"Only" 51st place

Vienna no longer the most unfriendly city in the world

The image of the Viennese population as being particularly unfriendly has improved slightly.

(Bild: mRGB - stock.adobe.com)

In last year's ranking of 53 international cities, the Austrian capital is now only in second to last place in terms of friendliness. The inhabitants of Berlin (53rd) and Munich (52nd) are now less friendly.

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

Die Ergebnisse der alljährlichen Umfrage von „Expat Insider“:

• Social life: Expats do not feel welcome in Vienna and around a quarter (24 percent) are dissatisfied with 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 there were 40 percent negative responses.

• Language and payment: One complaint is that it is often not possible to pay by debit or credit card in the Danube metropolis. The language barrier can also be difficult for expats - which is why Vienna ranks 36th here.

What would Vienna be without its coffee houses? Even if some waiters are notorious for being "grumpy" ...

(Bild: stock.adobe.com/Schieder Markus, stock.adobe.com)

• Rents: In contrast to the situation in many other capitals around the world, the fact that finding accommodation for expats in the Austrian capital is not a major problem was also rated positively (16th place in the ranking). The city also performs well in terms of housing affordability (10th place).

• Income: After a brief drop to 16th place in 2023, Vienna landed back in 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.

The quality of life in Vienna remains top. 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) environment.

(Bild: mdworschak - stock.adobe.com)

• Quality of life: The quality of life in Vienna remains top. 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) environment. Vienna actually ranked 9th in terms of recreational sports facilities, and third place for its commitment to the environment and climate.

In the overall ranking, the federal capital is the biggest winner, having moved up 21 places to 15th place. Last year, Vienna was still in 36th place in the overall ranking.