Hi all,

I have been readingt he posts for sometimes but seem cannot find what I am looking for.

I live in Thalwil but will be relocating to Geneva area at the end of August 2012.

I love Thalwil and trying to figure out what would be the equivalent town in /nearby Geneva area?

I am looking to get a place with the view to the lake (Ihave a wonderful panoramic view to the lake now)
I would prefer to live in the village that doesn’t shut down at 6 pm and have a good train commute (not more than 35 minutes) since I will be commuting to Geneva Mon-Fri, and somewhat a town center (like it is in Thalwil) with coffee shops for Sunday afternoons..
My budget is 4500CHF-6000CHF
Any suggestions are appreciated!

The answers might be in Versoix/GE and Coppet/VD and Nyon/VD, all three being on the northern side of that lake and so with lots of sunshine

I'm afraid these shut down at 6pm, if they were ever open to begin with (Coppet). Versoix and Nyon are within easy commute to Geneva, but if you want nightlife you will not find it with those two. Nyon may have a half decent cafe on Sunday but not much else.

I'm not so sure the Zurich equivalent exists here. With your budget you might try Cologny, the nice suburb of Geneva on the other side of the lake. Nice views and easy access to Geneva (well it did before the latest TPG public transport upheavel).

i thought this was called "lausanne". then again its the west schweiz / eastern france and as such is as alien to me as the dark side of the moon.

ive heard there are even homeless people there.

Thankyou all for suggestions. It seems that there is not much going on in Genevaarea compare to Zurich. I would say Zurich has a good night life but I don'tcare about night life. All I want are nice restaurants for Friday evenings,some museums and movie theater for Saturday noon and coffee shop/bakery forSunday mornings.
I visited Coppet this summer and it looked a little depressing to me.
I do not want to be by Cologny since it is not convenient for us.

Then basically you want to be IN Geneva. Or Lausanne. But Lausanne is a long commute to Geneva especially if you don't live and work near the train station.

Actually, now that I think a bit more. Carouge is also a good alternative. But it has no view on the lake.

With your budget I would do Hermance, Anieres, Meinier, that side of the lake. On that side there are more high-end properties to choose from in your price range. The only problem is that public transport on that side is almost non-existant except for a few buses, so you would have some traffic getting into town.

I'm not sure there is very much going on in those towns either, lovely as they are.

Nyon has two or three nice beach establishments, and along the lake two or three nice restaurants, and so comparable with Thalwil in many ways, and is nicely linked to Cornavin.

Having never been to Thalwil, I don't have any idea of what an exact replica in La Cote would be - but suffice to say, if you don't go for either Genf or Lausanne, then the only other two places I'd say are Nyon and Morges. Both are easy distance to either Genf or Lausanne for something a little more active and have frequent train connections - forget Coppet.

I live in Nyon - it's a nice town, gorgeous in summer. But I think you'd need to knock down your expectations of liveliness one notch though - shops close around 6/7 and Sundays can be a challenge. But it is beautiful here.

I think Morges is too far from Geneva, it would be just better to live in Lausanne instead as the Intercity train departing from Lausanne to Geneva without stops is faster than the IR departing from Morges and stopping in other main stations along the lake.

I would go for Nyon, unless you stay in Geneva. It has restaurants both in the town centre and along the lake and particularly in summer, the lake area can be quite lively. And of course there's Paleo if you like that kind of thing.
Both Versoix and even more so Coppet, don't have a lot going on in the evening and neither has much in the way of public lake access.
Nyon is well connected by train to Geneva (as are both Coppet and Versoix).

I agree; Carouge looks really different with lots of restaurants & cafes and crowded noisy streets. Having said that, have not been to many towns in the eastern Switzerland apart from central Nyon, Geneva and Lausanne. Nyon I would definitely avoid

I've lived in or near Carouge for over thirty years.
Although it's a very pretty town, it's certainly not lively; in fact it's almost dead most weekends, especially after dark and on Sundays.
It's fine if you like expensive restaurants and small art galleries, but there really is a limit to how many of those you can visit without getting very, very bored.
As for 'crowded noisy streets'? Youngsters enjoying themselves after the pubs turn out and it's a nice warm evening perhaps (not blaming them, I enjoy seeing them having fun), but it's not exactly buzzing otherwise.

Nyon is to Geneva what Thalwil is to Zürich. Coppet ? Sounds as if it still is what it used to be back in 1964 when I "en Famille" was on holidays there. But whatever, a few years ago, a cousin bought a very nice house in Coppet, a bit up the hill. He has retired a few years ago, but in many ways, while being domiciled in Coppet, LIVES in Geneva. Morges to Geneva is what Richterswil and Pfäffikon/SZ are to Zürich. Amazing is that both Thalwil and Nyon have several really nice beach-establishments. Those in Thalwil are a more practical and better organised, but those in Nyon are more charming, more relaxed, have more sunshine and offer better wines.

My Godfather and his wife, domiciled in the Quartier Eaux-Vives (rue François-Grast 18 --- now the Museum of the "Knights of Malta" --) had a preference for Carouge and the next place across the border for shopping, but the whole area looked a bit shabby to me (Schlieren and Spreitenbach almost noble, except that the Gamay in Carouge is far better ! ) and while being the place to go to daily when in the area not exactly the place to be domiciled

I mean, if I was to take lodgings in Geneva I would try to get a flat in the Paquis, my old time favourite in Geneva

Hi, I think you must be thinking about Nyon, around 25 km from Geneva and very strategic. With a great market on Saturday mornings!
All the best,
D.

Hi again, I have just seen all the other responses to your post. I used to live in Mies, a small village inbetween Versoix (noisy) and Coppet (indeed rather non-existant as someone has mentioned). I see that Thalwil is 17,000 inhabitants and only 13 km or so from central Zurich. Well, there is no such thing around here. Mies is 13 km away and as said is a tiny village. Nyon really is the only option, I think, or else you can try Rolle or Morges (go and have a look) but I am not too hopeful. Most people around this area live scattered around the villages rather than in well-defined towns. Nyon is the only one with big Migros, Manor, H&M, 5 butchers (!) a market, English pubs, a tourist area, skating during the winter, a nice outdoor swimming-pool, several museums, decent restaurants, etc. And no, I do not work for the Nyon tourist board!