Culture Shock! Austria

Rating:
Summary: Not Good
Review: I read this book in the first couple of weeks my new life in Austria. Now, after having lived here for two years I can honestly say this book is terrible. There have been very few occasions where I felt that I could agree with the authors' assessment of Austria, in particular with regards to cultural obeservations. I can't help shake the feeling that the Author was a bored diplomat's wife who cobbled together a book after a few discussions with her ex-patriot friends.

Rating:
Summary: Almost NO information on any place outside Vienna
Review: I've used the "Culture Shock" series many times before going to foreign countries and have found them to be a valuable resource. Not so this time. The two authors focus almost exclusively on Vienna. In the all-important "settling in" section that details all the red tape foreigners need to go through to get the required paperwork done, find a doctor, etc., the authors only discuss what to do and where to go in Vienna, where most embassies are located and finding large post offices and hospitals is much easier than in more remote parts of the country. Great if you're moving to Vienna.

But what if you're like me, moving to a much smaller city where I won't have easy access to government offices and international services? What do I do? Can I do paperwork through the mail or online? Well, I've read the book and still don't know, since there's no mention of anything outside Vienna.

****Most egregiously, in the "Resource Guide" listings at the end of the book, for schools, German language classes, banks, post offices, social organizations, hospitals, dentists, and shopping centers, there are NO LISTINGS OUTSIDE VIENNA.**** It wouldn't have taken the authors much effort to do a search for some addresses of places elsewhere in Austria.

If I'm to follow this book, I guess I'll have to take the train five hours to Vienna just to deposit a check.


Rating:
Summary: don't bother!!!
Review: This book is horribly disapointing. I bought it before spending two semesters studying in Austria and instead of reading something that would in some way prepare me for what I was to experience, I found a biased, xenophobic, uneducated critique of a, contrary to what the authors have to say, wonderful country. The only part that was good was the section concerning food, but you needn't bother, menus in Austria are also written in English