I can't decide between Bavaria, Austria & the Czech Republic

[bytex 25]

I often street view Central Europe. I still can't believe there are small towns with so many fairy-tale like town squares & fantastic historical architecture there. I like lots of Czech towns but on the other hand salaries there are quite low but from some places in Germany & Austria one can easily do monthly or even weekend trips to Czechia.

 

Bavaria & Thuringia are my favorite parts of Germany but the salaries in Thuringia are a joke. Munich & Nuremberg look quite unattractive to me on Street view compared to other places I've lived in like Prague, Sofia and even Bratislava. Makes sense as they were heavily bombed in WWII. Smaller towns in Bavaria like Regensburg are more inviting but I wonder what can one work there? I know Germany has many small college towns, afaik Regensburg has a uni. Can one teach in English there (until I learn German well enough)?

 

On the other hand all the media/arts seem to be based in Munich in Bavaria. I'd like to have access to that as I have a side career as a lyricist/musician/TV commerical director. I'd prefer Prague or even Vienna over Munich if I have to live in/outside such a big city (though Linz, Passau, Freistadt, Plzeň, Cesky Krumlov, Ceske Budejovice and Regensburg are placed ideally for cross-country trips). Maybe I could live in the hills very south of Munich but I think it's not very practical to commute so much everyday?

 

Then comes Austria, the often overlooked Germanic speaking country. Supposedly it must be like Bavaria but unlike Bavarians their larger cities have at least some small hills (even Vienna has some hills in its Western outskirts). Unfortunately most major Bavarian cities and towns seem to be in flat, not so picturesque areas. And unlike the also-flat Pilsen and Ceske Budejovice they do not have the picturesque old architecture preserved, nor so many cobblestone streets. So Austria has the most beautiful nature/hills/lakes in the region, Czechia the best preserved classical architecture and easiest language (for me) and Bavaria has some also picturesque hills and small towns but in terms of the larger cities it seems to be behind the other two. What would you say makes Bavaria stand out compared to Austria and Czechia? It seems to have a larger number of small college towns, the Bavaria Film studios and that's great but the more I investigate the more unsure I am. Oh and on a funny side note there must be something in the Austrian water as I find Austria has the most attractive women in the area, esp. Linz ones outmatch even the Czech holkas.

 

Has anyone decided between these three in the past?

Other countries I like and have considered are Greece and Italy (only Athens, Catania and Rome but they're quite isolated from rest of Europe, and I hate the summer heatwaves & earthquakes), Hungary (hard language + heatwaves as well), Sweden (too isolated for international travels, winter's too humid and grim). I lived in Bratislava for quite a while and liked it there but the salaries were not particularly high. I found the winters in Prague nice as the snow trapped the humidity and it felt less cold despite the temp being much lower than in the Netherlands where I hated the humidity.

[engelchen 13,041]

I think you need to either find a job that is 100% remote working or start your own location independent business. 

 

The quaint, picturesque towns you seem to prefer are not the best places to find highly paid international positions. 

[LukeSkywalker 7,643]

If you can‘t decide, then move to Dreisessel, the triangle border region between DE, CZ and AT. You have the best of 3 countries. Next topic. 

[bytex 25]

^^Well that's true but I'm not work-from-home material. I mean I like it more than working in an office but I'd rather work in a school or university, I love academic environments. That said my true passion are the performing arts which requires lots of networking. Ideally I'd like to combine both plus nature, so a satellite town around a city with amenities like theaters, festivals and music/TV production is ideal.

 

Maybe I should've just reduced my OP to asking for places that offer opportunities for college/uni teaching (in EN) or/and access to music business/TV channels.

I've heard college towns are a thing in Germany just as in the USA. Even Erlangen has a branch of a university I think and even Nuremberg has music recording studios.

What I find weird is how little talk there is of commuting considering the distances are not that big (Bavaria is larger than the Netherlands or Belgium but still has a good road network). Do expats and locals commute much in Bavaria? And what about the two/tri-country D/CZ; A/D; CZ/A and D/A/CZ areas?

 

In the USA many people commute everyday the same distances as between Ceske Budejovice & Linz or even the one between Klatovy & Regensburg. Is it viable to live on the cheaper Czech side, yet work in Bavaria or Austria? How common are such cross-country arrangements? Or maybe one can work in Austria, live in Bavaria (they say it's cheaper) and have a summer house/vacation flat in Czechia?

You certainly don't get that many areas in the EU where you can have 3 distinct countries with distinct flavors and architecture at your fingertips, yet you need to learn only 2 official languages instead of 3. I don't get people who live close to the borders and have never visited any of the other two countries... I imagine living somewhere like Madeira, Stockholm or Athens would get more boring after a while as you only get one culture and they're quite isolated.

 

^Dreisesselberg's just a hill, not many opportunities there for songwriters/musicians like me I'm afraid.

[engelchen 13,041]

 

1 hour ago, bytex said:

I'd rather work in a school or university, I love academic environments. That said my true passion are the performing arts which requires lots of networking. Ideally I'd like to combine both plus nature, so a satellite town around a city with amenities like theaters, festivals and music/TV production is ideal.

 

In other words you're looking for a Eierlegende Wollmilchsau.

 

1 hour ago, bytex said:

Maybe I should've just reduced my OP to asking for places that offer opportunities for college/uni teaching (in EN)

 

In which field did you write your PhD thesis?

 

1 hour ago, bytex said:

What I find weird is how little talk there is of commuting considering the distances are not that big (Bavaria is larger than the Netherlands or Belgium but still has a good road network). Do expats and locals commute much in Bavaria?

 

I don't know about Bavaria, but it takes me 45 minutes to an hour to get to work regardless if I drive or take public transport. I live less than 10 km from my office.  Commuting even short distances can take a long time with poor connections. Very long commutes are not as common in Germany. 

 

Despite all the research you seem to have done, you seem to have unrealistic expectations. 

 

 

[bytex 25]

20 hours ago, engelchen said:

1. I don't know about Bavaria, but it takes me 45 minutes to an hour to get to work regardless if I drive or take public transport. I live less than 10 km from my office.  Commuting even short distances can take a long time with poor connections. Very long commutes are not as common in Germany. 

 

2. Despite all the research you seem to have done, you seem to have unrealistic expectations. 

 

 

That's really bad, where is that?

 

I find it sad that locals never venture much, do they even visit the neighboring small towns? Or just live their whole lives in their village?

 

I mean just look at this about 45 km or about 30 minutes by car from the closest Bavarian town Furth im Wald (which itself is fantastic and has a huge robotic dragon they use for slaying reenactions):

https://www.google.com/maps/@49.3948922,13.2930573,3a,90y,243.06h,121.65t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1sMvp-0EZ7gAXE4mdzaYXgqA!2e0!7i13312!8i6656

 

or this cute town just off the Nuremberg - Prague highway (Via Carolina):

https://www.google.com/maps/@49.7529683,13.0051704,3a,64.4y,273.24h,108.28t/data=!3m8!1e1!3m6!1sAF1QipPK9cKEsbjMwPhWh5sIddIADIbG4QmVIeIbStaq!2e10!3e11!6shttps:%2F%2Flh5.googleusercontent.com%2Fp%2FAF1QipPK9cKEsbjMwPhWh5sIddIADIbG4QmVIeIbStaq%3Dw203-h100-k-no-pi-0-ya341.49185-ro-0-fo100!7i11264!8i5632

[yourkeau 7,723]

On 9/29/2021, 9:18:24, bytex said:

Can one teach in English there (until I learn German well enough)?

You definitely can as a EU citizen. Whether you will depends if you find a place with the shortage of English teachers. Then you might get a position without speaking German. They speak pretty good English in Austria, so forget about this country. Bavaria or Czechia, you may try.

 

On 9/29/2021, 10:45:10, bytex said:

Is it viable to live on the cheaper Czech side, yet work in Bavaria or Austria?

Pandemic, forgot about this? Too much of a headache is this.

[optimista 5,925]

11 hours ago, bytex said:

...live their whole lives in their village?

 

There is an awful lot of that... with consequences you would expect. Will not elaborate.

 

Maybe try Passau. Floods occasionally though.

[engelchen 13,041]

7 hours ago, yourkeau said:

You definitely can as a EU citizen. Whether you will depends if you find a place with the shortage of English teachers. Then you might get a position without speaking German. They speak pretty good English in Austria, so forget about this country. Bavaria or Czechia, you may try.

 

Have you ever heard of unqualified foreigners being employed to teach in Bavaria? It might be possible to find a few places desperate enough to offer small freelance contracts, however, Bavarian institutions tend to be picky. 

 

The OP is making the effort to research and I think he deserves accurate advice.

[bytex 25]

I have a Master Degree (from another Western European country no less, Eastern Euro degrees in anything but medicine are not well-regarded, I get it). I've seen lots of compatriots who work at unis in Germany. I don't think all of them teach in German, so I'm thinking of a PhD.

I've noticed even some small Bavarian universities have some foreign staff that teach for example things like International Business or Politics, and many of them teach in English due to the subject matter. Those are related to my degree.

 

Back in 2013 when I was researching for my master there were very few Master degrees taught in English in anything in both Austria and Germany. However, today their number seems to be much higher. As for teaching English, there are far too many native EN speaking expats and most European countries prefer them or locals that know good EN over a person from a third country. That works only in Asia or Eastern Europe (e.g. I had a Greek coworker who taught English in Romania).

 

Apart from that I can sing in German (by ear) and Czech, and can even write lyrics in them, so singing gigs are a-OK for me.

[engelchen 13,041]

10 hours ago, bytex said:

I have a Master Degree (from another Western European country no less, Eastern Euro degrees in anything but medicine are not well-regarded, I get it)

 

 

Interesting assumption, however, I am not familiar enough with degrees from Eastern Europe to dismiss them all as subpar. Is it possible to teach at a university in Bulgaria with only an MA? There is a reason I asked about a PhD.

 

10 hours ago, bytex said:

and I've seen lots of compatriots who work at unis in Germany. I don't think all of them teach in German.

 

How many are employed just to teach?

 

10 hours ago, bytex said:

I've noticed even some small Bavarian universities have some foreign staff that teach for example things like International Business or Politics, and many of them teach in English due to the subject matter. Those are related to my degree.

 

How many of them don't have a PhD already?

 

In general Professors and Junior Professors teach at German universities. A minimum of a PhD and a strong publication record is required for a Junior Professorship.

 

In the Wirtschaftswissenschaften most wissenschaftliche Mitarbeiter are PhD students employed on temporary contracts while writing their dissertations. In the Kulturwissenschaften most wissenschaftliche Mitarbeiter already have their PhD. Employed Lehrbeauftragte are rare and these positions are usually in the language departments. Furthermore, even a PhD from a German university is not a guarantee to make someone employable in Germany (see this thread for more info).

 

There are also sometimes Dozenten who are not part of the permanent faculty, but rather receive freelance contracts to teach for a semester. These are an excellent way to earn extra money, however, it is a rather precarious situation for those whose sole source of income derives from short-term contracts. 

 

Your only option for employment at a university would be if you could find a paid PhD position as a wissenschaftliche Mitarbeiter. 

 

You can look for positions here:

 

https://inomics.com/

 

10 hours ago, bytex said:

In fact when I was researching for my master back in 2013 there were very few Master degrees in anything taught in EN in both Austria and Germany but now their number seems to be much higher.

 

Many of these courses are taught by existing staff regardless of whether or not the staff can communicate in English properly (but that is a different subject for its own thread). Since the administration of the universities are mostly still completely in German there has not been a proportionate increase in positions that only require English. 

 

10 hours ago, bytex said:

As for teaching English, there are far too many native EN speaking expats and most European countries prefer them or locals that know good EN over a person from a third country. That works only in Asia or Eastern Europe (I had a Greek coworker who taught English in Romania).

 

There are too many native English speakers in Germany chasing too few English teaching employment positions and these positions tend to require degrees in English and/or Linguistics. 

 

10 hours ago, bytex said:

Apart from that I can sing in German (by ear) and Czech.

 

Unless you're trying out for DSDS I don't know how these skills will help you find a position in Germany applying from abroad. 

[bytex 25]

So then I must chose a place where everyone can be/has been/is employed in arts or music? So Southern Europe?

So what can be done to get there in my case? It was so easy to find a job at a multinational in Slovakia and Czech Republic but a.) Those jobs are only available in poorer countries like Greece, Portugal and ex-socialist ones. b.) Those jobs are a temporary solution, I don't want to spend my life in an office doing boring administrative work.

 

Besides after working for American business, their practices are terrible, you're so overworked that you have no energy to even learn the local language, all I did in the weekends/evenings was recover from work fatigue. Maybe a Western European-owned company would be a better employer but there are not that many (my friends working at Henkel and Roche certainly liked them more than I liked my US-owned employers and now working for a French-owned business it's much less of a rat race, sure, they have norms but for a whole months we had no norms. That will never happen in a US business).

[optimista 5,925]

Ah, work fatigue. Had a wardrobe full of those T shirts in Munich. Apart from people at the EPO who ambled about with a noticeably slow and relaxed gait and one pseudo-artist over the road who was maintained by his wife, I only ever knew over-worked, stressed out people in Germany. Always thought I wasn't mixing in the right circles though...

[engelchen 13,041]

6 hours ago, bytex said:

So then I must chose a place where everyone can be/has been/is employed in arts or music? So Southern Europe?

 

No, you have to decide what you want from life and what you're willing to do to meet your goals. 

 

6 hours ago, bytex said:

I don't want to spend my life in an office doing boring administrative work.

 

Then what do you want to do??!?? 

 

Looking for a PhD position makes no sense if you don't want to work in an office (unless you can identify positions where a PhD would come in handy for jobs outside of an office).

 

Based on your posts :

 

- you want a high salary 

- you don't want to work in an office 

- you don't want a job that is mainly remote working 

 

Unless you have the skills to be a professional soccer player,  I have no idea what you could do. 

 

 

[optimista 5,925]

On 29/09/2021, 21:45:10, bytex said:

... places that offer opportunities for college/uni teaching (in EN) or/and access to music business/TV channels.

 

 

This.

[yourkeau 7,723]

This discussion has no sense as at the moment there is no choice between Bavaria, Austria, and Czech republic.

 

If the question is where to look for jobs, the answer is everywhere. Once you secure a source of income, come back here we give advice where to live and whether it makes sense to live and work in different countries.

 

 

[bytex 25]

I think it's easier to find a job in Czechia but the pay is significantly lower.

The problem in Germany is that almost every job apart from the lowliest, most unskilled job requires at least an Ausbildung (apprenticeship) which takes 2 - 3 years to complete. I regularly look at job listings and feel like weeping as there wouldn’t be any point in even applying for almost every position.

“Want to work in a warehouse counting boxes? Then we have the job for you!

Must have 3 year apprenticeship as warehouse worker“.

A girl I know worked in her parents bookstore as a teenager and knew the business inside out. After school she wanted to continue working in the trade but her parents couldn’t afford to give her a full-time job so she applied to one of the large chains. She immediately started a 3 year apprenticeship. 3 years training to work in a bookstore! I know other girls doing the same to work in a bakery selling bread. Selling bread, not learning to bake bread. I wonder what do Toytowners do for a living?

[optimista 5,925]

Right. So you have perfectly understood the German scene. I think that's one country you can eliminate. I doubt somehow that you would adapt easily to the rigidity of the teutonic mentality. From what you say I think Czechia is the place to be but you don't like the salary range. Catch 22.

[bytex 25]

And what about Austrian mentality?

In a video about Austria or Vienna, two locals posted "Come to Austria!" and similar-sounding posts. Then one expat living in Munich said you never see Munich locals posting things like "Welcome to Munich" online. Here's his post on YoutTube:

 

Quote

I am living in Munich but Austria, especially Wien has the more foreigner friendly atmosphere and open. Never have I felt warmth with the people here unless they were my friends but Wien, everyone was really happy to connect with other people. You see in the comment some people saying “come to Austria”. I believe Munchener would say “I don’t give a thing about you moving to Munich as long as my space is secured”.

I don't really get what he means by secure space as En is likely not his first language, but I feel disillusioned. I mean I grew up on German TV - Pro7, RTL 2 (RTL is based in Munich). It's really shocking if this is true, but my online interactions with Germans have been similar. The most welcoming to me bunch seem to be those bordering on Czechia or Austria, but the cities and towns there like Passau are certainly smaller than Salzburg, Linz, Pilsen, and Ceske Budejovice so not much in terms of opportunities.

[LeonG 14,850]

On 8.10.2021, 00:28:35, bytex said:

"Want to work in a warehouse counting boxes? Then we have the job for you!

 

Must have 3 year apprenticeship as warehouse worker“.

 

 

Oh it's not really that bad. 

 

When I initially came to Germany I worked in a factory through a manpower agency. The pay was shit but most of the people who stuck around eventually got hired by the client.

 

I didn't stick around. Found a better job in an office at a small company doing quality and 5 yrs later got an even better job working all over Germany on a project basis. Nobody ever asks for qualifications.  If you can do the job they pay you a bunch of money and if you can't they kick you out.