# Study abroad in Vienna or Wiesbaden?



## herebyhappenstance (Jul 31, 2013)

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 leaning a bit toward Germany right now but would like other opinions!

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 so much!


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## The_Okie (Jul 31, 2013)

First of all, I'll say I haven't been to Wiesbaden nor Vienna yet, but I can surely say that even big German cities such as Berlin have a relatively low crime rate other than theft. (never leave your bike unchained, even if you hop into a bakery for some rolls) It's mostly the drunk people you gotta watch out for, especially since most of the time if they do do something bad to you, the law basically says "oh it's okay, they were drunk...they didn't know what they were doing." 

Public transport is also well setup in metro areas and you can easily reach rural areas from each Hauptbahnhof (marked Hbf, "main train station") Normally it's pretty pricy though, it's cheaper to drive, but since you'd be studying you can get a student card.

Cost of living...meh...in big cities you'll probably be able to find cheaper apartments than out in the country where I live. Not sure if you'll get any assistance with a scholarship or whatever, but the only thing I'd really worry about would be the electric bill. Ours is rather cheap at €92/month.

As for Austria...maybe someone else can give some insight as to how life is there, hehe. Never been there...YET!:fingerscrossed:


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## James3214 (Jun 25, 2009)

Vienna always comes out top (or near it) in the 'quality of life' surveys so personally that would be my first choice even though I live near Wiesbaden where you will probably find it easier to integrate due to the large number of US expats in the area. Public transport is excellent and crime is relatively low in both cities and I don't think there is much difference in the cost of living.


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## beppi (Jun 10, 2013)

Your worries about safety and crime are a typically American thing - forget them while in Europe, as even the most dangerous places here are better than your safest!
We have no guns, almost no violent crime, few homeless and a functioning law enforcement. The biggest "danger" (really rather annoyance) are, as mentioned above, drunk teenagers on the way home from the disco and opportunist bicycle snatchers.


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## Nononymous (Jul 12, 2011)

Agreed. Safety, within reason, really is not a concern.


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