I read in my ex-pat guides that it takes a while to become more than just acquaintances with the Swiss if you are an auslander. I plan on being here for a while, at least a few years and hopefully longer, and I'm curious about this. After half a year I'm on a smile-nod-Gruezi, level with some of my neighbors with a bit of chat, and we are still in the "Sie" stage. I don't have kids, which always seems to be a good connection.
For those of you that have been here a while, what has your experience been? How have you connected with the Swiss on a social level? How long did it take? Making friends through work doesn't seem to be the way.