Hello,

Thank you to the administrators of this site, it has been of much value to me but I have not given back.. so now is the time to take part and contribute.

I'd also like to single out a poster on these forums, Richard, for all his great information with regards to Business/Freelancers in Switzerland.

My given name is Scott but I am happy to go by the handle CheesyKiwi. Because I am a kiwi and have a Swiss wife. My kinder are certainly CheesyKiwi's by birth.

We are currently in New Zealand, Wellington, but will be moving to Basel next year for a long stay. The apartment search has already started with the grateful assistance of my wifes parents.

Professionally I am an IT Consultant with IBM but when it comes down to it I can do a little bit of everything yet a specialist of nothing. That is much the way it is for most professionals in little New Zealand (4 million people).

My native tongue is English and I try to learn German.. I am treating it like a life long undertaking.

I look forward to meeting you in this web community. I know that there will be some curly questions and even curlier answers coming from me. For instance my wife and I are married, but we have kept our surnames before marriage but our children have a surname made from parts of our surnames. By the reaction of the Swiss Ambassador in New Zealand, when he heard of this, we are going to be rubbing the Swiss bureaucracy the wrong way!

Scott aka CheesyKiwi

Hi Scott, and welcome to the EF!

Great intro, some interesting little details ... with surnames, I had a good friend who got married and the couple both hyphenated their surnames (ie, they added their surnames together with a hyphen in between) in preparation for kids - so all members of the family would have the same surname.

Hope your search for accommodation and enjoyable work goes well, and check out the Social Events when you're in the country for some fun things to do!

Hello and welcome to the Forum Glad you find the site useful. Good luck with your move.

coor.. when we left, there were 3 million people in the country.. how times change.

I also remember there being a time when there were 70 million sheep, but with a few harsh springs, and cows being more profitable, these things change too.

Anyways, hello and welcome! You have probably already visited this land locked land, and the kids no doubt speak Swiss German. It is a nice place to live, though I am still not used to the immense amount of people here - you are never alone.

I am just about to go for a ride in the forest. I will be saying "gruezi" every 300 meters or so, as it is Sunday, the shops are closed and everyone is walking in the forest.

BUT unlike Wellington, you can keep the same hairstyle all day!! AND you can use an umbrella! (it wont fly away)

have a good day.

Rangi