Dh and I were talking today about working in geneva for a couple of years. We have two small children....

[herbgarden]

DH works for a big company who have an office in Geneva (and other places around the world) - we have a son of 2.8 years and a newborn daughter. We would re-locate in the next 6 months to a year.

I have a nice life here in the UK - part time job (as a lawyer - not a subject I can easily transfer) -both sets of willing grandparents 15 mins/40mins away. Lots of good friends and a nice established group of ante-natal friends locally.

I don't want to be a full time isolated SAHM with nothing to do. I definitely need to have a social life and things to do with the kids and get out and about (job would be nice too but think it might be out of the question). DH and I both ski so that would be a nice option for winter. Geneva is also sufficiently near to and easy to the uK to enable friends and family to visit and for us to come home easily for visits.

I don't think the company is a large office out in geneva.

What is it like for SAHM with pre-schoolers?

Thanks !!

"What is it like for SAHM with pre-schoolers? "

It's a feckin' nightmare, sorry.
I live in a different country to my family and tho I have friends they all work and have their partner's families locally so their weekends are filled up with them and I rarely get to have a conversation with anyone since my DP works 7 days a week. And I don't drive.

Is it promotion for your DP?
Do you need the extra money it would bring?
Can you wait till your DC are school-age and then try Geneva?

no thats fine.don't need the money no and can delay for a couple of years til after next promotion iyswim. are you in geneva or just abroad??

Am in Spain. (moving back to UK this year tho' after nearly 19 years away)!
I think if you wait till the DC are at school then you will enjoy it more. You'll have the network of parents that school brings and time off to learn the language/work etc.

I live in Geneva
When we moved here I had 2 pre-schoolers and did`nt work .
I found it hard at times with the language barrier away from family and friends but then I joined a few groups and met others that were in the same boat as me

There is a lot you can do with the kids
Mother and toddlers group in english if thats what you want
I found it a great support network

Groups you can go to just for you to meet up with others that are away from their own countries

Get a hold of "know it all parents" book its full of things that you can do with or without dc

All the best with the move

There'll be so many expats (and British) there surely -- it's Geneva. Find an expat forum.

Agree, pre-schoolers harder to take abroad than school age but you wouldn't be the only one in town.

my friend has moved to village near geneva and is enjoying it - her kids are all under six and two are at school. She is a very outdoors person and also very independent - very happy to spend time on her own - friends are a bonus rather than a necessity. She loves the mountains and they all ski.

The downside is that they feel bad about leaving a grandmother. The dp now has to work away more than he thought so she spends more time on her own than they planned - that would drive me mad. Its not easy to make friends quickly - it does take time. A lot of the expats with kids work. People dont go out to visit as much as they thought - economics partly and also just busy lives. I think there are concerns about the education for the kids and making friends - language barriers take time, especially when you are six.

personally, if you have a nice life here, i would stay here and try and take as many holidays as you can x

I live in a village near Geneva too. I had to read Newgirls post carefully to see if she was my friend

We moved here last year and I love it. There are lots of Expats here and there are plenty of groups to meet up with other young mums. I am kept really quite busy with all my new friends.

I agree with Niftyblue that the Know it all passport is great, we found lots of things for the DC to do.

The weather is nice at the moment and we were down at the village playarea (on the lake) where the DC played with their friends. They go to the local school and already speak a fair bit of French.

would his work cover the living costs? dh was offered a job near geneva, but when i looked at the cost of housing i was horrified, and you won't be allowed to buy a house (prob wouldn't want to if staying a few years)
a friend of dh's had recently moved over there & was paying equivalent to 2,000 pounds a month to rent a 3 bed flat!!!
dh said the salary would have covered the cost, but it just terrified me.

I hope this thread's still going as I'm also in a similar position to herbgarden, but am v nervous about pitching up in Geneva and not having anyone to play with ....

Niftyblue and MmeLindt - I'd be really interested to know which are the good areas/villages to live in if you have small children - it's not immediately obvious where the mummies hang out. thanks

herbgarden I'm also a lawyer - don't know what area you're in but have you thought about working for UN (high powered or what?!) or one of the NGO's.

sirmione
there are loads of things to do with or without DC

Geneva is full of expats all in the same boat
If you get to come over and view try and get a Re-Location agent they are pretty good at pointing you in the right direction for areas
It depends where you want to live in or near the City or further out
The trains and buses are really good and ALWAYS on time so you can live further out of town if thats what you want and still be able to get about

Sirmione
I could not say anything about the town centre, as we are a good bit out of town, about 15 mins.

I would say that first thing to do is check which side of the lake your DH's company is located on. Sounds silly, but the Mont Blanc bridge is an absolute nightmare at peak times so if he works on the left bank and you live on the right bank, he could spend hours in traffic jams.

Once you have that sussed, then check out some of the neighbouring villages. We checked out villages on the right bank, we liked Corsier, Anieres, Cologny, Collonge-Bellerive (all towards the lake) and Vessy, Veyrier, Conches (further inland).

We had a relocation agent, I would say that is almost essential here in Geneva area. They get the inside info on houses on the market. They can be on the market in the morning and let by the afternoon.

Saying that, things have gotten a bit easier here in the last couple of months in regards to real estate. A lot of the expats are being sent home so house hunting should get a bit less stressful.

Working here is pretty difficult if you have young children. The DC start school at 4yo (2 years voluntary, but most people send their DC). We have a 2 hour lunch break, from 11.30am to 1.30pm and at present Wednesday free, but that will change this year to Wednesday afternoon free.

The American International Womens Club is good here, and they have a kids club. It might be worth joining to get some contacts.

How old are your DC?