I actually quite like the supermarkets being closed on a Sunday - It's easy to plan for, and I like the idea there aren't minimum wage slave jobs where the person serving you has no weekend.

Imagine spending all sunday listening to 'beep, beep, beep' in Asda or Sainsburys. Shudder.

that's because there is still low unemployment level in switzerland, but it's raising currently, and i think after the crisis, when it's higher, some people will regret that they cannot seat in one of the markets on Sunday and at least have a job (which is not that low paid in switzerland anyways), but they have to go to social care. Opening shops on sunday would of course decrease unemployment, and nobody is forcing anybody to work on sunday. some people just prefer it, so they don't have to listen to 'beep beep beep' on monday or tuesday.

Good point about employment.

I don't know how free people would be to refuse work on a Sunday.

One of the reasons e.g. the UK has such a massive trade deficit is the consumer culture, including the push by supermarkets to enable all the consumers to indulge one of their main passions on the traditional day of rest. I think it's good for people to have one day when they can't waste it buying rubbish they don't need. Maybe Switzerland is different, though.

for me it vice verse, we live on the country-side and people are a lot more friendly here then when we use to live in Zurich. Also my the worst customer service I had was at Papa Joes in Zurich, I literally got yelled at and was called a german farmer. Or when I was at Bahnhofstrasse I wanted to buy a new watch for my wife, and it was 10 minutes before closing when the Swatch shop clerk(in) shut the door in front of me and yelled "wir sind geschlossen"...how fxxking rude is that? Also when I was in a hotel in Meiringen I got yelled at because I didnt understand what the hotel manager was saying in dialect...last time for me at that hotel. God I can so many examples but I wont bore you with that.

But in general the customer isnt very good, it doesnt matter where you live. Of course there are exceptions, but they are in places where I'm a regular customer.

Hey all,

In a couple weeks I'm joining my Swiss partner and moving from Canada to Zurich for at least a few years. In the ongoing fight not to be terrified, and in an attempt to divert focus from my fears about Switzerland (and there are many), I'm trying to recall all the things that are awesome about it.


One of my favourite things, admittedly, is being able to drink wine and beer outside, which is illegal in Canada. I will never get tired of that. Sometimes there's really nothing nicer.



So how about you? What do you love?

Its so quiet; too quiet; especially in the evenings; I want to see 'life' going on around me!

I live in Zurich, and I really like the city, open spaces, green areas everywhere, small city with lots to do, save save save city.

What I don't like... I feel alone sometimes... I work in a almost-everyone Swiss environment, and as I don't speak German yet (nothing to say then about my Schweizerdütsch level) gives me a feeling I'm in a bubble sometimes...

I'm deciding to stay longer, as I've now a CH bf... and I feel I don't have my pillars here... I have my job, which I like, I have my fb, who I love... but I'm not sure if I'll be able to leave only on these two pillars...

Trying to put a solution to this though, I hope it's just a matter of time

I stay in Basel and like many of the things here:

*The excellent transport system. The trams maneuver like serpents on the roads.I love travelling in those.
*A safe place to venture out even in the late nights.So far, have not witnessed any untoward incidents.
*baby friendly.
*There is a park amost every 500 yards and there are often some or the other events happening around.

Some of the dislikes:

*Church bells...but my ears soon got used to them.
*There are many bees around!I got once stung by one opposite to Migros in Calraplatz and it bothered me for days!
*No washing machine in individual flats.
*Market place closed on sundays.

Positives first
My SWISS Likes
1 - Excellent public transport : No waiting time, Comfortable travel, Various travel modes ( Bus, Tram, Train ). SBB provides various tickets options and very economic price. Best thing is you can carry your prams, Bikes and other othem here. Very help for tourists too..
2- Flat roads , Nice for Biking. Excellent Bike Tracks, Dedicated Lanes for bikes. feels so safe and one enjoys biking.
3- Very Clean Country - The Country is so clean, people here follow rules . like using Zuri Sack for throwing the garbage, The swiss Govt has provided a calender for disposing various thing on some dedicated days. Every thing is so organized.
4- Various Shopping options - There are several Grocery and Shopping centers situated very second street . you need not actually travel far for buying things.
5- Safe Country - Comparatively with other countries, I fess swiss is so safe. women can walk on the street alone even in the mid night. its very rare were people were mugged on the streets.
6 - Very Friendly people - people here always carry a smile on their face. and very beautiful women. good dressing sense and pleasant environment. On sometimes you see senior citizens being cranky on you for some reasons.
7 - Beautiful country with many holiday options and good panoramic views.

DISLIKES

1. shops are closed on Sunday's . feels so sick
2. Finding house is so difficult here.
3. Medical is so expensive. getting doctors appointment is a night mare.
4. Language barrier.
5. Car parking is so expensive
6. Expensive country
7. Anything deals with Stadt is a lengthy and a long process.

After having lived in a noisy part of the city for 13 years (Tenderloin, SF) i love how quiet everything is, especially trains - I would move here for the transportation system alone!

Pity they aren't closed on Saturdays as well!

Tom

It's funny looking back and seeing what I wrote two years ago. Needless to say, some things have changed a bit...

I like:

• My wonderful, kind, funny Swiss friends and colleagues;
• The mountains;
• Reliable public transport;
• My GA;
• Catching a train home at three in the morning (not any more );
• The lake (Zurich Walensee);
• The proximity of everywhere else;
• Cheese, potatoes and sausages.
• Glarnerland. (How's that for achieving one's goals?)

I dislike: Nothing, really. Not since we moved. Not even Canton Congo!

Ahhh, it's time to send our Stadelhofen Punks in direction of Glarnerland me thinks.

Hmmm

In order, from most important, downwards:
The Good
1. The look. Beautiful lakes and mountains but more applicable to me is the crystal clear Limmat and stunning backstreets in Zurich old town that I walk everyday. This has a huge impact on my life.
2. Clean and healthy. It makes me feel good that I can't buy a battery egg here and that the water out of the tap tastes so good.
3. Compact city centre. No matter how good the centre of London is, there's more within a 10 minute walk in 8001 than in any location in London.
4. Quality public transport. Clean and integrated it makes travelling a dream.
5. Northern Italy is close. Mmmmm.
6. Swiss people aren't generally too friendly. I like this. Reminds me of home.

The Bad
1. Expense. Things are very expensive here. Much more than the salary adjusts for. I constantly look back at London and dream of an underground smuggling tunnel....
2. Away from my family. My family don't live here.
3. Lack of choice, service and shopping hours. This is a much smaller concern for me now than it once was.
4. I don't and never will understand my rights and various bureaucratic processes as well as in the UK.

All the great tasting water bubbling out of flower-decked fountains everywhere.

It's been mentioned a few times....

Hate cigarette smoke..!!!! At the stations, on elevators, outside shops, outside rooms with open windows to let the fresh swiss air in..and all you get is the stench of cigarette smoke wafting in. Never done so much passive smoking in my life..!! People who stand outside the bus, tram, train door finishing thier fag then getting on the said transport, stinking..

Oh and the glum or 'I am chewing a wasp', 'face like a bucket of angry frogs', 'face like slapped arse' etc etc..look on peoples faces...

Sometimes the over the top aggressive response..? But that may be due to my English politeness..

But many good things here.....

Totti..is nice..Oooo look (but only for a split second) and what ever you do not touch or talk to (unless for a very good reason).

Swiss driving on the roundabouts is unbelievably scary....no one indicates....NO ONE!

The Good
1. The look. Beautiful lakes, forests and mountains especially the ones I see every morning from my bedroom window
2. Clean and healthy. There is not a spot of rubbish on the pavement, and food is always fresh from the supermarket.
3. Trains! They arrive early and leave bang on the dot....very efficient. And even if you don't know where you are going there is always a working information board.
4. You can drive to the mountains in an hour!
5. I love the church bells

The Bad
1. It is expensive to live here. Probably double everything here to the UK.
2. Swiss aren't that friendly and its hard to intergrate. There is a lot of anti immigrant posters where I live :-s
3. I don't understand my rights and cannot register until I have a job......find a job is hard!
4. Driving is annoying as the speed limit changes so often up and down ....the fuel in my car goes quick lol

__________________
The best way to save water is to bathe together

Honestly, coming from a profession that required working the occassional (1 in 3) weekends and having a rotating schedule, I can say that working weekends was not a big deal, becasue it gave me more opportunity to do my shopping or make doctors'appointments during the week.

it's all about perception. For you it may seem awful that someone has to work on Sunday, but for that person it could be an advantage.

But why are movie theaters closed on Sundays? That's just sacrelige. So I have to sacrifice valuable Saturday shopping time to go waste away in a movie theater if I want to see a film? GAH!!!!

Ok... things I like about Switzerland... the quiet hours between 10:00 and 7:00 have really grown on me. I quite like that there is this universal time when the streets roll up and people are considerate not to make noise.

__________________
I would sooner have you hate me for telling you the truth than adore me for telling you lies. - Pietro Aretino

Likes:

1) Things work

2) Transport is efficient

3) its clean and people have respect for the environment

4) Quality of life is high compared to other European countries


Dislikes:


1) too many rules

2) People stare way too much here

3) Switzerland can be deathly boring sometimes...

Why is that??? Is ridiculously obvious