Moving to Austria
In July 2025 I moved from Vilnius to Vienna. There are multiple reasons why my fiancée and I made this move. Our goal was to live in another foreign country before we have children. While we had plans to live somewhere else in 2021, COVID shuffled the cards and we lived in Lithuania for four years until we got an opportunity for another journey and moved to Austria.
I’ve always had a dream to learn German since my school days. I didn’t have a German teacher at school, so I never had a proper chance or reason to learn it. I did French instead, but lost all of it pretty quickly.
To learn a language, you must use it or you lose it. Just like muscles.
While I’m working for WhiteBridge.ai remotely in Vienna and enjoying my time here, I have more time for myself, mostly because it takes time to find new friends to hang out with in a new place. I also don’t have an office here. That means lots of time spent in cafés or at my home workstation.
Since the social part of life is taking a break, I can invest that time into other stuff. And it’s definitely a great idea to learn the language that’s spoken here. That means I can find friends and feel more local and less like a tourist.
Where do I start?
I tried Duolingo. I’m trying Clozemaster. I had a session with an online tutor. And I watch content.
My takeaway so far
Before the tutor, I felt lost and kept wondering what the best path was. I was jumping around language-learning apps, even went for Duolingo, but it felt pretty dead to me. I’ve never heard of anyone becoming great in a language by keeping streaks and focusing on XP and leaderboards instead of actual skill.
So I booked a tutor on italki.com. The marketplace is big, you can pick anyone you like, and trial lessons are relatively cheap. Same goes for preply.com. My recommendation: pick either platform and book trial sessions with multiple tutors (after you’ve vetted some already). Do 3 to 5 trials, find who you click with at a good price, and borrow their roadmap for starters. They’ve trained many people before you. It will save time, cut noise, and help you focus on the things that matter.
I did exactly that. Here’s what I’m sticking with for now.
Clozemaster
My first tutor recommended this app that helps me learn German via context. It’s basically fill-in-the-gap sentence work. I can do it for free every day. It teaches me in context. I’m 40 days in, and the more I do it, the more familiar the language becomes. I’m not trying to memorize everything right now. It’s too early. I’m just ingesting the language and letting it surround my life.
Language Reactor
I think this Chrome extension is the #1 choice for anyone wanting to pick up a language, tbh. Most non-English-speaking kids learn English by watching content they don’t fully understand at first. Video and audio provide enough context for the brain to catch up.
Right now I watch Breaking Bad in German with German subtitles. With the extension, I tag words I know and words I don’t, then do quick rounds to check recall using the Phrase Pump feature.
Homework from my tutor
I had a 30-minute session with a tutor on italki. He gave me instant homework to try. I think this is the whole trick, actually. This is the secret sauce to learning a language. I’m sharing it in case you want to pick it up too.
I’ve done only day 1 so far, so I can’t tell how well it’s working yet, but it makes a lot of sense.
Goals and milestones
I set a goal to reach certified B2 German by the end of 2026. It’s a bit more than a year and it’s ambitious. Since I love the language, I’m optimistic.
My plan is to complete assessment tests on DW.com, then cement that progress with Goethe certificates. If by the end of 2026 I come out with a B2 certificate, that will be dope, and by then I’ll likely be speaking with locals and have Austrian friends in the city.
Progress path: A1 → A2 → B1 → B2
First: pass the tests on DW.com
Then: take Goethe-Institut certifications to cement progress
Tschüss!
If you have tips for learning German in Austria, reply with your must-dos and favorite resources. I’ll try them and report back.