Making Friends in Austria: An Expat's Honest Guide Making friends in Austria is harder than in most countries — Expat Insider 2025 ranks Austria 41st for ease of settling in. Here is why, what works, and a step-by-step plan for newcomers. Topics: Daily Life, Leisure & Culture.

The question of making friends in Austria comes up sooner or later for every expat. International surveys suggest it is one of the hardest parts of the move: according to Expat Insider 2025, Austria ranked 41st out of 46 destinations for ease of settling in. Life here is objectively comfortable — the challenge is breaking through the cultural distance.

This article is an expat’s honest observation: why Austrians really are hard to get close to, which channels for meeting people actually work, and how long it realistically takes to build your own circle. You will get a seven-step action plan grounded in statistics, expat experience, and recommendations from local platforms. Let us start with the numbers that put everything in perspective.

What the Data Says: Austria’s Poor Rankings for Friendliness

According to Expat Insider 2025, Austria ranked 41st out of 46 in the Ease of Settling In Index and 44th for local friendliness. Only about two in five respondents agree that Austrians are friendly in general (43% versus 62% globally).

Even more telling figures come from InterNations research: 44% of expats in Austria said they find it difficult to make friends. Earlier editions painted a similar picture — for instance, 58% of foreign workers reported trouble finding friends, against 36% globally, as regional media reported at the time.

An important nuance: this is not about Austrians being aggressive or hostile. Researchers and expats themselves usually describe it as polite distance — pleasant conversations at work, but no transition to personal friendship. Tellingly, 32% of respondents said they failed to build a support network (versus 24% globally).

Why Austrians Seem Closed Off: Cultural Reasons

The roots of the problem are cultural, not personal. Austrian friendship is a long-term project built over years, not an evening. Acquaintances can stay at the “hi-bye” level for years, and that is normal for locals.

The second reason is Wiener Schmäh — Vienna’s signature dry, self-ironic humour. Newcomers often read it as rudeness or passive aggression, when in fact it is a sign of trust and closeness. Until you learn to read this code, conversations will feel cold.

Third is the structure of social life. Most Austrians formed their circle at school or university, and it rests on ready-made ties: family, old friends, colleagues. There are few free “slots” for new friends in adulthood — an objective reality rather than ill will.

The Role of German: You Cannot Skip It

Language is the biggest barrier, and it is the most underestimated one. Survey data shows 56% of expats find learning German difficult, and 45% say living in Austria without German is very hard. You can survive in Vienna with English, but for friendship with locals it is almost useless.

It is not just vocabulary. Friendship requires spontaneity — jokes, small talk, quick quips in a group. None of that works at the “I understand but answer slowly” level. So investing in the language is the highest-return investment in your social life.

The good news: language course costs can be partially claimed back from the tax office. We explained in detail how to get a tax deduction for German courses — a legal way to save up to several hundred euros a year.

Where People Actually Make Friends in Austria

Setting aside romantic ideas, work remains the main channel for meeting people as an adult. In expat experience, colleagues become your first friends — on one condition: you work in a team with Austrians, not in an isolated expat bubble.

The second channel is hobbies and sports. Austrians are big on clubs (Verein — an interest-based club): football, running, choirs, chess, mountain hiking. Membership is reasonably priced, and it gives regular meetings with the same people — and regularity is what creates friendship.

The third channel is neighbours and the neighbourhood. Austria has a tradition of street parties, residents’ meetings, and shared courtyards. Worth remembering: much of Vienna’s housing is municipal, and getting into a neighbourhood with a strong community can start with city programmes — see our guide to municipal housing in Vienna.

Work, Verein and Sport: What Really Works

Ranking the channels by effectiveness for a newcomer, the picture looks like this:

• A job with a local team — the fastest route: first “after-work beer” invitations often arrive within 2–3 months. Austrians call this Feierabend — informal time after work.
• A sports club or Verein — reliable but slow: friendship forms over 6–12 months of regular meetings.
• Language courses — paradoxically, fellow students who are expats often become closer than Austrians: everyone is in the same boat.
• Social media and dating apps — they work, but tend to produce one-off meetings rather than a lasting circle.

Context matters: the Austrian job market is going through a rough patch, and finding a job with a real human team is harder than it used to be — we covered who struggles most to find work in Austria now. But even part-time employment provides the social contact that remote work starves you of.

Expat Communities and Online Platforms

While you are still working towards local friendships, expat communities are a lifeline. Vienna has dozens of international and Russian-speaking clubs, chats, and meetups. Their advantage is instant closeness: nobody needs to be “defrosted” for a year the way Austrians do.

Online friendship platforms exist too: international apps like Bumble BFF, topic-based social media groups, language exchange platforms. Many are free and deliver fast results in big cities.

Austria also has an official anti-loneliness infrastructure: the national platform against loneliness maintains a catalogue of offline meetings across the country — from hobby circles to volunteer projects where meeting people happens naturally, over a shared task.

How Long It Takes to Build a Circle of Friends

Realistic expectations prevent disappointment. Research and expat experience agree: the first stable circle forms in 1.5–2 years. The first months usually bring pleasant acquaintances, but “your” people — those who invite you to a birthday or help you move — take time.

A curious detail: according to the EU loneliness survey of 2022, Austria is among the five EU countries with the lowest loneliness rate — below 10%. Austrians themselves do not feel lonely; their networks are solid. The paradox is that for newcomers, entering those networks is among the hardest in Europe.

Keep this asymmetry in mind: the problem is not you and not Austrians — it is the structure of society. How fast you enter it depends on language, regular meetings, and persistence — not on magic or luck.

Making Friends in Austria: A Step-by-Step Plan

Friendship in Austria is a marathon, not a sprint. Those who stay the course discover after a couple of years that their circle is even more stable than back home: Austrian friends, once they accept you, stay for decades.

— A Russian-speaking expat, 7 years in Vienna

Let us combine everything above into a concrete seven-step algorithm:

1. Reach at least B1 German — without it the other steps work at half power. Join a course and watch Austrian TV in parallel.
2. Get a job with a local team — even 20 hours a week gives you regular social contact.
3. Join a Verein or sports section — pick something you love and attend weekly without fail.
4. Find an expat community — a Russian-speaking club or an international meetup for fast support at the start.
5. Say yes to every invitation — for the first months drop the “let me think about it” habit: every beer after work is an investment.
6. Create reasons for repeat meetings — suggest an exhibition, a hike, or just lunch together.
7. Be patient — budget 18–24 months for a real circle, and do not compare yourself with those who “made friends in a month” (usually those are fellow expats).

Frequently Asked Questions

How hard is making friends in Austria compared to other countries?

Harder than in most of the world: Expat Insider 2025 ranked Austria 41st out of 46 for ease of settling in and 44th for local friendliness. Yet loneliness among Austrians themselves is among the lowest in the EU (below 10%) — the issue is entering existing networks.

Is it true that Austrians are unfriendly to foreigners?

It is more cultural distance than hostility. Austrian friendship develops slowly, and the local Wiener Schmäh humour is often read by newcomers as coldness. At the same time, 43% of expats rate Austrians as friendly — opinions genuinely diverge.

Can I skip German when making friends?

Partially — in expat communities and among young Viennese. But for friendship with locals, German is critical: 45% of expats admit life without it is very hard. Language is the catalyst for every other step.

Where can I meet people in Vienna if I do not work in an office?

The most effective options: sports clubs and Vereine (interest clubs), language courses, volunteering through the anti-loneliness platform, expat meetups, and friendship apps like Bumble BFF.

What Comes Next: From Acquaintance to Friendship

To sum up: making friends in Austria is achievable, but it requires language, regularity, and patience. The statistics honestly warn you: 44% of expats run into difficulties. But those who complete the journey gain something many other countries lack — deep, lasting ties that survive moves and job changes.

A practical checklist for the coming months: enrol in a language course (and claim part of the cost back via taxes), find a Verein you like, join an expat community, and say yes to the first ten invitations. And if you are just moving or arriving to study — Vienna as a student city offers the best possible start to social life.

Above all, do not expect quick miracles. Austrian friendship is like an alpine hike: the first kilometres feel endless, but the view from the top is worth every step. Start with one small step this week — and in two years you will wonder why this topic ever seemed hard.

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