Hellooooo - you all seem a friendly bunch on EF!

My spouse is transferring to Zug in a few weeks (from his current expat posting in Singapore). We're both originally from England.

We're both excited about moving to Switzerland as we haven't lived in Europe for over a decade. I'm the 'trailing spouse' but our kids have grown up so I guess we're now 'empty nesters'.

I know from experience that many expats make friends with other families via their kids....I hope I manage to find some friends without having my (young adult) kids in tow lol!

Just a quick question; I've just got the German version of 'Rosetta Stone' as I don't know any German; will it be of any help/use at all in Switzerland? There is of course no Swiss German version of Rosetta Stone that I'm aware of, but I thought it would be better than nothing.

Yes, knowing High German is definitely an advantage here, not only for work but it also improves your quality of life. If you're fluent in High German, you'll start to understand the local dialect (which is about as different from High German as Dutch) after a couple years. While it's true that a lot of people (especially those you'd meet through work) speak English to a certain degree, you'll find that a lot of stuff doesn't get translated. Knowing the local language really helps in understanding the culture and how the locals think.

After you're finished with the Rosetta Stone course, you might want to take some evening German courses at a language school. They're a great way to meet people and improve your German at the same time.

Hi Fish&Chips and welcome to the Forum. I am sure that you will enjoy living in Zug. Speaking, or at least understanding, the language will be very useful, though (in my experience) not essential.

Hello Fish and Chips! The spring weather has been gorgeous and I hope it continues into the summer for your arrival. Zug is beautiful in the sunshine. Be sure and take the cograil train to the top of Zuggerberg for a walk and the views over the lake. I don't know if you're a 'club joiner' but you may want to check out the Zug International Women's Club for starters. Good luck!

Learning German, at least to a basic level, will help enormously. Swiss are quite forgiving of linguistic errors if you at least make the effort.

Don't expect a suntec or Orchard Road though! Enjoy Switzerland.

Welcome soon to Zug, FishnChips!

(Have your fill of shopping and eating out in Singapore before you move here!)

Yep, there are some of us 'older' folk without little or grown children in tow here in the canton. Maybe with a dog or two though.

Hope you have lots of interesting fun settling in. And, yes, learning German is the first step in the right direction.

We live in Baar, Canton Zug. Welcome to the neighborhood!

If you have questions, let us know.

Hi all, I´m Maria, and I have just moved to Zug from Spain, to work this summer here.

I was wondering what can I do here during the week, as I`m quite alone, and don`t know what activities can be done.
Do you organize any kind of activitie through the forum?
Any recommendation is welcome!

thanks

Hiking, biking, walk by the lake....

Walk along the footpath from Zug to Cham (3.5km). In between you'll find a nudist beach and BBQ beaches near Chollermühli, and a flower farm as well. Cham has a beautiful lake park for you to explore - there's an outdoor naturalistic sculpture exhibition at the moment all around the park. Welcome!