Life as a single parent in Geneva?

[fizzfriday]

Just that really! I have two dds (5 & 9) and am tempted by the year-round outdoor activities, very good public schools, safe towns, opportunities to learn one or more new languages etc. I would plan on living over the border in France - perhaps Ain in a town like Divonnes-les-bain.

I do not have any family support on the UK - my parents live overseas and are elderly and I have no strong desire to return to the country where I was raised. I've been in the UK for over 20 years and life here is ok. I work in the London and receive an excellent salary but high rents are hampering my ability to purchase a home - living further out is not an option for many reasons, notwithstanding the prohibitive cost of childcare.

The children's father, an alcoholic prone to violent outbursts, has little involvement and I left as it was generally a very abusive relationship.

He is unreliable, takes interest in the children only when it suits him and is generally, by his own admission, a poor parent. He has stated that he would be supportive of an overseas move within Europe since he does not see the girls much anyway.

I have sole charge of the girls and always did even when he lived with us. The girls flit between disliking him and craving his love and attention. For these reasons there is no formal contact arrangement.

I have lovely friends who occasionally help out with childcare. We meet as much as possible but they have their own families and lives of course.
Weekends can feel very lonely.

Aside from the high cost of living which I have already looked into, do you have insights into what life might be like for a single parent?

No idea on the single parents aspect but I would recommend joining the FB group RIFT frontaliers for people working across the Franco-Swiss border.

Hi, are you familiar with the area (Gva/France), do you have friends there who can fill you in on life in general, work opportunities, schools etc.?

Do your dds speak French? 9 is getting towards being old to easily pick up a new language whilst fitting into a new school system without a significant level of support and a bumpy first year.

I live near Geneva, though am not a single parent.

Child care in Switzerland is expensive and in public schools kids generally go home for lunch and have Wednesday afternoons off so you would need to pay for lunch club (if there’s places) and before/after school. Where I live this depends on your income but it would cost us c. Chf 2k per month for 4 days a week 8-6 for our 2 DC. Wednesdays you might need to make other arrangements. School holidays camps near me are usually only 10-4 and cost chf500 per child per week.

What do you do for work? You need a permit to work in Switzerland, even if you live in France. You would need a flexible and supportive employer (and line manager) to enable you to cover sick days, school appointments etc.

I would say you need a salary of chf150k min for the 3 of you to enjoy it.

I would do it now rather than later otherwise your 9 year old could struggle to catch up, particularly with German which starts at 9. Swiss local schools are good at providing langusge support for foreigners... academically your dc would probably be ahead, the Swiss system starts slow but picks up pace at about 10. This would mean your eldest can get to grips with French and not worry too too much about the academic side.

We love it here, but the costs are not for the faint hearted. I would say go for it but only if the finances work out.

There are Geneva expat / mum groups on Facebook, you’d get some good info there.