We will be moving to Zurich in 2009 - exact date unknown. My husband will be working in Adliswil. I was wondering if that was a nice place to live? Are there many expats around there? Are the locals friendly?

Could we get a house there (we have 2 active boys)? What are the likely costs?

I hear that around September is the big changeover period for rentals - is this right? How hard is it to find somewhere at other times?

Any help much appreciated!

Adliswil is a nice and "Quite" place to live. the main station is a 15 min train ride from here.

getting an apartment in adliswil is not easy (i think it is one of the most difficult task, across Swiss). Oct 1 is the biggest window for a changeover of rentals, you can find other changeover windows in March and June too.

Adliswil is close to Zurich and the highways. There seem to be quite a few expats living there also! Finding accommodation is one of the hardest challenges you may face so start early and don't despair!

Yes Adliswil would make an ideal place to relocate!! My partner and i only moved to Zurich about six weeks ago and had no problem at all finding a fantastic apartment on the lake, we chose Richterswil in the end which is a little bit futher down the lake...
To get an idea of whats on offer and prices i would have a look at the website: www.homegate.ch which is where we found ours.

good luck and hope the move goes well

My husband and I looked at Adliswil and Thalwil when we moved here- we looked at a lot of apartments, and applied for quite a number- finally we got offered two in Adliswil and one in Thalwil. We ended up taking the Thalwil apartment (which was more expensive but still worth it to us) because it was on the lake itself, and the tax rates are lower, evening out the cost difference.

Both areas are very nice. Both areas are family friendly. Both are commute friendly, if you need to go to Zurich. From Thalwil to Adliswil is about 10 minutes by bus.

I would suggest you sit down with a map of Zurich, and a tax rate calculator and zvv.ch and figure out what areas are good for you lifestyle, taxation and transport wise.

Oh, and homegate.ch is a great tool. Use in particular the "steurrechner" (tax calculator) and the Lageplan (map). As someone who doesn't own a car and would have to depend on public transport for grocery hauls- I found the Verkehr (public transport) and Shopping tickboxes in the map particularly helpful. Once you get more serious about searching, you can also do a door to door time check from home to work (and zvv also has an english option).

More than anything else though, come with an open mind. At the beginning we were also really keen on Adliswil, but as we began apartment hunting, we understood how difficult the market here really is, and realised we needed a contingency. Thalwil was the contingency which we ended up falling in love with. So come with a few areas you're happy to explore atleast before settling on a couple of areas to seriously focus your house search on.

You'll have fun here. Welcome.

I'll add another thumbs up for Adliswil, been here for a few years now, it's got some decent shops that means you can buy most of what you need day to day locally, it classes as a city in Switzerland although some have unkindly referred to it as a wide-bit-in-the-road. Rail connections to the main station are good, 20 minutes into the main station. Lots of ex-pats here and lots of them with children. Send me a PM if you want more info.

Would the future employer in Adliswil for your husbadn be anything to do with insurance/reinsurance by any chance?

Cheers

Hi there - we live in Langnau am Albis which is just next door to Adliswil and I have friends who live in Adliswil. I would say it is a lovely place to live, very family friendly and lots of expats (there is one street - Sonnenbergstr that is basically all expats!).

There are a few free standing houses, but many more apartments and town house type places with gardens.

In addition to Homegate I would check out www.comparis.ch it is a good site that gather rentals from quite a few other sites, so often has more on it.

Also, you can get apartments between moving dates, often as expats leave or whatever, but there is definately more choice in the lead up to a moving date!

Good luck!

He he, to those in the know in Adliswil, Sonnenbergstrasse is referred to as the Auslander Ghetto

Sorry, we've been distracted the last couple of weeks with visitors. Thanks to all the responses. We will make sure we're not set on Adliswil, and will look around at a few areas. It also depends on which school our kids get into, as we don't want a long commute for them. (How far is Wadenswil from Adliswil?)

Yes, to Louis - the employer would be a reinsurer! Do you work for them too?

If you are looking at ZIS then the timing by car from Adliswil to Waedenswil is about 15mins but I believe they also offer a bus service for a fee...................

We live in Horgen - between Thalwil and Waedenswil - another nice town. If you are here for a while I would advise finding as close to your ideal as poss as moving here is very expensive and awkward with dates.

good luck and the advantage for you being in adliswil is close proximity to the pool and tennis courts for you lucky people. I hold on to my swiss re friends lol.

caz