Hi Guys,

Would like your advice please.

I'm planning on moving to Switzerland with my 9 year old son in a few years time. Once he has finished primary school. The problem is, I'm trying to decide between Geneva and Lausanne as we have family in both.

But we have also had a strong desire to move to NY as we have 'closer' family there too. We visit NY regularly and my son loves it. We even enrolled him in a school in the Park Slope area a few years back when I thought I was going to be transfered to my our NY office. Unfortunately there were redundancis and I was one of teh victims . We fell in love with NY, but realised it will be so much more difficult now without a work connection of some sort to take us there.

FYI, I'm a single parent (if that helps with advice in anyway). Also, my ason and I are very active; outdoorsy types: cycling, skateboarding etc.

I'm also studying for an MA Eng. Lit.

I'd like to hear from those who have lived in or know both Lausanne and/or Geneva well. And those with experience of NY to London or NY to Switzerland for comparison.

I know it's a lot to ask off the back, but appreciate any and all advice. So thank you.

P

Sorry, should have stated what it is I wanted to know:
Lausanne or Geneva:

Best for schools?
Outdoor life?
Education?
Entertainment?
Shopping (!)?
Safety/Crime?

Thanks.

P

They both have good schools...how much do you want to spend?
Geneva is closer to outdoor activities but you will still need to drive.
There really isn't any comparison as far as entertainment. New york is vibrant at 4am on a Tuesday. Geneva...umm...its dead on a Saturday.
I will let you guess which place has better shopping.
I lived in New York for 3 years and never experienced any crime. Almost all of my colleagues in Geneva have been pick pocketed or their flat broken into.

It is really an apples/oranges question. You are comparing a town with a city.

Hi Snowdogging,

Thanks for the reply.

I think it has always been NY - love it everytime we visit.

Thank you for your honesty regarding Geneva. Family can be a little bias and will try and sell you their city, wanting you to move down, whilst omitting certain important info like crime levels. Even after being asked!!

In terms of NY, we're now looking at the Brooklyn Heights area and Park Slope, but leaning towards Brooklyn Heights as I've heard it's excellent for kids and young families, whilst still being 'cool'. My son's big on 'cool'. And you are so right, New York is my favourite place to shop. Plus, when we're down, we walk along the promenade and just stand and watch Manhattan for ages. It's lovely.

I guess what I was hoping from Geneva or Lausanne was the european escape effect, as promised by family. But in truth, they seem to be struggling whereas the fam in NY are upfront about life over there, but seem so much happier.

You've helped a great deal, Snowdogging! Definitely needed 'outside' advice as it's a huge decision.

Cheers! x

You seem like a city person. I think you will enjoy living in NYC. I am a city person. I moved here 7 months ago and I must tell you, I really miss the availability and options the US offers.

You can get just about anything delivered to your doorstep in NYC. The city does not sleep. If you wake up in the middle of the night and decide you want a double cheese pizza with cheese crust, fried chicken, mash potato, you can get all those. You can do laundry any time and any day of the week. If you dont have your own washer and dryer like many people living in the states, there are plenty of laundromat to wash your dirties at.

You will have than 2 grocery shops (eg coop and migros) to chose from. There are many different cuisine to enjoy. Clothing sales are better too. And you will have time square!! helloooo.

Yur son can bike/skateboard around Central park if he choses. Im sure there are cycling marathons he can participate. It is a very diverse city. Anyone and everyone will feel belong in NYC.

Writing this makes me miss the states so much!!

Best of luck with the move.

If you chose Switzerland, you will regret.

this made me LOL at work.

Huh...are you talking about NY's benefits or drawbacks with this one?

Language is also huge. Don't let anyone fool you that Geneva is multilingual. You will be shunned for not speaking French and learning a language without expensive classes or cultural immersion is tough. In fact out of every place that I have been Geneva has been the most insular and embracing of their native language. If someone tells you differently they are trying to sell you.

As many people say, the best thing about Geneva is its central location with easy airport access to vacation destinations. But London is probably a cheaper option for that anyway.

NY, sounds like you and your son will like it better. Good luck!

Park Slope, with close family? Where's the choice in that? Being a single parent here is so much more difficult, at least from those that I know, that it would be hard to argue against NYC without any of the other benefits such as family nearby.

New York; Switzerland as a single parent is very isolating. Yeah sure, most places can be like that, but New York has way more diversity to offer than Lausanne and Geneva put together AND you can still have a life.
Save Switz for summer vacations.

Hi Guys,

Gosh, I love the realism in this place! Makes me wonder why I went anyway else!!!

@Ninjala - reading your response made me realise straight away that NY would not only be the better choice but the most rewarding. You speak of it with such love that it makes it virtually impossible to see bad in going to NY.

@mrt - Yep, I'm beginning to get that feeling, already! Plus, my son will never forgive me as he's practically told his friends at school (including 2 teachers who thought we were leaving at the end of the year) that we're moving to NY. His argument is, 'we have everything in NY'. And I couldn't agree more.

@Snowdogging - The language thing was playing on my son's mind and he didnt say. Poor thing! I think I looked at it like 'when we get there, we'll just do the English thing until the French magically kicks in' But I hear what you're saying. It sounds beautiful, but in reality I will be taking a young boy with little French language skills to a country where English is a second language. Not too mention by that time, he will be 11/12 and dealing with other things as a pre-teen. I feel it would actually be selfish of me to throw him into that.

@ miniMia - Thank you my dear.

@ poptart and swissmama - In it all, the single parent thing is what made me think Switzerland would be the better choice. I just had this impression (family, again, with their selling!!) that it would be this eutopia and me and my boy would be skipping around etc. That it would be less stressful as a single parent. But, I'm getting the distinct impression that we will be bored as hell after about a month or so . We're ultimate city dwellers and like you mentioned, swissmama, maybe it's best to save that sort of 'paradiso' experience for vacation time.

I've involved my son as much as possible in this; this is his life too so want to help get it right for him. He now has plans to 'crack' the US: wants to be a professional boarder, illustrator, model and actor. And as random as that sounds I'm behind him 100%. He is so determined, that he's already asked me and the fam to look into agencies in NY!! Love him! See, if he can see the future that awaits him in NY, then that's all that matters.

Gosh, getting all emotional, but think the move will be the start of something great! For both of us.

Cheers guys!x