Hi, Im 30 years old female moving from Sout-East London Uk, in june, to change and improve my life completely.Was wondering if any locals could answer a few questions before I got thereSuisse,Vaud,Montreux)...
I can't speak a word of French but I will hopefully pick it up fast.
Thx Lucy.

Hadn't a clue sadie came along.

I moved here 8 months ago from Herts, I have found life out here very different and much better quality. I don't know much about Montreux, I am learning French quickly by mixing with Swiss people and insisting they don't speak English to me. It has been hard work and very rewarding.
I suggest you download a free podcast like Coffee Break French or Learn French by Podcast to get yourself started with the language.
As for answering your questions... you probably need to ask them first!

Thank you deekirsty!

Anyway think Im losing the plot...
i woke up today feeling rather down,what have I done???
where am I going to? Alice in wonderland? Montreux? Am I doing the right move? New life? New people? Not mother tongue?
i wil be fine its just today i guess
EF helps me getting it off my chest im really looking forward to find out or die out.Thank you.

What a great idea...podcasts to help with foreign language acquisition. I'm going to look up some German podcasts right away!

I work in Montreux and live just outside in Aigle, so if you need any help with Montreux then I might be able to help. In saying that, i've only been here for 3 months, so what the hell do I know

All the best with your move anyway. It can be daunting but once you are here, it's fantastic!!

Cheers

Sean

Hi Lucy,

I moved to Montreux with my husband 2.5 years ago from London. Not much happens in Montreux, it has to be said. It's nice to visit as a tourist and it has a good rail network, but if you are looking for a busy social scene, Montreux is unlikely to deliver (although of course, there restaurants, a few bars and a couple of dodgy clubs!). However, it's easy to get to Lausanne and there are things going on in nearby Vevey as well. We attended some of the social events organised through EF when we first arrived, and made some really good friends as a result.

As for speaking French, we came over with a basic grasp of the language, and although we do try hard to speak French, most people do speak English; I would recommend that you at least learn some key phrases and/or take up a course as you can't rely on the fact that people will speak English.

Have you found an apartment to live in? That can't be tricky and time consuming if you haven't done so already. ALso, will you be working?

Feel free to PM me if you want to chat about moving; I know how daunting it can be, but it was also the best move we made!

Best of luck.

Tola

I don't think that you can fail to improve your life moving out of South-East london.

Go to the cheap book shop "Works" in your area and get yourself some nice cheap French study books/CDs for about a £2.00.
http://www.theworks.co.uk/

Hi,

I'm 29 years old and live in Préverenges near Lausanne (I've been here since July last year); my parents live in Fontanivent just above Montreux and have been here for 3 and a half years. I'm sure between us we could help you out.

If you want I could meet up with you for coffee and a chat? I also speak fairly decent French.

Some of the things I / we could do:

Go shopping with you at Migros, show you what basic products are called in French, how to use the fruit and veg section (something I found very confusing) etc.

Help you find a doctor who speaks English.

All the best, and fee free to PM me.

Victoria

Help you buy a Swiss mobile phone.

Give you advice on registering your arrival in Switzerland and applying for your permit.

I'm sure I can think of more things later...

I'm not working at the moment, although I'm starting an intensive French course on the 14th June. When exactly are you arriving?

If you haven't got it already, I recommend you buy this book: http://www.amazon.co.uk/Living-Worki...2874052&sr=8-1 as it will give you a lot of information about life in Switzerland - well worth the money! I got my copy at Waterstones in the travel section as I see it's out of stock at Amazon at the moment...

Also, as someone else said, do you have a place to live? As other people have said, it's not easy - it's practically a full time job.

Sorry, can't seem to make the edit function work. Anyway, I forgot to say - feel free to PM me, and by the way my name's Victoria!

i guess there is the sundance festival, at least:

http://www.mad.ch/sundance

Dear all of you.
I’d like to thank each and every one of you for your kind and helpful posts here.I think I owe you a few words more:
I have to say that My life hasn't been great recently ( divorce 2 year ago followed by mom's death and a weeks ago drunken yob nearly run over my 5yrs oldson,not to mention burgled twice last year...etc ) and now fed up neeed fresh start asap...
Im totally enjoying relaxed and mature relationship with older(43)Swiss gent.( shall I say that I met him at my friends dinner party in Canary Wharf/London last summer )but now his job is done here in London and he movedback to Montreux.In June, I suppose to join him there with my son, of course,the good stuff is dont need to look for a house or a flat or whatever...

I have no job waiting for me there,unfortunately.But will need decent one,B t w Im pastry chef Ive been doing cakes and deserts all my life.
I've got a jar of wishes and looking forward to say bye bye to my dodgy,noisy and poluted neighbourhood.

Merci beaucoup and yes I will PM you!