Hi everyone!

I am new to the forum and I wanted to ask about silly things such as buying curtains in Switzerland. I have looked on the net but they seem much more expensive over there than in the USA. I looked on the Migros Casa website and a few individual other ones. Am I right in thinking they are more expensive there? Here I can get a pair for between 10-20 dollars. I'm not talking posh, just ordinary functional ones.

The other thing, I would really like to meet other American or English mums with preschoolers living near the Winterthur area. We are moving to a village called Truttikon and don't know anybody! Help!

Does anyone know what the ICF is like in Zurich?

Thanks for any help

Hi RachLazz welcome to the forum

I hope your move to switzerland is trouble free and im sure you will love it here it is a beautiful country.

I cant really help you with either of your questions however the general rule of thumb here is that things cost more.

Im sure someone else will be a long shortly to offer you some more detailed advice.

Dusty

bring what you can with you!! it costs like ten times more here
and as for meeting new people!! snoop around the forum and introduce yourself to people who might interest you! better way of finding people as not everyone is so willing to introduce themselves to EVERY new person who comes through here

also welcome

You'll find that almost everything costs more here!

One thing to keep in mind if you bring your curtains from the US is that in many homes, you attach them with little plastic pieces into an embedded track over the window. Not sure how the little plastic things would work with curtains from the US. I'm sure someone else with more info will come along and be able to give you more info.

Hello! Welcome to the forum.

Yes, curtains are less expensive there, but the curtain rod system may be different. Levi's 501 are CHF100 over here. So I suggest stocking up. On tshirts well.

As for ICF, do you mean: http://www.icf.ch/?

I am thoroughly impressed at how the members serve according to their gifts. They do it with so much zeal, joy and enthusiasm. It all comes together very well during the service. Very high production value, and they are highly inspired. Apart from the sugary stuff, the impression I get is the meatier stuff is served up in small G12 groups. They have impressive outreach to various communities. There is also an ICF in Winterthur, though I have never been there.

Alternatively, there is also the IPC in Zurich: http://www.ipc-zurich.org/

God bless you!

Don't forget to bring measuring cups!

You can try IKEA they usually have the best price for a given item
You must be prepared to adjust the length yourself
As the others have pointed out, CH is more expensive than the US
Good luck with the move and welcome to the EF.

The price of stuffs at Ikea is not much more expensive here than Ikea in the US. Measuring cups you can find at Migros or Coop. Just to know where to look for. If there is no limit to what you can bring, just bring everything you can. It will take a few months until you are familiar with where to look for things. Come packed with patience.

We had no limit (and no time to sort things out before the removal company arrived at the front gate) when we moved.
We ended up with furniture that were too big for the apatrment (we had a house in Sweden), curtains that did not fit and gardening tools for the balcony pots ... just as a word of caution.

The others have answered the curtains question (they are more expensive, period!), so I'll answer this one about kids.

If you join: http://groups.yahoo.com/groups/expat...in-switzerland and then look at their files section you can find other expat groups all around Switzerland. I'm sure there is one in Winterthur.

Good luck.

It might be difficult to use your curtains/drapes from the US in CH.

84" which is standard for a US panel is 213cm so you need to know the height of your ceilings.

If you have rod pocket curtains from the US and you have a track system installed in the Swiss apartment, you will need to add a nylon banding on your curtains so that you can use the track system.

If you are talking about drapes with a large rod pocket, you will find that the rods here are generally much smaller.

You can find some ready made panels here at Interio or MobilPfister - they are located throughout Switzerland so it shouldn't be too difficult to find one near you.

If you are in the ZH area check The Alt Fabrik in Wadenswil - they have a large selection of fabrics and can guide you if you decide to have something made. Ask for Carmella, she's fluent in English and very helpful. They work pretty cheaply also for CH

If you want to have something made and are in SZ check out Tevag in Altendorf and Robert Ruoss in Schubelbach (Ruoss has 3 floors of pillows, sheets, rugs and fabrics are on the 3rd floor).

I'm not affiliated with any of these shops, I'm just a drapery freak and this is all from my personal experience

__________________
Brawndo - it's got what plants crave.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e1fKzw05Q5A

Hi Everyone

Thankyou for all your advice. I really appreicate it. I have to say, I went a bit crazy before I left the States by buying everything I thought I could possibly want...including chocolate chips from Trader Joe that went off in the container anyway!!! I haven't been on here for a while since we were caught up with all the moving but we are now here in Truttikon!!! Seems a very pretty village but I am finding it a bit hard to meet people. Does anyone know if there is a real shop I can go to to buy American things - my little boy is a big fan of the Trader Joe fruit bars and I cannot find anything like that here. I spoke to one person and they said one might cost me a couple of francs..a little bit too pricey for my budget..

Anyway, thanks for your help and welcome, maybe we'll drop by one of the get togethers at some point. Are there any where children are welcome?

Welcome to Switzerland!

Try this thread: Where to find foods from home