Vienna - Post Report Question and Answers
Is it easy to make friends with locals here? Are there any prejudices or any ethnic groups who might feel uncomfortable here?
It's not that easy to make friends with locals. The Viennese are friendly but they don't necessarily open up or welcome you into their homes. But you can make local friends. I am a woman of color and I have not felt any prejudice. However, I have friends from various parts of eastern Europe who have experienced prejudice. In particular, Serbians and Romanians are discriminated against. I haven't witnessed it, but this is what my friends have told me. Some people are also starting to turn on Ukrainian refugees. People of Middle Eastern descent may also feel some discrimination. Overall, no, but there is a far-right segment of Austria that is openly hostile to Arabs and Muslims. - Sep 2022
I found it fairly easy to make friends with locals. - Sep 2021
It takes the Austrians a while to warm up to you but they are very welcoming once they are comfortable. We were lucky and had a lot of international families in our apartment complex and made many friends. - Feb 2019
