Hello. We are beginning to look for a flat to rent from August. My boyfriends working in Wil (SG) at the moment and i will be looking for work around Zurich. We decided Winterthur would be a good half way point and a good base for the time being.
I've found out that Winterthur has 7 districts but am having trouble finding out any info about each one.
Does anyone live in the area or know anything about :
1.Winterthur City Centre
2.Wülfingen
3.Töss
4.Mattenbach
5.Veltheim
6.Oberwinterthur
7.Seen
We don't have any children and are in late 20's early 30's. We don't want to spend more than 1'400CHF and only need 2-3 rooms. Saying that, i'm probably a bit more fussy than him and would like a nice balcony and something more than a couple of boxy rooms. Would like a few shops in walking distance but don't mind getting the tram or bike to the centre of Wintethur or Zurich. Ideally somewhere safe with a nice atmosphere and a bit of character. Any ideas which district to look in greatly appreciated. Thanks!
Winterthur is generally safe, and not being that big it is actually all quite easy to get around in or to get to Zurich in 20 mins by train.
The city center is full of very trendy areas which were once industrial and are now yuppie lofts. It could be difficult to find something in your price range, depending how much space you want, but it is at least close to the station.
Toess is previously a blue collar area but apparently becoming trendy as the centre is becoming more expensive. i know it is trendy to buy relative inexpensive apartments there.
Veltheim is a highly regarded area -near centre and hospital (doctors live there) cant go wrong though probably most people are older than you. Loads of retired people too I guess.
Seen is for families .... great area for families, as are any of the towns around winterthur. Seen is connected to S Bahn to Zurich.
other places you mention, Mattenbach, Wulflingen - all require a bus trip but are fine, they are still considered City.
Oberwinterthur is a great area, well regarded, good train connections. S Bahn to Zurich for several lines.
I guess if I were you I would take Oberi (Oberwinterthur) or the city centre,.
There are also plenty of towns around Winterthur with good connections to Zurich too (on the S Bahn and by car is not far either) and obviously, some of those towns are on the Wil side.
Good luck. If you get to Winterthur join Expats in Winterthur at yahoo groups, and also there is a great www.internationalclub.ch in Winti.
Lisa
www.myBlueSky.ch
Thanks Lisa, that's exactly what I wanted to know! Have seen a couple of flats in Oberwinterthur on the internet so i'll send my boyfriend along to check them out. There seem to be quite a lot of new build flats advertised- they look like communities in themselves?? I'm not sure how i feel about that..sometimes looks a bit like that Jim Carey film..forget what it's called now!
It's great there are really good tram connections to Winterthur centre and Zurich.
Do you know what there is in Oberwinterthur? Any supermarket or bakery? Bar?
Are there many parks in Winterthur? My boyfriend used to live in Solothurn and there were hardly any green spaces- you know to take a book to read and relax. (of course there were plenty if you take a car/train!!...)
Thanks again for your reply. I am spending ages on homegate.ch but it's easy to look at the pictures and hard to imagine what the area feels like! Thanks!
How long would it take to cycle from Oberwinterthur to Winterthur HB? Are there cycle paths? Just looking on SBB and it's really quick to get an IC train to Wil. Suppose the best would be to live as near as possible to Wiinterthur HB but not sure we will get anything for our budget.
Hello, just thought I would add my comments as I live in the Mattenbach area, it takes 5mins to cycle to town and a nice 15min walk...I live next to the stream and the forest...so lots of green and close to the town....bus takes 5-7 mins to the Bahnhof...
Good luck with your search..
Don't know if I am a bit too late for this post. I live in Oberwinterthur toward the Hegi area. The area is very quiet and safe (cats running around on the street). They are now building a park so in the future it will be a lot of green area. I think generally Winterthur is quite green. From Oberwinterthur bahnhof will be a 10-15 mins bike to the city and the bike path is very well organised in Winterthur so even as a bike beginner I have no problem to go to the city by bike