hello -

i am from the uk and currently still living there; but my partner is swiss and i am trying to spend more time in and around zurich this year, to see if i can build my own relationship with the place.

i will need to be building friends and community, language skills, occassional accomodation, and also a source of income, so its a daunting prospect and i hope things will unfold gradually and easily.

its been a blessing to find EF!

any tips are welcome...
x

hey,
welcome to the forum. I'm not really sure how to answer most of your questions, but your at the right spot for meeting a few people and making new friends. there are various social events on the calander or if you have a browse round you might find some people with the same interests and you could drop them a PM. otherwise you could always start your own event and that could get people to pm you. In general people tend to respond to slightly more specific questions and info better. so UK, mmm thats okay but if you were to say like liverpool or Glasgow you might get a bit more interest.

anyway best of luck and hope you make it here. As always a new beginning will never be as easy as your old life, but stick it out for a while and you will soon start to feel at home.
I usually find i only feel right at home in about 3 months, so i would give it at least that.

cess

welcome mate

thankyou friends!
good to know youre out there...

im actually about as far as you can get from liverpool or glasgow, but starting out from a farm near a small village in rurual south devon!

..interests hmmm...
i guess im excited to discover the 5rhythms scene in the city,
watery things like swimming and kayaking,
and a scene to weave my profession into - i work with people of all ages helping them to play, and get more confidence in their creative curiosity and expression. this involves storytelling, puppets, arts and crafts, pretending, climbing trees, building dens, dressing up, rituals, etc... and can come in the form of workshops, performance, retreats, adventure-quests, 'child-led freeplay' etc...

any clues??
x

hi!
im looking to move from rural england, to just outside zurich somewhere...

id especially love to hear from / meet with anyone with tips about how they got started; with work, language, home, shoping, socialising, etc...

im thinking couchsurfing might be a good springboard?

i am
roz

Hi Roz

I am pretty new to Switzerland, moved from Essex at the end of November.

Language, is not a problem here at all, as pretty much most people understand and speak english, sometimes only a little but enough, people are very friendly and most are very helpful. Is definately worth learning German, but you can get by without it.

Job wise I cant help with any advice as I had the job before I moved, tis the reason I moved in fact.

I live in Effretikon which is about 18 minute train journey into Zurich City Centre, its nice to be on the outside its peaceful, quiet etc etc but trains are so damn good and regular you can get anywhere without any hassle from early morning till late night.

Socially I havent experienced to much so far but what I have has been good.

Overall, I love this place, is so much nicer than the UK, safer than UK. It has changed my whole lifestyle coming here, for the better, I tend to do more when im not working. Its a lovely place I would recommend it to anyone.

Any specific questions I'd be happy to answer if I know an answer, or can find one.

Housing can be expensive, but its comparative to the wages you can earn here.
Generally you need 2 > 3 months as a deposit + first months rent.
Places get snapped up fast and its worth checking the details of your contract, I have a friend who cannot move for two years and then can only apply in March to move (or something like that). so check all the details of the contract.

To give you an idea of apartments for rent and prices etc try this website, its very good.

http://en.comparis.ch/immobilien/default.aspx

You won't get an apartment without a steady income. They'll want either proof of employment or proof that you can make the monthly payments. And based on your other posts on this forum, you have no plan to get a regular job. So I can't see it working out too well for you.

You could try couchsurfing like you mention, but usually people will only host you for a couple of days rather than the months and months it will take you to find employment and accommodation.

To that I'll add that this person never answers the thread she starts. I smell a troll or a very lazy hippy.

oouch...

sorry if i offended - i have replied sometimes, but wasnt aware of the protocol.

i have tried to begin new threads in approriate places, and figured people may stop reading older posts, but its great that answers have kept coming.
thanks to everyone who has conributed! i am not discoraged...


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