Moving to Switzerland

angelbabie

Hi Guys
Looking for a bit of advice. Was offered a contract position in Switzerland for 6 months. Would be leaving a permanent job to do so, know the risks involved. I think it would be a great opportunity for both the experience i would gain but also for the money I would be able to earn. I am married so my husband would not be coming with me as its only a contract position. Essentially Ill be doing this on my own. I will be working for a company in Oberdorf so i guess what i am looking for is advice. Where should i look at renting? What do i need to look out for? Anyone recommend ways to meet people?

Any advice at all appreciated:)

Jim2007

Well I've been here for 20+ years and can highly recommend it!

First of all I would suggest you get a copy of Living And Working In Switzerland, it has all the basic details you need to know about living over here.

By the way, Oberdorf is a very common name over here, so you'd need to provide more details if you need some decent feedback.

mitosis

Best of luck OP, Switzerland is brilliant for work. Not so much for nightlife and that sort of thing. They tend to head for home 21:00 / 22:00.

Jim2007

mitosis wrote: »

Best of luck OP, Switzerland is brilliant for work.

Yes the work-life balance is well respected, the working week is a bit longer, but OT is not at all common. Most years I less than 20 hours OT and I'm never called out of office hours!

angelbabie

Hi Guys,

Thanks a million for all your replies. I am going to be training in Zuchwil for a week or two so need to find somewhere, ideally a bed and breakfast for this. Then i will be based in a factory in Waldenburg. As far as i can gather this is outside Basel. I have been looking at apartments in Liestal. That would enable me access to a direct train link, i think!! im useless at reading maps so my first day or 2 i expect to get lost at least a dozen times ha ha. anyone any advice here? Ways to meet people? Is there any Irish community set up there....I am hoping to take some german classes whilst there and also maybe some other activity to keep my evenings busy? Clothes wise what should i be bringing with me?

Again any info appreciated!!!!! Exciting exciting!!!!!!

Jim2007

angelbabie wrote: »

Hi Guys,

Thanks a million for all your replies. I am going to be training in Zuchwil for a week or two so need to find somewhere, ideally a bed and breakfast for this. Then i will be based in a factory in Waldenburg. As far as i can gather this is outside Basel. I have been looking at apartments in Liestal. That would enable me access to a direct train link, i think!! im useless at reading maps so my first day or 2 i expect to get lost at least a dozen times ha ha. anyone any advice here? Ways to meet people? Is there any Irish community set up there....I am hoping to take some german classes whilst there and also maybe some other activity to keep my evenings busy? Clothes wise what should i be bringing with me?

Again any info appreciated!!!!! Exciting exciting!!!!!!

Actually Zuchwil is not that far away from where I live, so I have no reason to stay there. The only B&B I've heard of is Gästehaus-Sonne, but I have no idea of what it is like.

Yes there is a nice narrow gage line between Waldenburg and Liestal and should make a nice start to the day most of the year around. Weather wise it is going to get very cold up there soon and you can expect plenty of snow as well during the winter, so warm cloths and strong shoes - rather snow boots are the order of the day.

I hope your company is going to help you find accommodation, because sometimes it can be very difficult to get accommodation for such a short period.

Jim.

Princess Consuela Bananahammock

Bloody expensive place in my experience and even worse than the Germans for anal attention to paperwork and beurocracy. Physically beautiful though.

Jim2007

Princess Consuela Bananahammock wrote: »

Bloody expensive place in my experience and even worse than the Germans for anal attention to paperwork and beurocracy. Physically beautiful though.

When you're earning in CHFs it is not that unreasonable . And of course when you go abroad on holidays everywhere is cheap!

As for the rules and regulations, yes it is very different, the UK/Ireland has common law and like most of Europe we have civil law. For most Europeans though it is fairly normal stuff.

Princess Consuela Bananahammock

Jim2007 wrote: »

When you're earning in CHFs it is not that unreasonable . And of course when you go abroad on holidays everywhere is cheap!

As for the rules and regulations, yes it is very different, the UK/Ireland has common law and like most of Europe we have civil law. For most Europeans though it is fairly normal stuff.

True - if he saves a lot he has the potential to make it very profitable.

angelbabie

No my work is not helping me find accommodation at all, hence i guess why i am finding it so difficult. thanks for all the advice. On the last countdown now.....:eek:

Jim2007

angelbabie wrote: »

No my work is not helping me find accommodation at all, hence i guess why i am finding it so difficult. thanks for all the advice. On the last countdown now.....:eek:

Well in the worst case you could always stay in a furnished apartment in Basel and travel out there each day, until you find a better option. You can rent such apartments by the week and the public transport connections are very good.

When it comes to public transport always remember the Swiss never pay the full fare - there is always some kind of reduced ticket available, you just have to ask!

angelbabie

Jim2007 wrote: »

Well in the worst case you could always stay in a furnished apartment in Basel and travel out there each day, until you find a better option. You can rent such apartments by the week and the public transport connections are very good.

When it comes to public transport always remember the Swiss never pay the full fare - there is always some kind of reduced ticket available, you just have to ask!

Jim thank you so much. i never knew this. Have been looking at the furnished apartments and think that this will prob be my best bet for the time I am there. If i can find an apartment right beside the main train station then at most it looks like my commute will be approx 50 mins each way which isnt too bad i guess. I will wait and see anyway when i arrive what the best would be for me to do..... Should i set up an account over there? I heard that if i continue to use my Irish account ill get screwed on tax? not sure if that is correct........:eek:

Jim2007

Well as temp Swiss resident you will be paying taxes at source so unless there is something special about your situation I don't see why you'd pay more taxes... And I doubt a Swiss bank would be too excited about opening an account for you.

Better ask some more questions of whoever said this and get to the bottom of it.

angelbabie

Maybe what they were referring to was the exchange rate I guess.....not so sure...was told it work better in my favor to set up a swiss one.