My wife is considering taking a job in Geneva beginning in November, and we are looking into the housing situation.
We've understood that it's cheaper to live in nearby towns in France and commute into Geneva. We read a bit about Annemasse and Ferney-Voltaire and googled around for apartments, but have many questions some of you might be able to help with.
We have no car, so we would have to live somewhere where Geneva is easily accessible by public transportation. We are in our mid-30s, and have a small baby. We're interested in learning about French and Swiss culture while we are there - so it would definitely be a plus to live somewhere a bit interesting, somewhere we can enjoy local cuisine and history on the weekends or evenings, not just some anonymous intersection.
Which towns would you recommend for people in our situation? Which towns on the French side have more character?
Which sites are best for looking into apartments? For an apartment around 60 sqm, in the town center (since we have no car), how much should we expect? I've looked at several "annonces immobiliere", but can't seem to find much.
Hope some of you can help.
Welcome to the Forum. I can't make any specific recommendations, but if you scroll down to the bottom of this page you will see other threads that cover the topic. Might be some good recommendations in those. Also a few threads pop up using the search function as well. Good luck with your move.
The towns are not so nice on the french side and there is little public transport. Living in CH is the better option.
But are there Swiss towns near Geneva with more affordable housing that you would recommend?
By the way, we're thinking max 1200/month, and want at least 70 sqm apartment. Where should we look?
1200 Euro, that is.
I agree with DR. The towns around Geneva will not give you the kind of life you are write about. Plus as he says public transportation is not good.
You're best bet is to pay a bit more and stay in Switzerland. You'll get more out of your experience.
Homegate.ch is where you'll find most of the housing ads these days. But also check the free news papers GHI and ImmoStreet (or whatever it's called these days). Also Anibis.ch has housing ads.
It also depends on where your wife will be working. I used to work for a UN agency, and many of my colleagues lived in Ferney Voltaire and relied on public transportation.
Based on your budget and space requirements, it will be hard to find something decent in the Geneva area. I know of interns who paid 800-1000 CHF for a room in shared accommodation! If I were you, I would either increase my housing budget, or buy a car and live further out in France...
Good luck!
Living in France without a car is basically not possible. Public transport and France should not be combined in the same sentence. Saying that, Ferney Voltaire is about the only place possible with public transport or bike.
Yes, it's a UN job.
Wow, this really sounds a bit like a hassle. Seemed from Google Maps there were trains and buses all over, but I guess reality is more cumbersome...
If it's a UN job, depending on the type of contract, you should be able to have a higher housing budget and/or get a housing allowance (you can PM me about this if you want). Also, it still depends on where the agency your wife will work for is based, but quite a few are close to the F bus line, which is the one that goes to Ferney Voltaire.
Traffic and public transport in Geneva is a major hassle. I lived in Fribourg (1h20 train journey + bus to work) and sometimes spent more time waiting and commuting between work and the Geneva train station than on the train (when in theory, it shouldn't take more than 15 minutes)!
€1200 = about Chf 1400, by the time you factor in travelling time and costs, is it really that much cheaper.....
Any case what are you going to do with all the extra money as you will spend so much time in a bus or traffic jam you won't have any time for yourselves.
Thank you all for your replies, very helpful. So let's say we drop France, are there any nearby towns or areas outside Geneva on the Swiss side you would recommend, where public transport into the city is ok? The job is at WHO.
Looked at a few apartments in Geneva, but what you get for 1200€ seems pretty sad.
If the job is at WHO, then I would definitely consider Ferney. It would take a lot less time to commute than to have to go to Cornavin station and take a train to a nearby city. But regardless of where you want to live, your budget is still way too low for the Geneva area!
I've been to Geneva a few times myself for my own job, and was imagining of course at first that, oh yeah, cool - we could have a little place by the lake, just stroll down to the pub on Sunday afternoon and bask in the sun...Haha! I see now that dream is likely to turn into something more mundane and dreary.
Wondering why you set your housing budget to 1200? If working for WHO surely your wife will have a decent salary. Have a look at some of the housing sites, generally a studio goes for that price, not a 2 or 3 bedroom for a family. I think your expectations need to be adjusted. You will pay more for housing, but in general may have a better living standard. But finding something at all in GVA will be challenging at best.
ps--not sure why the attraction to Geneva, I personally much prefer Bishkek. In a few years, I would even consider doing a house swap but at the moment it is not possible for me.
Do you actually have a residence permit to live in France? And I thought the WHO paid big salaries and generous housing allowance? If commuting to Geneva, Yverdon is a relatively cheap CH town.
The real problem is that even if you leave Geneva, the whole area along the lake is almost as expensive, though there might be more availability. If you want a nice town, want to be car-less, look at Nyon which is very pretty. However 1200 CHF is not going to get you much more than a studio.
What the hell, people, are you really living in Geneva? It doesn't seem so.
Commuting with public transport is possible from several border locations, check tpg.ch for maps and details.
That budget is unfortunately too low to have anything with 70-metres anywhere in Suisse commutable (that means all shore of lake up to Lausanne, included). This area is the most expensive property market in whole Switzerland, on par with Zurich centre only.
Check your residence status, it might be very well the case you won't be able to live in France anyway. If not, then some middle-of-nowhere place like Yverdon or remote places in Jura hills might get you something for that price. Commuting will be a nightmare then (meaning possibly 3 hours/day spent by door-2-door travelling).
On other hand, if you can live in France, you might very well get a flat of required size, just make sure you are not far from end line of Swiss public transport (ie Moillesulaz in Annemasse with tram 12, in centre if Geneva in 20 mins). And they have plenty of pubs there
If you will have a commuting car, then there are plenty of possibilities in France, some truly beautiful.
I'm guessing we have to up to 2000€ then.
There's also Saint Julien, to the south of Geneva. 20-40 minutes into the centre of the city on the D, which run every fifteen to twenty minutes. The longer time is during rush hour when traffic can be awful; but it's pretty much the same coming on to Geneva from any anywhere these days.
From the centre you'll then need to catch another bus out to WHO, another 15 minutes maybe?
I wouldn't suggest going any further out than St. Julien as the buses are less frequent and stop quite early in the evening.
OP, the above should be your very first concern.
Are you an EU citizen? If so, then you can live wherever you like in France or Switzerland (or other EU countries for that matter).
If you are a non-EU citizen, you can't live in France and commute to Switzerland. You can also not just change the permit in this case. You would need to live in the border zone for a certain period of time and have (permanent) residency status in France before being able to apply for a cross-border-commuter permit for Switzerland.