Hi all,

My husband and I relocated to Switzerland recently (October 2011) and are just finally settling in to an apartment in Dietikon. We're both Kiwis (that is, from New Zealand) and adjusting to a new way of life.

He's a research scientist / electrical engineer and I am doing online consulting work for my old employer back in NZ.

We're both total geeks (reading, TV, movies, gaming, sci fi). We're still waiting for our stuff to arrive from home (should be a couple of months away, NZ is pretty much the other side of the world). I'm also a total craft geek - crochet and cross-stitch are my thing.

I've enrolled in a German course and am about to start my third month next week and I've nearly got enough phrases for a really basic conversation at a grocery checkout counter!

Nice to meet you all! Glad to find some other English speakers here and loving all the tips and resources.

M

Hi and welcome to the forum. I live in Dietikon as well and like it. Very close to the Airport, Zurich city and the Shopping Centre in Spreitenbach.
Good luck with your German course.

Hi Mirage, I'm not a bit geeky but thought I'd give you a warm welcome anyway.

Hello Mirage,
I moved to Switzerland on Nov. 20th 2011. Our container just arrived last week from San Francisco, Ca. My husband in also an EE. I live in Erlenbach but if you would like to have a friend to walk around the city with or do some outdoor activities, like hiking, Mt. Biking, etc let me know. I am not working yet. I am taking a year off to learn the language. I am using the Rosetta Stone program on the computer and it works pretty good. I am going back to SF for the month of Feb. so I didn't enroll in a language school yet.
Let me know if you get lonely and need a buddy to hang out with.
Sincerely,
Raquel

G'day Mirage.
I'm an Aussie and my wife is a Kiwi. I am currently considering a position in Kloton and were looking at living in Winterthur to be close to an English speaking school there. We are bringing our 12 yo son. What's it like where you are? Any suggestions for researching accom? What do you think we might expect to pay for a three bed appt? Would like to find a place on the edge of town with a village atmosphere.

Hello and welcome to this wonderful big small-town at the foothill of the alps!
You'll get to love this place either right away (like I did) or over time - like friendly fungus.

Hi witch,

We're definitely finding Dietikon very handy. My German classes are in Baden and it was wonderful being able to walk to the train station and get a train straight to the airport at Christmas!

M

Thanks Oldhand!

Hi Raquel,

I love SF (although I haven't been there in years) and would love to catch up some time. My during-the-day hours are relatively free (the consulting work isn't full time) and could definitely catch up one Tuesday/Wednesday or Friday (my German classes are on Monday and Thursday, so they aren't so good for me).

Maybe we could meet up in Zurich and have an explore some time? Would be great to make some more friends who are in this part of the world!

Mira

Welcome to EF!
I do admire you folks transferring from lands far away.

Hi Freddo,

To be honest, I'm very very new here and I'm probably not the best person to answer your questions, but I'll give them my best shot!

In terms of cost-of-living and the like, I found a lot of really useful information on these forums before we came. You can also check out homegate.ch (a rental website, Google translate is useful for the German listings) and see what kind of prices places like what you're looking for are going for in that area. I'll point out that the system of counting rooms here is very very different, so check the forums for some information on how that works again so you are looking at 3 bedroom places.

You'll also need to be patient when looking for a place. It's different process here (you find somewhere you like and then you apply for a place - many of the rental properties don't have a first-come first-served policy, which was very different to what we're used to).

Be prepared for a bit of culture shock and a real difference in cost-of-living. I came in as prepared as I could be and that helped a lot. I'd also recommend picking up a little bit of German before you come if you get the chance. It will definitely help as the more 'out of the city/airport' you are, the fewer people you'll stumble upon who'll be able to speak English. People appreciate it if you can even just put together "I don't understand, do you speak English?" (ich verstehe nicht, sprechst sie die English?) in German.

Hope some of that was useful. If you do end up here, let us know. We'd love to catch up with some other people from home (whether from our side of the ditch or not!).

M

So far, I'm a fan. Looking forward to exploring Dietikon more and figuring it out a little better! (We spent our first few months based in Baden in short-term accommodation until we found our own place).