To be honest, I think you will find really nice people and complete a$$holes in just about every country and culture.

Not to mention the fact that sometimes people just have a bad day. I'm usually a pretty laid-back, friendly person but every now and then I do get in a grumpy mood and don't have much tolerance for (for example) an extremely crowded Migros on a Saturday morning. So I'm not sure if you can really judge a person's overall character by just one chance encounter.

I've met some incredibly nice Swiss people as well as a few that did seem a bit cold. But I usually never get to know the cold ones to find out if that's how they normally are, or if they were just having a bad day that day.

Swiss people, what to know (by a non-Swiss)

There are many different kinds of Swiss. Some of them have hats.
They eat many exciting dishes, mainly made from potatoes, cheese and swine flesh, or "gemuese" as they call it in Swiss French.
There is a man called Urs.
There are some Swiss people who are over 1m tall!
Swiss people enjoy games such as Jassen, Schwingen and a peculiar sport called Football, in which the participants throw potatoes at a circular target.
In the quaint village of Olten, nestled in the foothills of the Alps, lots of people read newspapers.
Swiss people like to keep fish. They train them to predict the weather.
The Mayor of Hornbach drives a Ferarri. He uses it to distribute plumbing equipment to the destitute.
Once upon a time, all Swiss women were required by law to be called Regula. This was repealed in 1971, and women can now be called anything you like.

I think I would have been much happier in either the French or Italian part of Switzerland regardless of my German background and family ties.

I hear there are some nice ones who live above you but you haven't got the courage to introduce yourself.....

You making yourself look a bit of a tit might cause a sympathetic wince from my part but I hardly would consider myself discomforted or insulted.

But only in Svizzera Interna.

Here they're all called Katia (at least the hot ones).

And our mayor drives a Yamaha TDM, and brings his daughter to kindergarden on the tank (when he's not driving his Lambo, Ferraris are for foreigners, unless they aren't red)

So move, I did.

Tom

Negative. It would be SwissA350 anyway


No no no, in Zürich, men are FELIX and women REGULA and butlers/waiters EXUPERANTIUS





To say it again, "Svizzera Interna" and "Innerschwiiz" is not the same.


And here the three before and after the execution. As the Story has it, they took their heads, walked up to where the Grossmünster is now and declared that a big church should be built right there

..more like Beat and Vreni in my neck of the woods.

The OP listed "better knowers" twice.

It's because the OP knows best.
He's helping ignorant non-swiss foreigners to get to understand human beings. Sorry I mean "Swiss Italians, Swiss French, Swiss Germans".

Which reminds me of adding the to very useful and accurate list, that Swiss People know the same information better than a non-Swiss would ever do. It's often called "Swiss Experience".

PS: I wish I found some kind of remote motivation to contradict each items of the list, but I have some disease after reading in the toilet... *

*Oh that's also to add in the list: Swiss People can get hemorrhoids from reading! What an amazing science!

Thanks Swiss787, now I know where I have been going wrong! Seriously after living here 25 years, I have to agree with you.

My 3 cents:
Swiss people are very restrained, but when you do manage to form a friendship they are very loyal and good friends.
When you offer a new idea, they usually reject it outright. Much later they sometimes sneak it in as their own.
Mountain areas in Germany and Austria have natives with similar characters.

Whereas in Bern, all men are called, Danu, Padu, Bidu, Tinu, Richu, Simu etc etc...

I think we need to add 'Gullible' to this list of characteristics. The Swiss (and I'm partly one !) seem to believe :

• The full moon affects children's behaviour
• Fresh air can make you ill (if it comes in through a window)
• Homeopathy works

Something else which is believed "world-wide", but again: the Swiss do it better.

Seems it is often fashionable to be stressed in CH. All our CH friends are - well, lucky them eh?

You know Urs as well!?

(True story: I actually did interview for a gig in ZH with a guy named "Urs". I'm guessing this is actually a fairly common name, but was the first time I had ever heard it.)

True Story: I know at least 15 men called Urs. It's a common name here.

I never realized Swiss people liked to talk about themselves so much. and in English, too.

Hey thanks for the opportunity to let me live out your so hard developed stereo-types. It is always a great pleasure if I am not responsible for them by myself. It is propably about the same pleasure to pretend to be a wannabe-Swiss and to spew out some own frustration.

But let me play a bit with you with great pleasure:

- Stubborn. We CH are always right, even if we are wrong.

I suppose this makes all Swiss quite female

- Jede da isch en Polizischt oder pensionierte Polizischt "everyone here is either a police officer or a retired police officer".

I suppose it is much more effective than any organised form, and much cheaper as well. To your information: nowadays, it is called swarm intelligence.

- not united / uncooperative unless you pay for a service

I don't get this.

- extremely hard to make friendships

You know what, communication is always a two-way interchange!

- distrust new faces immediately instead of rather being welcoming

If you would know how ugly you look to us ...!

- judge people too fast by appearance and initial comments

What else should we rely on, when you are not able to communicate!?


- do never forget a bad experience (bad as in it isn't even so bad), grab to it until the end of days to get back to someone.

I like elephants very much. The only solution for you is: treat them very well!

- too much negative stereotyping of foreign nations (not racism, racism is common, but not more or less like in any other countries, the stereotyping is bad however).

You are a very good example. Congrats!

- Better knowers

Dito.

- Problems with small talk, extremely direct and appear distrusting to people that apply social small talk with them, but then they do small talk themselves...

I don't get it.

- Complain and complain instead of taking action when it would really matter. But for small ridiculous things, we do start conflicts immediately as mentioned already.

Yeah, you keep repeating this. Can you tell us more about your family?

- negative feedback and friendly complaints here unacceptable unless you are at a very expensive restaurant or hotel, and even there you often hear: Oh, sie sind aber de erscht wo reklamiert!! "you are the first that ever complained"

Hmm, I see where your experiences are based on. Too spoiled eventually?

- unfriendly government employee. Police can be extremely rude.

Well, I prefer to experience effective policing instead of being shot dead for nothing.

- boring in general, but the few here that are the opposite of boring, make up for it (we got some serious extreme sportsmen and women that do crazy stuff !! perhaps list this also as good!) no, but really, people here are boring.

I see, your concept about "being exciting" are lists about your stereo-types. So interesting!

- careful whom to offer an apology here, people s...t on your apology half the time and make you feel even worse.

So tell us more about the many appologies you have to provide all the time!

- clothing washing machine warriors in apartments. MAKE SURE YOU RENT AN APARTMENT THAT HAS ONE IN YOUR APARTMENT AND NOT ONE THAT YOU SHARE, YES, I NEED TO WRITE THAT IN CAPS FOR YOUR OWN GOOD !!!!!!

Not really a complaint I would expect from a Swiss. Even neither from a wanna-be Swiss. Quite demasking, isn't it?

- Jealous. If you drive a Ferrari, you are either a crook, thief, criminal or other scum.

So you feel treated in a unjustified way when you drive your ferrari? I think we have to dive further in your undiscovered unconsciousness.

- Unfriendly > Friendly . If someone looks unfriendly here, he or she is !! If someone looks friendly, that person can become quickly very unfriendly!!!

Well, as you wrote by yourself already several times, we prefer to meet people quite honestly. If you keep smiling like a brainwashed and glowing Scientology baptist, we inevitably and profoundly keep the prejedice that you "etwas im Schilde führst" (being up to something), so true indeed!

- Stressed. Stress is not good, but people here always seem to be stressed... everything works here, public transport, organization, etc, but people always stressed. We have a high heart attack and suicide rate, extremely high by the way!

I suppose these is the reason why the Swiss have the highest life expectancy in the entire world (they even recently overtook the healthy Japanese!). My personal advice: I would rethink this one again.

- Not really social when it is time to be social. So you go to that fare, you see a huge long wooden table with a long wooden seating bench. It appears you are in a medieval festival, the music is going, the sausages are grilling, but, the people that sit there and eat all look sadly in front of them, instead of interacting interestingly and friendly with the people to the left, right and in front !!!

Well, I agree, I always had a profound suspicion about people who prefer to live in earlier, gone and underdeveloped days. Thanks for reassuring me. Well, at least they take care of themselves, otherwise we would have to spend a lot of tax money for very expensive lunatic asylums!

- Shhhhhhhhhhh. Don't make the slightest noise when a lot of people are around and it is extremely silent. Turn your phone to silent!!! Watch the scowls if you make noise.

Yeah! But wait until they get grown-ups. It's a burden you simply have to accept when they are still too young. Children like to be loud, it's a matter of fact.

- Silent when it is time to be quiet.

Well, this is almost philosophical. Reminds me somehow about Wittgenstein. Well done, my boy!

__________________
Either you are honest or polite, but you can not be both at the same time, since they are exclusive attitudes.

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