I'm thinking of moving to Stafa (from USA) next summer ;-))) ! Any information would help, since I don't know anybody and anything there. How much we need to make a month to live there> we have seven years old kid, how is scool and before/after school program, since we are both going to have a job?

Thank you in advance

Well you've got quite a bit of time to sort things out and you've been a member for quite a time too, so you know a few of things about the Forum already.

I suggest you spend an evening or two looking at posts relevant to your situation. People who have moved from America to Switzerland, the financial side is partially covered in a Sticky Thread, look at posts on school matters concerning children the age of your child and check housing in the 'Gold Coast' area. There is much Info on here already. The Search function isn't all that good, but it will certainly give you quite a lot of Threads to start you off.

Happy hunting.

thank you so much ! Now where is "gold coast' area, close to Stafa??
Forum is great and I spend a lot of time reading all information here, ...love it ;-))))thank you one more time !

The "Gold Coast" is the north/east coast of Lake Zurich. It is reputed to be sunnier than the other side, so the rents tend to be higher. The poshest bit runs from the edge of the city of Zurich through Zollikon, Kusnacht, Erlenbach and Herrliberg to Meilen. From Uetikon through Maennedorf, Staefa and beyond, it tends to be a little cheaper.

Staefa* is a lovely little town, sitting by the lake (although it's very steep, and some parts are a good half hour walk up a big hill), with a nice collection of shops and restaurants and a regular train service (S7) that runs to Zurich every half hour until quite late in the evening. It is also served by a night service at the weekends, which is handy.

I don't know anything about the public schools in the area, but there is a private bilingual primary school in neighbouring Maennedorf, and more private schools - both bilingual and international - further towards Zurich.

To get an idea of rents, have a look at http://www.homegate.ch/

To see what transport options are available, look at http://www.sbb.ch/en/index.htm The relevant train stations for you are likely to be Staefa; Zurich, Stadelhofen and Zurich HB.

Here is a map of Staefa, from which you can zoom in and out: http://map.search.ch/staefa

Good luck!

* My keyboard doesn't have umlauts - I'm guessing yours might not either, so ae represents an a with an umlaut. You can use that when searching using the links above.

The Gold Coast is the Stäfa side of Lake Zürich. The 'other' side, Thalwil, Horgen, Wädenswil, Richterswil is the Schnüffel coast (the 'sniffy' coast). There, there is less sun in the afternoons and less in winter as by the time the fog from the lake has cleared and the sun has come out, it is already trying to sneak its way down behind the Hirzel! So those of us on the sniffy side gaze, green with envy, across towards the 'Gold Coast' bathed in sunlight but comfort ourselves with the thought that we could never pay the rent on a flat there anyway! (Sunny not only rhymes with money, but the two are inter-connected in Switzerland!)

thank you all ;-))))

The schools in Stäfa are really good. There are a after school child care Micado. That provide lunch and activities for children. It can be difficult to get a space if you don't apply in time.

Stäfa also has nice shops.

Stäfa is a really nice place to live for families. Also surrounded by nice nature and in summer the nice Badi.