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Hello everyone! I have the option to spend a year abroad in either Vienna, Austria or Wiesbaden, Germany and would like input from people who have been to either of these places. I am curious to know about cost of living, crime (i.e. do you feel safe walking around at night? During the day?) and public transportation (quality and safety) in both. Of course I have seen some numbers and such through research but nothing beats personal experience in my opinion!
So, if you have experience with either city I would love to hear it. Please also keep in mind that I am an American girl who doesn't speak stellar German... is one place better for foreigners (particularly Americans) than the other?
Thank you for any advice/information you might share!
If you are a young American in Wiesbaden who does not speak a lot of German, there are many thousands of other Americans living nearby in the same situation. Wiesbaden is the Headquarters of the US Army in Europe so it is not uncommon to find Americans in various parts of the city, especially near the US garrison.
One good thing about Wiesbaden is the proximity to Frankfurt, in the heart of central Europe with excellent high speed rail connections to any place on the continent. Local Public Transit in Germany, in particular Frankfurt / Mainz / Wiesbaden area is fantastic, far better than the "best" that might exist in the US. You will not need a car. You will never run out of activities or things to do. In any German city or town, personal safety (walking around alone day or night) is not a problem for men or women. Like anyplace, common sense and street sense trumps all.
I have visited Vienna as a tourist so I can't comment on all of the benefits of living there for a long duration. Nice place to visit but I would not make it my first choice as a place to live for a year.
I would recommend you going to Vienna, Austria. It is the capital and largest city of Austria located in central Europe. You will find more English speaking tourists, workers or students in Vienna than you would in Wiesbaden. Vienna is also more beautiful, slightly better weather and more interesting than Wiesbaden. Vienna has affordable renting and food and transportation is cheap. Wiesbaden may be slightly cheaper, but Vienna is worth more for sure. However Wiesbaden is close to Frankfurt, but I prefer Vienna over Frankfurt still.
Wiesbaden has less than 300,000 people vs. 1.8 million in Vienna.
I lived in Weisbaden for 3 years in the 70s and returned to visit in 2006. The United States has had military bases there for at least this long. It is very easy to live in Weisbaden, even if you speak little to no german. The local german people are amazingly friendly and it is easy to find Americans if you want to. Note that Weisbaden is in the Hesse region of Germany, famous for providing the Hessian mercenary soldiers used by the British during the revolution.
Weisbaden is off of the main tourist trail, which is either a plus or a minus, depending on how you look at it. Weisbaden does have a spa as well as a casino. The city of Mainz is just across the river and Frankfurt is about a 40 minute drive. You can also drive north along the Rhine and see some of the best scenery in Europe (my opinion) with lots of castles and great river views.
I have also visited Vienna for a short time and can see the advantages to living there as well. It seems like it would be more expensive but also more historic.
If you chose Wiesbaden because there are more Americans there, why study abroad in the first place? Isn't the idea to het a totally new experience? How will you get that if you (constantly) seek the presence of other Americans?
Vienna has affordable rentingand food and transportation is cheap. Wiesbaden may be slightly cheaper, but Vienna is worth more for sure. However Wiesbaden is close to Frankfurt, but I prefer Vienna over Frankfurt still.
Lol, wut? Vienna is frequently ranked among the most expensive cities in Europe, I highly doubt that it's affordable, especially not for your average college student. Rents are very high, food at the grocery stores is slightly more expensive than in Germany, most other everyday things are more or less the same. Restaurants and cafes can be very pricey in Vienna.
If the OP wants to learn German it might be better to go to Wiesbaden just because most people there speak standard German without a strong accent.
I personally would choose the university that offers the programs I want without thinking too much about its location. It all depends on what you want to get out of your study abroad experience. Both cities are very pretty and offer a great quality of life, you can't really go wrong with either one.
Never been to Wiesbaden, so I can't comment on that city.
Cost of Living:
It's not that expensive at all. There are approximately 200.000 students living in the city, all with a limited budget. I'll just give you a rundown of prices to give you an idea of how expensive everything is.
Public transport: €365 per year. Gives you access to the metro, to trams, to busses and the S-Bahn (+ regular trains within city limits); €150 per semester for students
Mobile phone: 1000 minutes, 1000 free text messages, unlimited 3G = €15 per month
Lunch at one of the smaller joints near the University in the first district: €4-6 (can get a lot more expensive, though)
Kaiser roll: €0,25
Coffee at a traditional coffee house: €3,50
A beer at a bar/A can of beer in the supermarket (0,5 liters): €3,60/~€0,50
Rent: Well, that's complicated. Some districts are more expensive than others. I'm paying €310 for a room including a bathroom (14 m2). I don't have to pay for the Wifi.
Districts 1, 6, 7, 8, 9, 14, 18 and 19 are usually considered to be the most expensive ones. You can still get a good flat in district 6 and 7, though. That's where a lot of students are living.
Districts 2, 3, 4 and 5 are also quite okay. Pretty affordable, but rather quiet.
My favorites are districts 6, 7 (that's where I live) and 8.
Cheaper ones are districts 10, 15, 16, 17 and so on.
Crime
It's totally safe all day long. No-go areas are non-existant. Street prostitution is legal in some areas of town, though, so some streets look a bit sketchy. Petty crime can occur when there are lots of tourists around, but nothing happened to myself yet.
Public Transportation
Probably one of the best in Europe. Safe, clean, easy to use, huge.
Vienna is the seat of IAEA, UNIDO, UNODC, OPEC, OSCE and couple of other international organizations and embassies, so you won't have any troubles to meet other foreigners.
Language
Most people will speak (basic) English in both Wiesbaden and Vienna. Don't expect too much, though.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Rob702
I highly doubt that it's affordable, especially not for your average college student.
If the OP wants to learn German it might be better to go to Wiesbaden just because most people there speak standard German without a strong accent.
1. There are approximately 200.000 students living and studying in Vienna. So... yeah...
2. The variant of German spoken in Vienna is quite neutral. Yeah, most people have an Austrian accent, but Hessian dialect won't be much better.
Anyhow, it just comes down to the question, if you want to live in a big city (1.7Mio) or a smaller one (272k).
Last edited by viribusunitis; 08-01-2013 at 07:03 AM..
If you chose Wiesbaden because there are more Americans there, why study abroad in the first place? Isn't the idea to het a totally new experience? How will you get that if you (constantly) seek the presence of other Americans?
I lived in Aschaffenburg, Germany, attached to a US military installation, for three years. Though of course, I had a lot of interaction with fellow Americans, I assure you that it's still quite possible - in fact, INEVITABLE, that one will experience plenty of the local culture.
It's nice, though, to be able to kick back with some friends that you have a lot in common with sometimes though. It's a good sort of "mental break." I've lived overseas for six years out of my life, and traveled a lot through Europe, and I really enjoy experiencing the different cultures - but unless a person has lived in a foreign country for several months or years, sometimes it's hard to realize that mentally and emotionally the subconscious strain of living in a foreign environment can get to you a bit - even when you're having the time of your life.
OP, I vote for Wiesbaden, for the reasons above, and also because it's in a BEAUTIFUL, centrally located region of not only Germany, but Europe. You would enjoy easy access to France, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, etc. The region itself is drop dead gorgeous.
Also, in my own personal experience, Germans, especially in southern Germany, in general seem a lot friendlier than Austrians. I know there are exceptions but hey, that's just been what I've experienced on a regular basis.
1. There are approximately 200.000 students living and studying in Vienna. So... yeah...
2. The variant of German spoken in Vienna is quite neutral. Yeah, most people have an Austrian accent, but Hessian dialect won't be much better.
Anyhow, it just comes down to the question, if you want to live in a big city (1.7Mio) or a smaller one (272k).
1. There are almost 600,000 college students in New York City, does that make NYC affordable all of a sudden?
2. Hmm no idea how neutral Viennese German is, I'll take you up on that one. However, most Austrians have an accent and they also use words that non-Austrians don't understand. I bet the same is true for Germans, but their variant is the one taught in classrooms abroad, so it may be a bit easier to adapt. When I lived in Hesse no one but elerdly people had a noticable accent.
Anyway, I don't want to split hairs, both cities are a good choice and it all comes down to what the OP wants. I assume the University of Vienna is much better than the one in Wiesbaden, so if academics and your resume are important to you - go to Vienna! Do you want to do a lot of traveling? Maybe Wiesbaden with nearby Frankfurt Airport, Hahn Airport, and Frankfurt Hauptbahnhof is where it's at.
Culturally, Vienna obviously offers much more than Wiesbaden, not sure how the whole Rhein-Main-Area compares though.
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