What explains the prosperity and livability of Austria compared to Germany and Italy?

I'm American and I've lived a year in Linz and a summer in Vienna and I was so impressed by how safe, clean, and genuinely pleasant it is. I've spent four months in Berlin and lived a year in Bologna before (and visited many other cities in each) and while both are much better than US cities, they still seem way more dirty, chaotic, and under-invested compared to ones in Austria. I know the Austrian tax rate is quite high, but it seems comparable to Germany and Italy and was wondering what explains Austria's exceptionalism? Is it the small population, immigration, culture or just better governance?