My husband has a possible job opportunity in Innsbruck, Austria. Do or or have any of you live/lived in Innsbruck. What is the average winter length? Are there many Americans in Innsbruck? Could you live there comfortably with only speaking English and functional German (ordering food, etc . .)? What is the culture of the city like? How does the health care system work for foreigners? We live in Northern California on the ocean so our current lifestyle is quite casual and the winters temperate. I did grow up in the midwest of the United States so have been through winters but not in a long time. Any input from you all would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks,
Leslie

Innsbruck as you know already is a busy city of about 125000.
It is the capital of the state of Tirol.

The city is a mix of commercial industry, higher learning and of course tourism.

The old town portion is filleds with tourists summer and winter.
The city is in a relatively narrow valley with high mountains surrounding.

It has a good regional airport and on main rail lines - thus excelent transport .
Good autobahn system adjacent .

Winter can last November - March - much snow in the mountains- more mild in the city .
Sometimes a wind from the south brings very warm temperatures - gives headaches to some

The Inn River runs through the city.
Universities include a well known medical school and teaching hospital.
The above well regarded with well known orthopedics and also transplant facilities.

If employed in the area - probably enrolled in the Austrian medicsl insurance scheme- Private insurance also available but relatively expensive-

Innsbruck has a downtown shopping area including a large renovated department store.
Especially to the east of the city - large shopping centers with large parking.

Expect higher food costs than you probably know now.

The city has a theater - home to plays and concerts- some operas too.

With universities - some varied nightlife .

Of course well located for summer and winter sports.

Nice small villages just outside of the city offer fine living-and perhaps better than the city to live

Igls, Mutters, Natters, Seefeld, Axams all close by.

Due to the nature of the city with higher learning, tourism, many will speak english -
no real trouble to communicate.
You could live in worse places.

The basic mandatory health insurance covers all incidents from a visit to the family doctor with a sore throat to heart transplantations.
As there are also other mandatory social security insurances, it would be wise to ask the future employer how much the actual NET income will be, after taxes & mandatory premiums for health, unemployment and care/rehab insurances.

If he will not work as an employee but self-employed, e.g. as a consultant not part of the workforce, a different type of insurances will kick in.

Once you are exposed to a foreign language 24/7, you will pick it up quite easily and go from functional German to Basic German in no time. In addition, there are usually lots of courses at language schools or government agencies geared at foreigners to get some basic language skills.

Innsbruck is a relatively small city. But the proximity to nature / the mountains make it a very pleasant place. And you can hop over to Munich or Verona or Milan if you need a different tune.

The national health care system Krankenkasse - not really that great-

Doctor visits normal family doctor - no appointmants - first come first served-
my local doctor - see waiting line at 7 AM for 8:30 opening-
Local doctor known to see 75 - 100 patients in a day.

Months waiting time for non emergancy surgery-

Heart transplants covered - not reslly - but a private foundation helps those that qualify.

Many doctors now accepting only private insurance - but private insurnce can be very expensive -

Mixed results in the social sector.

Your husband would need to understand not only what his pay would be - but also where he would be taxed (taxes in europe are MUCH higher than in the US.)

Also housing tends to be much smaller than in the US - as are cars due to the very high cost of gas,

You don;t mention if you have children - I'm assuming not - but if you do - obviusly finding and paying for schools would be a major part of the adjustment.

And I would assume you need much moer than basic German to really function - but could learn a lot before you go. (Downtown and tourist-oriented sites will all be Ensligh-speaking - local services for residents will be much more hit or miss.