Living in Geneva?

[MoovinMama]

Hi, I'm a first-time poster and I hope someone here can help me.

My family and I are currently living in Sydney, but are considering a move to Geneva. Can anyone tell me the best places for a young family to live when mum has to go to work in the city centre?

My DSs are both quite little still, so I'd like to make the commute fairly short (who doesn't?!) On the other hand, we don't want to be stuck in an apartment block in the middle of the city if we can help it.

Does anyone have any ideas of areas we could check out? It's a bit tricky from the other side of the world!

MM

Bumping for you. Good luck.

I moved to Geneva area about 4 months ago.

First, Geneva is a fab city, particularly with children.

The most important thing about living and commuting in Geneva is which side of the lake, and the Mont Blanc bridge you work on.

If you want a short commute you have to live on the same side of the bridge. Otherwise you can spend up to 30 mins extra just getting to and over the bridge.

Once you have that sussed out, you can start looking in ernest. Real estate is very expensive in Geneva so you will have to factor that into your budget if you decide to come here.

There are lots of little towns just outside Geneva that are great to live in. The public transport system is very good and you might find it easier to take a tram or bus into work.

You can CAT me if you need any more information.

Thanks, MmeLindt - I'm going to go off and work out how to CAT now!

If you don't have CAT then you can email me at kindersurprise at t-online (dot) de

Hi I lived on Blvd des Tranchees and worked near UN and it was fine. About 20 min commute including crossing the bridge. Tranchees is very close to both the old town and shopping areas (walking dist) and I preferred that to living out by the UN which is rather soul-less. Agree that the trams are amazing so anywhere on a direct tram line to your work should be fine. I had friends who lived in Mies just outside Geneva which was really adorable little village but only do-able when commuting by car (I tried getting a train there once - nightmare, easier by far to go to Lausanne which was 60kms away!).
Your work permit will probably restrict you to living in the canton of Geneva which means you can't stray too far around the lake. Mies is about the limit of Geneva from memory then you cross into Vaud.
Out by the French border can also be a good option if you can fairly easily commute by car and have parking at work as this means you can easily cross into France for the weekend markets and cheaper supermarket shopping.
Good luck!