A shot from Salzburg, Austria an incredibly beautiful city, scroll below to check out more about this city.
Table Of Contents
- Digital Nomad FAQ’s – An Overview Of The City
- Wifi Speed Tests Across Austria
- Vienna Digital Nomad Guide
- Salzburg Digital Nomad Guide
Digital Nomad FAQ’s
Is Austria a good country to work in?
Yes, Austria is a good country for digital nomads. Here’s why:
Infrastructure: Austria has excellent internet connectivity and modern amenities, making it conducive for remote work.
Quality of Life: Digital nomads can enjoy a high quality of life in Austria, with access to good healthcare, education, safety, and recreational activities.
How is the internet connectivity and speed in Austria?
Good. Austria generally has reliable and fast internet connectivity. According to a recent report, the average download speed in Austria is around 87 Mbps, which is more than enough for video calls and most online activities.
Is it easy to meet people and make friends in Austria?
Yes and No. It can be a bit challenging to make friends in Austria, especially in cities like Vienna, as the locals tend to be more reserved and have established social circles. However, there are active expat and digital nomad communities in cities like Vienna, which can make it easier to connect with like-minded individuals.
How much should I budget for a month in Austria?
Based on the average cost of living in Austria and adding 30% for a comfortable digital nomad lifestyle, you should budget around €2,000 to €2,500 per month.
_See a breakdown of prices for common digital nomad stuff here:
- Rent (1-bedroom apartment in the city center): €800 – €1,200
- Utilities: €100 – €200
- Food: €300 – €400
- Transportation: €50 – €100
- Internet: €30 – €50
- Entertainment: €150 – €300_
Are there lots of places to work from in Austria?
Yes. Major cities like Vienna, Salzburg, and Graz have plenty of coworking spaces, cafes, and libraries where digital nomads can work comfortably.
What are the best digital nomad neighborhoods in Austria?
In Vienna, some of the best neighborhoods for digital nomads are:
- Neubau (7th district): Trendy, with lots of cafes, coworking spaces, and a vibrant atmosphere.
- Leopoldstadt (2nd district): Centrally located, with good infrastructure and a mix of residential and commercial areas.
- Mariahilf (6th district): Lively neighborhood with a diverse range of amenities and a strong expat community.
In Salzburg, the Old Town (Altstadt) and the areas around Mirabellplatz and the Salzach River are popular among digital nomads.
Visitor / Working Visas
As an EU/EEA citizen, you can stay and work in Austria without any visa requirements. However, for non-EU/EEA nationals, there are a few visa options to consider for staying and working in Austria as a digital nomad:
Visa-Free Travel (up to 90 days): Citizens of many countries, including the United States, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand, can enter Austria without a visa for tourism or business purposes for up to 90 days within a 180-day period. During this time, you are not permitted to work or engage in any paid activities.
Working Holiday Visa: Austria has working holiday agreements with several countries, including Canada, New Zealand, and some non-EU countries. This visa allows young people (typically aged 18-30) to live and work in Austria for up to one year.
Self-Employment/Freelance Visa (Selbständige Erwerbstätigkeit): Non-EU nationals can apply for a self-employment visa, also known as the “Trade License” (Gewerbeschein), which allows you to work as a freelancer or run your own business in Austria. This visa requires proof of sufficient funds, health insurance, and a place of residence in Austria.
Red-White-Red Card: This is a work and residence permit for highly skilled workers, including self-employed individuals, in shortage occupations. The requirements include a degree or relevant work experience, a minimum salary threshold, and sufficient funds for living expenses.
It’s important to note that the visa application process can be complex, and requirements may vary based on your nationality and personal circumstances. It’s advisable to consult with the Austrian Embassy or Consulate in your home country for the most up-to-date information and guidance on the appropriate visa for your situation.
Cost Of Living / Traveling Through
- 🧍Avg. Cost Of Living (For Single Adult) – $2,120 – $2,650 per month
- 🏨 Avg. Price Per Night For Hotel Room (near city center) – $85 – $160
- 🏩 Avg. Price Per Night For Hostel Dorm Room (near city center) – $21 – $42
- 🏡 Avg. Price for apartments (near city center) – $850 – $1,275 for a 1-bedroom
- ☕️ Latte – $3.70 – $4.75
- 🍺 – .5 Liter Beer – $4.25 – $5.30
- 🏋️♀️ – Monthly Gym Membership – $42 – $85
- 🚊 – Local Transport – Avg. One Way Ticket Price – $2.55
- 🍝 Avg. Dinner Price – $16 – $26.50 at a mid-range restaurant
- 📱 – Avg. Data Plan Per Month – $10.50 – $32 for 5-10GB
- 🏢 – Avg. Cowork Per Month (near city center) – $160 – $370
The 5 Quick Scores
- Internet Speed – 4/5
- There are a lot of places here with super fast wifi. The reason why I didn’t get Austria a better score is because I still found myself in hotels and places with very poor wifi. So be careful in your hotel selection here, even in Vienna.
- I ran 13 wifi speed tests while in Austria, here are the findings
- Avg. Download Speed = 62.61 MBPS
- Avg. Upload Speed = 11.85 MBPS
- Avg. Latency = 32 MS*
- *Not sure what these metrics mean? Read my guide to getting fast wifi here.
- Fastest internet I Got In The Country – was at Propeller Cafe
- Ease Of Connecting & Making Friends– 3/5
- Overall, Even Vienna is not a digital nomad hub like Portugal, Colombia, Cape Town, South Africa or Mexico. However, there are some digital nomads here and I was able to meet a few people.
- Places To Work From – 4.5/5
- There are a lot of co-working spots around the country. As far as working in cafe’s the sentiment was a bit mixed. In smaller towns cafe’s didn’t seem as open to it. However in Vienna there are a bunch of awesome cafe’s to work from!
- Affordability – 3/5
- This isn’t the cheapest country in the world. However, for Europe the prices really aren’t so bad.
Wifi Speed Tests In Austria
| Type / Device | Name | City | Upload | Download | Latency |
| Cafe | Propeller | Vienna | 306 | 28 | 14 |
| Cafe | The Furniture Cafe | Vienna | 228 | 30 | 13 |
| Cafe | Jonas Reindl Cafe | Vienna | 70 | 12 | 16 |
| Hotel | Numa Wood | Vienna | 53 | 39 | 6 |
| Hotel | Jo&Joe | Vienna | 18 | 19 | 6 |
| Cafe | J. Hornig Kaffeebar | Vienna | 14.5 | 3.8 | 11 |
| Hotel | Meininger | Salzburg | 31 | 5.2 | 38 |
| Cafe | Cup&Cino | Salzburg | 16 | 2.8 | 31 |
| Hotspot | Phone Hotspot | Salzburg | 13 | 0.3 | 146 |
| Cafe | Starbucks | Salzburg | 9.8 | 1.1 | 24 |
| Cafe | Afro Cafe | Salzburg | 3.6 | 1.5 | 37 |
| Hotel | Selina | Bad Gastein | 19 | 3.8 | 22 |
Vienna Digital Nomad Guide
I love Vienna, I’m writing this now on my last day here, and I’m really going to miss this city. The architecture is beautiful, it’s a bit bustling but with plenty of cafes to relax at. I’m a huge fan, and I’m sure I’ll be back someday.
The 5 Quick Scores
- Internet Speed – 4/5
- I ran about wifi speed tests while in Vienna, here are the findings
- Avg. Download Speed = 135.3 MBPS
- Avg. Upload Speed = 26.1 MBPS
- Avg. Latency = 11 MS*
- *Not sure what these metrics mean? Read my guide to getting fast wifi here.
- Fastest internet I Got In The City – was at Propeller Cafe
- Ease Of Connecting & Making Friends– 3/5
- This isn’t the biggest digital nomad hub in the world (not like Lisbon, Playa Del Carmen or Mexico City). However, there is a bit of a digital nomad scene here, and people are a bit more extroverted here than Germany (in my experience)
- Places To Work From – 4/5
- There are a lot of great awesome cafes with great wifi, and a lot of co-working spots as well all over the city. Furthermore, the cafe’s here seem much more open to people coming and working and hanging out for a while.
- Affordability – 3/5
- Vienna is known as a pretty expensive city. Honestly, after my time in Ireland I didn’t think the accommodation or anything was that crazy. However, compared to the rest of Austria, or nearby Slovakia it’s certainly expensive.
Wifi Speed Tests In Vienna
| Type / Device | Name | Upload | Download | Latency |
| Cafe | Propeller | 306 | 28 | 14 |
| Cafe | The Furniture Cafe | 228 | 30 | 13 |
| Cafe | Jonas Reindl Cafe | 70 | 12 | 16 |
| Hotel | Numa Wood | 53 | 39 | 6 |
| Hotel | Jo&Joe | 18 | 19 | 6 |
| Cafe | J. Hornig Kaffeebar | 14.5 | 3.8 | 11 |
Where I’d Recommend To Stay In Vienna
The Student Hotel
Admittedly, I did not stay here, because I found out about them after I had already booked my hotels. However, I came to their co-working spot and was a big fan. I can tell they build these hotels specifically for digital nomads & people who travel and work. As fate would have it though, I will be staying at their hotel in Paris!
- Pricing – Started ~$100 for a private room, at the time of writing this. It doesn’t appear as though they have dorms at this location, anyway.
Follow me on Instagram to get notified when my Paris digital nomad guide comes out @officialdigitalnomadlifestyle
Places To Stay – Honorable Mentions
This is a section where I’ll add hotels / places to stay at that I either didn’t stay at, or had a flaw that made me unable to recommend them completely.
ZOKU
- Prices started around ~$100 as well for a private room, and went up from there. These guys also don’t have private rooms
- I didn’t get a chance to check their wifi speed, but stopped by the place and it was nice. My friend had multiple video calls without issue and the staff was super friendly.
- The reason why I didn’t pick this place was because of the location, it’s a bit further away from downtown than I would like, also the crowd tended to be older business people (mid 40’s – 50’s)
JO&JOE Hotel
- I did stay here, and I really loved it, it’s not crazy expensive, it’s a fun place and it’s centrally located. The reason I can’t put it in the recommended section is because the internet was too slow for video calls. The actual speeds aren’t crazy slow (see below). However, there are a lot of people staying in this place, so I think it pulls too much on the bandwidth
- Pricing – Starts at ~$20 for dorms and ~$70 for private rooms. Their rooms do fill up quickly though, so book fast!
- Internet Speed – 3/5
- Avg. Download Speed = 18.59 MBPS
- Avg. Upload Speed = 19.08 MBPS
- Avg. Latency = 6 MS*
- *Not sure what these metrics mean? Read my guide to getting fast wifi here.
My Favorite Places To Work From
Das Cafe – The Furniture Cafe
- OVERALL – 4.5/5 – This place is bustling with lots of people working on labtops, I really love the vibe here.
- Wifi – 5/5 – While the wifi is definitely fast and stable enough to have calls, there is quite a bit of noise in the background here, so be aware of that.
- Download Speed = 228.43 MBPS*
- Upload Speed = 30.29 MBPS
- Avg. Latency = 13 MS
- *Not sure what these metrics mean? Read my guide to getting fast wifi here.
- Service & Friendliness – 4/5 – There was only one guy running coffee for everyone staying there. It was super impressive to watch. The guy was friendly though and incredibly quick considering the circumstances.
- Amount Of Outlets – 4.5/5– Quite a few outlets found around the place as well as extension cords in case you’re not close to an outlet
- Amenities (Places to take calls, etc.) – 3/5 – no quiet places to take calls or anything like that.
- Location / Ambiance – 5/5 – Pretty centrally located, not far from the most beautiful parts of the city, and it’s packed with people working on lab tops. My favorite kind of place.
- Ergonomics (Comfortable Seating / Standup Spots) 3.5/5 – They didn’t have too many places to stand, and the seats weren’t crazy comfortable, but they did have some comfortable booths and a couple different options for seating (if you came quick enough).
TSH Collab Vienna
- OVERALL – 4/5 – As a rule, I generally don’t like Coworking spaces, it feels a bit like I’m paying a pretty big chunk of change to go to a glorified library where I can’t talk, it’s quiet and I’m back to slaving away under fluorescent lighting (the first class version of first world problems, I know 😂)
- Price – 3/5
- Day Pass – 15 Euro
- Flex Desks – 99 Euro Per Month
- Dedicated Desks – 250 Euro Per Month
- Meeting & Event Rooms – 35 Euro Per Hour
- I got a pretty good deal booking my time here through Croissant, an app that gives you access to co-working spots around the world.
- If you’d like a discount & to support the blog – use the code loren89
- Wifi – 5/5 – 🤦♀️ I forgot to do a wifi test here. However, I had 2 hours of video calls here without a single problem, so it’s great wifi!
- Service & Friendliness – 5/5 – The staff was friendly and helpful
- Amount Of Outlets – 5/5 – Lots of outlets
- Location / Ambiance – 3.5/5 – This place is a bit out of the city center, one of the reasons I didn’t spend as much time here.
- Ergonomics (Comfortable Seating / Standup Spots) 5/5 – Lots of different spots to work from different chairs, standup spots, etc.
Propeller Cafe
- OVERALL – 4/5 – Another cool spot with quite a few people. Aesthetically a prettier spot, big fan of the vibe here.
- Wifi – 4/5 – This was the fastest wifi I got anywhere in Vienna or even Austria
- Download Speed = 306 MBPS
- Upload Speed = 28 MBPS
- Avg. Latency = 14 MS
- Service & Friendliness – 5/5 – The staff was super attentive and friendly.
- Amount Of Outlets – 4/5 – Decent amount of outlets at this spot
- Location / Ambiance – 4.5/5 – Another pretty central spot, but a bit further away from my gym and the walking Mall Mariahlifter Straße
- Ergonomics (Comfortable Seating / Standup Spots) 2.5/5 – Not too many different / super comfortable chairs here unfortunately.
Places To Work From – Honorable Mentions
This is a section where I’ll add co-working places / places to work that I’ve heard a lot of good things about, I either didn’t make it to the place, or I went and personally didn’t like it. In service to you all, if the place seems to have enough buzz, I will still share it.
- J. Hornig Kaffeebar – I was a huge fan of this place. Contemporary clean interior, lots of outlets, lots of different types of seating, lots of other folks working on labtops. The only reason why I didn’t add it to the list of cafe’s above is because you only get access to wifi for an hour. As a business owner, I understand that however it is a bit of a bummer for folks looking to hang out and work for a while.
- Jonas Reindl Coffee Roasters Off Westbahnstraße – I was a big fan of this place. However it was quite small and really packed. In most other cities I would recommend it to folks but Vienna’s got a bunch of great options.
Exercise / Outdoors
- Fitness Center Lemperg – A centrally located, locally owned gym. The prices are a bit expensive (see the table below). However, they were one of the only gyms that I could find that offered weekly packages.
- BroTip – There may or may not be a lot of gym chains around Austria in general that offer the first week or two free as a trial. A trial which you can then cancel.
- Translations
- Tageskarte – Day Pass
- Woche – Week
- Monat – Month
- 10er Block – I presume this is 10 visits
- Biking / Walking – This is a super biker friendly city, so using their bikeshare program WienMobil Bikes is always a great idea. Or to beat a dead drum, walk around the city! It’s my favorite way to experience any city, especially one as beautiful as Vienna.
- DownDog App – While the Lemperg gym did offer some Yoga classes. I find that I rarely end up making it on time to Yoga classes while traveling. So I downloaded DownDog, which is an incredible app that allows you to customize your own yoga classes right on your app. A thank you to my dear friend, the talented creative coach Chimdi Ihezie.
Salzburg Digital Nomad Guide
I loved this city, it doesn’t have the excitement and architecture of Vienna. But for anyone looking to enjoy some of the prettiest views of the Alps this is the town for you. There are hours of hiking right through the middle of the town, it’s close to multiple, amazing national parks. I was a huge fan of this town
The 5 Quick Scores
- Internet Speed – 2.5/5
- I ran about wifi speed tests while in Vienna, here are the findings
- Avg. Download Speed = 15.6 MBPS
- Avg. Upload Speed = 2.2 MBPS
- Avg. Latency = 38 MS*
- *Not sure what these metrics mean? Read my guide to getting fast wifi here.
- Fastest internet I Got In The City – was at Meninger Hotel
- Ease Of Connecting & Making Friends– 3/5
- Overall, this is a smaller town, there aren’t a crazy amount of digital nomads here. However, if you’re into outdoors you’ll end up finding other travelers who are really into outdoors here as well.
- Places To Work From – 3/5
- There were quite a few cafe’s that didn’t have wifi or even had signs that said no lab tops allowed (which isn’t unique to just Salzburg). There are some good cafe’s still, but not a huge amount of them that you can work from (see below).
- Affordability – 3.5/5
- Overall, not a crazy expensive spot, especially compared to Vienna or nearby Munich.
Wifi Speed Tests In Salzburg
| Type / Device | Name | Upload | Download | Latency |
| Hotel | Meininger | 31 | 5.2 | 38 |
| Cafe | Cup&Cino | 16 | 2.8 | 31 |
| Hotspot | Phone Hotspot | 13 | 0.3 | 146 |
| Cafe | Starbucks | 9.8 | 1.1 | 24 |
| Cafe | Afro Cafe | 3.6 | 1.5 | 37 |
Where I Stayed
Meininger Hotel
- OVERALL – 3.75/5
- Affordability – 4/5 – Pretty affordable, at the time of writing this, the prices start at ~$14 for a shared dorm room & starts at ~$70 for a private room
- Wifi – 4/5 – The wifi isn’t bad, I was able to have multiple video calls without any problems from the lobby and my room.
- Avg. Download Speed = 31 MBPS
- Avg. Upload Speed = 5.2 MBPS
- Avg. Latency = 38 MS
- Sense Of Community – 3.5/5 – The lobby was a bit big and had some people hanging out, but overall there isn’t a huge culture of meeting others here. As I mentioned, in general Salzburg isn’t crowded with travelers, it’s more for folks looking to get outdoors and spend time in a bit smaller town.
- Location – 3.5/5 – a bit far from downtown and the action (approx. 15 minutes walking)
- Amenities (Kitchen, Pool, etc.) – 3.5/5 – There was a kitchen, it was small but not bad, laundry, but no gym to speak of.
- Cleanliness – 4/5 – Overall, pretty well up-kept place.
My Favorite Places To Work From
Cup&Cino
- OVERALL – 3.5/5 – I liked this spot, it did compare to the cafe’s in Vienna. But it was still pretty killer.
- Wifi – 5/5 – While the wifi isn’t definitely fast and stable enough to have calls, I was able to work on everything else without issue.
- Download Speed = 16 MBPS*
- Upload Speed = 2.8 MBPS
- Avg. Latency = 31 MS
- *Not sure what these metrics mean? Read my guide to getting fast wifi here.
- Service & Friendliness – 4/5 – Pretty friendly folks who work here
- Amount Of Outlets – 3.5/5– Not a bunch of outlets, but a decent amount.
- Location / Ambiance – 4/5 – Pretty centrally located, not far from the prettiest parts of town.
- Ergonomics (Comfortable Seating / Standup Spots) 3.5/5 – They didn’t have too many places to stand, but the seats were pretty comfortable, but they did have some comfortable booths and a couple different options for seating.
Afro Cafe
- OVERALL – 3.5/5 – I was definitely a fan of this place, the reason I don’t rate this higher is because it didn’t feel as open to people working on a lab top.
- Wifi – 2/5 – The wifi is pretty slow, but I didn’t really run into any issues while using it (obviously no video calls though)
- Download Speed = 3.6 MBPS*
- Upload Speed = 1.6 MBPS
- Avg. Latency = 37 MS
- *Not sure what these metrics mean? Read my guide to getting fast wifi here.
- Service & Friendliness – 3.5/5 – Pretty friendly folks who work here
- Amount Of Outlets – 3.5/5– Not a bunch of outlets, but a decent amount.
- Location / Ambiance – 5/5 – Pretty killer location and ambiance.
- Ergonomics (Comfortable Seating / Standup Spots) 4/5 – They did have a place to stand, and the seats were pretty comfortable.
Places To Work From – Honorable Mentions
This is a section where I’ll add co-working places / places to work that I’ve heard a lot of good things about, I either didn’t make it to the place, or I went and personally didn’t like it. In service to you all, if the place seems to have enough buzz, I will still share it.
- Coworking Salzburg – This was the only co-work I could find that allowed purchases for short terms. The prices are pretty outrageous, but I didn’t mention any other coworks for Salzburg so I had to mention at least one (the one with the least ridiculous pricing).
Exercise / Outdoors
Hiking
- Salzburg – This place is a hikers paradise, there is literally a 12 kilometer (~8 mile) hike that goes right through the city! It’s incredibly beautiful, and it’s a pretty good hike with 1,200 meters (4,000 ft) elevation change!
- Here’s a link to the hike on AllTrails
Berchtesgaden
- This is such a beautiful spot. This is in Germany, but it’s very close to Salzburg (about 1 – 1.5 hour train ride). There are tons of hiking trails, you can literally hike around these mountains on well beaten trails for days. I highly recommend this spot.
Want To Make Friends Around The World Who Love Being Active & Outdoors?
- Revity App – Meet other people around the world who are into fitness and outdoors (hiking, biking, climbing, etc.). It’s a killer app, and it would help me out a lot if you took sometime to check it out and join me on the platform.
Gyms
MYGYM Fitness Studio
- Pretty awesome gym here, you may or may not be able to get two free weeks of a trail here then potentially cancel it afterwards. I think I might’ve heard that somewhere, but I can’t really recall. Either way I’d recommend checking it out!
Want to stay fit & eat healthy while traveling? Check out my guide to diet fitness while traveling here!