Have been here 5 months now and will be here for at least a year working for a Swiss subsidiary of my US company. I came over by myself, no family. By now I know my way around, love the trains and the hiking trails. My German is pretty minimal. My co-workers are all Swiss, so they are teaching me basic Swiss German pleasantries and essential phrases for shopping, going to restaurants, and getting my heating fixed. I have made my first visit to a dentist (successfully) and am sooo proud of it. Other than that I often feel like I've landed on the moon, I haven't had my hair styled or colored since I've been here ... I have a hard enough time at home getting what I need from a stylist that speaks my native US English! The most basic everyday things can be quite challenging. Take "official Zug garbage bags," for example ... took me 3 weeks to figure out where to buy them (behind the electronics counter at Migros - go figure). My perspective on life has changed a great deal with this experience. Everyone oughtta do the expat thing once in their lives, and Switzerland seems like a pretty benign place to start.

Heya

! Life can certainly be a challenge here - mostly because, as you say, the language barrier. But it does get easier with time!! Having said that it takes even longer ( at least for me ) to get used to the idiosyncrasies of the swiss peoples. But enjoy it while you are here!!

Enjoy
kt

Thanks for the welcome! Good to hear it gets better! I am trying to learn German and the basic culture but it's two steps forward then one back... I also hear from other expats that no matter how long I stay here I'll never be Swiss

Oh how I know that feeling, and trust me as soon as you think your getting hang of german they throw another curve ball at you, but persevere apparently after a while it gets easier ( at least Im told so )