As I've never lived alone and never changed location I don't have much experiences about moving out to somewhere else, for sure if it will be in a different country.
But I asume that a lot of stuff should be done before and while I'm living in CH, however it won't be temporary.

So here's my simple question:
What are the most important things I shouldn't forget to think about and things I shouldn't forget to do when I will go to CH next year for an internship.

Things I should take care of so I won't get stuck.

Don't forget Hagelslag and Apfelmus !!

Prima !!

Doei.

yah! that's it!!

Dutchli, I know your only 20, but actually doing this stuff on your own, making mistakes & puzzling out lifes little quirks are all normal. Sure we are all willing & able to help you with Swiss stuff, but you have to take the plunge yourself.
Hopefully not coming across as a grumpy middle aged Meldrew type, but just get on with it & stop expecting to be hand fed & led through life .... this is the fun stuff, its called gaining experience. You are supposed to "f**k up" once in a while .....

Hey, I'm just looking for info. Ofcourse I have to do it myself but what if I don't know about things I actually should do.

Ah well I'll just shut up then..

Well if there is one tip I would give, is that most places have really restricted opening hours here, so if you need to go anywhere to get official paperwork done like registered, etc. then be sure to enquire about the opening hours first. It depends on where you live, but like the office de la commune (town hall office not sure how to translate, but basically where you register and that kind of thing) in the town I used to live in was open on Tuesday mornings from 10 to 12, and on Thursday afternoons from 2 to 4! And that was before it closed down. And always have money with you, you have to pay for every single piece of paper in this country. Oh, and the post office was only open from Monday through Friday from 10 to 11 am! But most places really aren't that extreme, that's only if you live in a small town. In a big place like Zurich or Geneva you won't have to actually take time off work to get paperwork done, go to the post office or do some food shopping!

Stuff the 'figure it out for yourself' nonsense. Even with a little help it took me ages to get sorted, and if I'd known what to do I could have saved money, time, and a lot of worry. You still have to do everything required yourself, but knowing what to expect would help a lot.

Anyway, without being more specific about housing, permits, shopping, furniture etc, I'd say the biggest piece of advice I'd give is that if you're coming here for work or study or something, make sure you ask someone in class or the office whenever you know you need to get something done and you aren't sure how to go about it. Particularly if they've moved here from elsewhere themselves, they know what you are asking about, and can give you all the advice you need.

A small table lamp: your appartment/room is unlikely to have a light fixture. Kinda annoying when you arrive late at night.

or a toothbrush ?

Dutchli, don't take it too personally, but think about what you are asking here.

From my understanding, you are coming here for an internship, so your faculty will be sorting out your paperwork ? So first & biggest hurdle behind you.
Moving on to a place to stay, you have had plenty of advice from me & others on where to look & what is available.
So that pretty much leaves eating ... supermarkets ... QED
All the other stuff can be pretty much found in the archives, although there are always situations that come up & these I & many others will be more than happy to help you with. Just don't expect a check list.

__________________
the sun ain't shining no more ........

Yes, well sorry for this mess, but I didn't mean it to be like; alright I wanna go to CH, now you guys have to sort my things out. Don't want a whole list of things I should take with me either.

But there's always something people will forget by making this kind of step or something that's important to do and it would be a good thing to let me know about it before I get in trouble. Like somekind of papers I should request and fill in, or something I should report somewhere or w/e.

Well probably this wasn't the right way to ask. I'll sure take care with it in the future.

Dutchli, something you should bring with you if possible, is a thicker skin. Even if someone has offended your sensibilities here, there are loads of other people who will answer questions for you. So ride the waves and stick on board I reckon you'll have a good time once all the uncertainties are out of the way.

But i think its good experience for you to leave your momy at 20, still not too late, because if a guy only start to do this after he hits 25, i mean, man he is going to forever be his momy's baby. but dont really get scared when you meet difficulties, because there's nothing cant be solved and find a way to mild...so relax, the most important thing to bring with you is courage and tolerance and confidence. once you have them, you will find a way to reach all the other things you need.

on physical, what is the most important thing you need to take care is your papers and knowing little bit policy for foreign workers and their local cuture. thats all...surely you wont be starving even you dont know how to cook, plenty restuarant everywhere + MC Donald...

Dutchli, I can empathise with you and I know living in Germany that I have been very fortunate to have good German colleagues who always look out for me and inform me of things I wouldn´t be aware of otherwise. I know it is scary taking the big step, as I´m finding out things in CH run differently to other places and like you I´m trying to learn as much as I can before moving. If your English is up to it I would recommend David Hampshire´s book Living and working in Switzerland - it gives good info on the basics and things to think about, and probably here on the forum you can find more specific info. Good luck with your move!

Well if you have never lived alone and are male, make sure you can do the following:

- basic cooking
- turn up a pair of jeans
- sow on a button
- wash clothes (remember to read the labels!!!)
- iron
- clean an apartment

If you got these under control it will make life easier, not to mention cheaper!

Jim

Always have your passport with you or know where it is. I'm a very Swiss looking foreigner...but occasionally sit next to a Serb on the train. Guys with guns will ask you questions.

I carry an inordinate amount of cash around with me here...just in case. As my in-laws explain, 'What if you have to go get dinner?'. Good point, I suppose.

You are a foreigner in a xenophobic (for the most part) country. They'll treat you well if you do what you can to fit in.

Not all Euro plugs fit into Swiss outlets (why, I have no clue so bring or purchase an adapter or two).

The Swiss I've run across are exceptionally polite to the point of wanting to speak to you in the language YOU are most comfortable in. I assume this is English or Dutch. Be patient enough to allow them to, even if you are more competent in French or German.

Sometimes, especially in rural areas...things just close. It's not as bad as siesta hour in Spain...but sometimes I like to eat lunch at 14h00. Not gonna happen in my home town.

Bring a sense of humour. The people you will grow to like will enjoy jokes at their expense and at yours. Have some fun.

As 'Polarise' said...be prepared to F$%k Up! This is a function of life though...not Switzerland.

My wife (who is Swiss) and I have an escape fund. Basically, cash that we need to get away if somethin happens. You're young and live in the EU, but, still not a bad thing to instill some confidence in the 'worst case scenario'.

Hope this helps.

Rico

Thanks for all the tips so far . One little question, I might need to go by train several times a week, I don't know yet. However, as far as I know (when I was in CH) those tickets are pricy if you go by train a lot. So I guess it would be 'cheaper' if I have a subscription for a traincard if I need to go by train a lot.
Can I, as a foreigner, get myself a subscription for the SBB or do you need a swiss nationality for that? I'm very interested in that.

You don't need to be swiss national to get the discount cards for Switzerland. Plus, you're under 25 which makes you eligible to get the "after 19:00 for free" card (depending where you go it will be called binario 7/gleis 7/vois 7). They also have half-price card that you could use before 7. Both cards together cost 250 CHF.

Hope that was useful.

plenty of tips here .... http://www.englishforum.ch/transportation-driving/

I did have a look there, even used the search option. But I couldn't find what I was looking for. Only a thread about tickets for visitors, but I think that's not what I'm looking for. I also can't find if a foreinger can buy such a card/pass I'm looking for.
Is it possible to get a train card which is valid for a half year, if not, a month or a year?

Dutchli, you will find in the threads that anyone can purchase a Half Tax card regardless of residency in Switzerland or not, you just need to take photo ID with you & two passport photos.
As far as I am aware, you can only purchase for minimum of one year & it costs 150chf, so not a major outlay.
http://mct.sbb.ch/mct/en/reisemarkt/abonnemente.htm