Ok so I have been thinking and talking a lot with my husband about moving to Switzerland (we are currently living in Bali, Indonesia..). We have a 10 month old baby boy, Jeremy and we all have Swiss passports so that won't be an issue to go there. I don't speak any Swiss-German unfortunately (my father is from Thun and my mother is Indonesian so my brother, sister and I were all born and raised in Bali and my dad never had the patience to teach us any Swiss-german!)

So anyway, I've told my family about this idea of going to Switzerland and my husband Lars has also talked to his parents about it (his mother just moved to Bali 2 years ago but his dad is still living in Luzern) and they all just seem so pessimist about the idea.

They tell us that it's not easy living there, it's all very expensive, you have to do everything on your own (surprise! here in indonesia you have maids, full-time babysitters, drivers, gardeners, pool cleaners..etc. Any form of help you can think of, its available here in Bali! All very affordable!) but I'm thinking hey, if there are people living in Switzerland already that can do it, why can't we? I went to school in Perth Australia for 4 years and did my own laundry and cleaning up, I lived in Thun in 2007 for half a year and cleaned and washed dishes and I survived! So I think that point is a minor issue.

And the money issue..."its very expensive living in Switzerland!" Ok, YES this is true but my argument is the salary are also fairly high so it balances it out, no? Correct me if I'm wrong please because maybe I am just dreaming and in lala land and not thinking of the reality!

Conclusion: Is it really THAT hard/impossible to move and live in Switzerland coming from Bali, Indonesia?
If we do finally decide to move, it probably won't be for another 1 or 2 years anyway but I just like to plan ahead. We would probably try find a place in Luzern because that's where my husband is from.

Anyway, would love to hear any response and your opinions! Thanks
mila

I think the first thing you should ask yourself is why do you want to live in Switzerland? And from that, you can decide if you can do it.

I wanted to come up with a witty, sensible response....but all I could think of was "NOOOOOOO WAY!" You live in one of the most beautiful places on earth, where people go on vacation and you seem to have a steady and good life there. Why on earth would you want to move to this place?!

Whether you can live here and how you will get by will obviously hinge upon the job(s) and income you and your husband have here. If you want to employ babysitters, gardeners, pool caretakers, etc., it will certainly cost quite a bit. It sounds like you are accustomed to having quite a bit of help since it is available so cheaply in Bali, so bear in mind the change that may be at hand for you if you continue your full-time job and find yourself taking care of these chores at home after work and on weekends.

An international is hard regardless of from where you come, just because of the logistics involved. The pessimism of your family may be coming from the fact that they don't want you to leave Bali with their grandchild as well as their concerns about cost of living in Switzerland. You need to gather lots more information to decide whether this move is right for you.

Why not schedule a trip here with your husband and child to visit your father and see if you like it before making any firm decisions? Sounds like you have lots of time for researching the possibility prior to committing, and this forum has loads of info available to help you.

Good luck to you! Switzerland is a beautiful place, but it is best embraced as a new home after all your i's are dotted and all your t's crossed.

I'll be happy to swap places with you.
Basel vs. Bali?

Hm... I can think of another country that fits that description as well, now you mention it. Time to get out of the Oltemer Dauernebelgebiet maybe?

Wales? Zambia?

[trying not to sound smug] [abandoning effort] Glarus

I used to live in Indonesia (Jakarta) and have visited Bali many times and now in Switzerland. Like Nil mentioned, it is important to ask yourself why you want to move to Switzerland. Bali is one of the most beautiful and easy to live places i know of. Switzerland is very different and i dont think one can do a realistic comparison. So it again comes back to the same question - why do you want to move here? If you ask me, i would have preferred continuing to stay in Indonesia (and i am not an Indonesian and knew very little bahasa) rather than move here but moved here because of my husband.

I came from the US. I had a twice a month maid service. When I moved to Switzerland my income went up 50%.
But, I'm poorer now because the cost of living is so high, and I have no maid... I actually have to *gasp* clean things myself.
Plus we have no air conditioning and it's -20 degrees C.

Yes it's expensive. The social expectations are absurd. It's grotesquely Christian. I'd rather go to Bali.

But it is quiet and there aren't a lot of beer drinking Australians taking over the streets and puking on my lawn....

...I'm just saying...

..don't forget the twice a month laundry allowance.

Of course, you would not be able to continue the same quality of life, unless you get a well paid job.

Maybe it sounds trivial to you now, but if you are worried, I would suggest to do a practical experiment for a month or two. Move to a small apartment, away from your family and try to live only on your own. Contact your relatives only using Skype and phone and do not accept any services or visits from them. Do not got to your usual doctor or hairdresser, if you need their services, try to find new ones. And communicate with them only in English, pretend you do not speak a local language. Then you will see.

All that lovely food you have there? Forget about it. You want it, you cobble together some edible imitation based on local ingredients.

All that help you're getting? You can probably forget that.

Any assistance you're getting from your family there? You can forget that.

Have a child? Based on other posters here you can probably expect a constant guilt trip from your parents as to why you live so far away and why you don't visit more often and when are you coming back etc etc etc. They will not come and visit you.

Do you like snow? Do you like cold weather? Do you like cold snowy gloomy weather? Do you like swimming in cold fresh mountain water as opposed to the ocean?

...and forget ever having a nice mani-pedi ever again.

Hi Mila
I have also lived in Jakarta and have been to Bali enough times to add up to over two years (originally I am from Perth). There is nothing in Switzerland that Bali does not do better except for the cold weather and snow. As you asked for opinions I would suggest that keep the good life in Bali and perhaps consider Switzerland again when you have to make decisions on your sons education. (Even then I would probably do as you did and send him to Perth)

Best regards.
ps. My wife and twin baby sons will be in Bali late may for a month again this year.

Yes of course we won't have maids, baby sitters and pool cleaners etc. in Switzerland - thats crazy! We are not millionaires, faaar from it!

Life in Bali is just not the dream it used to be, I know because I grew up here. It's not the same. Traffic is insane, its over crowding way too quick. Prices here are also going insane! All these villas for rent is just unrealistic now.

Even though I am half Indonesian, I don't hold an Indonesian passport and dont exactly look like a local too even though I speak fluent Bahasa and having a foreigner husband also, we just don't have any rights here! You all might think I am crazy for wanting to leave this "island of the Gods" but we are going through a rough time here in Bali and yes, maybe it's just me wanting to "escape" from it all but i see a lot of positivity in moving to Switzerland.

1) My husband, son and I are all Swiss passport holders so no need to pay for any type of visa to live there, like we do here (I have been on a "kitap" visa which is a residential type of visa for most of my life and now my son is on it too).

2) SCHOOL! International schools in Bali is RIDICULOUS! I used to go to Bali International School back in the day but now...it's just nuts. My 8 year old nephew goes to school there now and she told me they have to pay 11thousand dollars a year - for an 8 year old boy! And in Switzerland, local school is FREE! No brainer duh!

3) The system in Switzerland just works! For the ones complaining about it, try living here. You call service to get something fixed. They a) come late, b) come the next day whenever they like, c) dont come at all or d) didnt pick up the phone in the first place! Or if they did come to fix whatever you needed to be fixed, it will break again in the next week or few days if youre really unlucky.

Hmm what else...I have a few more but I can't remember all of it right now. Those are some of the things. Coming to Bali for holidays is great, thats no lie but now that I'm married and have a child and with the over development thats going on in Bali its just not such a paradise island anymore - for me!

Sounds like Switzerland to me.

I don't think it's complaining so much as it is giving you realistic things to think about. Some people arrive here with unrealistic assumptions based on some fantasy idea of Switzerland. There are lots of things to like here, but it's also useful to know what sort of things you can face.Sometimes it's useful for the rational thought process to throw a little cold mountain water on the flames of irrational exuberance.

I am very surpirsed by the negativity of living in Switzerland compared to Bali. I am not sure if people are comparing apples with apples. I used to live in Miami before I moved to Switzerland, and actually find LIVING in Geneva far more comfortable with my family compared to Miami:

- Better schools
- Better healthcare
- Great all-around job opportunities
- Central location in Europe
- Stable economy (relatively speaking)

When I lived in Miami yes we had the beach, shops open 24x7 etc etc., but without a strong local economy (at least not in the field I am specialized), good schooling options, paying $20k out of pocket for a normal childbirth WHILE having insurance etc. I found the place lovely to go on vacation and have fun, but not to build a career and raise a family in peace and tranquility.

Yes Bali is nicer for all the reasons stated above, but those criteria are at the bottom of my list when it comes to living....

To each their own I guess.

Hello, looks like you have means. Maybe you ought to come over for a couple months holidays and check the place(s) out ? With your background I believe that you will figure out CH quite quickly and make up your own mind.
Enjoy either side.