Hi all

Stumbled upon this forum on the weekend, much to my delight.

We (myself, hubby and little son) live in Johannesburg, South Africa. We're considering emigration to provide a better social climate for our little boy (somewhere where life != handbag + cell phone, preferably). We haven't quite decided on a country yet - it's so difficult to decide when you haven't lived anywhere else! So, joining this forum is part of "research".

Switzerland seems like a good option (not that I really know how it compares to the rest of Europe). Only problem is that, although I have an EU passport, my husband can't get a job there. Phoned the Swiss Consulate, and this is what they said, "He is allowed to work there because of your marriage. But he can't get a work permit until he has a job. He also won't get a job without a work permit. Yes, it is a little bit of a catch-22, isn't it?" That, and we don't speak French or German (I understand mostly, but speaking is a bit rusty).

Anyhow. I'm a recovering programmer, recently turned freelance journalist/writer and my husband is still in IT. Any suggestions, advice, warnings, or job offers will be most welcome

You should start a thread on that in the help and tips section (introductions isn't a place to get into specific questions/issues), but the short answer is that in practical terms that is rubbish, and a very disappointing thing to hear from the consulate - but if we'd like to expand on that it should be on a new thread.

Hi Mark

Just thought I'd post a quick "this is who we are and where we are in the process". But thanks, I will start a new thread.