Compare the wealth of the 1st District with that of the 7th .. or 15th .. Vienna's districts are literally a class system, encoded in the streets. And then compare the easier-walking districts, the ones designed for horses (i.e. wealth) versus the ones on the peripheral, and see what the quality of street life is like ..
Wealth inequality in Europe is seldom discussed unfortunately. Everyone focuses on income inequality to demonize well earners and justify taxing them more to pay for the mistakes of politicians and the sinking welfare system, but ignores all that untaxed wealth stashed away in the hands of a few.
Average salary in Austria after taxes is something like 2k/month yet the country is full of flashy cars and houses costs from several hundreds of thousands to millions of Euros. How is that possible? You have mediocre EU salaries at San Diego house prices. Rents are reasonable but I don't see how people are gonna be able to also afford rent from retirement pensions.
> Average salary in Austria after taxes is something like 2k/month
No, average salary in Austria after taxes is about €3000, or about $3,700 after exchange rates and PPP. Which is less than the US, not hardly a poor place by world standards.
Combine that with the long-term wealth you get from being an early-to-industrialise European country that was on the capitalist side on the Cold War, and you've got your explanation.
