Questions about living in Austria

Hi Bonnyta!
Good luck with your move! I am positive there are bilingual schools in Vienna! Especially now with the refugee crisis in Europe, they are having to provide them, but I would suggest you should allow your child to fully integrate at school or out of school, so that they feel settled and accepted as friends, and start to enjoy the quirky culture Austria is blessed with. There are legal loop holes you have to skip through, but ask your local consulate or embassy and real estate agent, and they will gladly give you advice. Crime in Austria is very low compared to other European countries, so there are hardly any rough neighbourhood areas in Vienna. Foreigners are accepted, especially if they speak German/Austrian/Viennese!

Dear Rod604,
Thanks a lot for your positive reply. Regarding schools, yes, you are right - and I know it very well, being in Australia, and being born overseas! My son already pass this "integration" part once, when we arrived in Australia...with no English language for him! I am confident he will be ok in Austria, too, but - I would like for him to keep his English, too. That's why I am interested in bilingual school.
Are you living in Austria, Rod604? Can you tell me something about the prices...? For a family of three, how much money should us consider/month for living? (not expensive things, not dining out, not luxury hobbies). Again - many thanks for exposing me to these precious information, guys!
Bonnyta

Hi Bonnyta!
Yes, I live in Schladming, Styria, Austria. Your son will not be allowed to forget English! English is the second language taught in ALL Austrian schools, so there is no chance of that, and indeed he may be able to give the teacher a few tips being a virtual native speaker!
Food quality here in Austria are of the highest quality, but expensive. They do have cheaper supermarkets here called either Lidl or Hofer/Aldi which can reduce shopping basics by 20-30 percent.
When we shop in the  normal supermarkets as two people we spend from 20-100 euros, averaging at 160 euros a month. Phone calls are not too expensive in comparison with Europe, nor is electricity, and indeed may be cheaper than England. The Austrians are slowly catching on to shopping around for the best energy and phone prices, so it can pay to shop around. The internet is chronically slow despite broadband, but may be better in Vienna. Prices for internet start at 15 euros a month depending on how much usage you may need. They do not have local taxes in Austria. Renting in Vienna can be expensive, depending which district you live in, and how large a house or apartment you need. The further out you live, the cheaper the rent. At a guess rents would start at 600 euros for a small apartment up to 40 square meters. Hope this helps!

Hi Bonnyta,

I created a new topic as from your post on the Austria forum for a better interaction with other members.

Best of luck,
Christine
Expat.com

Hi Rod604 and thanks again for your kindness! It is encouraging to see people care and want to help!\

I would like to ask you about the German language, a little bit. Tell me, please, for foreigners like us, is there any governmental program or something, to help us to learn the language better? I mean here, for (almost) all the new arrivals, there is a program where you can go and have English lessons for free (or cheap), to learn the language (for adults, because for kids they have this at school). It is something like that in Austria?

What about the rent, the housing - the prices are higher for non-Austrian citizens comparing with Austrian citizens? I just ask this, because some countries have this thing...

Keep in touch as your replies are very important for me!!

Regards - Diana