Hi all,

My wife and I are relocating to Zurich some time in the coming month. This probably will sound very open-ended but I was wondering if I could get some recommendations on neighbourhoods in or near Zurich that we could look into.

Barring any unpredictable mishaps, we are hoping to try Zurich for at least 2-3 years, and this time I am determined not to make the same mistake when relocating to London, namely moving too frequently because of lack of knowledge on the different neighbourhoods.

Here are some requirements I thought of:

- cycling distance to Opfikon (max. around 40 minutes), for the commute

- good access to central Zurich, ideally until late night (2-3am?), for the wife's job when it comes, and the socialising

- good access to the ski slopes: now before everyone replies "the mountains are on your doorstep anywhere in Zurich", I would like to ideally be able to get to a ski area on public transport, without any transfers, and ideally without having to look up train / bus times.
I don't care so much about the journey times but I would like to be able to impulsively hit the mountains with a lot of gear and without a car. So e.g. a neighbourhood on the train line to the mountains would be lovely.
Good access to many different ski areas would be a bonus.
Access to the mountains is what sold me the job and the location, so this is crucial to me!

Beyond the above, we would need around 70-100 m^2 of living space and the better a balance we can get between the cost, distance to the grocery store, the view, funky neighbours etc, the better. But These are secondary, the list above is primary.

So if you live in a neighbourhood you'd like to recommend, please share the details!

Lastly, has anyone heard of anyone living somewhere in the Alps and commuting to Zurich?

The commute from many parts of Zurich to Opfikon is uphill, just to mention it.

Also, have a look at this thread for the different parts of the city:

http://www.englishforum.ch/housing-g...rich-city.html

You may be interested in looking at this developement. The first tranch are getting their keys in a week or so. It's a New Build near Opfikon.

http://www.glattbach.ch/c_lage.shtml...ibility=inline

Anywhere north of Zurich main station will involve a trip into the city centre with your ski gear to catch a train from there for your Snowexploits.

Taxes are lower as this new build falls into the Opfikon area apparently but I dont know by how much as I have yet to move there.

Well I lived in Opfikon, and apart from a little plane noise it's a very nice little village, and with good connections to the city (tram soon + 2 x train stations!)

Thanks all for the links and recommendations.

After quizzing my new colleagues, it appears my ambition of a no-transit journey to the mountains is a difficult one to achieve, and one that has to be traded off with a cycle commute.

In light of this, I've posted another question:

Ski resort with easiest access via public transport from Zurich?

Opfikon is too close to the airport, i.e. noisy planes.