Hi all!

I'm new to the forums and I'm impressed that there's a nice ambience here with friendly people!

I've managed to land a job in Zurich and now I am searching for somewhere to live. I need some advice please.

I was looking at Thalwil, as I want something outside the main city yet still close by train, and with a lakeside location. I've heard Horgen, Wadenswil and Wollerau are possibilities too. The question is, I know nothing about these areas, so I was hoping for friendly advice from people who know these areas.

These areas have an appeal as I will be working just at the top of Zurichsee. Wollerau may be too far as I don't want to commute over 30 mins.

The interesting questions are:
- are these places nice? Can I experience the great outdoors easily?
- good amenities? nice restaurants?
- is safety an issue?
- is tax a consideration?

Thanks for your time.

JC

What do you mean by "top of Zurichsee"? The city of Zurich? Downtown is - at least in local parlance - at the bottom of the lake.

Hello

http://www.homegate.ch/homegate/map?...ault&a=default

http://tinyurl.com/yjwaavd

You can click on the map the districts: Zurich, Meilen and Horgen.

In Zurich I like the following postal codes: 8001, 8002, 8008, 8006, 8032, 8038, 8044, 8049

District Meilen: Stäfa is very beautiful, but I wouldn't go further than that (for time reasons)
District Horgen: Maybe until Horgen

Calculating commuting time: www.zvv.ch
The S16 along district Meilen goes directly to the airport - just in case this is important to you.

Tax comparison: http://www.steueramt.zh.ch/html/steu...euerfuesse.htm

"Zurich" has quite a high tax, compared to the lake districts, whereas I prefer the whole district "Meilen".

Safety is not an issue.

Good Luck.

Hello and welcome to the Forum

There are many factors and thankfully you're not the first to ask.

Here are a few threads which may be of interest:

Wollerau, general Thalwil threads, Horgen speciality thread.

Good luck!

Safety is not really an issue here at all. Even the worst parts of Zurich are not dangerous to walk through at any time (while there you might be offered drugs). The places you are looking at are very very safe.

Tax is an issue, but too complex to answer in a sentence. You will find a lot of information on it, but in general: If the tax is lower, the rent is higher and vice versa... so it depends on your specific income situation.

I meant the most northern part of the lake right in the city.

Thanks to everyone for replying. There's a lot of useful info already!

No need to be a Bünzli - especially as we all try to avoid it a bit

From the context it's quite clear that he means the city of Zurich. Otherwise Wollerau would not be too far for him.

Thumbs up for Thalwil, I lived there for 7 years. Beautiful location, fantastic train connections, excellent shopping, very nice beach with restaurant right on the lake, breathtaking biking up the hill to Horgenberg, great restauarants including very good Thai all-you-can-eat for 17.50, Coop, Migros, and soon a huge 3M Migros shopping center will open, right on the autobahn, skiing about 40 minutes away, killer kebab stand at the train station, great deli on the main street, absolutely safe, low taxes, view of the lake and mountains.

It is a bit quiet in the evening, but that is what Zurich is for (15 minutes into town, trains leave every 15 minutes).

Any of those lovely little towns on one of the sBahn lines:
You get to the city quickly
You can enjoy the countryside and lakes while having the advantage of a large urban setting 15 minutes away.
No need for a car

Zurich is so much fun

Lots of friendly and helpful advice. If I figure out how to "thank" people to add to their reputation here I would do it!