Hi everyone. I'll be moving to Zurich from Canada in February to do an internship. My employer is assisting me with finding an apartment so finding a guarantor will not be a problem.

I am curious about a few things though. Since I'm a student with a minimal Intern salary, I am trying to spend as little as possible. My employer has advised me that a shared flat will cost me about 500.- CHF per month. Is this a normal cost for housing in Zurich? Also, how does student housing work, do student residences have kitchens? I want to avoid eating at the canteens and at restaurants to save money. I also would prefer to cook my own meals. (Where I am, the student residences are expensive and meal plans mandatory, they cost about as much as luxury condos.)

Another question, how hard will it be to find non-smoking accommodations? I have asthma and living with a smoker would be a nightmare. I haven't tried it, but tobacco smoke is a pretty bad trigger for an attack for me. I can't imagine having an attack every day, and it would be a nightmare to visit a doctor so often since about 1/4 of the time, my attacks require short hospitalisation so I can use a nebuliser for a few hours. Ironically, I'm okay with exercise! I know I probably won't be able to go to a bar because of this, but I can live with that just fine. I just hope it won't be a problem.

I would appreciate any info on the housing issue and Thank You!

500CHF is about normal for a flatshare, yes. That's with a (shared) kitchen.

Student housing is not run by the university; it's just privately owned housing that is (officially or unofficially) only rented to students. Some of it is nonsmoking - I couldn't say how much.

If you're a student, eating at the mensa once a day is usually cheaper than cooking the same food yourself: CHF 5.40 for a hot meal with a decent amount of protein and two side dishes (free seconds on the side dishes.) No such thing as a US-style meal plan here: you simply pay every time you eat, and flash your student ID to get the subsidized price.

Thank you for replying!

Is student housing set up the same way as dormitories or more like apartments? Do they have kitchens and the such? My student ID is from Canada, and I have to say, I'm a bit older, would I even quality for the student rate as I'm 29, even if I am a student?

Shared apartments from what I've seen (there may be some dorm-style accomodation around but I don't think there's much.) Can be either a kitchen in each apartment, or one big communal kitchen downstairs.

Depends on the property owner. Age probably doesn't make a difference - plenty of grad students in your age bracket still - but if you're not enrolled here as a student, you might not qualify.

You won't qualify for discounted meals in the mensa either - again, you need to be enrolled as a student here - but the normal-people price (10-ish franks for a meal) still isn't bad, for when you get tired of your own cooking.