Waking up to your roommate’s four alarms at 6 AM, being stuck in the laundry room because your door was locked or getting tons of mail and none of it ends up being yours…..the joys of dorm life. Teen movies portray life in shared housing as a nonstop party, and thats what raised my expectations but the reality turned out to be very different.
To set up the layout, each floor has 5-10 apartments and inside there are separate rooms, a shared bathroom and a shared kitchen with a dining area. The separate rooms are either 2 double rooms or 4 single rooms. I personally share a room with one girl and a bathroom/kitchen with 3 girls.
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THE POSITIVES
· Interactions
Yes, it is easier to make friends, but it really depends on your luck. Many exchange students already have friends who came with them, but thats not always the case. Your flatmate might know someone, who might know someone who brings their roommate along, and then maybe you meet someone by the mailboxes who you invite and somehow you end up in the common room in the afternoon with a group of 15 people from different countries and sometimes even different dorms (don’t ask me how). But maybe you land in an apartment with people who keep to themselves and the people you see in the elevator don’t show any interest in interacting with you and you spend all the whole semester all by yourself.
· Cleaning/Maintenance
The very clear plus in living in a dorm is the services offered by the company. The area is cleaned once a week, usually on the same day and its super convenient (even when they come
way too early in the mornings sometimes). If anything is slightly damaged you’re able to report it online and the maintenance guy comes the next morning and repairs it, unless it’s the weekend in which case you’re
going to have to power through.
· The Room/Space
The rooms vary from floor to floor but they are usually very nice. The double rooms have enough space to have a clear seperation into two sides, and you are provided with all you need, a bed, a closet, a table and chair, a lamp and even a sofa if you happen to get the better rooms ! You are also provided with kitchen utensils and the kitchen space is small but if only one person is cooking, it’s not too bad.
· Location
The dorm I live in is on Tigergasse, right at the heart of the 8th district and only 10 minutes away from city hall (Rathaus). Josefstadt is a popular place for young creatives, as it hosts theaters, open air markets, small cafes, and its accessible from any part of the center as the tram number 2 runs from the building, and the U6 and U2 subways are only a few minutes away. It’s really the perfect location for a student.
· Bills
You don’t have to deal with bills, as everything is included in your rent which is one less thing to worry about. You do have to pay for laundry (2.50 every load), and you can never do laundry on weekends, the loads change so fast you dont even see the people go in or out, you just have to wait until monday (sometimes even tuesday.)
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THE NEGATIVES
· Interactions 2.0
If you plan on sticking around in Vienna for the whole length of your studies and maybe afterwards too, friendships arent going to be easy on you at a dorm. As most residents are exchange students who only stay for 1-2 semesters, its hard saying goodbye and then coming back to their empty room next semester. SO if you do move in, try not to get too attached to the people or find those who are going to stay too !!
· The NOISE
The noise is the biggest negative, yet not the most unexpected as it is a student dorm. Whether it’s a group of 4 having dinner in your kitchen area or the sound coming from the balconies and common rooms, it’s usually hard to focus if you’re trying to study later in the day. It’s not rare that the police get called by the neighbours if it’s loud after curfew (10 PM), and whether that’s a good thing when you’re cramming last minute exam material or if it’s a bad thing when you’re the one having fun and end up being fined, that’s on you.
· The Oven
There is no oven. Thats a problem. Apparently thats a common austrian thing but still !!!
My final opinion is go for it !!!! If you’re planing on studying in Vienna, you should definitely consider student dorms, as they’re affordable and the pros outweigh the cons. And if you find out student housing is not really your thing, you can cancel your contract or wait out the semester and move to a different accommodation in the next year.
ever yours,
Rozi ❤
Useful Links
- https://www.stuwo.at/en/dormitories/vienna/
- https://housing.oead.at/en/accommodation/wien-en
- http://www.housngvienna.com/
- https://www.studium.at/studentenheime/wien
- https://www.studieren.at/wohnen/studentenwohnheime-wien/
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Rozi's Life Abroad 