Is living in Switzerland that bad?

Daily Life, Swiss News and General Topics
21
You can nip a lot of potential problems in the bud if you find the right apartment and location. When renting an apartment, make sure:

- it has it's own washer and dryer in the apartment

- it's quiet and not bordering a main street

- it has a sunny balcony that's somewhat private

- it's within walking distance of a grocery store, even a small one

- it's within walking distance of public transportation, preferably an S-Bahn station

I know that finding a decent apartment here is one of life's biggest hurdles, but we always managed the above and it made life so much easier.

22
Come to Switzerland. We have mountains. They rock.

23
And if you see "Fam Bünzli" written on any of the other letter boxes, run away as fast as possible.

24
this chick likes shopping and getting her nails done so shes probably not a huge outdoor buff.

if youre coming here for work/study you better like what youre doing.

come over anyway, you picked the perfect spot as basecamp for eurotripping. if all else fails you walk away with a bunch of life experience.

25
You should move to Zug.

I personally guarantee your happiness.

cheers

SC

26
It's a new country. Things are different here. You'll get used to it and find new things to enjoy.

Come on over and don't worry about it.

27
What do you mean now ?

28
Mediocre service? Where do you shop? I'd kill for service as good as that!

To be fair, even parts of London are dead quiet on the weekend. Go to the financial district on a Sunday and you might well be the only person there. It's quite eerie. But yes, even Zurich (as you say, the largest city in Switzerland) is... tiny.

29
Ah yes. The bottles of "Thunderbird" shared with student mates before going down to the Student Union bar...

30
Shopping? They even bring the shop to you here.

31
Why automatically assume OP needs it. Bizarre.

OP, I would not come for shopping nor nails, but I don't really do either.

I would come because it can be really nice. And it's not the fab Strawberry&Cream Lindt trouffle in my mouth talkin' (bought 40% cheaper outside of CH).

32
Not gonna lie. The shopping is TERRIBLE! The selection is awful and so are the prices. I can never find any clothes in Switzerland, unlike the US where I'm like a kid in a sweet shop at the Malls. It is VERY different.

I get all my clothes when in the UK or US. If you can do regular trips to London then you'll be ok. I also do online shopping from the UK, but it takes a while to arrive!

33
Much easier to go shopping in Paris, Milan and London- with cheap hops on the many low cost airlines or high speed trains- than back to NYC- if you find the choice here a bit limited. As said above, Switzerland will be what you make of it- and only you can decide that. Could be very exciting to hop on train or plane to different countries to go shopping, no?

If you can't survive without shopping on Sunday, then Switzerland is not for you and neither is most of Europe, apart from the UK (but as said, cheap flights to London or other UK towns mean you can hop there for week-ends whenever you feel like it).

34
I'm not from the US, but I was born and grew up in a large metropolitan city in Asia. My first experience living in Europe was in Germany, which is not that different from Switzerland. It was indeed depressing in the beginning, e.g. having shops closed on Sundays. But it's also given me opportunities to explore some other things, like enjoying to the city parks, hiking, etc.. especially in Switzerland where you just can't resist the beautiful nature

35
Well, I think everyone experiences life differently. And, naturally, everyone would experience life in Switzerland differently as well.

It's true that the shopping here can be a bit depressing when compared to the US -- not only because of the terrible selection but also because of the high prices. You mentioned that you'll be living in the Biel area, which I know nothing about. But I do personally think that the Zurich area, in particular, is a bit biased in favor of the rich. e.g. There are a lot of upscale stores to choose from, but not many mid-priced stores.

So if you enjoy shopping and have the money to do it here, then you might enjoy living here... especially if you don't mind not being able to shop on Sundays or after 5:00 pm on Saturdays.

I went through a year-long phase of "lost puppy/homesick syndrome" after moving here. And what I found to help me get past that the most were 1) Learning the language (or some of it at least), and 2) Making a circle of friends that I really connected well with. Both of those took some time, but with a little effort, you too will get there.

36
I didn't, I'm not

37
Living in Switzerland is not bad at all. It is all about changing your attitude to things. A bit of "girlie" perspective - whatever used to be a routine in your life before Switzerland, will become an event, especially if you work full time, do not live in a big city like Zurich and spend more than 45 mins commuting to work. For example, you will have to PLAN your visit to the hairdresser, having your nails done, shopping for things which you like and want (not which you need, like groceries). There will be not that much spontaneity in your actions. But one learns :-) So if you are ok with running your agenda in a disciplined way, then no problems at all :-) There are definitely many more pluses here!

38
shopping is not so exciting here, but I discovered that I don't need all that shopping and that I have too many clothes and belongings already. I just buy what I really need now; indeed living in Switzerland saves me a lot of money.

39
The thread title really sucks.

Imagine someone posting their first post on a US site with: "Is living in the US that bad?"

40
Yeah, and it would be fitting.

Between stories of continual economic woes, miserable job creation, mass shootings, the Bible belt and tea party loonies, it does beg the question of what the reality actually is on the ground, as it's more than likely not nearly the sensational empirical tragedy the stories paint.