The US Americans in Graz and Styria Facebook group

by | Jan 23, 2025

In March 2020, I decided to start a Facebook group for US Americans who were living in Graz and other parts of Styria.

As of January 2025, the US Americans in Graz and Styria Facebook group welcomes more than 200 members, more than 90% of whom are US citizens. Since 2020, the group has provided US Americans living and/or working in Graz with access to information of specific interest and to a forum where they can contact with one another, network, and exchange helpful tips.

The first FB group banner looked like this:

In February 2020, I created the banner above to reflect the unification of two cultures, illustrated by combining images of the Austrian and US American flags on a ‘blue sky’ background. I chose the background specifically to suggest openness, freedom, and (with the clouds) movement/change. At the time, I placed part of the logo of the Austro-American Society for Styria (ÖAG) in the center of the banner to highlight the (informal) collaboration between our groups.

In mid-2024, I created a new banner which again reflects the unification of the two cultures. I removed the black bar and ÖAG logo, instead presenting images from the two flags as two halves of the same heart. I felt that this imagery made an important statement in a time that seems rife with media depicting strife, separation, and division. In the lower left-hand corner, I also included a newly created USA-GS logo.

Heart with half showing a US American flag and half showing an Austrian flag on a gray background.

Between March 2020 and October 2021, the group had grown from one (me) to more than 140 US American members! The more than 200 current members are incredibly diverse. More than 90% of these members have US American citizenship, and considering the fact that there are 469 registered US Americans living in Graz (as of 1.1.2024), this is a pretty impressive number. I am curious to see how the group develops throughout 2025!

I encourage all members to actively contribute to friendly, respectful, and informative posts and discussion. Each week, I enjoy creating short posts that highlight a connection between Graz and the US, generally based on a news article or event listing. Over the years, these posts have illustrated the amazing number of diverse connections between us! Through the group, I hope to help US Americans living and/or working in Graz keep in contact with “their American selves” while enjoying the experience of living abroad. Consider joining my group.

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I am a native English speaker who has lived in Europe (Austria) since 2004. I have provided high-quality proofreading, copy editing and German to English translation services for clients in academic, industrial and the not-for-profit sectors since 2012.

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