Hey, I'm a 20 year old science student from Ireland and I'm going to Bern for 5 months work experience in a research lab. I've been told I'm getting 1,000 francs a month through a grant. My rent is 400 a month in what i assume is student accomodation, leaving me with 600 for the month to live off. So my question is simply, is this possible to do? Will i be able to do anything other than eat and sleep with this amount? Any input would be much appreciated!

Oreillv4, I don't mean to dissapoint you but 600 a month is very very very very little!!!! You're going to be really skint.

Can you find someone to share the accomodation price-tag?

Since you're 20 yrs old you are eligible for "Gleis7" transit card. After 7pm, the card allows you to have unlimited rides on buses, trains and ships.

Or you could borrow a bike to get yourself around.

Doing your shopping in Aldi (in Zolikoffen) could save you a few bucks.

I have heard that Switzerland is very expensive to live around.
How much do you need roughly to live off monthly?
I am thinking of living around Laussane.

hello Oreill then you would be working in my branch. Research is not very lucrative especially when you're just starting. the 600 francs a month is going to be tight. Moving around bern is actually easy a lot of people go around by bike so that would be one way of saving on transportation fees or by foot ( the dormitories are usually very near the university/uni hospital ergo research laboratories). You could save further by cooking meals yourself instead of going out for lunch or dinner....

How much does one need...when you are travelling to switzerland for the first time....they would tell you that you need to allocate at least 100 Sfr per day...so that would be around 3000 Sfr per month....

the 400 francs is accomodation in a dormitory....you cannot share the room with another person to cut the cost....dormitories here are usually single rooms.....

in which research field are you going to be?

oreillv4, there is plenty of information on this forum relating to the cost of living. Please use the search function, and contribute to the existing threads.

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