Ph.D. student's budget vs life in Vienna

[reemal]

I've noticed Ph.D. students' salaries (not very negotiable since they are usually government-funded) in Germany tend to be considerably higher than in Austria and I began to wonder how difficult it may be to live for three years of a Ph.D. programme in Vienna given the gross salaries are around 2000–2600€ (paid 14 times a year along the usual Austrian scheme).

Let's be less optimistic here and assume I have a gross salary of 2200€ so a net budget around 1600€ a month – how manageable is that? Quite obviously the most painful part of the expenses will be the rent. I tried using online cost of living calculators but I got results in an absurdly broad range (800–1800€). However, median was about 1500€ so it makes me a bit worried (but just a bit because I honestly don't trust most of these calculations).

 

[chasrismatic101]

@reemal Hi. I'm a PhD student in Vienna. Here I'll try to cover some issues here.

- The PhD student salary slightly depends on the funding source, some with progressive rate, the others are not. In average you should get ~1800 per month after tax, paid 14 times per year. That is equiv. ~2100EUR x12.

- Vienna has very strong social housing policies. The market is tightly regulated, and therefore, for renters, are very affordable. Most people I know pay their rent between 350-600EUR, that's just a quarter to a third of the salary.

- Public transport is really cheap. If you're younger than 26 you pay 75EUR for a semester. If you're older, you pay 365EUR a year. The public transit system is very well connected and you can easily ensure that you can move from A to B within 30 mins anywhere you live/work the city.

- After monthly fixed expenses + occasional travelling, I can easily safe/invest at least 25% of the monthly salary. It's really not that bad.

- My PhD friends in Germany do not seem to earn considerably more than I do. And the expenses in most big cities over there seem to actually be even higher.

Hope that helps!

 

[chasrismatic101]

Just some more info on housing. For the prices I mentioned, I'm talking about something from a decent room in a shared flat to an apartment for yourself, with heating/electricity/internet. I would actually advice against going for a student dorm, wherever you actually end up going. Those are usually not that much cheaper (if at all), way smaller and less comfortable. You also wouldn't get the kind of peace you might often need for doing a PhD while sharing a living room with bunch of Erasmus bachelor's students.

 

[reemal]

@chasrismatic101 Definitely living on my own, that's a highly technical position and I already got used to not sharing a flat with 'buddies'. I know this increases costs but I think the increase in the standard of living is worth it.

 

[christphen]

@reemal thanks for the insights and sorry for necroposting. currently, looking at austrian PhDs. if it's not a problem would you mind sharing how things have changed since then.

 

[chingay]

@reemal 1.6k netto 14 times per year is decent.

1.6 per month will cover a nice 1-bedroom + food + occasional expenses. The rest is pocket money for big purchases.

Vienna is by no means cheap. But it's still cheaper than say Berlin, Frankfurt, or Paris. On par with Madrid and Barcelona and waaay below London or Amsterdam.

 

[qman0011]

@chingay > Vienna is by no means cheap. But it's still cheaper than say Berlin

Well, that was weird to read. Berlin is very cheap already. Housing is the only thing not cheap, but it is still much cheaper than other cities.

 

[resjudicata]

@chingay I still fail to understand the case that Vienna is "by no means cheap".

Get a "Altbau" or "Genossenschafts-"appartment and you pay rents that are ridiculously low compared to other major cities. Transportation is 1€/day and food in stores is cheap af as well (250€ a month will let you have some meat and drinks too). Beer in bars is Ok and restaurant prices as well. I really don't see anything that is particularly more expensive than in other significant cities.

Heck, even the most expensive clubs are still affordable as long as you don't buy 5 beers at the bar.

 

[resjudicata]

you can get a genossenschaftswohnung right away? no years of waiting? cool.

 

[resjudicata]

Theoretically yes. I did, but was lucky tbh. I was not even on a waiting list, I just checked websites and found out that at that exact day somebody from the waiting list must have said to not take the newly built apartment. So I called and was the first one. So, it's hard but at least there is no definitive rule that prevents you from getting one. Some people can also recommend somebody to follow if they move out of such an apartment.

But getting an Altbau-apartment is the easier way - plenty of them available for cheap-ish prices because of rent control.

What's also nice is: getting a 80-90sqm Altbau apartment, then having 2 students move in with you. You might end up paying

 

[resjudicata]

Lucky you!

In Copenhagen you have to wait 15-30 years sometimes

Another plus for Altbau: it has a certain charm to it.

 

[resjudicata]

High ceilings are awesome

 

[clavdivs]

@resjudicata

will let you have some meat and drinks too

Oh wow, the luxury!

 

[resjudicata]

@clavdivs ok sorry, did not know your daily diet contains more than fresh fruit and meat, like, caviar and 20€ bottles of vine on a daily basis

 

[kellsterann]

@reemal Your cost of living calculation is very off, you will propably land somewhere between 600 and 800€/month, depending on your standards and workplace benefits.

My personal cost of living is around 1k/month in a very central 70+m2 appartment excluding food costs, as a rough benchmark. Under 800€ is very achievable with smaller appartments outside the inner city (Ring), which are still perfectly reachable by public transport at 1€/day public transport ticket costs (some workplaces offer that ticket as an employment benefit). If you want to bring that down even more there are student homes scattered across the city or you can rent a room in a shared appartment, which is very common for students.

Power, mobile phone and internet contracts are much cheaper than in Germany, you can easily get away spending less than 50€/month total for those.

Comparing income is difficult - but you should only compare net income as the tax system is very different. 13th and 14th salary is almost tax free (social security contributions still apply).

Net income should be higher in Austria for the numbers you provided here. Food might be a bit more expensive in A, cosmetics and everything "luxory" will be more expensive, while basic needs will be cheaper.

 

[reemal]

@kellsterann I assume you don't live alone because that would be an enormous flat size for a single person. I wouldn't like to give up location and standard too much, and as someone wrote in another answer getting a Ph.D. may be difficult with partying flatmates in the living room so I'd prefer not to share a flat, really. This of course bumps the costs but for the heaven's sake, that place is supposed to be my home for 3+ years so I am ready to pay a bit extra.

 

[kellsterann]

@reemal I don't live alone at the moment but I did in the past - I like having the extra space more (eventhough I know it's luxury)

I understand the concern and shared flats are definitly not for everyone, but there are not just party student flats - a work collegue was living in a shared flat till his early 40ies. If you like the lifestyle this is the way to afford a ~20m2 private bedroom/office + large shared kitchen and large shared living room + maybe balcony at the same price as a 40m2 appartment for yourself (plus maybe at a more central location). But of course: only if you like having people around.

Where would your workplace be located? You identify as a city animal so you should definitly avoid districts 21,22 and 23 and check subway access. Districts 1,6 and 7 are typically too pricey. I can recommend districs 4/8/ 9 and parts of 2/3/5/10 (there are many cheap appartments in areas that are not well connected to public transport so do check).

If (!) you like Altbau, always go for it, as rent is capped by city law. Eventhough many landlords overcharge for Altbau (and you can easily sue them if you enjoy that), it's not that hard to find a decently priced offer. Ceilings are 3m+ high, which for me is the main pro, but heating costs are higher (easily countered by getting used to 18deg C room temperature and investing in warm clothes) and they have all the quirks of old buildings. Newer buildings are more efficient but lack the rent cap.

You can bring down your costs by opting for a bike instead of public transport, but in my opinion thats just for hardcore bike freaks (the city is just somewhat bike friendly). Do not (!!) get a car in Vienna. Just don't.

 

[barbaraf]

@reemal 1.600 netto is pretty easy to live off of.

Rent is going to be your biggest expanses, but if you are smart about it and don't force the issue by having to live in the first or any other one digit disctrict, then you are going to be fine. Rent can vary quite a bit in price around here, which does not necessarily mean that the lower the price the shittier the living conditions.

For example the 15th district is very popular with students because of rent prices that are still quite cheap and quality of living is by no means reduced in any way.

But yeah, you should be able to live comfortably off of that salary here in Vienna.

If a one bedroom apartment is all you need then your rent (all included) should not really be higher than 800 euro per month (which is already pretty steep to be honest). That leaves you 800 euro for daily expenses and whatever else you want/need. If you can't live a reasonable life in Vienna as a single person with no child off of that amount of money then your tastes might be too high for your general income level.

I myself make around 1.5k netto, live with a pertner in a 3 bedroom apartment and I have plenty of money for food, other expenses, travel, savings, etc. I am by no means rich, but also very far from struggling. So you should be fine. I hope you enjoy Vienna as much as I do.

 

[resjudicata]

@reemal That's an average income for a full-time employee. You will be more than fine.

 

[reemal]

@resjudicata Numbers say something fundamentally different about median salary in Vienna. It's way higher than that.