Looking for options to live in Zurich Suburbs for a family of 4. Son is 4 years old, so will join school this year

I have heard/read Wallisellen is a good option for Families? Any other family friendly places which I can concentrate on? Oerliekon/Dietikon

Appreciate your Views

Hi - currently living in Affoltern (6 mins by train from Oerlikon / 13 mins by bus). Lots of families with small children here - childcare groups as well as schools on Muhlackerstrasse. Very new area, large / new apartments, Katzensee lake area right here. Very popular with families.

I live in kreis 5 (postcode 8005) Zurich & there is lots of kids stuff close to here - play park at josephswiese, mini farm yard by the limat river, schools, community house and so on. From here you can get to the city centre bahnhofstrasse in about 5 - 15mins.
Just depends if you prefer city or suburbs.
ps i think school age starts from 6 here.

oh, there is also a free swiming pool for kids by the limat river in summer.
And the centre here is quite multicultural with Swiss as well as foreigners.

You'll find lots of areas that are really good for families with kids - I personally like the Adliswil area, with a massive public pool that's open all year (well, the indoor pools (including diving boards) are open all year, the outdoor pools (including more diving boards and giant water slide!) are open in "summer"), lots of convenient shopping options, short train trip into the city (or shorter to Sihlcity, big shopping centre), many families about, sporting options in the area, schools ... the area is also pretty multicultural, including a Portuguese mini supermarket and an Indian or Sri Lankan supermarket ... oh, and the local Reformed Church (protestant) has a great kids' playground that they leave open for any kids to use, which is a convenient place to meet other families.

Hi
Wallisellen has a low tax rate good shopping opportunities (Glattzentrum) and a water world, ice skating is possible, tennis and even minigolf.
Andy

Thanks All!

I need to be more precise though. My work Location is close to the Zurich Airport. We need a international school for the kids. A bit of map study tells me the closest locations are

Seebach
Dietikon
Wallisellen
Kloten?

Hi
I live in wallisellen and i know there is an international school less that a minute away on the tram, it is opposite the Glatt which is a large shopping centre, here is the link for the Swiss international school north.
http://www.international-school.ch/
hope this helps

Zurich International School (zis.ch) nr Thalwil. Ok, further from airport, but still very commutable. Depends on your priorities of course!

We're about 10-15 minutes from the airport in Bassersdorf and we absolutely adore it here. Very quaint and quiet. We'll look out the window on a Friday night, see a few cars and comment on how rockin' it is. ;p By train it's around 20 minutes to central Zurich.

What's the airplane noise like in Bassersdorf?

Maps can be deceptive in terms of travel time, too ... I'd suggest checking travel times from various places close to the school(s) to your work address on www.sbb.ch - the Swiss public transport site, which has a trip planner. Very handy, and it would make far more sense to get a place close to the school which gives you a little bit of extra travel than the reverse.
While the half-hour I travel to work is seen as pretty long by many Swiss, it's far shorter than I used to commute back in Sydney ...

As well as the international schools, there are also a few bilingual schools about which operate within the Swiss system. If you want more info on them, a search on the EF should turn up some information for you.

If you work at the airport there are a few other living options available.

Winterthur has fast connections of about 15mins to the airport and also has an international school which has a lot more facilities then the Wallisellen school.

I notice also you mentioned Dietikon you really mean Dietlikon as these 2 places are often confused due to almost identical spelling they are opposite sides of Zurich however.

After running Search on EF, and checking distances, travel time etc, I am zeroing on Bassersdorf and Kloten. I need to be in the range of 20 max door-to-door. Proximity to the forest is a big plus for me, Like to go walks and run. Don't mind the plane noise

I visited Wallisellen, and found it strictly okay. The area has mainly houses & not many apartments and the Bahnof seems to be the real centre for shopping etc. Felt a bit lifeless.

Does anyone know about English Playschools, Kindergarten in Kloten/Bassersdorf?

Hi. I work at the airport and we live
in adliswil with two kids (4 years and 3 months). Great place with lots of expats, easy commute to work, lots of activities for the kids, forest and outdoors on our doorstep, international school here, no plane noise. We just love it here. Good luck.

The main shopping area in Wallisellen is Glattzentrum easily 2-3 times the size of the bahnhof shopping area in a multistory building that should have been visible from around the bahnhof. Also if you go to Dietlikon 5-10mins away another shopping centre with Ikea, Aldis, Atletikum, bowling alley Conrads, Toys R Us, Jumbos, clothing shops and others

Both the Glattzentrum and the Dietlikon shopping area are pretty busy especially on weekends

The area near the bahnhof is just the local shops and agree its not the busiest shopping area

Thank you Sir!