So what's it like to live in Switzerland? Here are some thoughts from someone who lived in Basel from 1980-1983.
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| Beautiful Basel on the Rhine. |
- Switzerland is small. Really, really small. The US is 240 times the size of Switzerland. You can reach the mountains in a one-hour drive from most cities.
- Public transportation is fantastically good. Becky and I never needed a car. It was either by foot (zu Fuss), by tram (mit 'em Dram), or with the train (mit 'em Zug).
- There are actually cities in the mountains. Chur is one of them.
- Switzerland is a beautiful country, but not-so-photogenic places exist as well. For every picture you take of a quaint little village (like Zermatt), you could also take a picture of a concrete block 30-unit apartment building.
- The cost of living is VERY high. When we moved to Basel, we were living in Southern California. We thought SoCal was expensive, but it cost us at least twice as much to live in Switzerland.
- Almost everything is scheduled and regulated. We couldn't take a bath in our apartment after 10:00 pm. We couldn't control the thermostat. The Swiss plan meticulously for everything.
- The Swiss are great hikers. It's their national pastime. Good luck keeping up with them!
- Everyone says that the Swiss are impolite. False. They are very polite -- and very formal. That took some time to get used to, especially for my wife (who was very gregarious). But once you made a friend, it was a friendship forever.
- There are many subcultures there. Each canton is different and has its own distinctives.
Should you move to Switzerland, you will go through a honeymoon phase where everything is fantastic. Soon after that you will experience a down time where everything seems bad. That's okay and perfectly normal. Hopefully you can manage to turn it around. One key is to avoid the expat bubble and come into as much contact with locals as you can. Becky and I never once attended the English-speaking American church in Basel. From day one it was die Baptistengemeinde Basel. We spoke German everywhere. As a result, we became more open and accepting. It isn't going to be easy, but you really can adapt.
This is merely my opinion and based on my very specific experience that others may not share!