Switzerland!

Page may contain affiliate links. Please see terms for details.

Spinal

MB Enthusiast
Joined
Sep 14, 2004
Messages
4,806
Location
between Uxbridge and the Alps
Car
x254, G350, Duster, S320, Mach1, 900ss and a few more
So it's been a while since I last logged in or posted anything...

Life's taken me on a roller coaster adventure - in less than a year I drove across Europe/Asia, got engaged, broke up with my fiancee, and now am moving country (it would seem).

Does anyone have any experience, hints or tips with regards to moving to Zurich? Obviously, learning German is pretty high on my list... but I need to find an apartment/house, a new car (not provided by my employer), and all the associated mess involved.

Ideas, suggestions and advice most welcome!
M.

(P.S. As for car, looking at a C-class probably... just struggling to find a used one at a reasonable price as I'll be putting some serious miles on it during my first year. Aiming to drive back to the UK at least once a month to move all my junk over bit by bit)
 
ok. depends on how long you intend to stay. I moved job lot to the channel islands a few years back. I should have put my stuff in storage, was I came back then ran off again. most things stacked up in locked cupboards in various places across the UK, until I get round to settling in one location permanent.

or you can do what you think is right for the next number of years, what with you being younger than me...and in about 20 years time, you will say, do you know, that man was right.

I know now that what I knew was right then, was wrong. And I know that that what I should have done, I didn't.

And I also know that I did right then, and I have not looked back since either.

So the tip. what you think is the right thing to do, is right. And when you know it is wrong, it will be because it was right when you did it.

It only becomes wrong later. But if you don't do it, you won't know its wrong, when the time comes to know it was wrong then. In which case, you will end up humping cases up several flights of stairs, when you are the wrong side of 40 and think, Have I worked all these years to be doing this again.


And there you have it. a lesson in life, called experience.



Anyhow, whatever you decide and whatever good advice you get, enjoy it. You only live once and you will only regret not doing it when you had the chance. You will not regret thinking back on it, and deciding there may have a been a better way.


And good luck and all that.
 
^Donald Rumsfeld couldn't have said it better himself.
 
oh. here's a point.

When I left the channel islands I threw out some tins of stuff. Which sell by date was 2002. which means I moved them from west yorkshire, to scotland, to two homes in scotland, and moved them to Guernsey, and only inspected them when moving from Guernsey, and all of this was after the sell by date.

check first.
 
^Donald Rumsfeld couldn't have said it better himself.

yes but he was unconsciously incompetant at the time and he didn't know that.
 
You are choosing one of the most expensive cities in Europe to relocate to. A good friend has a two bed apartment just outside Bern and pays around 1200chf a month. Lots of properties can be viewed online beforehand at sites like THIS ONE.

Learning German will be a big advantage, but most Swiss have English as their 2nd language. But TV will make a lot more sense. Get cable in and BBC programmes are viewable. (A Kodi box is even better;))

Best of luck in a new chapter in your life!
 
Buy the car from Germany as it will be a lot cheaper.
 
The American company I work for has a big engineering office in Zurich and there are a lot of expats. As mentioned above a lot of people speak English (and it's the working language of the office), but if you want Swiss relationships and/or living as a Swiss, then German is going to be helpful.

A lot of my colleagues there buy stuff over the border in Germany, it's certainly cheaper for many useful things.

Most don't need a car, as public transport is very reliable and mostly plentiful. It depends where you live and work. Flights to the UK are cheap when bought in advance. I've visited Zurich frequently from the UK and never found it that expensive, comparable to London. Then (up to 5 yrs ago), few places accepted cards - the locals tend to pay cash.

My best advice is to avoid large value purchases until you are there and have gotten to know your environment. So no car, motorbike or house. In no time at all, you'll end up with far more knowledge to make better decisions.

And go light, unless your company is paying all your moving expenses. Often you can negotiate extras they'd be willing to give if you'd ask (but glad if you didn't). E.g. flat rental, car rental, help with settling in. Depends on your seniority/value to the company. Definitely discuss with trusted colleagues and/or otherwise research to see what is accepted or may be an entitlement with the job.

Good luck!


Sent from my Nexus 5X using Tapatalk
 
Last edited:
I drove through Zurich a few years ago heading for the Alps. More traffic lights there than anywhere else I've ever been. And don't speed or your new C class will be gone in a flash along with a sizeable chunk of your salary (allegedly).
 
A lot of my colleagues there buy stuff over the border in Germany, it's certainly cheaper for many useful things.

Good point. A day trip over to Freiburg via Basel or even to Lake Constance to buy goods is well worthwhile. Even the locals do it, especially for alcohol. Don't forget your passport.
 
Lived there for 2 years, beautiful country, horrible people and ridiculous rules, regulation and taxes.

I don't regret going there but I am glad to be back in the UK. I got a really good book called 'Living and Working in switzerland' - it really is much easier having a company supporting your move.

Good luck, PM if you want any info. But definitely buy a car in Germany, you will need to register it in Switzerland though and you cannot do anything without a permit, I presume you will get a B permit. I mean you cannot do anything, I could even order a replacement wing mirror glass for my BMW without providing my permit. If you are thinking of buying new, then buying a LHD in the U.K. And saving the VAT is very tempting, Swiss VAT is much lower.

Food and going out is very, very expensive. Think curry main dish, rice and naan with a beer is circa £50!

S
 
I have been to Switzerland a lot and had family live there.
I agree with most things people have said but also when buying your car you will require winter and summer tyres and i would recommend a 4x4.
Your tax is worked out depending on where you live so this will be important when choosing your home.
Zug is a good area but maybe just to far from Zurich for everyday travel.
Also if you rent you will be needing to put some money a side as you normally are required to have professional decorators and cleaners go through the home before you leave.

Funny thing with the Swiss is they all seem to go to bed at 9pm and most are not that friendly although they are pretty good with children as long as they are quite.

Also most flats and house have a bunker that should be fully stocked.

The way of life in Switzerland is very sporty so i would join a bike or football club so you can meet other expats. The only realy down side is most people are on contract out there so once you meet good friends they are often moving on to another city in the world with their company.

I hope you enjoy the experince
 
I have a German pal who lives just over the border in Germany - when he was working, he drove into Zurich every day. Told me he had German living costs with Swiss wages and reckoned it was the only way to go.
 
I've had some rather odd travelling experiences in Zurich. Missed a business class connection there early one morning due to a delay getting away from Johannesburg in thunder storms. The only thing to eat (at breakfast time, in a business lounge!) was cut up hot dog sausages and some sort of sliced potatoes in an odd sauce.

Another time, again travelling to Jozi via Zurich I was asked if I wanted a drink and asked for a G&T. Are you sure asked the hostie? Yes, I said and I may have a second. You'd better have a second bottle of water then, she said. All quite hostile, a far cry from Emirates, Qatar and Etihad!
 
Sorry to hear about the split with your fiancé Michele. As my son said when I split with his mother "Oh well, these things happen."

I'm rather disappointed to read what a couple of people have written here about the Swiss. I always say that you get what you give, so if you're horrible to them they'll be horrible to you. My experiences with them have been completely different. For a start my sister has been married to a Swiss guy for about 40 years and you couldn't wish to meet anyone nicer than him. When I worked in Zurich a few years ago with a Swiss company everyone there was friendly and easy to get on with. They were also very hard working, so a pleasant change from too many British colleagues I've had over the years. Finally, very good friends of ours (I "gave her away" at their wedding because her father died when she was a child, and my wife is godmother to one of their daughters) moved to St Moritz nearly a year ago and they love it there. We visited them in January and met lots of lovely Swiss locals.

But, as someone else said, it is very expensive. A simple lunch out for three adults and three very small children cost around £150. However, supermarket food didn't seem too bad, so home cooking is a much cheaper option. Accommodation is also expensive, our friends are renting a 3-bed apartment at nearly as much as they're renting out their 3-bed house in St. Katherine Dock next to Tower Bridge in London. But they've swapped views of a London marina for stunning mountains and clean air.

Learning German would be useful but far from essential. Everyone seems to speak excellent English (better than far too many people in this country!) Public transport is good, though not as perfect as many think (we found out to our cost when a long train delay caused us to miss a flight from Zurich).

The best advice I can give you is as someone said above: go for it. You'll only regret it later if you don't. It's most unlikely to be a bed of roses so you'll have a few challenges along the way. But those challenges will be relatively easy for someone who has managed to drive a cheap car to Mongolia. And it's got to be far better than living in Uxbridge! Last but not least, there are lots of gorgeous Swiss girls

Good luck M.
 
lisa110rry said:
Another time, again travelling to Jozi via Zurich I was asked if I wanted a drink and asked for a G&T. Are you sure asked the hostie? Yes, I said and I may have a second. You'd better have a second bottle of water then, she said. All quite hostile, a far cry from Emirates, Qatar and Etihad!
Ah, the Swiss dry humour. It takes a bit of getting used to. We found Swissair ground staff and cabin crew to be very helpful to us with our 8 month old daughter after being treated dreadfully by EasyJet staff.
 
Thanks :)

Looks like I'm going to Zurich then! Mixed emotions tbh - fear and joy... At least my bernese should be happy :p

M.
 

Users who are viewing this thread

Back
Top Bottom