Vienna is the third most unfriendly city in the world – Quality of life remains top

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Vienna’s image as particularly unfriendly has improved slightly. Last year, the Austrian capital was still last out of 53 international cities but is now only second-last in friendliness, according to the annual “Expat Insider” survey. Expats living in Austria were also surveyed. The inhabitants of Berlin (53rd) and Munich (52nd) are now more rude.

The citizens of Mexico City, Malaga and Valencia are rated the friendliest. The first two cities are also the quickest to make friends.

Not welcome

Expats do not feel welcome in Vienna, and around a quarter (24 percent) are dissatisfied with the social life in the city. However, this is already an above-average result (29 percent worldwide) and a significant improvement on the previous year, when 40 percent of responses were negative. “The initial culture shock and the unfriendliness of some locals can be discouraging at first,” said one Dutch expat about life in Vienna.

The fact that it is often not possible to pay by debit or credit card in the Danube metropolis was also criticized. While more than half of expats worldwide (56 percent) say that cashless payments are easy everywhere else, less than a third (32 percent) say the same about Vienna. The language barrier can also be difficult for expats, so Vienna ranks 36th here. In fact, 53 percent said that the language barrier was a major consideration before moving to Austria.

Quality of life remains top

But despite all the criticism, the quality of life in Vienna is still at the top, as other surveys, such as the one conducted by the international consulting firm Mercer, show. Expats also ranked the Austrian capital third after Valencia and Alicante in this area. For example, expats love the affordability (3rd place) and availability (2nd place) of public transportation, the ability to travel (2nd place) and both the urban (3rd place) and natural (7th place) environments. “I can always do a lot outside, e.g. great hikes and bike rides just outside the city, and there are lots of inexpensive cultural activities,” praised one US expat. Vienna is actually in 9th place when it comes to recreational sports opportunities and third place for its commitment to the environment and climate. At least four of five expats are satisfied with medical care’s quality, availability, and affordability, earning Vienna 6th place worldwide.

In contrast to the situation in many other capital cities around the world, the fact that finding accommodation for expats in the German capital is not a major problem was also rated positively (16th place in the ranking). The city also scored well in housing affordability (10th place). Expats also rated positively that access to online services is rarely restricted (which is why Vienna is in 16th place here). Administrative tasks can often be completed online (19th place). Good news, because dealing with local bureaucracy is not necessarily easy—which is why Vienna is in 31st place here.

After a brief drop to 16th place in 2023, Vienna returned to the top 10 of the Personal Finance Index in 2024 (10th place). Four out of five expats (82 percent) agree that their disposable household income is sufficient to live a comfortable life, with half even saying it is more than enough. Expats in Vienna are, therefore, satisfied with their financial situation (11th place). Vienna also rose from 32nd in 2023 to 18th in the Working Abroad Index. Expats are paid fairly for their work (17th place) and enjoy a good work-life balance (16th place).

The federal capital is the biggest winner in the overall ranking, having moved up 21 places to 15th place. Last year, Vienna was still in 36th place. The Expat City Ranking is based on an annual survey of 12,500 expats, conducted since 2014.