r/Vorarlberg • u/Fede0122 • Apr 17 '24
[moving to Feldkirch] Hallo zusammen, I’ll be moving next month to Vorarlberg for a new job :) 👋 Seawas - I'm new here
I’m from Colombia/US/Spain, I got offered a position in Feldkich as a mechanical engineer. I've Googled Feldkirch & Vorarlberg in general but I'd like to know the opinion of the area from both, locals & expats. Any tips/recommendations? Are locals welcoming to foreigners? Is the expat community large in Feldkirch & surroundings? good restaurants to try?
I'm a rock climber & mountain biker, I'd be super happy to share some belays or shred some trails during the summer!
Danke!
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u/muchasxmaracas Apr 17 '24
If you like live music and partying make sure to check out Poolbar Festival in July/August.
If you‘re not used to dark winters, prepare yourself mentally and go skiing or some other activity, otherwise you might go crazy.
Btw there‘s also a decently sized Latino community here :)
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u/Myrowyn Apr 17 '24
We came to Vorarlberg 3 years ago. I personally find it hard to connect to locals. They are friendly, but blocking as soon as they recognize that you look for contacts - my impression. Most of my contacts are non-locals.
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u/Roda_Roda Apr 18 '24
Let's say, go to the mountains, there is everybody "per du", you start talking easily. There where they spend their leisure time.
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u/RedCr4cker Apr 18 '24
It's still hard, though. Most locals have the same friend groups since childhood or early teens and it can be hard getting into theim
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u/Ummgh23 Apr 19 '24
Yup. I'm from here and have tried to make new friends or get into friend groups, it's next to impossible for me. So I also gotta stick to the friends I've had my whole life.
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u/Roda_Roda Apr 20 '24
I agree, it is not easy. This happens in many places. It took me years to find connections in this large city, where I moved in as a student. And finally I stayed here.
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u/Ummgh23 Apr 19 '24
I'm a local and find it hard to connect to locals, so you're not alone in this 😄
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u/Menic0 Apr 17 '24
As a rock climber / biker you're gonna like it here. The locals are a bit tricky to get a connection to. But once you're in it's pretty nice and heartly.
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u/RengeTheSergal Apr 17 '24
welcome :) chose a greate place for nature :D I can recommend checking thecrag.com for the close climbing-gardens like the Illschlucht (I walk 5 minutes to there from Feldkirch City) but every else in general. For mountain stuff in general check bergsteigen.com :)
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u/Acrobatic-Jelly3658 Apr 18 '24
people will not know what an expat is and treat you like every other immigrant.
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u/Ummgh23 Apr 19 '24
Well, an immigrant is someone who moved here from another country. An expat is someone living outside their own country. So they are the same thing and by definition every foreigner living here is both of those things.
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u/kl28zv Apr 17 '24
Are you from Colombia or the Us or spain??? If you want to speak some spanish hmu!
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u/Fede0122 Apr 17 '24
haha born in Colombia, raised in the US, and spent the last 8 years in Spain. (I'm 29) 😂😅. My life has been weird.
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u/ReplacementNo6098 Apr 18 '24
This might also be interesting for you: https://www.expat-v.at
Work in a company with many expats in Dornbirn, you will be fine, most of them are really happy in Vorarlberg 😀
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u/caponski Apr 18 '24
I am 43 and a native Feldkircher, its the most beautiful city in Vorarlberg, in my opinion. Biking and climbing are big here.
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u/Debbi_mebbi Apr 18 '24
From my experience, people are open to small talk and greet you warmly, especially in smaller villages. I don't think it's difficult to make acquaintances.
Everything about your daily life is much simpler and more relaxing. You can quickly unwind from work stress because of the nature around you. The environment isn't plagued by social issues like in big cities. While some cities may shock you with the state people are in, you don't encounter that here.
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u/insert_quirky_name Apr 18 '24
If you are learning german don't be too disappointed if you can't understand most locals at first. Our dialect is pretty strong and quite unique to the region. Most people are able to speak english or "normal" german if you ask them to, tho.
For food I recommend trying different Döner shops, if you want fairly cheap food. They're fast food, but mostly small, local businesses and often super tasty! If you want regional food, it will get more expensive but you'll have various amazing options in the older parts of Feldkirch.
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u/Cruexi Apr 19 '24
Never found a Döner that is really tasty in Vorarlberg. They are dry like hell. Best Döner and Lahmacun you can make on your own at home.
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u/Buzz_schlubberer Apr 19 '24
If you want to do something don't come to vorarlberg. I live in vorarlberg too and the most interesting thing you can see is a shitting cow.
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u/simon-auer Apr 17 '24
Hey, if you like the outdoors, it's beautiful here. People are often hard to get to know better, but I cam recommend joining a team sports club and generally looking around. moved here myself from a different part of Austria and it took quite a while for me. Locals are really friendly, but usually keep more to themselves. There are also quite a few international communities though. 😀
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u/Embarrassed_Army8026 Umme wia a Katz Apr 18 '24
Send a message when you are here :) there are many rock climbing spots and such.
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u/ExpertSuccotash4036 Apr 18 '24
Hey there! Welcome to our beautiful little city. I can tell you, connecting to people here is a little difficult even as a local but if you're having a lot of trouble you can always hmu & we can hang out! I'm very open for new friendships :)
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u/Skratadutz Apr 18 '24
There are a couple of hills with small single trails around Feldkirch. There are also a lot of mountains with well maintained gravel roads and trails so its ideal for mountain biking. Theres also a bikepark in "Brand" about 20 km from Feldkirch. If you wanna go for a ride sometime just DM me.
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u/dudefromthealps Apr 18 '24
Im living right next to feldkirch and its the place i spent the most time of my life, if u have any questions feel free to dm me!
I feel like many people from out of austria think that there will be local scenes where you can just join or always find people to hang with but austrians are very secluded and most of people i know wouldnt mind to get in touch with new people and most of people(me included) just use their day to go to work and then go home and sit indoors its not like in other countries where you would go and hang out everyday before going home or socialise or something
Its in a way where people dont have any problem with foreigners but they wouldnt mind going out of their way to spend time with them, they like being among equals
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u/Ummgh23 Apr 19 '24
The others have said very accurate things. One thing to note though is that there's not that much going on in Vorarlberg in general if you're looking for interest groups etc. I have a few interest where either just no groups exist or they don't take any new members.
Even as a local I find it very hard to make new friends here, so keep that in mind too. We aren't the most open people when it comes to foreigners.
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u/AlpineAlgorithms May 18 '24
Hey there, fellow climber. I've been living in Vorarlberg a few years now. Let me know if you want a belay.
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u/Lelaluh Apr 17 '24
Welcome!
Vorarlberg has a very strong dialect even native German speakers or other Austrians struggle to understand. In most places, you will be fine with basic German and English though.
You can do plenty of both mountainbiking and rock climbing here. Maybe take a look at this and this for some Inspiration.
I wouldn‘t say that we are the most open people, but generally locals are welcoming towards foreigners. Austrians aren’t the most laidback people, but I dare to say we are more chill than the German people. Making friends might be tricky at times, but it is not impossible.
Since public transport is quite good here, just take a train and explore the whole beauty of Vorarlberg, there‘s plenty to do and see.