Living in migration in Austria

The article provides the reader with dimensions of the meaning of living of migrant population in Vienna in discussing the structural components, the background of migration and the strategies to adapt to the new situation. It is quite obvious that migrant population under research in Vienna, which comes from southern European countries, mainly from Serbia, Bosnia and Turkey are living in substandard conditions, conditions which are often lower than they-had in their home country. The way of dealing with that situation is influenced by the migration process where we identified three dimensions a) From house to an apartment, b) From rural community to urban individuality and c) Home as a knot of family relations. The reactions to the new situation have been found to be mainly investment in the apartment, extending the flat to the public sphere and living in virtual contact with the country of origin. This leads us to the conclusion that the main problem in dealing with the housing situation is the "ambivalence of significant symbols" meaning different interpretation of the structural conditions of different populations.