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it’s no surprise that the cost of living has skyrocketed in the past year due to high inflation
But is everything really as bad as the news reports would have us believe
Or are some things in Austria cheaper than back home
To find out more we asked readers of The Local to tell us what is surprisingly cheap in Austria
FOR MEMBERS: Water, waste collection, parking: How Vienna will get more expensive in 2023
The results from our latest poll shows that 44 percent of those surveyed consider transport in Austria to be fairly cheap – especially when compared to their home countries
Louise from England but living in Innsbruck said: “Buses are a lot cheaper than in the UK.”
And Olivier from France specifically referenced the annual pass for the Wiener Linien, Vienna’s public transport operator. The pass costs €365
which means Vienna’s residents can access to public transport for just €1 per day
To compare, an annual pass for Berlin’s S-Bahn network is €761, and in Switzerland an adult annual pass for all zones is €2,226 for second class
READ MORE: Tax cuts and bonus payments: Austria's financial measures that will benefit people in 2023
In second place was accommodation with 22 percent saying it was or cheap – or cheaper – in Austria
Phillip from Australia said “rent in an Altbau apartment in a central location” is affordable in Vienna
This was echoed by Sean from New Zealand who described rent in Austria as “reasonable”
But Tomas from Lithuania said: “Housing (rents) in Vienna is not cheap but cheaper when compared to other similar cities in Europe
This is all thanks to good regulation and a large supply of social housing in Vienna which helps to reduce prices on the private rental market.”
In Vienna, the average price for a one bedroom apartment in the city centre is €915, going up to €2,000 for a three bedroom apartment, according to Expat Arrivals
Almost 17 percent of respondents said food and drink was cheap in Austria
Louise in Innsbruck said: “Alcohol is surprisingly cheaper here too.”
However, Louise is from the UK where alcohol is often expensive to buy due to a sliding tax rate depending on the strength
beer with an alcohol strength of 1.2 to 2.8 percent is taxed at 8.42p per litre
This rises to 19.08p per litre for 2.8 to 7.5 percent alcohol
and up to 24.77p for beer that is stronger than 7.5 percent
Whereas alcohol in Austria is taxed differently with a flat rate of €1,200 for every 100 litres of pure alcohol
The result is cheaper alcohol with a domestically produced 0.5 litre bottle of beer in an Austrian supermarket costing on average just 99c
READ NEXT: EXPLAINED: How to keep energy bills down in Austria
Is Austria actually an affordable place to live
many respondents said yes – but only when it comes to certain aspects of the cost of living
Location also plays a factor with several respondents living outside of Vienna saying Austria is not affordable
Olivier from France said Vienna is “cheaper than lots of other European capitals for the quality of life”
And Nikola from Serbia said there is “good purchasing power” in Austria
The earnings to costs ratio allows most people to make ends meet
And some can maintain a really high standard of living.”
who lives in Neuhofen an der Krems in Upper Austria
said: “Everything is way more expensive than in my native country.”
Hiro from Japan described the cost of living in Austria as “so-so”
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Radio Oberösterreich
As letztes Bundesland bekommt Oberösterreich in zwei Monaten ein S-Bahn-Netz
Dezember wird die Anbindung des Zentralraumes an die Landeshauptstadt deutlich ausgeweitet und verbessert
Die modernen S-Bahn Züge verbinden die Regionen Steyr
Pregarten und Eferding mit dem Hauptbahnhof Linz
Die S1 führt über die Weststrecke Ost über Enns
Die S3 auf der Summerauerbahn nach Pregarten und die S4 auf der Pyhrnbahn über Kremsmünster nach Kirchdorf an der Krems
Auf der S5 auf der Strecke der Linzer Lokalbahn nach Eferding werden ebenfalls die S-Bahn-Garnituren unterwegs sein
Die S-Bahnen werden täglich im Stundentakt von 5.30 Uhr bis 23.30 Uhr von den obengenannten Zielen zum Linzer Hauptbahnhof fahren
Zu Spitzenzeiten in der Früh und am frühen Abend ist auch eine 30-minütige Taktung geplant - Abfahrt und Ankunft erfolgen immer zur selben Minute
Auf der S 4 /Pyhrnbahn wird in der Morgenspitze ab Neuhofen sogar ein Viertelstundentakt geboten
Aber auch Verbindungslücken am Abend und den Wochenenden sollen damit geschlossen werden
Laut Infrastruktur-Landesrat Günther Steinkellner (FPÖ) soll dieses neue Angebot mehr Pendler zum Umsteigen auf den öffentlichen Verkehr motivieren
Weitere Neuerungen im ÖBB-Fahrplan ab dem 11
Dezember sind unter anderem eine bessere Verbindung nach Tschechien mit fünf zusätzlichen Zügen pro Tag
Für Pendler entsteht im oberen Innviertel die Haltestelle Schalchen-Mattighofen
Auf der Westbahnstrecke werden zwischen Wien und Salzburg die Intercity-Züge durch neue Railjets ersetzt