1.) History and Architecture: I enjoy the historic heritage
that surrounds you everywhere in Austria. Baroque lifestyle and the
presence of old buildings is something that you take for granted if you
grow up in Salzburg, but it isn′t. Austria is also at the crossing of
several European cultures and ethnicities, adding a wide spectrum of
traditions.
2.) Safety and Tidiness: Austria is a very safe place (there are less than 100 murders a year) and you will note that with the exception of few urban areas, it is remarkably clean and tidy. Call it anal, but I like that.
3.) Good value for money: Surely everybody complains about the high prices since the Euro was introduced -statistics, however, show that Austria is still doing well when it comes to the ratio between average incomes and cost of living. If you doubt this, look up the "quality of life" rankings that the consultant Mercer does annually for the magazine "The Economist". Vienna always ranks among the top 5 cities in the World.
4.) Diverse approach on education: A diverse interest among intellectuals is typical for the 1900-school of Vienna; science, fine arts, music, literature, philosophy and the humanities together make up education in Austria. I wouldn′t think that Austrians are particularly well-educated (in international rankings, we are doing alright with strengths in humanities and weaknesses in the sciences). However, proper intellectuals often have an exceptionally wide angle of interests and are classic "generalists" in their attitude towards education.
5.) Cultural offerings: Cheap access to the opera, massive student discounts for World class concerts at the Salzburg Festival or the Wiener Festwochen, exquisite art museums like the Kunsthistorisches Museum, the Albertina, or the Palais Liechtenstein in Vienna, or the ballet of the Staatsoper - thumbs up! In England a ticket for a non-professional student performance of a play (5 pounds) is twice as expensive as an evening in the standing room of the Staatsoper (3.50 Euro).
6.) Language: Austrian German is my mother tongue and I love to use it. It is more guttural and softer than standard German in terms of pronunciation, and more metaphorical and expressive in its many regional idioms. Germans that might consider Austrian German as a peasant′s dialect or simply a badly spoken version of high-German should explain, why writers of Austrian origin are so clearly over-represented in the World of German literature.
7.) Natural beauty and diversity: Easy to believe that one, the Austrian Alps tear the country into dramatic pieces, add lakes, swamps, hills and glaciers among other dramatic features. Almost 50 percent of Austria is forest and Europe′s biggest National Park (Hohe Tauern) is only one of several in the country. Once again this is something I took for granted - but northwest Ohio and East Anglia proved me wrong. The more I appreciate Austria now.
8.) Wide-spread prosperity and socialist tradition: At latest since the 1970ies, high taxes ensure an efficient network of public transportation, little poverty, a solid middle-class, excellent public health care, funding for the arts and endowments of museums, and access to education is widely free (thus meritocratic). The good side of the medal (compare with the dislikes).
2.) Safety and Tidiness: Austria is a very safe place (there are less than 100 murders a year) and you will note that with the exception of few urban areas, it is remarkably clean and tidy. Call it anal, but I like that.
3.) Good value for money: Surely everybody complains about the high prices since the Euro was introduced -statistics, however, show that Austria is still doing well when it comes to the ratio between average incomes and cost of living. If you doubt this, look up the "quality of life" rankings that the consultant Mercer does annually for the magazine "The Economist". Vienna always ranks among the top 5 cities in the World.
4.) Diverse approach on education: A diverse interest among intellectuals is typical for the 1900-school of Vienna; science, fine arts, music, literature, philosophy and the humanities together make up education in Austria. I wouldn′t think that Austrians are particularly well-educated (in international rankings, we are doing alright with strengths in humanities and weaknesses in the sciences). However, proper intellectuals often have an exceptionally wide angle of interests and are classic "generalists" in their attitude towards education.
5.) Cultural offerings: Cheap access to the opera, massive student discounts for World class concerts at the Salzburg Festival or the Wiener Festwochen, exquisite art museums like the Kunsthistorisches Museum, the Albertina, or the Palais Liechtenstein in Vienna, or the ballet of the Staatsoper - thumbs up! In England a ticket for a non-professional student performance of a play (5 pounds) is twice as expensive as an evening in the standing room of the Staatsoper (3.50 Euro).
6.) Language: Austrian German is my mother tongue and I love to use it. It is more guttural and softer than standard German in terms of pronunciation, and more metaphorical and expressive in its many regional idioms. Germans that might consider Austrian German as a peasant′s dialect or simply a badly spoken version of high-German should explain, why writers of Austrian origin are so clearly over-represented in the World of German literature.
7.) Natural beauty and diversity: Easy to believe that one, the Austrian Alps tear the country into dramatic pieces, add lakes, swamps, hills and glaciers among other dramatic features. Almost 50 percent of Austria is forest and Europe′s biggest National Park (Hohe Tauern) is only one of several in the country. Once again this is something I took for granted - but northwest Ohio and East Anglia proved me wrong. The more I appreciate Austria now.
8.) Wide-spread prosperity and socialist tradition: At latest since the 1970ies, high taxes ensure an efficient network of public transportation, little poverty, a solid middle-class, excellent public health care, funding for the arts and endowments of museums, and access to education is widely free (thus meritocratic). The good side of the medal (compare with the dislikes).
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