Apartments in Vienna

Today I spent a couple of hours checking out rental apartments in my hometown of Vienna (Austria). It has been more than 15 years since I last looked for an apartment for rent in Vienna... and I was pretty sure that not only the prices, but the market as well might have changed considerably. Turns out that there currently is quite some rental inventory available. Being used to the US West Coast prices, the rental prices in Vienna are still quite decent. You can still get 700 sqf apartment for about 700 bucks. Of course you can get 600 to 700 sqf apartments for about 400 bucks as well, but they're either in less desirable districts or you would have a long commute to downtown.

Turns out that if I'm really lucky I could even afford a 600 sqf apartment in the 6th, 7th or 8th district. If I were to consider a studio apartment around 500 sqf I should definitely be able to live in the 6th, 7th or 8th. Those are the districts more 'in-districts'.

It turns also out that my personal criteria for an apartment search are quite different now. When I was in my mid-20th the district and the apartment size wasn't that important. The Price was the most important thing...and I wasn't that much at home anyways.

Today things are entirely different. 600 to 700 sqf is a perfect size. Not too small, but not to big either. That way you don't spend an awful lot amount of time keeping things in order and cleaning things. I'm still not a big fan of studio apartments and would probably only consider it as a last resort effort. The kitchen size is another thing that has changed. I definitely need a decent sized kitchen, as today the kitchen size has a way higher priority, than it did in the past. I rather would compromise on the apartment size. Of course the top priority is the feeling that I get from an apartment: I have to be able to see myself living there and it has to feel comfy as well. After all it has to be way more than an apartment...it has to be a home!!

I pretty much have nailed down the districts that I would be actively looking at: 4th, 5th, 9th, certain parts of the 10th & 12th, 14th, 15th, 16th, 17th and 18th.

Then there is of course the choice between 'Altbau' and newer construction. Both have their benefits and their downsides. The benefits of the 'Altbau' are the increased ceiling heights and the thicker walls...and an 'Altbau' apartment takes way longer to really heat up in summer. The downside of course is that it is an old building and that you usually don't have the amenities of newer construction buildings. The benefit of newer construction are the amenities, better constructed walls and isolated windows...thus reducing the overall heating and cooling costs. On top of that most newer construction buildings come ready with Cable-Internet and that's a huge plus in my book!! Some of the newer construction buildings offer outdoor living space (balcony or roof terrace) and in an urban setting that's another huge plus!! I guess currently I'm leaning a little more towards newer construction building. But of course the neighborhood, the actual location of the building and the way how I feel about the apartment will have a huge impact. An apartment without broadband internet connection is definitely a deal breaker for me!!

The location that I take into consideration aren't that clear cut either:

Urban, but not quite Downtown. Green Spaces in reasonable close proximity, but not Suburban or on the outskirts of the city. Close to public transportation, but not necessarily on one of the main-streets. A small to medium sized apartment building, but definitely not a 'Apartment City'. And last but not least: a reasonable commute to downtown.

I guess it's definitely going to be an interesting journey!!