My family and I (myself, husband and two boys under 7) are soon to move to Geneva and I need some info!
His job is in Geneva, I will soon also work there hopefully but I am wondering is it best for us to live in France or Geneva or Lausanne?
I have heard Annecy is really nice.
I speak French so that's no problem and my husband is happy to commute by train or tram upto 30 mins.
Any ideas?
Our main concerns are reasonable rent, somewhere lively for the kids and us, I don't drive so a town where we can walk and of course good schools (local).
If you're both (eventually) going to work in Geneva - I don't think there's really an option. But different families, different values.
If only one of you works, you're going to get hit pretty hard with high costs (thinking health insurance that you'd actually want and housing) by living in CH. I understand quality accommodation is difficult to come by out west.
If you seek local work in France, family life in France might be more viable. And hubby gets all the commute and border crossing hassle.
Although I haven't done it myself, working as a frontalier-(a)(o)(i) could possibly be a bit of a bind - with 2 border crossings per day. I suspect that all income taxes and social securities would be paid in France.
Whatever happens, you should ensure that the employer does *all* form-filling and administration. It is a national sport in CH. Keeps the locals busy and under control, stops civil unrest, when realising what a crap deal they get from life here, if they don't earn >CHF200k/yr from their 5 jobs.
Finally, I speak some German - and lived in Germany for years before I came to Switzerland. Apparently, there are German speaking areas of Switzerland - but I haven't found one. I live in Zurich. I suspect that it is the same with French and places west of the Roesti-graben, i.e. that prior knowledge of French is of little use.
If you do not drive and want to work in Geneva it would be easier for you to live there. But expensive!
There are reasonabble commutes from France to Geneva, but I am not sure what they are like by public transport. The borders are very easily crossed, so don't worry about that being much of a hassle. Rents will be significantly cheaper in France.
I would say Annecy and Lausanne are too far a commute for a job in Geneva, but that is of course a personal opinion.
There are lots of little villages up the lake from Geneva (in the direction of Lausanne) that have public transport and good schools too. I live up that way.
As far as I can tell, the French here is a LOT closer to real French than SwissGerman is to High German, so your French is going to do you a world of good. For me the language barrier has been the hardest point. You're miles ahead already!
You may want to check with your husband's work contract. Sometimes companies restrict you to living in the canton that the office is in to avoid tax/paperwork nightmares.
Yes the direct train route from Lausanne to Geneva is doable, but only if you live-work directly at the train station. The bigger commute is just getting to-from the station. Keep this in mind. I find the local transport in GVA and Lausanne not very time efficient. Annecy is nice, but as others said, probably quite a haul by train or car, esp. if an accident.
Also, if you are both working full time, keep in mind the crazy local school hours, which are not at all compatible with work schedules, ie. 2 hours for lunch, etc.
If France is what you're after and Annecy and Annemasse don't appeal, then you can always look at the dormitory towns in the Pays de Gex - like Divonne.
But you're going to have to compromise. Bear in mind accommodation within 30 minutes commute from Geneva, whether in Switzerland or in France won't be the most reasonable to rent. And the towns in the Pays de Gex and those between Geneva and Lausanne (Nyon, Rolle, Morges etc), though lovely villages, are not only relatively expensive, but not that lively.
There's a lot that's been written on this forum about working in Geneva and living in France or in the lakeshore towns of Vaud. here are just a few:
What an incredible example of " I-don't-have-a-clue-what-I-am-talking-about-but-I-feel-an-urgent-need-to-post-a-reply-anyway "...
@Marley: Basically, forget about everything that has been said in the above post. You will find much better quality information in the Forum at any time.
Maybe a useful piece of advice: Check first where in GVA your husband will be working (left vs. right bank; center vs. outskirts) since traversing GVA can be as much a bitch as getting into it from outside (intra-urban public transportation is slooow); then focus on a suitable area where you would like to live; than check whether your bucks will allow you to live where you would like to; and finally: get lucky to find something there...
Doing this in another order is IMHO rather pointless
That is just a load of nonsense that is best ignored. The difference between German in Germany and Swiss German dialects is considerable, but that is not the case for the French spoken in Switzerland. Quite the contrary, the French spoken is Switzerland is very clear and easy to understand and anyone speaking French gets by perfectly well. It's much easier telling if someone is from Marseille or Toulouse than from Genè€ve or Lausanne.
Whatever is 30 min or less from Geneva, will carry the same prices. Lausanne is not much cheaper, and finding lodging is as hard as finding a needle in a haystack. The villages in between - Nyon, Gland, Rolles, Morges - are expensive too... I've seen apartments of 3 rooms (with 2 bedrooms) priced at 2000 CHF as starting price in Morges - and that is not unusual. A nice 4 rooms in center Lausanne starts at 3000.-.
To find cheaper prices, you need to move off the lake, or into France Voisine...
It's true that Gland/Nyon/Morges are quite expensive, but the tax savings you might make by living in these villages (Canton Vaud) might compensate the (still) high living costs.
They are favourites for a lot of people working in Geneva as the commute by train is really easy and they still have a good local infrastructure. You can also look slightly "north" of these places and commute to geneva with Park & Rail.
Beware of the taxes if you plan to live in the canton of geneva, and check on homegate.ch systematically.Geneva's taxes are amongst the highest in Switzerland.