of your home country....

I MISS mexican food (yes i know you can get some here as well, but at an outragous price) some take out food, a very good frozen margarita OMG how do
i miss that....

I miss just food period, like some good indian food. I know i can get that here
as well, but i would have to go to a restaurant, then i would get a tiny plate at
an very expensive price LOL. Gee i just realized, it is expenisve here LMAO LMAO

there is plenty more, but can you tell that i am craving a good margarita right now? LOL LOL

Im from Western Australia..

I miss the way everyone is so laid back. I miss walking to the beach. I miss being able to talk to people I don't know and they'll understand me. I also miss the supermarkets and our local fish & chip shop.. :]

And a million other things.

At the same time I love Zurich and I will be very sad when I leave.

Ditto with the beach. I used to live in Santa Monica, california.

So Alicia, are you going back to Australia?

Now i am curious to read what you love about zurich....

What I love about Zurich -

low taxes, high salaries :-)
that people don't really care what language you speak,
that people are bi/tri-lingual more often than not,
the weather, although I'd prefer a little longer days in the summer
that we can be 20min outside the city, yet smack-bang in the middle of the country-side.
that public transport works,
that people don't throw their rubbish on the pavements (in the citiy).
that there are proper Italian restaurants
that people love children
that people can generally be trusted,
that health-insurance is not automagically included in my tax-bill.
nature - the mountains are awesome
that foods in my supermarket are generally of good/superior quality
low crime-rates,
that I can leave my door open and unlocked, occasionally even if I'm not in.
that my relationship with my neighbours is not just superficially "goodmorning/good evening".

Wow you got some really good points. Makes someone think,......

I think i need to move to Zurich, smile, as not all those points are going for Basel region.

You know i have noticed that one time i was at a ATM machine withdrawing some money, when my son Luca was playing with the door.. Well this older man, maybe in his early 60's was yelling, literally yelling at my son NOT to play with the door. Well Luca wasn't breaking anything and it was just a matter of seconds, so i really was so upset about this. But then again i have noticed that people like to get involved in the parenting of one's child. LMAO

Then i can sit in the tram and an older woman would smile at me and my kids, which again i think is so wonderful...

Also regarding "clean". not in my area. I have noticed that peopel walk their dogs along the Birs river letting them poop all over the place, BUT they ignore to pick it up, ewwwwh...... and the young crowd has no respect for nature anymore, oh well i either move to zurich or i will have to put some blinds on... LMAO LMAO

Lucozade (the original type), Hula Hoops (all flavours, especially barebequed beef) and Double Decker chocolate bars.

Gav

Double Decker chocolate bar??? Gee that sounds good right now....LOL

Gav - you sad ba...... You should just learn to love Rivella, after all it is one of the *five* or so choices you get to drink at most shops. Integrate damn you....lol

Mark

p.s. I apologise - Rivella does come in 3 exciting different varieties...

do you all remeber how when we were younger, the vegetables and fruits actually had a taste?

well, at home, i am from zagreb, croatia, on local markets you can still by a carrot that actually tastes like a carrot...and all other vegetables as well...

So true LOL LOL LOL

I remember when i was a little child, ok many many moons ago, LOL, we were on vacation in Ischia Italy. I will never forget the woderful smell of the tomatoes we had in our back yard...

Now that you mentioned it, i do remember the taste of the carrots used to be different here as well.... Hmmm...

Agree with most of your other points - but genuinely puzzled about the above points. I guess it depends on where you are from. I can understand that a lot of these views would depend very much on where you come from. I understand you are from Denmark. I don't claim to be an expert on Denmark, but I have a few Danish friends. I've also actually been there I guess from this perspective taxes in Switzerland seem low when you are used to being taxed well beyond the point of pain.... I sat down a while ago and calculated what my taxes were. I also included all the things that were deducted beyond my control. For example AHV and the fact that I am required by law to have health insurance. It turned out that it wasn't that low at all. I also read an OECD report which compared taxation in various developed countries. Switzerland was listed somewhere in the middle of the table. One tax that is very low compared to other European countries is VAT (Mwst) at 7.6% it certainly seems a lot more sensible than Sweden (just got back from a visit there) which had 25%!!

About your other points - weather - while I'll admit that the weather is better than some of the more northern European countries, it is certainly nothing to write home about (at least for me anyway). The summer could last a little longer, and spring and autumn could easily be done away with since it just seems to be rain

People don't throw their rubbish on the pavement - ever seen a smoker actually put their butt in the bin - even when the bin is 2 meters away? Or you've never seen people pull up at that traffic light and empty their ash tray onto the street? Where I live the gemeinde doesn't supply bins, so people put their rubbish on the street in bags. Every week I walk streets strewn with rubbish from the foxes/dogs which rip open the bags. So actually I find things a bit dirty compared to some places where I've been!

Proper Italian restaurants - Please give me some names, I'd like to see them! I once heard a Swiss bragging about this in Australia. I was in Melbourne at that time, and as I'm sure anyone who reads this who's been there will tell you - there's no shortage of "proper" Italian restaurants. When I arrived in Switzerland I asked this person to show me his favourite restaurant to justify his earlier remarks. I was sorely disappointed. I still enjoy visiting Italy for Italian restaurants, and I always wait until I am over the border before stopping to find a restaurant! Generally I find the "italian" experience, at least in the German speaking part, disappointing.

People love children - yes some do, but I've often heard people complaining that the Swiss aren't big lovers of children compared to many other cultures.

Health insurance - not included in your tax bill? Well technically speaking this is true, but when it is compulsory and it is almost impossible to import an insurance from another country then how is this different? Switzerland has the second highest health costs in the world (second only to the US in terms of spending on health care as a percentage of GDP). Personally I would elect not to have health insurance, but that choice is not mine to make.

Foods in supermarket are generally of good quality - this is the part that amazed me the most. Where do you shop? I want to go there! (please don't say Globus or Jemolli). I'm usually disgusted when I walk into a supermarket. For such a rich country the range and quality in the supermarkets (at least Migros and co-op who have most of the market) is shameful. I've taken to driving 30 minutes to Carrefour to shop with the rest of Switzerland's immigrant population since this is the only place that I've found that seems to come closer to my expectations.

This wasn't intented to be a bitch mail about Switzerland - I guess we can spar it out in the complaints corner instead So I just wanted to say that I generally agreed with most of your points, but not all. Just wanted to add that perceptions may vary enormously depending on where one comes from!

Mark

Just to show that I'm not a full time complainer, I posted some nice things at this thread.

Anyway, what do I miss? Always seeing a smiling face, a good sense of humour, being able to buy whatever I want in a supermarket and not having to "hunt" for an item. I miss long summers. I miss a place where integration is also something the "majority" population is supposed to do, and where people are taught to appreciate the differences in other's cultures rather than shun them.

But most of all I miss the ocean. The lakes are very nice, but it's just not the same as the ocean...

Mark

What I miss is a very long list, but here are the highlights:

• Shopping. I miss stores like Pottery Barn, Williams & Sonoma, Ann Taylor, Nordstrom's, Macy's, Sam Goody's, Sephora.
• Grocery shopping. Grocery stores in the U.S., even the worst ones, have so much variety compared to Coop and Migros. Stores here just don't have the products or the quality of meats. There's also something very NOT right about buying food in a store with dressing rooms.
• Restaurants. Red Lobster, Bone Fish Grill, a McDonald's that doesn't cost a fortune ... Mexican food, Japanese grills (ala Benihana), single price brunches.
• Language. We all know what that means. Never realized how wonderful it is to just open my mouth and speak without worrying about being understood.
• Playing golf.
• Organized American sports for the kids (ice hockey, football, baseball).
• Oprah, Ellen, The Today Show.
• Manicures and pedicures.
• Last minute Sunday barbeques.

I totally agree with your last point... I miss spontaneity! But its hard on a Sunday to organise a last minute BBQ, for two reasons. Firstly most Swiss plan their weekends months in advance.Secondly the shops are closed so unless you have a fridge and freezer that is bigger than your average here in Switzerland!

You probably know this already, but On the Run stores are open on Sundays. You won't find meat, but they do have an adequate supply of things like beer, wine, fresh breads, salad "fixin's"...did I mention beer, wine? We're becoming more and more vegetarian anyway.

Mark,

Where is Carrefour? Never heard of it before. I do go to Globus and Jemoli occasionally, but not for ketchup. I got a turkey at Globus for Thanksgiving and nearly had to cut it up to fit in my shoe-box sized oven! But, we did have turkey (strange legs...very long!). Anyway, please give me more info on this store you've taken to liking!

Hi rwb,

Carrefour is in Dietlikon, it used to be Jumbo. It's near Media Markt, Ikea etc. You probably know this area - best to stay well away from this part of town after about 10am on Saturday - chaos on the roads due to not enough parking in the area, it is often gridlock! I try to get there while everyone is at work. Carrefour has extended opening hours (don't get too excited it's only 1 or 2 hours extra, and not on Sundays). You can find a map here.

We find the meat tastes a little better than what you might be getting in Migros, so you may have less reasons to become vegetarian!

As for "on the run" yes these places are ok for emergencies, but can't really be used for any useful shopping if you happen to get caught without anything in the house. "certain" people try to sell this idea to me as a solution for Sunday shopping, but we all know it isn't a solution. Anyway, don't want to get bogged down in the whole Sunday thing here. Just one more tip for Sundays though - I'm not sure if Migros in the HBF is still open on Sundays (there was some legal action to close almost all of the HBF shops down on Sundays), but Co-op in Stadelhofen is open from 10am I think on Sundays. Half of the aisles are sealed off if they contain items which are considered "non-food", so you'll have to wait until the next day if you want to wash yourself and don't have soap But it's a good solution if you don't feel like driving to the airport to do your shopping.

Good luck with Carrefour. It's not the ultimate supermarket, but if you are used to Migros and Co-op you might find it getting close to what you had "back home".

Mark

What do you miss the most about your home country?

I love Switzerland but this week I have been craving Salt & Vinegar Walkers crisps and also a peppermint Aero. Mainly because there are big advertising campaigns on Sky so I posted this on another forum that I am a member of and a nice woman from the UK has posted me some and she refuses to take any money off me (Maybe I should've asked for a brand new TV ha ha).

I cannot beleive that I am saying this but I really cannot wait until the crisps get here and beleive me I am going to savour every one

Cheers

Chris

__________________
Check out April's issue of Free Cyber Mag. It's a great read.

I miss fresh flour and corn tortillas. They should be kept sort of like bread. They're best on the day they're made, and to be thrown out after 3-5 days.

All I can get here are those crappy ones that have a 6 month shelf life.

I also miss Reese's peanut butter cups, Hagen Daas chocolate and peanut butter ice cream, Cherry Coke, Spam (canned mystery luncheon meat), Ben and Jerry's ice cream.

I miss Del Taco fast food, too. And In-N-Out Burger in California. I guess I could go on forever.

Subs! Roast beef, avocado, bacon, cheese subs. I'll let the others pipe up now.

Ah.. A nation that seems to define itself by crisps.... bless... Strange - this seems to be the number one thing that brits seem to bang on about. Isn't there a shop in Zurich somewhere that sells all this junk food?