I would love to live in a house, I currently live in a house and I'd choose house over apartment anytime, but it seems to be over the roof expensive in CH, maybe not in Ticino?
Personally I think you may be jumping ahead of yourself there. I would look at the job market first before looking to move here in many respects.
Ticino is a beautiful part of the country, but it not exactly a major employment hub - indeed many Ticinesi end up migrating to the German part of Switzerland for work. You have to remember that cities are small here, compared to the rest of Europe, Lugano has a population smaller than Galway, which you'll know isn't exactly a teeming metropolis.
This means finding a suitable job to begin with may take a lot longer than you might think, and once found what happens if you eventually want to move jobs or are laid off?
Now, I know nothing about your professional background, but in most cases I think this is something one should consider before choosing to call somewhere new home.
As others have suggested it comes down to whatever your house rules are and if you're unlucky to have a nut-job as a neighbour.
I suspect you were lucky in Ireland. In my experience, of numerous apartments in Dublin, was that quality of construction left a lot to be desired.
typically, if you live in a house, your public transport in Ticino is average to terrible.
Have a look: www.homegate.ch
I live in a house and everyone in the neighbourhood does what they want on Sunday. I also lived in an apartment and half of the house was offices or a doctor's place. 100+ years old means the walls are so thick I heard nothing and nobody heard me. We had almost sole use of the garden too.
That's one thing you cannot predict before moving. But I think your search for a job may take some time. My neighbour is in the fashion supply chain - there's also some technology companies or subsidiaries. Have a look on Google Maps at Manno as many are there.....and the traffic coming into Manno is backed up in the morning and at night.
Thanks, I have said it before, I am aware of the job market, this is why I've said that I would only move if I have a job lined up. I would be looking for jobs while in Ireland and I am not in a hurry, if it takes me 2 years is ok with me. I have two children and I wouldn't risk moving without one of us (my wife or I) having a permanent job
One thing to note too is that you won't want to live in Switzerland and work in Italy if that's where a job turns up.
If you're supply chain and do manufacturing then you have things like Whirlpool at Comerio near Varese as an option....but many jobs in Italy pay at rates which drive 60'000 people over the border on a daily basis
There is a good availability of houses if you are willing to go out of Lugano a bit, inside Lugano is almost impossible. You might have to pay a bit more for them subject to condition and distance but is priceless to be able to wash when you want, put the TV a bit lauder when watching a good film, go to your own bloody toilet when you want and your kids can scream all day long etc etc Try and explain to your wife that she has to only wash every Monday evening in a public washing machine, if she is busy, next week. Perhaps you can have a look yourself in homegate.ch and see examples.
There are also the areas ”nucleos” which are old neighborhoods that normally have no private parking and they are not so popular with locals as they want more newly contacted houses. You can find a good deal there, even nicely renovated with character housing, they are normally nice little neighborhoods, one house next to each other but they used to build the walls so thick those days that seriously no music can get out.
I understand that other forum members might take the piss a bit about you thinking about the neighbors and rules and not the job etc etc . I say, you seem to be quite a well grounded person, I am sure you made your homework. I think everyday life, comfort, freedom of expressing ourselves not commuting to work for an hour etc are the things that we have to leave with when the dust goes down and are the things among others that will makes a stay at a place and not miss home. After a while a better salary, seems like any other salary if it is not life changing amount. My humble opinion of course.
Thanks for the advice, how important is having English and Spanish as a skill in Lugano? I assume many of these 60K people wouldn't speak good English
Spot on Pascal, you get it! That's exactly was crossed my mind, thank you so much. Yes, a house in the Zurich Area was nearly impossible, but houses in Ticino might be more affordable, another big plus for Ticino, in my opinion I wouldn't be looking to live in the city centre anyways, I prefer the outskirts, there are more families out there in comparison to living in the city centre anything within 30-40 minutes travel is fine by me.
In another note, did you say that in an apartment is common not to have your own washing machine and you are obliged to wash once a week in a designated day and time? That's mental to me, I wouldn't live like this never mind how much money I could make. I have a 3 and a 1 year old, I literally have to wash every day to keep the house clean and tidy.
True, but if it takes 2 years to find a job, you have to consider how long it'll take you to find another in the same area should you lose it.
Touché... This is another point, how easy is to find a job and change jobs in Ticino for expats compared to the rest of CH
Don't underestimate the language thing. Even if you are good in what you are doing - of course depending on the business - a person unable to speak good Italian will be excluded from quite all communication, especially with regards to personal level.
Italian is not Spanish, and among the worst Italian speakers in Ticino are Spaniards, as they think they already have it. Often they don't.
DONT DO IT...
I lived in Ticino for nearly 3 year (Bellinzona) and my experience from the day I arrived until the day I left was one I wish to forget.
It is made apparent on day one, if you are not from there, they don't want you there and they have no interest in encouraging you to integrate.
I worked for an international company and even our Swiss German colleagues wouldn't come down. We had to go to them. Which was fine with me. Very glad Zurich was only 2.5 hours away.
Getting the permit was agony. Every day a new face. Every day a new form (whether it was required or not. Most weren't). After a week I got the documents stamped with the forms I had on day one.... go figure. It then took 3 months for the L Permit to arrive!
The roads are constantly busy. Everyone drives like a nutter. Drink driving has zero social stigma and Lugano is one big traffic jam as I recall. If you like cycling, forget it, there is no where to go... Up the valley, down the valley, dodging cars.
Urban planning is out of control. There is no such thing as outskirts, the traffic clogged streets stops when the mountain / galvanising plant gets in the way.
Quality of life in the German part of Switzerland is far far higher and not least because of the people.... Ticino is very humid, sticky and with the through flow of traffic going over the Gotthard the air quality is very poor. (at least on the Bellinzona side of the Ceneri)
Good things about Ticino: Is very easy to get somewhere else on the train
My advice would be think long and hard about moving to Ticino. It may be cheaper but it comes at a price.
Not important at all.
Italian is a must, German and French a plus. Very few people I know speak English (though it has increased in recent years), and only a couple Spanish speakers.
Vietnamese could be useful, however.
Tom
Nonsense.
If I hadn't moved down here from Zurich 24 years ago, I probably wouldn't have stayed in CH.
I really wouldn't consider living anywhere else.
However, I live south of the Ceneri. And I normally travel by motorcycle.
Of course, to integrate, Italian is a must.
Tom
Hi, every commune has something like this http://www.lugano.ch/dms/site-lugano...%20molesti.pdf
where it is specified when you can't make noise.
General rules are:
Silence is 23:00-07:00, that means that if you have a party with loud music in the garden old swiss german people will start calling the police but they will only come after 23:00. No noisy stuff like mowing lawn 19:00-07:00 and 12:00-13:00. Rules like this are also possible in some italian mucipalities by the way. That said, i never heard anyone calling the police for someone mowing the lawn at 19:00, and the lunch break can be ignored.
Sunday and festive days are noise-free, those should be respected, there's a surreal peace that also has its charms. Regarding houserules, you should read them before signing a contract, i never heard of this flushing rule tbh but i've never lived in a real condominium.
Witha 5312, can you exaggerate, boy.
Of course you have a point here and there, but what is true is true also for most parts of other places in CH with a similar or even higher population density.
Half of the Population have ancestors from Italy or is from Italy themselves. If they prefer Ticino over Italy and over the Swiss German speaking part of CH, it cannot be such a bad place on the face of Mother Earth.
I do cycling, and one can use parallel streets to the main urban highways. You are right: on some directions not always fun, however much better (i.e. safer) than a couple of years ago.
True. Which puts OP's fear of being unemployed in a new light.
I understand and this is the very same reason why I am interested in Ticino, I want to speak Italian. I haven't said that I speak Italian, I said that I already speak moderate Italian, but of course I would learn and speak Italian at a fluent level.
I am not Spanish, so your comment does not applies to me. I happen to speak Spanish, But I also speak English as good as Spanish, I have lived half my life using English as my first language and I also happen to Speak Dutch as I lived 5 years in the Netherlands. Contrary to most Spanish, I am good a languages.
Yes that I right, vast majority of the apartment blocks use communal washing and you have strictly a dedicated time to wash. There is no option for you to buy a washing machine, is not allowed.
There are exceptions of course in perhaps smaller apartment blocks that you are allowed to do it, not many though, I tell you.
One other thing to consider in an apartment are the big communal space fees, they can get to be quite expensive. You pay for a full time caretaker, a gardener, a cleaner, money for mentainace of the building etc etc
Hi, we are an Italian/Swedish family. We moved from London to Lugano earlier this year for some of the reasons you quote. My impressions in relation to your points:
1. Noise restrictions. Not experienced. We live in a new built block. Build quality is high, we do pretty much everything (including flushing the toilet at night!!) and so do our neighbours and cannot hear a beep from anyone. In an old block it would be a different story, so choose carefully where to live
2. Washing machines. As above, it depends on the block so, again, something you can have control over
3. General life. We love Ticino. I don't find people so reserved, but I am used to Swedes who are, in my opinion, far more reserved than Ticinesi.
However, we are planning to relocate to Zurich. The economy is pretty bad here in Ticino. The market is small and salaries are significantly lower than in the rest of Switzerland. I think your best bet is a global company (maybe one of those in the fashion sector?). I managed to get a job in Ticino solely through making connections, whilst my husband works in Zurich (a hard life for our family). The job market in Ticino is far less structured and transparent than in Scandinavia or the UK and it is very very small. If you aim for career advancements or job security, this may not be the best place for you.
Good luck
Alessandra