Returning to Wien

At the encouragement of my better half, Amelia, I e-mailed Barbara (our teacher from Vienna) about the possibility of me returning for my Master's degree at the Conservatory with her. She sent me a charming little reply saying that I was always welcome back, and that though I have a lot of work to do, that I could be a very good violinist. I actually wasn't sure how she'd feel about taking me as a full time student, because I didn't really apply myself to improving at the violin when I was studying abroad with IES. I went to see the country and be immersed in the culture of the city, and I didn't want to spend all my time there in a practice room.

I discussed going to school in Vienna with my mom and she said to make a list of the pros and cons in order to help organize my thoughts.
So here it is.

Pros:

Beautiful city
World class concerts and opera (for cheap!)
Excellent museums and parks
Barbara will push me to excel
School is much less expensive than US schools
Public transportation
Will become proficient in German
Donner kebabs and Sturm (among other tasty Viennese food)
Fresh food from markets (will learn to cook)
Coffee house culture
Christkindlmärkte
Health care ?
Already like home



Cons:

Hard to visit home / have family visit
Cannot practice after 10 pm
"Diplom" not recognized in all US schools
No reunions with friends / hard to skype with friends due to the time difference
Lots of distractions
Sometimes hard to understand exactly what Barbara wants
No Mexican food
Hard transition home to find a job and house
Xenophobia (The Viennese are not super accepting, although I never had any problems during my semester there)
Language barrier
- Hard to make friends until I know German
- Classes in German
- Hard to form chamber groups
- Hard to find a job
- No dating
Taxes ?



I talked to Ben Detrick about getting a Master's there, and he basically said we would have to get another Bachelor's degree first. If we go, both Amelia and I want to get a degree, so we need to ask more about the application process to get a Diplom, which is sometimes considered equivalent to a Master's degree in the States, depending on which school you ask. Mom also wants me to look into PhD programs. I wasn't sure about a PhD but if I were to get one, it should be when I'm young.

I think it's definitely possible to make getting a Diplom there work, and the better our German is, the easier everything will be. Apartments are comparable to living in a major US city.

So before I commit to going, I have to prove two things to myself:
That I can be serious about practicing consistently.
That I can become fluent in German.

There are a lot more obstacles going back to Vienna than if I went to graduate school in the States. My biggest concern is that we'd have to be away from our family and friends for so long.

But this is a once in a lifetime opportunity, right? I mean, it's been ranked the city with the best quality of living in the world for the past 2 years. I know I love it there and it's already like home. I could even see myself staying there after school if I could find a job. I'm so glad I have this year to practice and think.