Do you live in Switzerland? I have questions…

[Fallulah]

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?!

Its things like this that make it possible to live without a car. You can drop your luggage and skis to the train station the day before for your Winter holiday, and then travel hassle-free to your ski resort. Many hotels advertise they will collect your luggage for you, so you can arrive at your hotel with your luggage already there!

Are the Swiss very outdoorsy people?

I'm loving it too OP. We should all be more Switzerland.

Yes for the most part I would agree with some of the comments here that they aren't materialistic and are more focused on family and nature (obviously there are exceptions)

I worked 13 years in ticino, the italian cantone of Switzerland. Very high wages. Lived over the border in Italy so money went a long way..
Swiss are strict, weird, funless. In my opinion..
Hated the italians and vice versa.....

I used to work for a Swiss company but in the London office. During a business trip, I bought the wrong tram ticket. I was discussing the price with a colleague and we realised I had accidentally paid about 3CHF less than I should have. Well... he walked me to the station so that I could pay the difference!!

Helloooooo fellow Geneva peeps 😀 not much to add other than schools are excellent and university is very cheap, well worth considering for adventurous UK students.

I love the fact the country seems to move like clockwork, that there are rules for everything. It all just seems so clear cut.

My friend moved to Switzerland a good while ago and seems to have a fantastic life, she loves it.

She told me a lot of little bits and it just sounded so different from the UK but so so interesting. They don't have cars, no need for them she said. She also learned Swiss German and said that in the part she lives in some people wouldn't talk to her in English at all, even if fluent, so she took classes and learned quickly.

She also said something about the school/work system. That you don't just go get a job in a shop for example, there are courses/training you have to do and that qualifications from elsewhere need to be topped up with the Swiss equivalent. I can't quite remember though

It sounded like a fascinating place, I'd love to visit.

This is the most interesting thread I’ve read on here for about five years 😂Who knew it was such a fascinating country?

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

I’m intrigued by this as in the UK there were so many who were exempt from wearing them for one reason or another.

I love Switzerland (just skiing holidays I’ve never lived thrrr).
But my friend (who is black British), hated it. She said the racism was far worse than anything she’d experienced here and she felt very unwelcome, she lasted about 4 months. She said the diversity was incredibly poor.

Where I live there weren’t any exemptions. You either wore a mask or stayed at home.

I’m also live in the French speaking part of Switzerland, the lifestyle is lovely and I too am very grateful to be able live here. We ski every weekend in winter and spend summers in/by the lake with its crystal clear water.

I chuckled at some of the stories on here re rules. I’ve not been fined or reported by neighbors but it does deffo happen.

Some other random facts…

• We paid higher “rubbish tax” when our kids were under 3 on the premise that they were using nappies

• some pets can only be sold/owned in pairs

• there’s a tax for owning a dog

• there’s a service around Xmas time called “Nez Rouge” (Red Nose) where if you’ve driven on a night out but then decide to have a drink, you call the Nez Rouge and they send two people out to you, so that one can then drive you and your car home

• some supermarkets close between 12-2pm during the week. We are lucky and have a small one near us that opens on a Sunday morning, but this is really quite rare.

• My kids’ school starts at 8:33 in the morning and finishes at 11:56 for lunch

• there is an annual siren test in February each year. Totally random but loads of public sirens go off for a few minutes, to check that they still work, in case there’s ever a national/local disaster/war/whatever

• occasionally a marching band walks through our village at about 5am playing their songs. I haven’t been able to work this one out tbh. Must be due to some local/national holiday/tradition but has always struck me as a bit contradictory to the rule-abiding, peace-appreciating culture otherwise!

It is a bit of a funny place at times, with old fashioned ways. But there is something very special about it too. Hop Suisse!!

My favourite random fact about Switzerland, told to me by a Swiss resident is that if you fail your driving test three times, you have to be seen by a psychologist to explain why before you can take your test again.

Yes. My friend told me this also when her son was doing his test.

It’s beautiful , but the banking system is morally corrupt, the neutrality (presented as being about peace, but more about - we’ll do business with anyone) I find a bit hypocritical tbh. They’re very ready to tell you off about something you’ve done, but no one wants to discuss why it is they can pay such low taxes. And they didn’t recognise intellectual property rights for a long time , so basically just ripped off other people’s inventions and produced more cheaply (at beginning if industrial revolution). There was a huge influx after the Arab spring , as people looking for safe havens for their dodgy £££ rushed out of conflict areas. (Lived there briefly as a child)

A lot of these facts can be applied to my life in small town Germany- obviously not the high cost of living though - and we get Amazon!! But kids freedom, community feel, no noise on Sundays - we love it!

Great thread! Lots of interesting facts. I think Switzerland sounds my kind of place.

Wow sign me up for Switzerland!!

Is it a place worth going to on holiday? We don’t ski …

Yes. It’s great. And I don’t ski either.

Excellent speed tracking. Staying in France/Basel border we drove all over...France, Germany and CH. After a nice drive to see friend in Zurich we didn't really se we'd gone over the speed limit. Holiday over we arrive home to an envelope with a nice little Swiss speeding ticket for about 20 euros. Had to be paid by some IBAN system which cost £25. My friend in CH worked in a bank there so thankfully took care of it.

I also recall the recycling system on many visits. My friend was meticulous with getting newspapers bundled together and tied. All Boxed folded tiny and neat in a really OCD type fashion. I would get it wrong all the time and my friend was constantly rearranging what I threw in the normal bin that should be recycled and cleaned. He said the recycling was weighing to pay less as it's chargeable and about getting it right to avoid fines.

It is simply wonderful and there is lots to do in summer too-lake swimming and hot springs were my favourite

BUT a meal for 2 in a fairly standard restaurant can easily be £80 so take a lot of spending money!!

Waves to all GE and VD mumsnetters!

I also have to say that the health care is amazing. DC 1 has SN, and the care he gets is excellent. We are eternally grateful.

We do own a car, but we also have train passes. Children get a pass where for 30CHFS a year (first 2 children, subsequent children are free) they can travel with their parents for free. So we often have days out, via the trains.
We don't ski but are planning to rectify that. We do love sledging, snow shoeing and being in the snow generally though.

We have four proper seasons, which is just wonderful. I advise guests to avoid November, which tends to be grey, but all other months are usually breathtaking

some pets can only be sold/owned in pairs

Guinea-pigs -they should introduce this rule in the UK too