Moving to Innsbruck

Halo! Grüß Gott! I have purchased Rocket German, as I plan to move to Innsbruck with my partner in January 2010. I have so many questions I don't know where to begin- but I would be very grateful for ANY help or advice! I am American, but my partner is Italian. He is an Engineer and has been offered a job from GE in Jenbach. I am a self employed Sports and Holistic Massage Therapist living with him under a partner EEA EU Family Member Visa in the UK. Although I have a BA in International Relations and speak pretty good Spanish, Italian, French, Arabic and Japanese- I'm only beginning my exploration of German and have no idea of how to gain employment there as I have never set foot in skis! I am excited for the move, but nervous about being able to find a job there. Any suggestions/ helpful links/ etc. would be most appreciated!! Danke!

Hi there, so you will have to learn German and learn how to ski as well - all the best. I think the best thing is to be able to speak German as well as you possibly can, just because that will increase your chances of getting a good job. Have you done some research already? What visa will you be on? Regards Paul

Hi Paul- Yes, I must learn both skiing (although I think I'll be sticking to cross-country...) and German! I'll be on a tourist visa for the moment. I have my own business here in the UK, but I'm not sure how easy it will be to transfer that to Austria! I have done a bit of research, and am trying to get in touch with some of the Expat community there...I would love to get involved in the Uni as well, even on a volunteer basis... but I'm not sure how easy all of that will be?

Hi again, I always believe that you can achieve anything if you are passionate about it and think positive. I'm sure that the red tape will get in the way sometimes, but if you keep trying I'm sure you can transfer your business and be a volunteer. Often Volkshochschulen (liek Polytech) are lookign for English teachers and Universities might be looking for English speakers to teach conversational classes. Perhaps email some universities and schools and find out. All the best

Danke! Hello again! Thanks you for the work advice- I'm doing the research now! One other quick question... I am enjoying Rocket German very much indeed- I speak 5 languages so far- but German has been the most entertaining to date- and all because of this course! But I have one other question for you. I have been told that Austrian German is VERY different from standard German. Is this true? If so, are there any areas in particular that I should be prepared for as far as misunderstandings are concerned? I've been told that I will be understood with German, but not to expect to be able to understand people. Any advice? Mit freundlichen Grüßen, Amy

Hi Amy, yes, it is true that the Austrian and German dialects are quite different. You will be understood, however understanding the people around you is a different story. We are currently working on a more advanced Interactive Audio Course. It will be even more advanced than German Premium Plus. In this new course which will be available early 2010 we will cover the differences between Austrian, German and Swiss accents. You might find this very helpful. You might also want to do a search for an online dictionary in the meantime to get you started on the differences. The good news is that you can usually pick up what is being said just because of the context. When living in another country you will be surprised how quickly you will adjust and learn the language, even if you have struggled previously. Let us know how you get on. Bis bald Paul

Just thought I'd pop in - LEO is one of the best online dictionaries I've found. Have you arrived in Innsbruck yet? I think it's a cute little place. I've been there and you will definitely be understood with the German you are learning here. I witnessed something very amusing there - a car got stuck because the (Dummkopf) driver tried to go down an ally that was intended for the Strassenbahn. My German at the time wasn't good enough to understand THAT conversation - though I'm sure I could guess. ;-) Lots of cuss words I'm sure!