Hi everybody, so I'm moving to Switzerland at end of June from the US via Ireland. My better half will be working at ETH Zurich. and I'll be job hunting. Anyhow have trawled the websites looking for housing, ideally furnished and available around July 1st. Have found a very nice looking flat in Schaffhausen, fully furnished, ready to move into the day we arrive in Zurich (June 25th) and 1700CHF. Landlady has been great, sent all kinds of pics, given lots of info, is going to fax me the contract. So my question is, is this too far away for a daily commute to Zurich, sbb.ch says between 39 and 49mins which seems great to me but normal for Switzerland? Am I crazy to consider living way up there, even for the first year? Thanks! Orla.
If you lived in the UK you might not consider this distance or travel time an issue, however.... and although I know people who work in Zurich and live in Basel or Zug, IMHO this is miles away. There is not much going on in Schaffhausen, so I hope you like rural. There is no need to look this far out of Zurich unless you actually want to.
It's do-able, the question is whether you want to do it. Unless you have some love of the town or its location, then I am sure you could find somewhere as nice closer to Zürich for equivalent money.
No, it's really not too far from the big smoke and the transport connections are good. It's not perfect for spontaneous trips to Zurich - especially getting home late at night - but you won't suffer. There are other things to do: it's a lovely town and has enough shops, bars etc to keep you amused for a year.
It could be a little isolated if you feel the need to be in a city, but maybe you're used to small town atmospheres. There are certainly far worse places to live!
Ideal for travel into France and Germany, but you've probably worked that out for yourself. Lovely countryside. Jump in, it's great here, especially in Summer...
Shorrick, can you clear up some confusion in my troubled mind ? My understanding was that there is no longer an issue with residing in the same Kanton in which you work ?
In fact when I first moved out here (3.5 years ago), I was living in Kusnacht (Zürich) & working in Bern (erm Bern) & there were no issues with either my employer or my Gemeinde.
I am on a 5 year B (EU) & understood that these restrictions did not apply.
For EU/NAFTA the permit is valid for the whole of Switzerland. You therefore are not restricted on where you live and work.
Furthermore Schaffhausen is an ideal place for living if you don't mind the commute. It is very near to Germany and therefore shopping is cheap and close to Lake Constance which is also a beautiful place. Add to that the airport is very close by train (timewise) and you have a good place to be. The people in Schaffhausen are also very nice and you have the Rhine Falls to look at within walking distance.
If it seems ok to you and you like the place where you'll live, then go for it. I currently have a 2 hour commute (each way!) and am managing ok. Just buy a good book! We live in a much nicer place now and I can work on the train, so I don't lose too much time overall.
On the plus side, its a bit too far away for him to justify that 'Oh I'll just go into the lab and see about this experiment...' at the weekend!
What Richard said. As there was no indication as to the nationality / permit (well, maybe there was, but with all the fluoride in my water, i missed it), I thought I might as well point it out.
I would disagree with this. Why commute long distances when in Switzerland its not necessary ? I've spent the last two years doing a 90-minute x 2 long daily commute, and now I'm getting my life back. 3 (nonbookable) hours out of your life each day, means you are perpetually tired and it leaves no time to enjoy the weekends, as you feel compelled to do something , as its the only free time you have. Your health suffers, and the "keep-fit" time is limited. Your whole life is spent in a rush.
There is no doubt, Schaffhausen is a nice place, and I would like to live there, but not if I, or my partner had to commute to Zürich each day. This country has excellent public transport making journies simple. You can travel a long way in one hour on the train, or in a car. That doesn't mean you should. Many people came here to escape the ratrace, and there is no point in continuing the same commuting conditions once here....
I agree with DaveO. I learnt a long time ago to live within easy reach of your office. It just makes everything so much less stressful. And Zurich's an excellent place to live in general.
I would recommend living somewhere not too far from work. I am currently spending 3 hours a day commuting to work and back
The getting up early and getting home late has really messed up my fitness regime as don't have time to go to the gym etc and I seemingly spend all my time in the week either at work or travelling to and from work.
Am moving apartment in 2 weeks though and looking forward to getting around 2 hours of my life back a day which equates to 10 hours a week that I can spend doing stuff other than sitting on trains yippee!!
I do the Zürich-Schaffahusen-Zürich commute everyday (vice versa to you) - have to say that the train connections are excellent and make the commute quite effortless. That is of course after you've made the effort of memorizing the train time table first :-)!
Like others have already mentioned here - Scahffhausen is a lovely place to live if you like the small town countryside living.
I have been living in Schaffhausen for a year and love it it here, lots to do for expats like the crackerjack expats group who meet every Friday in champs bar, very friendly and social;
not to mention all the cultural events and amienities provided in the town.
Getting in and out to Turich si quite easy in my opinion, the train connections are very good, we got many people commuting to work in Schaffhasuen from Zurich also, the big plus for Schaffhsusen is that there property prices are much more affordable In Schaffhausen compared to Zurich, however if you want to live in a city than Zurich is a great city to live in, its a matter of personal choice.
Brilliant! We are loving Schaffhausen, it's so easy living here, and all the better as everything including the pubs are within walking distance! Will try to swing by Champs today or next week.