This month we had the pleasure of knowing Dr. Michaela Schwaiger-Haber (Michi), a postdoc in the Chemistry department, and Dr. Alexander Haber (Alex), a postdoc in the Physics department. Alex and Michi are both from Austria and have been a couple since 2007. They chose WashU as one of the places where both could do a postdoc in the same city after finishing their PhDs in Vienna, Austria. Alex moved to St. Louis at the end of August 2018, followed by Michi two months later. Thus, they have had almost 5 years to get to know the city and its surroundings. Read on to know all the fun things Alex (A) and Michi (M) have to share about their time as postdocs in St Louis.
1. As international postdocs, what was your journey like to find your community in St. Louis/WashU?
A: Shortly after I joined WashU (before Michi moved here two months later), I heard about the Halloween Party that was being organized by WUPS. So I went to the party, introduced myself, and said I came from Austria. Someone then immediately said, “this guy over there lived in Austria for two years – you should talk to him.” And that’s how we met our first friend. Most of our friends in the city are other postdocs, which we certainly did not plan for to happen that way, but it just sort of happened organically.
M: Postdoc Society events are definitely *the place* to easily meet other people. There are of course other places you can meet people – for instance, we’ve met some of our friends while playing volleyball. But the people whom you can very easily get into contact with are within the postdoc community.
2. What are some of the things you do as a couple to relieve work-related stress?
A: Whenever work gets too much for both of us, we pack up our tent on Friday evening and go camping in one of the many state parks around the area. We would get out of the city, go somewhere with no cell service, and do a little bit of everything – kayaking, river floats, have a few beers by the river, hiking, etc. And there are so many state parks around Missouri and southern Illinois. You pay like $12.00 per night for a campground.
M: For six people! It’s so cheap.
A: I also love cooking on open fire, so we just cook, sit around, and do nothing.
M: Also… we do these activities even when we are not stressed 🙂
A: This is true! But if the stress level really builds up, then I’ll start to look at campgrounds and we leave for a weekend. That helps us a lot with managing our stress levels.
3. What is your favorite/least favorite thing about living with a fellow postdoc?
M: It really helps that both of us know and understand what it means to do a postdoc. Also, as postdocs, we have more flexibility with scheduling vacations together, which I think would not be so easy if we were both working in the industry.
A: The most stressful thing is that we are unsure where we are going to end up next year. Planning a life together gets really difficult when there are two people, living together, trying to find our next job in the same city at the same time.
M: I have been monitoring the job market and there are several positions available in my field right now. But I don’t want to move to a new place and leave Alex here or somewhere else. We are not going to do that. I also still really enjoy my current position.
4. What are you most passionate about, outside of your work?
M: I would say, apart from camping, disc golf. We were out walking around Creve Coeur Lake when the pandemic started, and we saw these baskets everywhere. We learned afterward that those are for playing disc golf – and now both of us are really into playing it! We play it a lot when we’re not out camping, and we would also go during the week in the evening. There are so many courses around town, and they’re all free. All you need is to buy yourself some discs. And Alex can talk more about it because he has amassed quite a collection of discs, because they all fly differently.
A: Yes, very differently! There are also disc golf tournaments and leagues, and I’ve played like 2 tournaments so far. But mostly I just like to go out with Michi and enjoy the game without any competition.
M: Well… just a little bit of competition. But not too competitive!
5. What are some of the things you would miss the most about St. Louis if you were to leave tomorrow and never come back? What are some of the things you would never miss?
A: We really like the food and the craft beer scene in St. Louis. I think it’s quite diverse – if you’re having a craving for something, you can usually find it in the city. Another thing that I really like about the city is how green it is – it’s actually something that Vienna kind of lacks. Even within the city limits, you have so many trees and so many parks. It’s very green and it feels very open. The downside to it is that it takes quite a bit of time to get anywhere using public transport. But still, I really enjoy the greenery in the city.
M: And it’s not just in the city. You start driving out and you see trees everywhere – it’s so green with all the forests where you can go hiking. Things that I wouldn’t miss are the issues with poverty, gun violence, having to think about which neighborhood is safe or not safe. That’s kind of true for a lot of cities in the U.S., but coming from Vienna, it’s something I never had to think about before.
6. Both of you are from Vienna – tell us why people should visit!
A: It is the most livable city in the world!
M: All the surveys on what the most livable city in the world is always lead to the same answer – Vienna – and as someone from Vienna, I have to say those surveys are spot-on! If you really want to know what a functional public transportation looks like, stop by Vienna. There are also so many things to do and explore.
A: It’s also a great city to enjoy fine classical music. And you can’t forget the great food!
7. Do you have anything you would like to share with other postdocs?
A: One thing I would like to tell other postdocs – international postdocs, to be clear – is to keep an open mind about St. Louis. We are from Austria, and we love the mountains and going hiking in the mountains more than anyone. But we don’t have that here – so we had to find a new hobby. And now we go kayaking a lot. If you keep an open mind, you can find cool stuff in every place. Us postdocs won’t stay here forever, so it’s temporary anyways, so just enjoy what the city offers.
M: And don’t just stay in the lab every day from 7:00 AM to 10:00 PM, seven days a week!
M: I recently wrote up a little “Useful things to know as a WashU postdoc” guide for new postdocs. The idea really stemmed from the fact that I was already providing this information to new postdocs who were joining our lab, and that many other postdocs I’ve talked with – some of whom have been in the city for more than a year – have never heard of the incredible parks around the city like Johnson Shut-Ins or Elephant Rock State Park, or that there are places you can go kayaking. So I started thinking about how I could share this information I’ve gathered over the years with other postdocs and decided to write up a document with information that could be helpful to incoming postdocs with finding their footing in the new city, like recommendations for state parks, restaurants around campus, which grocery store to go to, how to find a physician, and so on.
A: When I first arrived in St. Louis, I went to Straubs to grab groceries because I thought it was just a regular supermarket. Immediately I was like, “Oh my god, $7.00 for 500 grams of pasta? This is impossible, I can’t live in St. Louis!” It took us about a year to figure out where to go buy certain stuff, which supermarkets are affordable, and so on. Michi’s document would’ve been a godsend for someone like me.
M: I also want to emphasize that both of us have really enjoyed our time here. And I want other people to enjoy their time in St. Louis as well.
A: Additionally, I am organizing Astronomy on Tap – Saint Louis at Urban Chestnut Brewing Company in the Grove every other month. It’s a small outreach event where we have one or two speakers give astronomy-related talks. Stop by to learn more about astronomy while you drink discounted beers!
We are also organizing an astronomy festival in Tower Grove Park in September. We’re going to have a few talks and show a movie. There are even going to be food trucks – so really a small astronomy festival!
Interviewed and Edited by Outreach Committee 2023-2024.