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Do you live in Switzerland? I have questions…

163 replies

Fallulah · 26/07/2022 20:26

Came back recently from a holiday to the chocolate box/tourist/hiking parts of Switzerland. We were wondering about a few things as you do when you go to a different place. None of these questions are intended to offend!

The big wooden houses - are they more or less expensive to build than a ‘normal’ house? Does the wood have to be renewed after a certain amount of time, like thatch does?

The same wooden houses just sometimes seem to be in the middle of grassy landscapes - how do you know which land is yours as there don’t seem to be any boundaries? What if you have a dog? There are no fences?

Did Switzerland not have covid particularly badly? They pack people on to the cable cars and trains like sardines and there is nothing suggesting people might want to wear a mask even if it’s not mandatory - we were frequently the only people in them on the transport, which was packed with people from all over the world.

When you live in Switzerland, do you realise how expensive it is or are wages a lot higher to compensate for the fact, e.g. a small bottle of coke is 6CHF?

Are languages pushed a lot more in school than they are in the UK? Pretty much everyone in the tourist areas seems to speak Swiss, German, French and English!

Do you just feel really smug all the time that you live in such a beautiful, clean, well organised country?!

OP posts:
caffelatte100 · 27/07/2022 12:13

boopdeflouff · 27/07/2022 10:41

We are about to start the paperwork for citizenship. I am quite nervous and excited at the same time. Would love to hear how it was for you (although I understand it's quite different in the German and French speaking parts).

I do love our host country so much. 🇨🇭

Yes, each canton and even each gemeinde have a very different process for processing citizenship. Ours was not too bad in comparison to others

We had to live in the same village for 10 years before we could apply. Then there was a lot of paperwork to be done (original copies of exam results, birth/marriage certificates). We studied and took citizenship and language (speaking, listening and writing) exams. Then we were interviewed by 5 people who asked questions mainly about how well we were integrated, how we liked Switzerland, what we did in the local community politics etc. They were actually really friendly and welcoming.

Then it took more than another year for everything to be processed.

For a family of 4 I think it cost in the region of 5,000 FR, which we paid in small amounts each step of the way.

AgathaMystery · 27/07/2022 12:21

I love this thread.

unicormb · 27/07/2022 12:31

I admire the European ethos for mucking in to create a quiet and calm life for everyone. Would never work here. Can you imagine telling a Daily Mail reader they can't mow their lawn on Sunday? There'd be uproar.

Interested in this thread?

Then you might like threads about this subject:

Caspianberg · 27/07/2022 12:34

Yes, where we live you can’t shop for even milk between 3pm Saturday and Monday morning. Unless you go to a petrol station

Myname23 · 27/07/2022 13:50

AgathaMystery · 27/07/2022 12:21

I love this thread.

Me too 😍

Whatalovelydaffodil · 27/07/2022 14:20

So a lot of people have fire arms at home yet there isn't a lot of gun crime?

caffelatte100 · 27/07/2022 14:28

Whatalovelydaffodil · 27/07/2022 14:20

So a lot of people have fire arms at home yet there isn't a lot of gun crime?

There is the occasional one but not a lot, no. They are usually domestic disputes between family members combined with. mental illness.
Being a member of a gun club is very popular as well.
When we viewed houses to buy in the past, we sometimes saw firearms locked up in the downstairs cellar.

NrlySp · 27/07/2022 14:41

The ammunition is usually kept separate from the guns - each village has a shooting range and clubhouse.
international Schools - a mix of expats, very rich Swiss who want their children to have an international education

Konfetka · 27/07/2022 14:57

Not to derail but whilst we're on the topic, since when did it become OK to mow the lawn on a Sunday in the UK?

AbleCable · 27/07/2022 14:59

I'm not Swiss but have lived here for 25 years (I'm Irish).

Will answer what I can of the questions -

The big wooden houses questions
I can't help with much - the ones out in the middle of nowhere tend to be owned by farming families. Those that I have been inside, tend to be quite dark - they are geared to keep out the heat in summer and cold in winter.

Did Switzerland not have covid particularly badly?
When I was looking at rates in 2020/21, they generally seemed to be be broadly similar to the numbers given in France/Germany/Austria - sometimes a bit higher, sometimes lower. But it never really over-pressured the public health system as it was already very good. Switzerland took patients from France at times. I'm not aware of any long-lasting impact on public health, or waiting lists. When I came here first, I sat with a broker to get signed up for the various insurances - for health I asked about waiting lists if you went for the cheaper premiums and the broker looked baffled and asked why anyone would wait for medical procedures if a doctor said they needed them. As far as I know, that's not changed.
Schools only closed from mid-March - mid-May in 2020, and many services like hairdressers only closed for that time too. Indoor hospitality closed off and on over the Winters but generally the lock-downs were a lot less severe than the neighboring countries (and certainly nothing like as bad as Ireland).
We've not had masks in public transport/shops etc since I think it was March.
The swiss have generally been very compliant with the rules - it was rare to someone on a tram/bus without a mask when they were required, but once the rule was lifted, most people stopped wearing them (and now it's pretty rare to see anyone with them).

When you live in Switzerland, do you realise how expensive it is or are wages a lot higher to compensate for the fact, e.g. a small bottle of coke is 6CHF?
Yes, aware that's its expensive but wages are generally higher. There isn't a national minimum wage - it varies by canton - but is generally between 20-23chfs/hour (or 17-20 pounds). On the plus side, pretty much everywhere you go on holidays to seems much cheaper!

Are languages pushed a lot more in school than they are in the UK?
In a country with four national languages, languages are considered to be very important. In German speaking Switzerland, kids learn German - bearing in mind that they will have been speaking swiss German at home and in the playground, (Swiss German overlaps with high German by about 70%) and French or English. There is a strong push from the cantons for the students to learn the national languages (German/French/Italian - less than 2% speak Romansch), but parents usually want their children learning English as well and will send them to English classes out of school if they feel it's not being covered at school. And the fact that a lot of the music is in English, and movies are generally shown in original language with french and german subtitles (dubbed is usually shown too so people can choose which they prefer) - means that they get a lot of exposure to English.

Do you just feel really smug all the time that you live in such a beautiful, clean, well organised country?!
Like all countries, it has good and bad sides - it can be difficult to get to know people, there is a system for everything and figuring out that system can take time (eg. home buying and impact of mortgages on your taxes).
But I'm here a long time so I guess you get used to things. I'm used to shops being closed on Sundays, I just make sure I've shopped earlier in the week, and the train station supermarkets are always open if you are stuck.
Public transport is great - its punctual, frequent and very clean. I find it good value - my annual season ticket covers an area of about 60km, its valid on all buses/trams/trains. It's 800chfs/year - or 690 pounds.
I don't know many people who have a car - there are car rental schemes eg Mobility which is 25chfs for lifetime membership and then CHF 3.00/h and CHF 0.65/km. These are good for just getting a car for an hour or two to do grocery shopping/go to Ikea/collect someone from the airport etc.

I've never encountered any of the problems that @UTIsympathies had (but can well believe them, as areas can vary!). Closest I've come is a sticker on an iron that I put out on metal recycling day telling me that it should go in the electrical recycling instead. Some apartment buildings have communal laundry/drying rooms, and usually you can't use these on Sundays. But I have my own washing machine in my apartment and can use it when I like (generally on Sunday afternoons as that's when I have time!).

A random thing is that nearly all apartments have a nuclear bunker! It has a massive metal door and instructions for use. Everyone has their own section inside these, and uses them to store their skis, fondue sets, BBQs, crates of wine etc 😄
Sorry ... I didn't mean to write so much ...

NiqueNique · 27/07/2022 15:04

The climate in countries like Sweden and Switzerland is completely different to that of the U.K. - much drier, and so timber stays in good and strong condition pretty much indefinitely.

MyrtlethePurpleTurtle · 27/07/2022 15:07

When you live in Switzerland, do you realise how expensive it is or are wages a lot higher to compensate for the fact, e.g. a small bottle of coke is 6CHF?

Wages are MUCH higher

< disclaimer: don’t live in Switzerland but work for a Swiss company >

LadyCampanulaTottington · 27/07/2022 15:15

FelicityFlops · 27/07/2022 07:06

Switzerland is like Germany on steroids with higher wages and lower taxes.
Very bureaucratic.
I spent 18 months living in Zuerich and wore that I would never, ever complain about prices in Frankfurt again!

I live in Suisse Romande (Geneva) and it’s nothing like Germany! It’s the Swiss German Cantons that are like that.

My part of Switzerland is more gentle than the Swiss German parts. It’s like France but with better bureaucracy.

Everything and I mean everything is closed on Sundays. Wages are proportional to the prices. We don’t have Amazon, well you can order but the import tax is manic. We have Galaxus which is like Amazon.

Or you get it delivered 5km away to a friends house over the border in France 😁

Driving offence fines are proportional to your income. For the exact same offence, the fine for me might be 1000chf and my neighbours 5000chf because they earn more. Hardly anyone speeds.

Also there is the best stupidity tax. If you are caught breaking the law, let’s say you don’t buy a bus ticket and get caught, you get a fine. If you break the same law within 12 months the fine is doubled. Each time you’re caught the fine doubles 😂

Whatalovelydaffodil · 27/07/2022 15:15

caffelatte100 · 27/07/2022 14:28

There is the occasional one but not a lot, no. They are usually domestic disputes between family members combined with. mental illness.
Being a member of a gun club is very popular as well.
When we viewed houses to buy in the past, we sometimes saw firearms locked up in the downstairs cellar.

That's quite amazing. So high gun ownership ratios don't automatically mean that gun crime is high.

wallpoppy · 27/07/2022 15:19

I am not from Sweden but I inherited a wooden house in the US that is nearly 300 years old, in the deep south where it's very humid, and it is still standing and perfectly sound. In the absence of termites, wood houses can last indefinitely.

LadyCampanulaTottington · 27/07/2022 15:20

Do you just feel really smug all the time that you live in such a beautiful, clean, well organised country?!

I wanted to answer this too. Switzerland ruins the rest of the world for you 😂 The standards are so high, the motorways are well maintained, the cities are spotless (the footpaths literally sparkle in Geneva, and I mean literally), public transport is so reliable and the outdoor amenities and facilities are superb.

Not smug but really fucking grateful.

Helvetic · 27/07/2022 16:05

I am Swiss, through marriage, and live in the French speaking part near Geneva.

It is a stunning country physically.

The wooden houses, chalets, are typically less expensive than your normal build in an urban setting, however the most expensive part of any house purchase here is the cost of the land. Unless you want to own a chalet in a ski resort, then a wooden chalet can be astronomically expensive.

In our house, we don't have a bomb shelter, instead we pay a tax to our local commune, which I guess gives us access to the communal one of needed.

We don't have Amazon, but we have Galaxus which is similar. We can use Amazon.fr or Amazon.de, pre brexit could use Amazon.co.uk, and have our goods shipped to a holding address in nearby France, and hope we don't get caught by the customs on our return to Switzerland after picking up our packages.

What I know of Swiss schools, my kids go to International school, is the education is very rigid and any kind of leaning differences are difficult to get supported. However they usually have fantastic integration programmes for non native speaking kids when they join a local school initially. Kids are streamed very early in their education either into an apprenticeship stream or university stream.

There is no public healthcare, everyone is obliged by law to have medical insurance, which can be expensive even for the basic insurance.

At one point, Switzerland had the highest rates for Covid in all of Europe. There was a point when hospitals did appear to be feeling the pressure, particularly intensive care beds, and there were media discussions about the possibility of opening up military hospitals, but it didn't happen.

When masks were compulsory, I think everyone complied with the rules, I never saw anyone NOT wearing a mask anywhere during that period.

Life is expensive here, particularly as labour is expensive, so costs of things like tradesmen, domestic help are very high. Salaries are high and taxes are low, but that is changing.

Aldi and Lidl have now opened in Switzerland and that gives more choice, before then it was Migros and CooP, which seemed to be working on a cartel basis.

I like Switzerland, but I do find it somewhat boring. Try to get a late lunch anywhere and staff will look at you like you have asked them to hand you the crown jewels, same as trying to get a late dinner.

Overall, though, I am not sure where else in Europe I would like to live if I didn't live here.

Helvetic · 27/07/2022 16:09

I mean boring in an entertainment and choice view, from an outdoor activity perspective, the only thing missing here is the ocean and we can be there within a 5 hour drive if we wanted to.

Pretty much every weekend during the ski season we head off to a ski resort for the weekend, even if we decide not to ski, we will be in the mountain.

S0upertrooper · 27/07/2022 17:13

My son lives in Switzerland, he and his partner are architects. They're visiting this weekend so I'll ask about the wooden houses and land boundaries.

Things I find interesting are they don't pay a flat fee for refuge collection, they buy refuge bags that cover the cost of collection. They don't have smoke alarms because building regulations on modern builds are so strict that fire isn't considered a risk.

Every newbuild has to have it's own personal outdoor space, ie a balcony and many traditional apartments, probably the renovated ones, have balconies retro fitted, bolted onto the outside.

Everyone has a cellar space, bomb shelter? they use for storage and if you've done national service you keep your gun but no bullets, these are issued only in emergencies.

If you visit the Lindt chocolate factory, there are free chocolates and eating too many makes you feel sick. Don't do it!!!

On the mountain side the cows really have bells and you can hear them when you go up in the cable car 🥰

It's a beautiful country, very efficient but quite formal and the most expensive country I've ever visited.

Fuwari · 27/07/2022 17:17

do Men take responsibility for cleaning, caring for their children, looking after ageing parents

My grandparents were swiss and I spent a lot of time there as a child. My grandad worked full time but would come home for lunch every day (main meal) and then do the washing up before he went back to work! He very much saw my gradma as an equal. He did half the housework, cared for us grandchildren equally, I know their finances were shared. This was back in the 70's. I have aunts/uncles, cousins there and they're all the same.

One thing I like in Switzerland is that people seem to be far less obsessed with looks, possessions etc etc. Maybe in the bigger cities it's more of a thing, but the places I stay/visit, it's all about a healthy outdoor lifestyle. Spending time with family or friends. And yes, community is a big thing. It's really nice.

Fallulah · 27/07/2022 17:22

I’m so glad I started this thread - I’m driving my other half mad reading out all the random facts to him! Thank you!

OP posts:
S0upertrooper · 27/07/2022 17:24

Another thing I love is on certain days, folk put their unwanted (but still good condition) bits and bobs out on the street for anyone to take.

Romeiswheretheheartis · 27/07/2022 18:15

I'm reading this thinking about the life I could have had - I was born there but my parents returned to the UK soon afterwards. I think I'd have loved it, I like everything I'm reading so far!

NanaNelly · 27/07/2022 18:31

I have a Swiss friend who I stay with every year and if I could ever find a way to live their permanently I would. I love Switzerland.

NanaNelly · 27/07/2022 18:37

LadyCampanulaTottington · 27/07/2022 15:20

Do you just feel really smug all the time that you live in such a beautiful, clean, well organised country?!

I wanted to answer this too. Switzerland ruins the rest of the world for you 😂 The standards are so high, the motorways are well maintained, the cities are spotless (the footpaths literally sparkle in Geneva, and I mean literally), public transport is so reliable and the outdoor amenities and facilities are superb.

Not smug but really fucking grateful.

I still can’t quite believe I was able to send my luggage ahead on the train when traveling from Zermatt to Zurich. It meant I was able to stop unexpectedly for a few days in St Moritz and just carry a small piece hand luggage with me. Two days later I collected my other suitcase in Zurich when I got off the train.

Amazing.