Austrians who move to Dubai usually settle in faster than they expect: the city is orderly, safe and service-oriented in ways that feel familiar, yet Mediterranean in its outdoor café life and late evenings. There is an established Austrian and wider German-speaking community, Austrian food is surprisingly findable, and the things you will miss most — mountains, seasons and proper winter — are a manageable flight away. Here is what life actually looks like once the suitcases are unpacked.
The Austrian and German-Speaking Community
Austria has an active business and social presence in the Emirates. Austrian business groups and the broader German-speaking community organisations in Dubai run networking evenings, family events and seasonal celebrations — searching for their official websites and social media pages is the easiest way to find current membership details and event calendars. Events typically include business breakfasts, national day gatherings around Austria’s 26 October National Day, and Christmas market-style celebrations in December, which draw a big crowd of homesick Europeans. German-speaking church congregations, playgroups and sports clubs add another layer: football, hiking (in the cooler months), skiing trips to the indoor slopes, and regular Stammtisch-style meetups where new arrivals are genuinely welcome.
Because the community is smaller than the British or Indian ones, it is also tighter — a couple of events is usually enough to find your people, from young professionals in the Marina to families in the villa communities.
A Taste of Home: Food and Drink
You will not starve for Austrian flavours. Dubai’s large international supermarkets stock European ranges that regularly include Austrian and German products — think Almdudler in some import stores, Manner wafers, pumpkin seed oil, and a solid selection of Austrian and German breads, cheeses and cold cuts in the bigger chains. Several German and Austrian bakeries and restaurants operate in the city, schnitzel appears on menus well beyond them, and Viennese-style coffee houses have outlets in Dubai’s malls. Imported specialty items carry a premium — typically expect to pay well above Austrian supermarket prices as a guide — so most expats stock up on favourites when they fly home.
- Bread and baking: German-style bakeries are the closest fix for Kornspitz and proper rye; supermarket bake-off ranges are a decent everyday substitute.
- Seasonal treats: Lebkuchen, Stollen and Easter items appear in import aisles around the festivals — buy when you see them, as stock vanishes fast.
- Restaurants: Austrian and German restaurants cluster around hotels and licensed venues; beer gardens exist in licensed hotel settings under UAE alcohol rules.
- Pork products: available to non-Muslims in designated sections of certain supermarkets and licensed shops.
Everyday Life: The Adjustments
The climate is the biggest shift. From June to September, outdoor life moves to early mornings, evenings and air-conditioned interiors; from November to March, Dubai delivers the weather Austrians dream about in February — picnic, beach and desert-camping season. Weekend rhythms differ too: the working week is Monday to Friday, brunch culture replaces the Sunday family lunch for many expats, and Ramadan brings a slower, more reflective pace with shorter working hours and iftar gatherings you will likely be invited to join.
Families find German-language schooling options and many international schools with German as a taught language — verify current schools and waiting lists through the KHDA directory. Healthcare is modern, with German-speaking doctors practising across the big hospital groups; insurer directories help you find them. And while there are no Alps, the Hajar mountains at Hatta offer hiking and kayaking, the desert offers winter camping, and Ski Dubai covers the most urgent skiing emergencies — with real Austrian resorts around six hours away by plane for the serious fix.
Weekends, Holidays and the Rhythm of the Year
Austrian public holidays do not exist in Dubai, so you will work through most of them — but the UAE calendar brings its own breaks, including Eid holidays that can stretch into long weekends, which residents quickly learn to use for trips to Oman, the Maldives or home. Many Austrian families sync their big annual trip with the Austrian summer holidays so children can spend proper time with grandparents, and employers here are used to Europeans disappearing for two or three weeks in July or August — partly because escaping the Dubai summer is a survival strategy, not a luxury. Planning your year around this rhythm — winter outdoors in Dubai, summer weeks in Austria — is how most long-term Austrian expats make the best of both worlds.
FAQ
Is there an Austrian school in Dubai?
There is no dedicated Austrian-curriculum school, but German-language schools and international schools with strong German programmes operate in Dubai — check the KHDA directory for the current list.
Can I buy Austrian products in Dubai?
Yes, in the larger international supermarkets and import stores, though selection rotates and prices are higher than at home. Seasonal items sell out quickly.
How do Austrians celebrate National Day and Christmas in Dubai?
Through community and business-group events around 26 October and German-speaking Christmas markets and church services in December — details are published on the groups’ official pages each year.
Explore more neighbourhood, food and community guides at DXB Talk, and browse the Lifestyle category for more expat life stories.
