Great job ! Great city ?

Accomodation, House and Garden
1
So, I've been offered a great job, pay (by London standards) isn't bad and other half and I thought we'd better visit (with non-tourist eyes) for a place to live.

Have to say, not terribly impressed with Geneva and utterly shocked by the price of rents. We've looked down Le Cote and Nyon is lovely (if expensive), but just wondered if the French side would be a better and more reasonable option for 2 guys and a cat ? Thonon-L-B, Evian L-B and Yvoire look idyllic, but are they "just" tourist towns and are there any disadvantages about living on the French side and working on the Swiss ?

Need a bit of jardin pour kitty.

2
I can think of two reasons: Taxes (usually lower is Switzerland), and the commute time. The language issue is usually more prominent in France and Germany as compared to Switzerland. Administratively, there might be many small issues to face unless you are an EU citizen.

3
Hello and congratulations on your new job!!

Having lived in Geneva for 4 years and very familiar with the "tourist" towns you mentioned, my 2 cents is as follows....if your job is in Geneva, find a flat in Geneva, Nyon, Morges....unless you love spending hours stuck in traffic commuting; there is no easy "direct" public transportation to those town unless you want to take a boat ride every day, and even then, you are subject to their schedules

You are absolutely right, rent prices are crazy in Geneva, but you can find decent places with a garden for the kitty, just be patient.

Laifu

4
Yvoire "a tourist town" are you kidding? It's overrun with tourists and tour buses all through the Summer. Evian is less touristy and Thonon hardly at all but as BhaskarMehta says, the commute is horrible - there's no motorway on that side of the lake so it's an hour by car - even more in heavy traffic. Public transport is over two hours by train or trains and bus. Using the boat might save you 30 mins but then as laifu said, you're tied down to their schedules. If you're prepared to commute those times then that opens up places in Switzerland further out from La Cote and where rents will be cheaper than Geneva/Nyon and the commute much easier.

You don't say why you weren't terribly impressed with Geneva but if Geneva failed to impress I can't imagine why Evian or Thonon would hold more appeal for you. And they're cut off even from the rest of France and Thonon has always struck me as an unattractive place.

If you can/want to live in France and work in Switzerland there are parts of France much closer than these places especially on the other side of the lake between the lake and the Jura which are only 15 mins or 20 mns drive from Geneva by car though the closer you get, the higher the rents. Unfortunately the Lac Leman region, on the Swiss side at least, commands high rents.

Housing crunch in French-speaking Switzerland

There have been quite a few threads here about working and living and finding accommodation in France so please have a browse with the search function.

eg

Renting in France, Geneva Area

Living in CH or in FR