Currently holed up in Oerlikon and awaiting the family's arrival in April!
I have had a very brief look around various towns and really liked the feel of Meilen and Kusnacht, especially between the train line and the lake. I'm not unduly worried about a lake view or even proximity, but a combination of tradition, vibrancy and relaxed feel in addition to an easily reached english-speaking family group are there any other areas you can recommend I look at?
If it helps, I'll be looking for a 3 or 4 bedroomed house or ground floor apartment with enclosed garden (I know, I know....a tall order & wish list!)
Hello, I know someone who is leaving his 3 bed, 2 bathroom, ground flr, with garden apartment, its in Kusnacht up the hill, bus route direct to Stadelhofen/Bellvue...I beleive its about 2900 per month, its a modern apartment.
Please let me know if you want more info, he is moving June.
Lee, I moved out of Zurich city to Kusnacht recently and I have to say its the best decision I've ever made. Being so close to the lake even in winter is wonderful. I cant wait for summer.
Other towns you should check out are Zollikon, Herrliberg, Feldmeilen, Erlenbach and Mannedorf. They all have regular connections by the sbahn into the city and are just as charming.
Gardens and houses are extremely hard to come by but keep looking on homegate. Some gems do pop up on there from time to time - especially March - its the time where lots of people give up their apartments. I checked it religiously every day and followed up on every promising lead. Expect to pay about 2800 CHF and up - and anything with a good view of the lake for the size of house that you are looking for will bring the price up to at least 3.5K. Good luck.
We live in Uetikon am See, arguably the poor cousin of the Goldcoast and find it very friendly (there is also an English language preschool here, ask others for comments/quality ect). The further you are from Zurich the cheaper the rent and friendlier the people. Two (Swiss) friends who were born there and went to school there have recently moved to Stäfa for this very reason. My first year here was in Erlenbach and I have never encountered so many pushy, rude people (mostly customers in shops, or jumping ques in Migros and stealing your carpark, you have been waiting patiently 5 min for rrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr).
Also have a look at SBB timetable for the S7 train, it is express from Meilen2Zurich and has interconnecting buses to the other villages beforehand, so not a lot slower than the normal milkrun from Erlenbach.
Have a look at comparis.ch to compare tax rates between villages.
Hi all... Thanks for the comments it's good to know we seemed to have picked quite nice areas. My only concerns on a couple of the areas are that it seems quite hilly so might be a little hard for my wife with 2 little kiddies to push out as often as she'd like
Are there many "Quaint" areas further north away from the gold or silver coast I should know about?
Thanks guys....not sure where the 1800 comment came from, but if you find a 4.5 house in Kusnacht with Garden, lake view in-house masseuse, etc then I'll take 2
Budgets seem fine, I had expected to pay around 3-4,000 so hopefully will be able to find somewhere in that range
Lee, another thing to add to your house hunting equation: Taxes.
Depending on your situation, you may find significant savings in a lower-tax Gemeinde even if the house prices are higher.
Generally, the towns along the Gold Coast have low tax rates; for 2009 Zumikon is the lowest with 73. Küsnacht is 4th at 77, Meilen is 13th at 82. (Not including church tax.)
When looking at the cost of housing, look a the full picture.
I know this thread is a little older. But I would love to get in touch with young families in and around Mannedorf as we are moving with our two little one (2 year and 5 months) from London to Mannedorf in a couple of weeks.
I do not know if I will find this transition easy since we live in Fulham and moving to a village seems at the moment a little "scary".