Congratulations Vienna

That makes sense. We spent a week there, courtesy of a home exchange, and found it a very pleasant and livable city. Relaxed, safe, good public transport, nice parks, not as expensive as London or Paris or Copenhagen, lots of cultural opportunities, wineries to visit inside the city limits—-what’s not to like?

One of the things we found most impressive was the level of recycling, with labeled bins (including even used clothing and shoes) within easy reach of our apartment. It just seemed to speak well of a very good social structure and community spirit.

There are some downsides, at least as expats seem to feel:
https://www.internations.org/expat-insider/2023/vienna-40419

Is it that expats are not welcome or that the Austrian people are not "warm and fuzzy", and tend to be more reserved?

I downloaded the Economist "Summary". Sort of a pain in the ..... to get it. What about the details? They sell those for for $Thousands. So there is nothing transparent about this survey. I can send it to you if you like. But not much in it.

I suspect it does provide some order of magnitude, but I also suspect that it is politically or culturally biased and your individual biases would need to match up for the survey to mean a tremendous amount. "Suspect" because you will have to spend $thousands to figure it out.

You can go here https://www.economist.com/graphic-detail/2024/06/26/the-worlds-most-liveable-cities-in-2024 and move a cursor around over one graph and see who scored over 80 and over 90 (80 they suggest is the bottom acceptable threshold). Even though its all sort of questionalble, you gotta feel good when your favorite does well.

... or that the Austrian people are not "warm and fuzzy", and tend to be more reserved?

I guess that is the case. Dealing with other people is much more formal, e.g. you usually don't call somebody else by their first name, the clear distinction between Sie and Du when addressing aonther person, there is no small talk with the cashier in a supermarket or with a waiter in a restaurant, etc.

Interestingly none of the German speaking cities ranked in the top. I am guessing this is a US or at least North American focused poll, so maybe the rift is just a difference in cultural norms.

The Economist is based in London. In my opinion it definately does not have a US bias.

And yes, the rankings are based upon the biases of the editors. For example, Vienna scored somewhat lower on culture compared to some of the other top cities. How is that possible? The culture rubric includes access to major sports teams and events as part of culture.

Germany's is well represented in the Top 25. Overall, a little better than other European cities outside the top 10 and clearly better than most of the US cities.

Germany's is well represented in the Top 25. Overall, a little better
than other European cities outside the top 10 and clearly better than
most of the US cities.

jkh, in both of my comments I was refering to the expat survey that started the discussion about warm and fuzzy attitudes; i should have been more clear. Definately this is not a competition. Just speculating why good people might be seen in a less than stellar light. I prefer the expat survey for discussion on this forum because it should be a tad more relevant to visitors (tourists). As a resident European citizen, I could see why the Economist survey would be more meaningful.

As for the bias of the Economist study, without putting down some serious cash, you will never be able to get a feeling for it.

I spent the first week of November last year in Vienna and was struck how nice, frequently smiling people were during the casual interactions you have as a tourist. Tiny sample size I know and meaning nothing on the larger scale. But I lived 4 years in Germany many years ago and it was a noticeable difference from the more serious norm I knew then.

All stereotypes aside, you are more likely to reap what you sow. So be yourself and I suspect you will enjoy your travels much more .... assuming you are a good person LOL

Another take on the related subjects
https://www.cntraveller.com/gallery/friendliest-countries-in-europe?uID=7c410f027f87c20bc98af6219567d1e40ba4b2d84c89ac7381414d37bc095e5c&utm_campaign=newsletter_daily&utm_source=newsletter&utm_brand=cnt&utm_mailing=CNT_NEWS_Daily_280624&utm_medium=email&utm_term=CNT_DAILY_ACTIVE

These "liveability" rankins are used by companies to decide how much extra hardship compensation you get when you are send to a place. Being send to Vienna or Prague is a quite different experience then having to move to Kinshasa. So yes, they are biased towards the experience of expats, not those of tourists.

Regarding people being more reserved: Yes, in German speaking Europe people are more likely to just leave you alone. That has its upsides too. And as in many places knowing the local language helps. I spend quite a bit of time in Austria and Germany for business, and get along with the locals just fine. But then I can joke in German.

At a Salzburg restaurant once the server saw/heard we were American he just plopped down and started to chat like we were old buddies. Quite amusing. I think he was tired of dealing with people from other cultures (don't want to get too much more specific).

Also while we're on the subject, the WSJ had an article that Austria is now chockful of Russian spies and is considered the spy capital of Europe.

At one point the Germans told all the Russians to get out of Munich so they sauntered down to ... Salzburg.

Also while we're on the subject, the WSJ had an article that Austria
is now chockful of Russian spies and is considered the spy capital of
Europe.

Outstanding. I miss cold war novels and movies.

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2024-04-04/europe-s-spy-capital-weighs-crackdown-on-intelligence-industry

Very interesting and predictable..

... and is considered the spy capital of Europe.

This is true since the end of WWII. By Austrian law any spying is permitted as long as it is not directed against Austria.

No administration ever had changed this law, but as it turned out recently that Russia had infiltrated Austria's intelligence service, legal experts think about how this can be handled differently in the future. This is not as easy as it may seem, because foreign countries have acquired buildings, protected by diplomatic immunity, for obtainig intelligence, visible from the outside just by satellite pictures showing antennas and other electronic gear on the roof.