We are a young married couple with a 3 yr old daughter and we're going to be moving to Lugano. I am researching the best areas to live and am not sure which are considered to be the "nicest" areas - we are wanting somewhere that is safe, has a view of the lake, close-ish to Lugano city(we love to dine out, shop and want to explore the city more), preferably somewhere that has a café/shops close by and has a nice community spirit about it. Are there areas that I should avoid looking at? I have heard that Massagno is lovely - is this correct? Any recommendations would be greatly appreciated! Thanks
Hi all,
Massagno is nice and has a Park nearby for Children to play. We used to live in Paradiso up the Hill with a fantastic view to the city and lake before moving to Davesco which is a bit farther away but has the charm of a small Village.
I am sure Tom will be of more help as he still lives in Lugano or actually close to Lugano.
How much do you want to spend?
Personally, we avoid Lugano itself like the plague, it's really gone downhill over the past 20 years.
All the stores we liked are gone, and parking and driving has become a nightmare.
Tom
I agree, reason why I will move to Locarno this summer. Still has that little town feel expect in summer when it is flooded with tourists.
Oh no! Have we chosen the wrong place? We were actually deciding between Lugano, Locarno, Lausanne and Zurich. We're not restricted by work, we just need to be relatively close to an international airport as my husband will still be traveling regularly for work. I realise Lugano and Locarno are Italian speaking, Lausanne is French speaking and Zurich is German speaking - this isn't too big an issue for us(I love languages, and we are all eager to learn).
Would Locarno or either of the other two be better options than Lugano?
In terms of budget, we would ideally like to keep rent under 7000CHF per month - we're looking for a 3 bed 2 bath with a lake view, which I know may be a bit of a stretch!
Thank you both so much for your input.
Jodie
Bold part mine. For real? That's a decent budget. I did a quick homegate search along Zurich's Cold Coast areas (which are supposed to be some of the most pricey) and found 39 properties that are at least 4 bedrooms , a handful of which have lake view.
This one is well below your budget: https://www.homegate.ch/rent/107624806
This one too: https://www.homegate.ch/rent/107658937
Here's a duplex for just over half of your budget: https://www.homegate.ch/rent/108300772
Would you prefer a whole house to yourself? At about 60% of your budget: https://www.homegate.ch/rent/108255844
And at the top end, how about a whole house and a private pool with your lake view? https://www.homegate.ch/rent/108093487
Cute villa with pool in Lugano is well within budget: https://www.homegate.ch/rent/107950080
I'd say you've got some nice options!
Errrrr..... someone I know pays 1650 in Lugano with a lake view, 3 bedrooms, but sadly, only one bath.
Likewise.
But they gave it up as too expensive.
Tom
I think the posters above are exaggerating. Like old people who keep complaining about the "good old days".
I am not a resident of Lugano but I go there once and while and it's a very good town. It's safe, clean, beautiful, nice park, and the climate is the best in Switzerland. Traffic became worse during the last years due to the frontalieri but it's far from being compared to a big city traffic jam.
If an international airport is important, then I am not sure Lugano is the best. The biggest airport nearby Malpensa which is ~80km away, 1 hour by bus if I am not mistaken. Lausanne is a bit closer to the Geneva Airport but not by much. Zürich is the best city by far if being close to an airport is important.
I am a resident of Lugano and I like it a lot. I've been here 6 years so not long enough to talk about "the good old days"! It depends what you want, I suppose. I'm on the higher end of the age spectrum and not in need of an exciting night life! For me there are enough nice restaurants and grottos, and the LAC arts centre, for the few times I feel like going out at night. It's a beautiful location with lots of outdoor possibilities. People with young families seem to find it a very nice place to live. I haven't had a car since I moved here, and I do think the traffic is terrible - but then I thought the same thing where I lived before in Germany.
With CHF7k budget for rent, I’d have to charge you for my comments!
CHF5.- per word! You owe me CHF100.- already! Wait CHF115.-! CHF125.-! Oh sod this!
This is why I was asking. I don't know anything about any of the areas these places are in - like I don't know which areas/suburbs in Lugano are the "best" areas. We don't want to live in the ghetto or an area that isn't great. We will be leaving our home here in Australia, where to be frank, life is great and pretty easy! We live in a nice big house with a pool, which isn't uncommon here. I just want to find out where would be a great spot to move our little family to.
The reason I had thought our budget possibly wouldn't get us what we were looking for was based on looking at properties in the areas that I had been told were the "best" areas in Lugano. Most of them have been 10000+ pm. We would obviously like to spend less than our budget, but I wasn't sure if it were possible in a good area. Are there any areas to avoid in Lugano?
Is the frontalieri like a border control? We visited Lugano about 18 months ago while we were in Italy and loved it. We only spent the day, but we thought it was beautiful! This, and the weather, are our main reasons that Lugano was at the top of our list.
I see you live in Zug - what is Zug like to live in? Would you recommend it based on what we are looking for?
Please don't charge me
Thank you both! This is why I was asking - It's hard to decide on a place without knowing it or what it is really like. We like to go out for dinners and drinks etc but are well and truly over our clubbing days! We love anything to do with the water, that's why living close to the lake seems ideal - we live on the beach now and are there most days, so having the lake view will bring us some comfort, being so far from home.
1hr from the airport is fine, we're about that now
It’s horrible here! Don’t bother!
Jokes aside, with your kind of budget you’ll be spoilt for choice but nobody is gonna get out of their way to point you in the right direction, frankly because less than 10% of people on here pay CHF7k/mth rent.
Your best bet is to consult a relocation agent, you get what you pay for at the end of the day but then again best things in life are free... i digress but hey it’s your bill that’s going up!
FTFY.
Tom
SFr7000? I never knew such poverty existed...
I used to live in Kanton Zug (moved for study). Given your budget (and making an assumption about income) I’d definitely have a look at Zug - it has some of the lowest taxes in Switzerland.
Nice well organized and very well funded public services, easy train or drive to the airport. Train direct to Milan from Zug for the odd Italian lunch.
House with a pool would be unusual....but you can swim in the lake. I really miss that opportunity here in Bern. With your budget, you might find a lakefront house (not many of them, and often owned, not rented). Certainly you can find a lakeside place.
Has an international school, a selection of restaurants and bars. Not the highlight of Swiss cuisine, but plenty for „oh, let’s eat out tonight“.
First off, let's look at the facts first:
1) Sfr. 7,000 is around 9,300 Australian dollars.
2) Malpensa airport is in Italy and crossing the border can be murder at times
3) You'll find more English speakers near Zürich, Zug and Geneva
4) You'll find better educational institutions in Zürich, Zug and Geneva
5) Lugano to Zürich is two hours by train
My personal opinion:
- move to the Zürich/Zug area, which are both on a lake and have lovely views
- It only takes 30-45 minutes by train from the airport to your home
- You can vacation anytime in Lugano
- I think you'll be less lonely in Zürich/Zug due to all the English speakers available in the area
You're obviously financially well-off (unless you're a troll or you've got your math wrong) and have the resources to move quickly if you don't like the area you live in. Unfortunately, the tax situation is different in each area you've suggested, which is something you may also want to take into consideration.
You're lucky to have that kind of money which provides you the freedom to move where ever you want.
Good luck
Should this be moved to the “First world problems” thread?
“I have CHF7k.- to spend on rent... where is best to live?”
Assuming we’re not being trolled of course... Australlia must be the new Switzerland!
I’m not sure CHF7k would be in the top 0.1%... There are apartments in Zug / Zürich in very good location for that kind of price and my impression is that for houses you would pay several multiples of that.
So based on this casual observation alone, I would say it’s highly unusual but probably not in the top 0.1% of rents being paid.
Go for Cassarate and if you even want better go further towards east (Castagnola). Lugano is a small city you can always dine out even though locals prefer to spend their money in Italian border!!