u/weedisaesthetic

hi everyone!

i’ll hopefully be moving to vienna soon to start my phd (in chemistry) at tu wien, and i’m currently trying to figure out the housing situation. since i’ll be moving from india, i’d really appreciate some advice from people who live in vienna or have been through a similar experience!

i’m ideally looking for a private room with an attached bathroom and a small kitchen or kitchenette, preferably within a budget of €600/month. i know this might be a bit unrealistic, but i’d love to know what my options are!

a few questions i have:

• what are the best websites or platforms to look for accommodation in vienna?
• are there any student residences you’d recommend, especially ones that offer private bathrooms and kitchenettes?
• is it possible to find something like this for under €500, or would i need to increase my budget?
• would you recommend student residences or wgs (shared apartments)?
• which areas would be convenient for commuting to tu wien while still being relatively affordable?

any recommendations, tips, or things i should watch out for would be greatly appreciated. thank you! :)

edit: would also want to have a rough idea about the living cost

hi, i recently graduated (in June) with a majors in chemistry and a specialisation in organic chemistry from a good university in India. Since, then, I have been actively cold-emailing professors and applying to advertised positions (mostly in Europe) for a PhD opportunity. i recently got invited for 'an introductory online chat' from a professor in masaryk university, czech. i am not sure how to prepare for this interview especially bc he didn't mention anything about preparing a presentation. i'd be very very grateful if somebody could help me out with things that i should keep in mind. i have only had one interview so far which was w somebody from germany, but i had to also do a presentation, so the questions mostly revolved around what skills i learnt, why do i want to pursue a PhD, where do i see myself in five years or so and so.

would be v v v grateful if somebody could help me out w this part. also, what are the usual selection criteria in europe for selecting a candidate? mind you, i do not have any publications and sometimes i wonder if that puts me to a disadvantage? esp in france, bc i have noticed that so far the places that i've applied to only ask for cover letter and CV and not even LoR?

hi, i recently graduated (in June) with a majors in chemistry and a specialisation in organic chemistry from a good university in India. Since, then, I have been actively cold-emailing professors and applying to advertised positions (mostly in Europe) for a PhD opportunity. i recently got invited for 'an introductory online chat' from a professor in masaryk university, czech. i am not sure how to prepare for this interview especially bc he didn't mention anything about preparing a presentation. i'd be very very grateful if somebody could help me out with things that i should keep in mind. i have only had one interview so far which was w somebody from germany, but i had to also do a presentation, so the questions mostly revolved around what skills i learnt, why do i want to pursue a PhD, where do i see myself in five years or so and so.

would be v v v grateful if somebody could help me out w this part. also, what are the usual selection criteria in europe for selecting a candidate? mind you, i do not have any publications and sometimes i wonder if that puts me to a disadvantage? esp in france, bc i have noticed that so far the places that i've applied to only ask for cover letter and CV and not even LoR?

hi, my current phone (redmi note 9) has recently started going absolute bonkers. it'll probably stop working altogether in a few days or weeks (though i'd wished that it worked until amazon great indian festival, but seems unlikely now). i had this phone w me for a good 5-6 years, and it has been quite a decent phone if ive to be really honest.

i'm looking to buy a phone which has minimal bloatware since that has been my major concern. i had heard of nothing phones, but they are undeliverable at my location for some reason. in fact, i am also unable to find nothing 3 and 3a models.

budget is somewhere around 25k, can somebody recommend me a phone in this range?

thanks!

hi, i am from India and have just finished my master's. i am keen on applying for a phd, and would appreciate any help for the same. i like organic chemistry, but don't want to join a hardcore synthesis lab (idt ive the brains for that too lol). the lab where i did my master's thesis worked on functional organic materials. the focus was to create novel molecules, rather than developing novel synthetic methodology. i am sure this is what i want to pursue for future as well. the gist of my thesis was to impart fluorescence in an otherwise non-emissivse scaffold by synthesising donor-acceptor architecture. i am looking for similar labs actually, something in the domain of organic chemistry and materials chemistry. think frank wurthner, for example. also, my PI was very shitty, extremely toxic. is there a way to ensure that this isn't the case during PhD as well (assuming I'll secure one)?