Switzerland

[rockingreindeer]

Hello,

I have convinced myself that I want to move to Switzerland and wondering if I need a reality check from those who actually live there. I am a teacher with specialism in boarding so would be looking to get a job in one of the international boarding schools in French speaking part. My husband is a science teacher with EU passport. My French is good, his pretty non existent. We have a 2.5 year old son, and looking to either move next year, or have another baby and go the following year. I read maternity leave isn't very long so it might work out better to have another one here if we decide to try for no2.

We love mountains and skiing, and I would love my child/ren to speak 2 languages. Is Switzerland all it's cracked up to be? Is it good for families? Is it hard to make friends? Is the quality of life as high as it's made out to be?

Thanks to anyone who takes the time to reply!

We’ve been in Switzerland for 5yrs. We also have a 2.5yr old who was born here. Honestly we love it and can’t really imagine moving back to the UK unless we had too.

We enjoy the lifestyle a lot. Like you, we enjoy the skiing and mountains and it’s such a privilege to have that so close. It’s also so well situated to explore other parts of Europe too. Children are brought up going outside in all types of weather and independence is encouraged from a young age (you’ll see 4/5yr olds walking to kindergarten alone!). Summers are that bit longer and warmer than the UK which also makes a difference.

However the high cost of living is not a myth! A salary offer that may sound amazing to someone before moving might not go as far as they think. The rent on our 2 bed apartment is £2,500 per month, childcare is also expensive, we pay £2,200 per month. Health insurance is around £800 per month for the 3 of us. You can see how it adds up! Mat leave is 3 months, often companies will let you take up to an additional 6 months but it’s usually completely unpaid.

We live in a very international area and we’ve found making friends relatively easy, especially since having DS. I know a lot of people say the Swiss are quite hard to crack and I admit we don’t really know many Swiss at all! It’s very easy to get by on English here but we’re really trying to push our German now.

Moving as a British citizen is hard post Brexit as a company has to prove they can’t find a Swiss or EU employee. A lot of places aren’t willing to to that. However if your DH can get a job then you would be eligible for a residents/work permit as his spouse and you would then find it easier.

Happy to answer any other questions you have!

Thanks so much for your reply!

The cost is definitely a consideration. I have no idea what 2 teachers would earn in an international school. One would hope enough to live on. Childcare is a lot. Is that full time nursery?

The reason for not applying for jobs there this year is to potentially try for another baby and stay for mat leave here where it would seem more favourable. 3-9 months is shorter than the UK.

Do you have friends who moved with a say, 5/6 year old? Did they integrate well? I hear schools are very good there? I mean normal schools rather than international schools.

Thanks again!

Yes that is full time. We will send DS to a Swiss school, we plan to stay long term so feel it’s important that he is integrated. I hear the education system is very good here. 4-6yr is kindergarten and they don’t start formal learning until 1st grade but I believe they catch up very quickly. It’s worth noting the kindergarten is only mornings and the full way through school they always come home for lunch. So even though DS will start KG next year, we’ll still have a chunk of childcare costs for lunch and afternoon care.

The oldest I know of moving here is 4yrs and within 6 months she was speaking German like a local. There is a high proportion of children who don’t speak the local language as a mother tongue is Switzerland (maybe more in the big cities) so there is a lot of language support for them. At 5/6yrs I would definitely go for a Swiss school.

I finished high school there and my parents still live there
Switzerland is the apple of my eye and I wish I never left but now because I am a sahm and my husband has his own business but no degree, he wouldn't be able to get a job there very easily

You will not be dissapointed
Would you consider Basel? It's a really really really brilliant place. I went to the ISB amazing school
My teachers there were the best I ever had

My Dd was 5 1/2 when we moved from London to the German speaking partof Switzerland. She's been in public school ever since and is about to complete the matura (like IB) this year. The first few months were tough and she was glad to find english speaking friends, but certainly after a year she had no major language problems and she integrated quickly.

There's a good book on Swiss schools - Going Local by Margaret Oertig. Some of my friends here who are teachers from the uk really don't like the ideology of the public schools (eg little praise, no reward for effort, no individualisation, rote learning, negative marking). But there's lots of positives too, I'd read about it before you decide!