I am moving to Zurich with my 5 year-old son in early january to join my husband who has been working here for the past 3 months.
Right now we are both visiting Zurich and find it really lovely. But I have such a nice job in CHicago, where I am originally from, and suspect that it will be extremely difficult to find something equivalent here.
I will also need to learn German, which seems extremely difficult since I am more of a romance language speaker (French and Romanian).
I am really excited about starting to explore the city and all the art galleries. I hope I can find some partners to explore with.
Is the weather decent in January, or is it too cold to walk around?
hi Olga, welcome to the forum! I'm sure there's more stuff on the forum about art in Zurich, but I thought you might be interested in this run-down of art galleries here:
Welcome to the forum Olga, the winters here have gotten milder over the years, but they still are cold. When you arrive check the calender for meet ups.
Welcome to the EF. It is always not an easy decision to be made whether one should stay or go. Tha's something you can only answer for yourself. Hopefully you won't regret your move here and you'll find Switzerland a great place to live in. Search thru the threads and enjoy meeting new people on the EF
Thanks for the posts, guys. I have done a little research on the gallery scene and also found that site you recommended bartolomew. Was wondering if there's a vernissage evening when all the galleries open for the public, or if there's any art gallery hopping going on. Oh, and by the way, the decison to move is already made since we are moving in Jan., but was hoping to get feedback on the facility of integrating when lacking German. I noticed that most service people don't speak either French nor English. I will take a German class once we move, but until I can manage a few words, I have been trying the other languages, to no avail. I found that rather surprising in such a global city.
The children learn French at school but not all adults are too keen on trying it out. Many younger people speak good English too, maybe you just met the wrong ones. As there are about 20% foreigners here, you were perhaps just unlucky and found the Italian, Spanish, Hindi, Malay speakers... Using a phrase book or carrying a dictionary makes it look as if you are trying to 'integrate'. A lot of people are more willing to help if they realise that you don't expect them to speak your language perfectly.
Good luck with the Gallery search - at least some Info is in English there!
Hi Olga - I just posted my intro, seems we're in a similar situation - moving to Zurich in Jan. with a 5 year old boy (and for us, a 1 year old as well). Wishing you all the best - maybe I'll meet you in Zurich!
Welcome, and hope you settle in well with your little one... I'm assuming that your husband has already secured and moved into an appropriate apartment for all of you!
I am also surprised at the language thing! I've found that, although they may protest that their English is bad, in most shops or similar places there is at least one person who is able (and willing!) to speak English... Perhaps this willingness is because I usually start (as best I can) in German, before asking (in German) if they can speak English... as others have said, if you show that you are making an effort, people tend to be more supportive.
I seem to recall the night at the museum was back in early September, or perhaps late August... so the night is not so 'late', perhaps (summer, and running on summer time, so light lingers later). Unfortunately, I wasn't well-enough established to get organised to check it out this year, so will have to get onto it for next year...
Compared to Chicago (from what I hear) you will find Zurich tropical
Like many others I am surprised at your failure to be understood. I only speak English and French, so I prefer the francophone part of Switzerland, but have had no difficulty communicating in the germanophone areas.
I hope you stay active in the forum! We are planning to move May from Chicago to Zurich. Also with 1 kid. So I hope to learn from others about this particular trip. I've taken it 3 times on vacation, but moving the family will be different.
Welcome to the forum and enjoy the snow we had today :-)!