I know there’s a few German posters herein, and maybe an Austrian here or there, on this board, and I’m wondering… What’s it like in either country? I know Germany and Austria are two very different nations, but I’d like to hear how it is from people who live there, or visit frequently.
Specific questions: how easy is it to live without an automobile, assuming I live in a large city like Munich or Vienna, or rather, do I have to have a driver’s license to work there? What sort of crime rate should I expect; would I want to raise any potential junior N³A³M³s there? What sort of tests would I have to take, and how expensive would it be, if I were to go to college there, in either nation? What about the average wages verses the cost of stuff? I hear goods prices there are somewhat on the high side, and gas prices are ridiculous (which is half the reason I want to live car-free), but are wages comparatively higher?
I hear the government is a real hassle in both nations. Is it really that bad? I wouldn’t mind shelling out half my income for healthcare and so on, but is it really as hard as they say it is to navigate the hedge maze of German bureaucracy?
And hey… feel free to point out places I should live in. I hear Munich’s a beautiful city, and then there’s Oktoberfest…
I was in both Germany and Austria in March for Semicon Europa. I used the subway system in Munich several times each day. It was much cleaner than any other subway I’ve ben on and were “as effecient as a German train.” The subways, or U Trains(U for underground) connect with the S trains(S for surface) that will take you to any of the suburbs.
I even caught a S train that took me all the way to Salzburg, Austria. It was a beautiful city and had a large walking-only shopping district. I can imagine that living here would be fairly pricy and it is not commutable to either Munich or Vienna.
Can I go with you??? I wanna go back to Germany! I can’t answer any of your questions, cuz I was only 9-12 when I lived there, so driving, taxes, and healthcare were none of my concern I can, however, tell you that living in Europe was the best experience of my life, and so I highly recommend it. Transportation is fairly good, as i remember it, big cities did have buses or trams or whatever. There are also great farmer’s roads (at least where I lived - the Black Forest) that line the fields and you can bike/walk/skate on them and go from town to town. I lived in Lahr, and loved it. Its also great cuz you can travel and see so much, so easily. We were 10 mins from the Alsace in France, 1 hr from Switzerland, 1.5hrs from Austria… I wanna go back!! Please let me go with you? You can stick me in your suitcase, and I’ll be nice and quiet, I promise!
Sure, you can come with me. Once I graduate high school, round up enough cash… Hey, can you spare a buck (smiles)? Anyone able to come up with a figure on how much it should cost me to move from small-town America to not-so-small-town Europe? I’ll fly freight, if I must (again, smiles).
Over all I’d have to say that Germany, Munich to be specific, was a very pleasant place to spend a few years. I’d rather not make a permanent move there but that’s due to more to getting homesick then any fault of Germany.
**
It is fairly easy to live without an automobile. But I’d still have an inexpensive automobile if I lived there. The public transporation is pretty good so so far as trains go. And it is pretty easy to take a train to downtown Munich and walk everywhere you want. But if you wanted to go to other areas of German then having a car is nice.
**
The crime rate isn’t as high as it is here. If you don’t speak the language I’d watch out for the typical criminal that preys on tourist. Usually they just go for petty theft and I haven’t heard anything more serious happening then that. I hear there are some bad people there who are rather hard on foreigners and sometimes assault them. But I don’t think they’re targetting Americans.
Wow, you don’t even know where you’re gonna live over there and you’re already making plans for college?
