Yes, it is obviuosly doable: for 99% of the people is the permit the problem. Not for you as you are formally Swiss. You said you studied in Australia? That should be accepted in Switzerland.

The good news is that even the "low" jobs pay you enough to live a decent life in Switzerland. So if you don't think you are above accepting jobs like waiting in a restaurant or working in retail - at least till you find d something better... you will be fine. As a Swiss passport holder are you allowed to take those jobs, something most foreigners are not.

Again: If you want it, is there no formal barrier for you. I personally don't think finance will be a serious problem either. The question is much more what you expect from living there and if it really is your thing. Because Switzerland is more than just trains that are on time. The trains are on time because Swiss people have a certain mindset... and that will clash with everything you have ever experienced. It is way different from Indonesia or Australia. If your dad left Switzerland for Indonesia, he probably had some reason for it... I am German and my culture is quite similar to the Swiss one, so I had far less of a culture shock. But even for me is Switzerland quite often over the top.

Lots of people in this thread talking about first world problems.

Sure it's nice to live in Bali and stuff, and a couple of you have lived in Jakarta, so you know what I mean.

It's nice to live in a warm environment for a while, but the reality is unless you make an effort to integrate and to understand your environment, you always will be an outsider.

My wife is Indonesian and I prefer living in Indonesia, but the reality is that although its nice to live like some gentleman, you're still employing people to do your bidding.

I guess a lot of people are happy to have home help and stuff - but I prefer to be independent

Nah, kalau orang bule semua pengen punya budak di rumah, dipersilahkan. Untuk bule ini, mending tidak ada pembantu di rumah...

First of all you are waaaay ahead of the line than most people on this forum: you have Swiss citizenship. That makes a BIG difference to how you can live in Switzerland and the freedoms you have as well. I would say that forget about consulting this forum because you get the negativity that in some respects is warranted but their concerns about Switzerland will not be the same as yours as a citizen. Come to Switzerland. You have every right to do so. You know what you want already. If you continue to ask for advice on this forum you will be discouraged. Most people here have permits C, B, or maybe L...and all that type of stuff. They have to deal with hassles that "you as a citizen" won't have to. Get to Switzerland and make a nice life for you and your family...Good Luck

P.S. You don't have to ask a bunch of foreigners whether you can live in our own country...Stop The Madness...lol

I concur... I learned this the hard way... Going to bed with wet hair has a similar result. Doubly so for the children

Switzerland is a wonderful place to visit...but oh my goodness a difficult place to live...

I would definitely try it out. You can always go back, right? It will be a great adventure for the whole family. Good luck!

OK I know we are off topic, but you've (both) got me curious. I practically never blow-dry my hair (no time + hate what it does to my hair anyway), so I am always either running out the door with it wet or going to bed with it wet.

What dire fate awaits me?

Good question, I always go out with wet hair, and mine is shoulder-length at the moment!

I've even arrived at work (800m walk) to find my hair frozen!!

Tom

Well, in my opinion, there are three things to consider:

1. What's important to you in your life? Good health-care? A pool + a large house? Good social security / unemployment benefits? The weather? There are many pros and cons both in Bali and in Switzerland. I can already tell you: if you came to Switzerland this minute, you'd be getting on the next plane to Bali. The weather is god awful here.

2. What kind of job are you going to look for? I take it you grew up and were educated in Bali - is your job certification / your degree accepted here? Especially if you work in health-care, as a teacher or as a lawyer this might be a huge issue. Also, The employment market is very dry here, unemployment figures are slowly creeping up. While it's still better here than in most other European countries, it might not be easy to find a job, even if you qualify. Do you have a support-system in place here? e.g. are your relatives willing to take care of your kids while you go to job interviews? If you don't find a job right away, do you have enough money put aside to last several months? How well do you like your relatives? I can only speak from my own experience: if people live far apart, things are always good and nice. Once that distance is gone, lingering problems might pop up and turn your life in to a living hell.

3. Your kids: are you willing to accept that they're very likely to repeat a grade if you move here? School systems aren't typically compatible - especially since your kids apparently attend some sort of international school. Those schools tend to be compatible with the British and US system but not with what we have here. Do your kids speak German? That's usually not the most pressing issue as kids pick up the language very quickly - but that would definitely mean that they'd have to invest some time to get into the school system here.


These decisions aren't easy ones to make. I've lived in other places and I have travelled a lot - in the end, I always ended up coming back to Switzerland. Why? Because life here is tidy, uneventful but also free. You're free to come and go without much of a fuss. Most people have plenty of money to go on vacation 2-3 times a year - so if you feel bored here, you can still go to a "messier" place to get your fix. While I hate the weather, I personally can't complain about life here. Not everything's perfect, but things tend to be just a tad better than in other places.

The thing you have to realise about moving here is that its not a quick easy decision. It involves a lot of planning (as the Swiss love their bureaucracy) and its also a really huge culture shock (more so coming from Asia)

For sure there are major benefits to living here (despite what all the negative people who are "forced" to live here say) And if you really think its for the best do it.

The language is an issue for sure. Depending where you land up in the country, french or german are learnable and everyone can understand one of the 2, eventually you will even pick up some of the local dialects as well. If your kids come here young, its easier for them to assimilate into the culture and learn the language (in my humble opinion)

And indeed this place is expensive. Ridiculously so, but the salaries even it out. I work part time (I work 7 hours a week) and I make a considerably good salary. Full time employment will be more than sufficient.

Finding a decent enough place to stay can be a problem sometimes and finding work too. You have to really spend a lot of time investigating all possible avenues and eventually you will get somewhere. It sounds like you still have family living here, and that will help in easing the transition into the country.

But once you are sorted, the place is beautiful, things work very well here, service delivery in impressive (compared to where I am from), the people are a bit weird (and some can be downright rude) at first, but you get used to it and you eventually find your way and figure out the rhythm. Also they get so excited about the summer here that there are tonnes of activities to do.

Of course there will be things you hate and that do your head in etc, but hey, its like that anywhere. You just gotta deal with it. So good luck, do your research and hope that you make it over.

hmmm... you guys must have a pretty strong immune system. I have found that it generally leads to a runny nose, which might lead to a cough. And with children, my mum always told me, never let a cold get into their lungs. Her thought was once you get bronchitis as a child it becomes your achilles.

I grew up in a tropical climate (far northern australia) and would go to bed with wet hair as a way to keep cool.

Back to the topic though, JUST DO IT.

Poo poo to the nay sayers. Switzerland is beautiful. You will love it. You are meant to be here. Come home to your family.

Besides I wouldn't want to live in Indonesia either...

You mean I can get SFr120k stacking shelves at Migros? Where do I apply?

Cheers,
Nick

Unless you want to pay through the nose... throw in a leg/bikini wax and you'll need to take out a second mortgage

I’m Swiss and local here, but lived and travelled in other countries, Bali among them.
I find it very interesting to read the answers you get to your question.

If I would be a foreigner, I’d think that Switzerland must be a great country to live in and that all the negative points and complaints are actually a minor nuisance or find sufficient compensation if all their authors who post on EF still live in the country.

Another interesting point is to read that we call your attention to focus on reality in Switzerland while we give the idea of an idyllic Bali.
Actually it’s a same pattern: we try to show you a different reality and on your side you do the same about life on Bali.So I guess you can see what we mean about “real life in Switzerland”.

One thing is for sure: coming to Switzerland from Bali is giving your life a 360 turn.
Is that what you want ? are you and your family ready for that?
When I read the posts on EF, I’m afraid many expats would, with the distance, answer NO to the 2 questions.They really miss their life “back home” and feel depressed here and/or face big difficulties to adjust in our country, feel stressed by all things that are just different. And in Switzerland,nearly everything is different than in Bali.

To come to Switzerland isn’t just exchanging better for bad: many great things at home are back at home and not to be found here (just read the complaints catalogue ) and there are many negative things here that are perceived as worse than the bad ones at home. If language skills and job are an additional issue, life can be very hard here.

If you get the chance, come over here for some time to explore the country and make your own judgement before mowing your family thousand miles away from Bali.
I’d wish many expats would do that before their new beginning on Planet Switzerland.

My 2 cents.

Why would you want air conditioning when it is -20?

...just saying...

@ mamamila

It depends on your age!! After 40-50 no more jobs! Or very, very hard to find one.

I moved 2010 back to Switzerland and regret more then once! I was tired to live under 3rd world conditions, nothing works etc. Now i miss it!

Everything is regulated. Over regulated. I miss the ocean. I miss my cleaning lady, I miss the nanny. Schools are not as good as there where! We had a discussion here, in what language to teach the children, German or Swiss-German. One parent suggest: Why not use the language of the majority?" Answer from the teacher:" This would be Serbia-Kroatia"

In Swiss TV, they show Swiss people find a new home abroad. Everybody there is happy and no one regrets that they left.

Higher income with higher cost of living eats up whatever you earn more, if not, then wait for the taxes.

There is only one thing I love here. My fear to wake up two o'clock in morning and look at the wrong end of an revolver is down to zero.

Before I was burglarized at least once a year, 2 company cars stolen, one gun hold in the shop - here = nada, zero, only reading this in news paper.
This said, it's the first time in my life I reading about bank robberies in Switzerland. Had several around here lately. But only back in Europe I got custom to celebrations like "happy slapping". A new sport to nearly kill a completely stranger on a train station just because some youth feel lonely.
( I think about 5 killed and several severe injured to be handicapped, European wide)

Traffic is as insane as abroad. What do you expect with 8million people and 5.5 million cars?

My conclusion, STAY IN BALI

One thing I forgot to mention:

I speak first tongue Swiss German, my wife Russian, together we speak English. Or friends are all Russian, 0% Swiss. 1 English speaking. We try, but no avail. Even my family is ignoring us as they don't speak English.
Meet other (Swiss) parents = 0

To find someone our kids could play with, ask first their agenda, ehm, yes, in two weeks, in the morning would be something free, for an hour will be alright? For heaven sake, I am not talking with my dentist, just the parents next door!

Tons and tons English speaking friends back in the Caribbean. You simply meet easier abroad. WE Swiss are so full of ignorance and greed and even squinting to our neighbors if their tooth are aching, just because he has something I don't have!

90% of all tax evasion is coming to light because of the neighbors. Asking the tax officer, how much this or this one earns because he drives two cars or makes two times a year holiday! Their don't mind their business.
Too nosy.

2nd time - STAY WHERE YOU ARE!

I find your open and honest reply great - this is the exact type of culture shock I would expect a person growing up in Bali to encounter within the first two years.

But I do not agree on the age discrimination bit: Last year, my Swiss employer downsized heavily. One of the colleagues I was worried about most was a friend with the absolute worst stats you can have according to all the discussions on here: female, over 50, Polish immigration background,... but with a good education, work experience and most of all the right personality did she not only find a job, but had several to choose from within a few months. I think the key was that she first took some temp job which showed employers how determined she was to work.

My employer also fired an old, low educated technician with poor German skills and an obvious alcohol problem. I expect he had a harder time... but the bottom line is: I do not say that there is no discrimination - far from it. But overall does it depend on you and blaming things to some simple factors like age is a bit of an excuse.

he has kids too!!!!

lets see, before I had 14 employees, about 200k income and spend 30k living. Now I have 0k income and spend 100k for living

OK, I could take on a job a bus driver, pays well, 45k a year?
legally only 45 hours/week, but hey, you can also work 55 hrs or refuse to sign the contract. For the rest of jobs, I have the wrong passport (Swiss) and I am 50, so i am too old! but soon I should work until 75...

Oh yes, as a returnee I eligible to apply for unemployment money, pays 600.- plus 400.- month for the 2 kids (for 4 month, after that you're on welfare), the rent is 1500.- (consider it cheap) send one kid 2x half day a week to play-school cost 700.- per month.

The only good thing so far, car insurance is 100.- a year cheaper here!

And Switzerland still is impressive clean. Not as clean as in the past, but still very clean.
The lakes and rivers today are cleaner as in the past, so clean, the fish can't find any algeas anymore to feed (no joke, the truth)

I know I am a newbie, and have only been in Switzerland for nearly 3 months, but, whats with all the negativity to living in Switzerland???

It really sounds like most of you dont want to be here, so why are you? if you dislike it that much why do you stay?

I moved here (alone) at the end of November from the UK, and, I just can not imagine anyone moving here and not loving it. Yes the cost of living is quite high compared to some places, but the salary is comparative, in fact my cost of living here compared to my cost of living in the UK is not much different in total cost (am talking basics, rent, electric, gas, water, council tax, car tax, food etc etc), in fact I think the only thing I have found to be very expensive is nights out, beer, wine, spirits a meal etc, but in all else, for me, there is no comparison, Switzerland wins hands down on every level. Maybe its being alone that makes the difference as I only have myself to pay for and I can do as I want without having to consider anyone else, but I cant imagine changing my mind even if (hopefully) I get into another relationship.

Maybe when ive been here as long as some of you I may be complaining as you are, but I doubt it, its a wonderful place to work and live.

Personally I would recommend Switzerland to anyone and everyone, I love it.