricey as people make it out to be. Considering the quality of food, transport, etc., I think that prices are fair. Maybe a good idea to choose an alternative base if you're earning less than $3,500/$4,000 per month, though.
As for the people, the stereotype of Viennese grumpiness has an element of truth to it IMO. People are stern but polite, but I've found that the Germans/Swiss (and people from other parts of Austria) were a bit warmer initially. One thing that did annoy me, however, is that people would just barge past instead of asking you to move out of the way. I would guess that they make great friends once you get into their circles, but would also expect that you'd have to learn German to make friends with them and also live here for a few years.
I enjoy visiting Vienna—but personally, I couldn't see myself living there. Salzburg is a better option if you want to stay in Austria for a bit, but I'd probably pick Munich if you want a larger city and have the money to live in the DACH region.
2 years ago
Extremely boring and uppity. Like others say, how on earth does everything close at 8pm? Even restaurants close their kitchen around 9pm ON WEEKENDS. The people really have this "arrogant, uppity" vibe that makes you want to leave ASAP. Yes, architecture is incredible. It's walkable, transportation works, etc. Incredibly expensive. I see no reason why would anyone choose Vienna to Budapest or Prague as their base. Good for 2-3 days trip, nothing else.
2 years ago
Vienna is a cool city. Was there once in winter and once in summer and I liked being there more in summer. In winter is just horribly cold and it's all grey. In summer you can do lots of stuff outside, although the Danube riverside isn't as cool as in Budapest.
Pros:
- great food options (not only Austrian, but also for vegans)
- amazing architecture (really worth seeing)
- lots of things to do
Cons:
- everything closes quite early (supermarkets at 8pm, come on)
- quite expensive (didn't remember and was shocked)
- not as nomad-like as Budapest
Vienna is more of a tourist city than a nomad or expat city. For a visit it's great but living there is expensive and although there are some cool coworking spots, it's not there yet.
Nice places to get some good food:
Swing Kitchen (Vegan fast food chain)
Ulrich (really nice place to enjoy a good breakfast)
Dachboden (for the views, not the drinks. Cocktails there are expensive and not really for most)
Drechsler (also a good breakfast)
Neni (if you want to enjoy good falafel and traditional middle eastern cuisine)
3 years ago
Been living in Vienna since 7 years so I have alot to say about the city while iving as an expat:
Pro: Safety, Good Transportation
Cons: Racism, not open to foreigners, hard to make friends with Austrians as they are not open, everything is expensive, boring not much to do, extremely cold in the winter.
Leaving soon to Spain and I cannot wait :D
3 years ago
Pros:
* Very clean - lots of hand sanitisation places and people wear masks + streets are clean
* Great, cheap public transport
* Very beautiful city and good parks
* Pretty good Italian and asian food
Cons:
* Coffee shops seem to have mostly gone and been replaced with lots of Starbucks and other chains.
* Food / drinks is very expensive in most parts - Local beer is quite cheap though
* Barely any night life to speak of - everything closes at 11pm
Other Info:
COVID restrictions are very strict there (in a good and bad way). You need to provide proof of vaccination/recovery even to sit outside for a coffee. Not a problem if you are vaccinated but a huge one if you aren't.
FFP2 Masks are required everywhere - you will be turned away from places if you don't have one.
4 years ago
Vienna is nice if you're a tourist and want to see beautiful old architecture. And I guess it's nice if you want to live here for a long time, since it's quite safe and clean. But it's borderline impossible to live and work here short-term as a nomad. There's no good cafes to work from, the coworkings here are of extremely mediocre to bad quality here. Except for greaaaat Asian food, other food is difficult to get, there's either affordable takeaway fast food or expensive in-door fancy dining restaurants, nothing in between. People are stern but friendly, as everywhere in Austria.
5 years ago
Been there in January. Like Schonbrunn more than the old center of VIENNA. Honestly, I wouldn't go there during the winter, but in the summer will definitely return for a good look upon the stuff over there.
6 years ago
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