Life and Death in Austria [MEGATHREAD]

[KRonn]

Wow, that's quite an eviction! Over 1400 police. That plan by the building owners to get rid of the other tenants backfired pretty badly on them.

[viper37]

FINALLY. Only three more years to go.

http://www.thelocal.at/20150708/smoking-ban-bill-to-become-law

Smoking ban bill to become law

Austria's parliament will pass a new bill on a complete smoking ban on Wednesday - which will come into force in May 2018.

The ban covers smoking in "all public places where food and drinks are manufactured, sold and consumed" and affects many restaurants and cafes which are currently exempt under a 2009 law.

Most restaurant and cafe owners are strongly opposed to a total ban as they say their businesses will suffer and complain that they invested millions of euros to create smoking and non-smoking areas.

Business owners who break the law will face a €2,000 fine and smokers caught smoking in restaurants, cafes and bars will be fined €100. Alongside cigarettes and cigars, the law also covers e-cigarettes and shisha pipes.

The ban will also be enforced in schools and open spaces where children and teenagers are supervised - including sports clubs and rehearsal spaces. It will not cover private club rooms used by adults. Smoking will also be banned in hotel rooms and bed and breakfasts, but "strictly separate" smoking areas will be provided.

There are tax incentives for businesses who enforce the ban before July 1st 2016. A tax bonus of 30 percent will apply, the value of which is related to previous costs in setting up smoking and non-smoking areas.

Austria has some of the worst smoking statistics in Europe - with only Greeks, Bulgarians and Latvians smoking more. Around 14,000 people a year die in Austria from tobacco-related illnesses.

A large majority is expected to vote for the bill in parliament, with only the right-wing Freedom Party and Team Stronach voting against it - saying that it endangers Austria's bar and cafe culture and smacks of a 'nanny state'.

welcome to the 90s, Europe

[jimmy olsen]

The victim was a 32 year old homeless woman. She was still alive when the mower ran over her. Toxicological tests are being run to check if she was drunk/on drugs when the accident happened, because normally you'd hear the thing approaching.

Oh God!

[Syt]

Wow, that's quite an eviction! Over 1400 police. That plan by the building owners to get rid of the other tenants backfired pretty badly on them.

Why? The building is empty now, and he has incurred no (or negligible) cost.

[KRonn]

Wow, that's quite an eviction! Over 1400 police. That plan by the building owners to get rid of the other tenants backfired pretty badly on them.

Why? The building is empty now, and he has incurred no (or negligible) cost.

Ok, I thought the article said that the squatters took the side of the tenants so I assumed the tenants were still there and only the squatters removed. 

[Syt]

http://www.thelocal.at/20150727/number-of-foreigners-in-vienna-up-49-percent

Number of foreigners in Vienna up 49 percent



The number of non-Austrians living in Vienna has risen by 49 percent in eight years, recent statistics show. Political parties are now considering not only how to tackle the theme of immigration but also how to appeal to foreign citizens, ahead of local elections in October.

460,163 non-Austrians now live in Vienna - 49 percent more than in 2007. The number of Austrian citizens has dropped by one percent.

EU nationals who are officially registered at their residence in Vienna (angemeldet) will be able to vote for their local district councillor in the Vienna elections - but not for the city council or the mayor (those elections are limited to Austrian nationals).

In 2014, 712,000 people in Vienna had a migration background. "That's one out of two people," Vice Mayor Maria Vassilakou from the Green party said. "Integration is yesterday's topic, now it's about acceptance and promotion." She added that education is the key and said that every child aged two years and up needs to have a guaranteed nursery place.

Some migrant groups have even started their own political parties, as they feel under-represented by the mainstream parties. The Türkische Liste (Turkish List) is led by doctor Turgay Taskiran, who says that the party is designed to appeal to "all individuals with and without a migration background".

He has stressed that despite the name it's not a "Turkish party... but an alternative for Viennese people who want to live together without prejudice". He has also spoken against school classes where the majority of students are non-Austrian and said he is in favour of more "mixing".

A spokesman for Mayor Michael Häupl (SPÖ) said that "a lack of citizenship has nothing to do with a failure to integrate."

Statistics from the mayor's office show that the biggest number of immigrants (84 percent) are from EU countries, and that more than half of all immigrants in Vienna are aged between 20 and 29 years old. 44 percent of them have a university degree. The mayor's spokesman said that even if immigration brings certain challenges it also clearly "profits" the city.

However, Manfred Juraczka from the ÖVP said that the SPÖ and Green coalition has failed to tackle some of the immigration failures of recent years and called for "integration through achievement".

Pollsters have said that the right-wing Freedom Party, with its anti-immigration policy, stands to benefit strongly from anti-immigration sentiment.

The picture shows the fresh produce market that's held every morning in a side street off the permanent stands of Viktor Adler Market in 10th district, near where I used to live in 10th district.

[Syt]

A map showing the monthly per square meter rates in the vicinity of subway stations, based on the prices given on real estate websites.



The rate shown at my station (Rathaus) is actually 50% above what I pay, but then again I know I'm lucky.

[Eddie Teach]

The rate shown at my station (Rathaus) is actually 50% above what I pay, but then again I know I'm lucky.

Or your building is older/in worse shape than the neighborhood average.

[Syt]

The rate shown at my station (Rathaus) is actually 50% above what I pay, but then again I know I'm lucky.

Or your building is older/in worse shape than the neighborhood average.

Not from what I can tell, though I might be missing something. The row of houses is under conservation as an example of pre-March architecture, and they're all fine from the outside. My apartment was renovated less than 10 years ago, though others in the building will likely not have been. And I've seen apartments in our building go for a notably higher m² rate than what I'm paying.

I'm guessing, though, that the numbers are driven up by the buildings directly next to the Rathaus on the far side of Landesgerichtsstraße and on Ringstraße.

[Duque de Bragança]

A map showing the monthly per square meter rates in the vicinity of subway stations, based on the prices given on real estate websites.



The rate shown at my station (Rathaus) is actually 50% above what I pay, but then again I know I'm lucky.

U6= Balkan Express, right?

[Syt]

Depends. It's ok on the far edges where you're already in the green suburbs. Along the Gürtel it's crap and overcrowded.


Horrible news:

http://www.dw.com/en/austrias-top-pole-vaulter-paralyzed-after-training-injury/a-18619621

Austria's top pole-vaulter paralyzed after training injury

Austrian pole-vaulter Kira Grünberg suffered a serious injury in training and despite emergency surgery, has been left paralyzed by the accident.

Austria's leading pole-vaulter Kira Grünberg has suffered severe cervical injuries after the 21-year-old landed beside the mat on her head and neck in a practice jump. Her injuries have left her tetraplegic.

A statement on Friday from the Austrian athletics federation (ÖLV) and the University Clinic in Innsbruck where Grünberg is being treated revealed "a fracture of the cervical vertebrae of the spine" had been found. The statement added: "After we had diagnosed paraplegia before the operation, the patient received emergency surgery in order to stabilize her spine and avoid further damage."

Trained by her father, Grünberg finished fourth at the 2012 junior world championships before going on to set an Austrian women's record of 4.45 meters during last year's outdoor European Championships in Zurich. She repeated that feat indoors in Prague in March of this year.

[Syt]

http://www.thelocal.at/20150804/mother-suspected-of-stabbing-four-year-old-to-death

Four-year-old stabbed to death by mother

A four-year-old girl has been found stabbed to death in Vienna's Hernals district, and her 38-year-old mother has been arrested on suspicion of murder.

The girl's 13-year-old brother found his sister lying in a pool of blood in the family's kitchen early on Tuesday morning, with severe injuries. Police said she had been stabbed several times.

The boy told police that his mother was standing next to the body of his sister, with a knife in her hand.

The 13-year-old ran to his neighbour's house, who called police to the apartment in Goldscheidgasse.

An ambulance and first aid helicopter arrived on the scene at 7.30am and medics tried to revive the child. "Help came too late," a spokesman for the ambulance service, Ronald Packert said.

Police said that the child's mother appeared to be in shock and did not resist arrest. The 13-year-old boy has been taken into emergency care, according to police spokesman Patrick Maierhofer.

It is believed the children's father was not at home.

A report in the Kronen Zeitung newspaper said that the family were due to be evicted from their flat on Tuesday.

A 40-year-old neighbour told the newspaper that the family had been having financial problems and that the woman had sometimes been heard shouting at her children but had never been violent towards them. She added that she had met the woman for a coffee on Monday and had lent her €200 when she heard that they were in trouble.

The children were not registered with Vienna's Youth Welfare Office.

According to the Kronen Zeitung newspaper the girl died from stab wounds to her throat. The medical team who treated her are reported to be traumatised.

In July a woman in Vienna's Favoriten district smothered her five-year-old son with a cushion. She told police that she was depressed and had been hearing voices that told her to kill her child.

[Syt]

Long article in Profil about the increasing prices for real estate in Vienna. Prices have risen by an average of 55% in the city since 2007. In prime spots like the Inner City the prices have often more than doubled. But even blue color/immigrant districts like 10th or the 15th have seen price hikes of 80-100% since 2010.

Additionally, for the first time more real estate is held by foreign investors than by locals. And while Vienna's population keeps rising quickly, apartments for 80k-100k people are estimated to be vacant for a variety of reasons - apartments held by out of town guests, people buying to sell when the price is higher, letting buildings intentionally decay so that they have to be torn down and can be replaced by modern buildings etc. Calls for a tax on empty apartments have fallen on deaf ears so far.

In general, average incomes are driven out of the city and into cheaper districts where they displace the poorer inhabitants who have to scramble for cheaper places to live. The Vienna suburbs outside the city are becoming popular with young double income families that are additionally driving prices. The city felt compelled to resume building public housing this year after a 10 year hiatus.

I'm lucky I have a reasonably priced apartment in my part of town, but I expect that in a few years, or if I take over the contract from the landlord who sub-lets it to me, it'll quickly become painful to the point that I have to move again.

[Duque de Bragança]

Great, the one GREAT aspect Vienna differed from Paris is now on the way out. 

PS: there is still the much cheaper public transportation annual pass
cheap rents Bad for the bobos and the gentry great for everyone else

[Syt]