Hi all - my company are looking to send me to Zurich for 12-18 months. They will give me a budget for accomodation, but it's up to me to find somewhere to live. Its my girlfriend and I. We're looking for at least 2 rooms and ideally 2.5 - 3. Location wise close enough to the city. Will be working around Oerlikon area. Wondering can anyone help me please?

1) Finding Somewhere - I've heard its hard to find apartments, that you have to view loads before you get accepted. Is this true?

2) Furnished - is it hard to find them furnished? We won't be bringing any furniture and it seems bad to be buying some for such a short amount of time.

3) Serviced - If you were us would you go for a regular apartment, or try and find something serviced. I know theres a premium on this (like places that rent more short term to travelling biz people for 3 months etc). Suppose ties into Qn 1 & 2 about effort of finding somewhere furnished

4) Cost - can someone give me a budget on these. Know hard to say but to the nearest 200-300 CHF even per month each? I'm hoping for something in the <2000 CHF a month range, but with a 3,000CHF max.
* 2 room furnished apt
* 2 room unfurnished apt
* 3 room furnished apt

5) Suggestions - apart from that has anyone any suggestions? If you were us, what would you do? How would you go about finding somewhere to live?

Thanks so much for the help!
GC

im looking for one myself, not in zurich though....in basel.
im also on a tight budget as my company are contributing CH600 towards rent per month, the rest i have to give, so im gonna go for something cheap.

the company is going to put me up for a few days when i arrive in switzerland from birmingham.

if i were you, i would really budget as ive been told health insurance is also costly in switzerland.

im having any health insurance when i arrive because my salary isnt really that high, ill just bring a life-time supply of paracetamol. that will see me through

It doesn't sound as if your circumstances are comparable to that of the OP. Health insurance is mandatory in Switzerland so you'll be getting it when you arrive. Please use the search function here to find these things out. It'll serve to raise the general quality of your posts. Thanks.

im sure its not something you have to do straight away when arriving at the airport.
maybe you have to get it sorted when you apply for your work permit. who knows....ill have to speak to my manager

Seven days. I know you need to apply for your residence permit within 7 days of arrival and they'll require you to sort out your medical insurance immediately.

ooh, why cant i bring the NHS out there with me.

in UK there is no such thing as health insurance, its allien !
we get everything for free here any time we need it. it just comes to show that we Brits take things for granted.

thanks for letting me know.

Welcome to the forum.

I appreciate that you're looking for specific answers to your questions but in the meantime, assuming you've not done so already, a good starting point would be to take a look at the excellent information and resources listed on the forum here.

You could also run some specific searches related to your questions using the EF search facility here. There are tons of threads containing information that could well provide you with the answers and a lot more useful stuff besides.

Good luck and all the best with your eventual move to Switzerland and your company job placement.

__________________
" The only way of discovering the limits of the possible is to venture a little way past them into the impossible. " ~ Arthur C Clarke

You can look for good options on homegate.ch this is the website which will give answers to most of your questions. If you are looking for some option in oerleikon it may be possible but if you go towards the airport the rates are little cheaper.

Hi,

When myself, husband and son arrived in Zurich we stayed in a serviced apartment while hunting for our own place. The company we used were fantastic. Friendly, fast, approachable and spoke english...which helps!

Here is a link for an apartment in the next zone to your companies office at a price close to your budget. http://www.pabs.ch/e/detail.asp?ID=61

Hope this helps and good luck with your move.

Try these people. i know the guy who runs it and im sure if you tell him your staying for that amount of months hell give you a better price...

I send all my friends visiting Switzerland to him and thy all where very happy with the service thy got.

http://www.swiss-flats.com/

If you do decide to ask him, please share your experience with us.

I'd say to the OP, don't limit your aspirations to central Zurich. It's not like London, where commuting from the home counties can be a real hassle. By comparison, Zurich is a tiny city, and very easy to get to from the many small towns that surround it.

Almost all of the places along the lake, for instance, have fast trains into 'Zurich HB' (the main station), and easy connections to places like Oerlikon. Most of these towns have sizeable ex-pat populations, and more important, have (arguably) a much nicer quality of life compared with central Zurich. Of course, you tend to get much better value for money too if you move out a bit.

Avoid long stays in a serviced apartment. They are useful for new arrivals, but are expensive, and soon become oppressive as they are smaller than non-serviced.

As mentioned, homegate.ch is a good place to start. We had little trouble finding a place (admittedly unfurnished). For a fixed term furnished apartment, with proof of a job and salary etc, I'd have thought you'd be OK.

Enjoy your time in Zurich and Switzerland. It's a swell place to live.

Gco you could probably find what you need, but unfurnished, in the Oerlikon area, it is just minutes into the city by train...15 min. by tram... But furnished is going to be more difficult. Lots of people buy cheap Ikea or second hand stuff and sell it off here on the forum before they leave!

Hi all - first off, thanks so much for the help, is much appreciated!

Advice taken... should get somewhere serviced / furnished for a month or two until we find somewhere else. But I have a few questions about that

1) Notice / Term - what is a normal notice period, so say we end up only being in Zurich for 8-9 months can we just give 1 months notice and not loose our deposit usually?

2) Difficulty - how difficult is it to actually find an apartment. We are looking for something with at least 2 bedrooms, ideally within 15mins of the HB by train (maybe as far out as Oerllikon etc). And hoping to pay < 2500 a month.

You'll just have to check the 'letting' site in the top posts of this sub-forum. It's no good us saying what is/was available - you have to see what is around now and what you have a chance of getting hold of. Maps, details of flats, transport, it is all on here already - mostly at the top of the relevant area.

Good luck.

there are a few flats(with furniture) at immoscout.ch, 2 rooms (incl. Furniture)
in Kreis 4 are around 2300 sfr/month, total size of the flat are 50/55 sqm

you can pay with creditcards as well, min time of rent is 4 months, under 4 months there is a surcharge

Hi - thanks for that, just had a look and some of them would seem to match what we're looking for. What I'm seeing is 2500 - 3000 a month for furnished, and probably closer to 1500 without furniture. So looks like apart from the lack of supply of furnished, there's also a premium of about 1000 a month too. Food for thought

Hi,

My name is Mark Lally. I am Irish and I am looking to share out a 4.5 bedroom apartment at 8 Houbstrasse, Pfaffikon SZ which is a 25 min train journey from Zurich trainstation. I will be moving in on the 12th of May next. Please call me on +41787092231 ASAP or email at marklally@yahoo.com

About the flat
111sqm, 4.5 rooms. Feels very spacious.
Broadband internet and phone in place (Sunrise as providor for both).
1 minute from the train station with direct links to Zürich HBF, Enge & scenic Rapperswil. Friendly neigbours.
I looked at many places before taking this place. It is very good value for it's convenient location, size and renovated state.

For you alone
Bedroom (Furnished or unfurnished) and own bathroom/WC with bath and shower.

Shared Facilities
Fitted kitched with modern appliances and oven
Dining area
Living area.
Office/Guest room
Large sunny balcony which faces out onto the quite communal garden.
Large cellar

About me & about you
I am really easy going and used to sharing and you should be the same. Smokers have to put up with the balcony. Pets are welcome (subject to landlord's approval) although I have none myself. I am looking for a long term flatmate so minumum stay is 3 months.
I travel pretty regularly on business so you will get the place to yourself some weeks.

About Pfäffikon (SZ) & Kanton Schwyz
The tax is a lot lower in Pfäffikon (SZ). It is in the Gemeinde Freienbach in Kanton Schwyz. The saving vs Zürich is surprisingly large. See other threads on EF or check out homegate.ch or comparis.ch to compare to Zürich. The PLZ in Pfäffikon is 8808.
The mountains are very close by car or public transport. The nearest slopes (Satel-Hochstückli) are 20minutes buy car. Davos/Klosters is less than 90minutes away and Flumseberg under 45 minutes on the direct S-bahn and less than 30minutes by car by. There is free parking for guests and parking can be rented extra if you have your own car.
There is a bus (3 minutes) from the train station (1 minute walk away) to the Seedammer Center for shopping (http://www.seedamm-center.ch) or you can walk there (10 minutes).

Also gco the rent for this apartment is 1275 CHF/month. I will provide most of the furniture. You will need to furnish your room. That is all.

Look forward to hearing from you soon.

Mark personally I would have thought Pfaffikon SZ was a bit far to commute to Oerlikon if you have no other reason to live there, but nice enough place if you have.
The OP was talking about himself and his partner and wanting more than one bedroom, they may not want to share.
On the other hand the benefit of sharing might help them with their need to give short notice, as three months is quite normal, more is possible but with a flatshare you could probably be more flexible?