Hello everyone,
It is me again… I posted about moving to Switzerland and working in Konofilgem recently, most of you have recommened me to live in Bern or Thun. What is the best one? considering cost of living, things to do, hospital, incoming taxes, public transport, so on…
Also, are there some specific neighborhoods as the best choice?
I have no clue! 
I am from São Paulo - BR. It is really a huge city.
Thanks,
This new thread is just as flawed as the previous one. You need to give people some perspective of who you are, what you like/dislike, some constraints like budget, commute time et cetera.
Please mention what your budget is. Note that most landlords here expect that you do not pay more rent than 30% of your salary.
Also as Komsomolez said, some more information on your requirements would be helpful.
Hello and welcome.
Bern and Thun are in the same canton, so income taxes should vary only a little from one municipality to the other.
Best one? It all depends on what you’re looking for. Thun is in the mountains, Bern is a larger city which may be a little more cosmopolitan…errr, less closed to foreigners.
Public transport. It all depends how you live your life. From 6h00 to 20-21h00 service is guaranteed almost anywhere. Earlier or later, frequency in public transport goes down, unless you live in a city center.
There are no bad neighborhoods around here. There are places with some problems, like living too close to some train stations, or an apartment complex with too low rent prices. But, it’s one or two blocks, not a “neighborhood”.
Well, this is Switzerland. It offers a lot in terms of outdoor life and…that’s it. It’s a calm place to relax and work uninterrupted. About “things to do”, we’re surrounded by lively places around Europe. Also, it’s easy to get on a plane to travel to a lively place around the world.
I’m an athlete who embraces a healthy lifestyle. I enjoy calm and peaceful environments and, in terms of activities, I love going to the gym daily, visiting parks, exploring museums, going to the movie theater, and meeting new people.
As for my budget, I’m still working on estimating my costs, but I’d say overall it’s approximately 4,000 …
I am looking for appartments around 1,200.
I couldn’t find more information about the transportation monthly pass… but it looks like from bern to konofilgen by train it is around 6,00 one trip. So 12,00 daily.
Personally I like Thun because it’s on the lake. But then I’m a water lover.
There are not so many “parks” here - Switzerland is basically one big park!
Some landlords will look at your salary and do not rent cheaper apartments to higher incomes so that these remain available for people with a lower income.
1’200 francs is on the lower boundary of rents for studios/1 bedroom apartments. Anyway, it should be possible to find an apartment at that price. However, many times lower rents are linked to the need to have a car to reach the place, or older windows/heating system, etc.
An alternative is to share a flat, that allows to rent a nicer and more convenient apartment, garden/nice balcony, a clothes washing machine in the apartment, floor heating, and other things that make life easier.
That’s right, that’s the 1/2 price for the ticket available when you buy a 1/2 price card for 190 CHF/year. 12 x 20 working days a month = 240 CHF. There must be a monthly ticket that should be a bit lower than 240, but it includes unlimited travels within the paid zones. And, there’s the all inclusive ticket for 440 CHF/month which allows travel in all Switzerland.
Which languages do you speak?
Switzerland is home to 200k Portuguese. Apparently French is much easier to understand for them than German so most live in the French speaking areas. Fribourg is perhaps the fastest to get to Konolfingen, just shy of one hour one way by train.
Got it!
Thank you!
I speak Portuguese, Spanish and English… Indeed, some colleagues told me the same thing. I don’t think so, Bern and Thun are near to Konolfingen around 20min. I also compared the train from Fribourg to Konolfingen, the cost is like a double.
As a Non-EU citizen, the OP needs to live in the canton they work in, so canton Bern. Fribourg is out unless they apply for special permission.
An annual ticket usually costs the same as nine monthlies. But it’s probably better to go the monthly route first to avoid costly mistakes.
There are two types of “systems”:
One, a train ticket from A to B, a monthly is called Streckenabo, a half fare ticket is no use here.
Two, for specific zones, that’ll be a Libero ticket, not sure if the half fare is of use here. You can use any type of public transport in the zone(s) your ticket covers, the more zones the higher the price.
Zones and the Libero Verkehrsverbund:
The Libero Verkehrsverbund is the cooperation of all types of public traffic in the Greater Bern area. Its tickets cover the public traffic (bus, tram, and train) in the zone(s) you chose. Bern city is one zone, the surrounding areas additional zones. For instance Ostermundigen to the east and Bümpliz to the west are in their separate zones, if you wanted to get from Ostermundigen via the city to Bümpliz you’d need a ticket for all three zones.
This needs clarification. I’m referring to monthly/annual abos with the above, for simple one-way and return tickets the half fare card applies in both cases.