I'm new to the forum. I'm a Malaysian planning to relocate from Singapore to Zurich in mid September. I'm very nervous about it as I've never traveled this far and to a place this foreign in my life!
Anyway, I'm currently hunting around for accommodation as I understand that house hunt is a pain in Zurich. I plan to stay in Zurich and travel out daily with public transport to Baar, where my "office" will be. So.. any advice on which area I should be hunting about as I understand that it take about 1 hour by train from central Zurich to Baar..
I am sure you will settle in just fine. Zurich is very organised liked Singapore!
I recommend areas well connected to the main station. I am in Sihlcity (8045 Zurich) and really like it. The train takes 3 minutes to the main station, there are lots of expats and in general it is quite lively. Another area that is very close by is Wiedikon. Also well connected to the main station.
I recommend searching for an apartment on the website comparis.ch
They pull adverts from all the major realestate websites. You can then look at the mapped results for apartments close to the main station.
Thanks for your response! Yes I've been looking around from Comparis! It's just that I don't exactly know the travel time between places and how does the tramp/train in Zurich work.. I wish they would come up with a search criterion that searches by train/tramp station and a fixed radius away from that station! (That's how I searched my place in Singapore haha)
I will take your advice and look for those few areas.. my friend recommended Enge.. but it's very expensive there >.<
Another alternative that I have is to forget about public transport altogether and get a car.. but I still havent decided if that's a good choice as I am only on a 2-year secondment...
Firstly, the travel from Zurich to Baar is definitely not an hour. From the main train station (HB) it is about 20/25 minutes. Why in particular do you want to live in Zurich? The canton of Zug, in which Baar is located has lots of nice places to stay, has a big expat community and will cut your travel time. If there is a particular reason for Zurich, then you could look at Thalwil, Horgen or Wollishofen, all on the lake and within a 15 minute (or so) train journey to Baar. In addition to Homegate, there is another good website: I forget the link, but search for 'alle immobilien' Good luck!
Take a look at Thalwil, a suburb of Zurich on the main train line to Zug and Baar. There are plenty of trains from there and it's by the lake and much quieter and cheaper than the city and seems to be "expat friendly" too.
Thanks for your responses, other than Homegate I have been using Comparis as well, which is very useful!
I prefer to stay in Zurich as my main office is in Zurich. It's just that my client's office is in Baar (which I will need to travel to and fro for 6 months in a year). Other than that, I heard Zug is not a "too happening" place to live it...
I checked from google map and noted that train from Zurich HB to Baar is indeed 20 to 25 minutes via the "IR" line (which I'm not sure how it works). However, I also have to account for the travel time between the place that I will live in and Zurich HB.. Most places I noted that it takes approximately 15min to 20min (door-to-door travel time) to Zurich HB....Unless I stay really near a train/bus/tram that connects me direct to Zurich HB..
I'm also quite confused with the transportation system in Zurich haha.. and am still thinking if a car is necessary since I will only be in Zurich for a 2-year secondment...
it may interest you to know that me and my flatmate are moving out of a flat around mid/end September, which is ideally located: a 2 minute walk from Sihl city and is also very close to the Saalesporthalle and Enge Stations (so transport and shopping will be taken care of).
We might also be giving away some furniture, which hasn't yet been taken from here:
Hi Sgt Bilko, thanks for offering, your place does look good! HOwever, I'm still waiting for my working visa to be approved which may only happen some time early Oct.. so until then, I cant book my flight yet >.<
+1 for Thalwil. I live there myself and work in Baar. Its a "major" station so plenty of train connections. 9min to Zurich HB, 14min to Zug on the train.
Suburbs to the north and south of Thalwil along Lake Zurich are also great, but will add to your travel time or be less convenient in terms of connections.
Depending on your lifestyle, Zug is also an option. Its not as boring as people say it is, it really isnt. I find the lakeside there to be underrated, and the locals like it that way
Is your office located right next to the station in Baar? Changing in Baar or Zug for a bus will extend your travel time even more and hence you might want to live closer to Baar / Zug or consider getting a car. For example, my journey from Thalwil to the office takes 40 minutes door to door when you consider the waiting time for the bus connection. Its much quicker and convenient for me to drive (just under 25 min).
Some of the trains do not need to go to Zurich HB, but rather are direct trains to Baar. Others, you can change at Thalwil or another station. This site http://www.sbb.ch/en/home.html will help you plan your routes and give accurate travel times between the stations. The trains will either be S-bahn, that is commuter trains that stop at every station or express trains that only go between major towns.
The smaller communities are nice and cheap, but you have to keep in mind that most of them are utterly and mind-numbingly BORING. Everything is closed by 6 pm, and and the streets are utterly deserted. This is not a problem if you have a family and have plenty of things to occupy your evenings, as most people on this forum appear to, but if you're on your own like I am, this will get very boring very soon. You'll probably end up commuting to Zurich for your entertainment anyway, so why not live there to begin with?