Emigration to Austria: experience, conclusions, and recommendations

5 min readJan 1, 2024

A series of essays on emigration with observations, recommendations, and useful links. Finding a job and yourself, adapting to the country, learning German with or without courses, finding housing, medicine, taxes, communication, etc. I decided to describe and share my experience to help those who are in similar circumstances. Here below there will be a table of contents with the following essays, letters, or useful notes from the emigrant.
The Russian version is here

Leap into the unknown

The last week of February 2022 completely turned our lives upside down. Even though my friends called me a reinsurer, I anticipated the outbreak of war and prepared what might be needed in different scenarios of the near months. The decision to move was made quickly. My daughter and I still had to get to the border from different cities where we lived, having driven through almost the entire country under shelling. The road was difficult. And on March 1, 2022, we left Ukraine. Spring has already begun for us in another country.

Our plans changed almost every hour. Then I often remembered the phrase from a fairy tale “… and he went wherever his eyes looked…” which wondered me and seemed meaningless. Now its meaning has become obvious and very deep. We decided that we would go to Warsaw, to visit my daughter’s friend. But I had to make a stop in Krakow because I got sick due to overwork.

A couple of days later, my daughter came with the question: “Mom, what do you think about going to Graz?” She met a colleague outside and was offered to go to Austria, where she had the opportunity to live for some time and get help with documents and settling into new conditions. “Okay, a place where they don’t shoot and where you can live suits me.” — I answered her.

Experience of forced emigration

The women’s holiday on March 8 turned out to be sad; almost the entire day was spent in botheration and a trip. We arrived in Graz at night on March 9th, and fortunately, local friends of my daughter took care of accommodation and met us at the station. Later they helped us with registration, checking the apartment rental contract, and other issues related to documents.

And despite their help and all kinds of support, our anxiety and tension were definitely higher than normal. The roar of planes taking off or landing at the local airport made us want to run and hide. The sirens of ambulances, and especially firefighters, very reminiscent of air raid signals, caused panic. The city training sirens, which sound on Saturdays at 12.00, still freeze us even now, after 20 months of living in Austria.

The need to follow the news at home, and at the same time deal with current issues here, only increased the level of internal imbalance and external uncertainty. For a long time, I felt like I was a tree that had been uprooted by a hurricane, and it continued to fly in the air without touching the ground.

Where do you get vital resources?

I had to constantly and consciously connect my head, which was in Ukraine with my thoughts, and my body, which was physically located in Graz. And my “Tourist therapy” helped a lot with this, first walking along nearby streets, and then trips to neighboring cities.

Because when you walk or go by transport in an unfamiliar place, the mind is focused on positive thoughts and is busy tracking the route. At this time, the head and body connect, switch to contemplating what is happening around you, and relax.

The solutions that helped me cope with challenges and reinvent myself came in part from my experience as a coach. I have been using these tools for myself for many years, not just in working with other people. I prefer to be a “shoemaker in boots.” Of course, realizing that many people before me had similar experiences, I looked for answers to my questions.

The key phrase that put many things into place for me was: “In order to feel solid ground under your feet in emigration, you must immediately come to terms with the fact that you are here for a long time. And act based on this reality.”

First steps of adaptation

To do this you must have at least:

1. Communication (telephone and Internet). Many of our compatriots continue to use Ukrainian operators in roaming even a year later. When we arrived in Austria, it turned out to be difficult and expensive, so we immediately bought local SIM cards and connected to the Yesss operator. There are several tariff plans, differing in the amount of Internet and the availability of roaming within 10 euros per month. There are other operators, I will write about them later.

2. Language for communication. Naturally, we communicate with our compatriots in Russian or Ukrainian. With locals and other people — in English, we had it at a fairly high level. And in order to use our time productively, we immediately started learning German. Several essays with helpful links and descriptions of personal experiences will be devoted to this later.

Looking ahead, I will say that at the time of my arrival in Austria, my German was 0, and by the summer of 2023, it was already B1 (intermediate, working level). In September, I passed the state exam and received a certificate confirming my knowledge of German at level B1.

3. Sources of obtaining the necessary information. Of course, these are channels and groups on Facebook, Telegram, and other social networks, as well as official websites of local authorities or organizations working with immigrants. Here are the ones that will help you find answers to your questions or ask a question in the chat.

Here’s a list of groups you can start with to find other important information. Find the links in the bottom in the video text box.

To be continued…

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Series “Essays by an Emigrant”. Table of contents:

1. Emigration to Austria: experience, conclusions, and recommendations.
2. Emigration to Austria: how to live in Austria without knowing German?
3. Emigration to Austria: how to learn German?
4. ÖIF exam in Austria: why take it and how to prepare?
5. ÖIF B1 Integration Exam: how to prepare in order to pass it?
6. ÖIF B1 integration exam: how to pass the speaking part?
7. Emigration to Austria: how to get a job?