Hi to everyone,

I'm due to start a new position in Zurich on October 1st, and I'm getting a little stressed about logistics and planning...can anyone help?!

I'm hoping to take the month of September as leave from my current position, drive to Zurich, check in to some cheap(ish) accomodation, and spend the month finding somewhere to live. I'm happy to live in a small flatshare (2 - 3 people), or in a single person apartment, is my plan likely to work?!

Is it unreasonable to hope to find somewhere and move in in a matter of a couple of weeks, or should I be looking to find somewhere before September (i.e. spend a few weeks in the city in August), and just use September for moving? In simple terms, are apartments / rooms typically available immediately, or do I need to pre-plan / arrange?

Sorry for the long winded post; one very confused person!!

As long as you are not fussy, you will find somewhere. The ones which are available immediately are normally the ones that have been on the market for a while, meaning they are probably desperate to get someone in to pay rent. May not be the prettiest or best value for money, but to answer your question.... (i think i have)

and i would pre-arrange some viewings for august or september.

check out homegate.ch, you can change it to english

.... or this site for flatshares

http://www.wgzimmer.ch/

TonyBhoy, thanks for the advice!

If it's only the flats that have been on the market for a while that are available immediately, would it make more sense to spend a few weeks in Zurich in August, and try and find something for the following month?

When a property is advertised, what (generally) is the wait for moving in? i.e. Do people advertise for the following month, of a few months in advance?

I'm not too fusy, I think (ideally) I'd move in to a flat-share between September and December, and then try and find my own place in the new year...

It really depends. If you are planning to go in august anyway, i would check out the flats which are available from when you would ideally want to rent them. There will be some available from immediate effect, but you will have a larger choice if you search in advance.

The more time you have to spend, then the easier it is. But i am very confident that you wont be left without a place to stay as long as you are not fussy.

Generally, people give a 3 month notice period, so most flats will be available after that

There are actually two "official" moving dates in canton ZH - end of March and end of September. A lot of flats do have different notice periods, the addition of the end of June is also common and more rarely notice to the end of any month is possible (but it's rare for anyone to accept notice to the end of December). This is only a rough rule of thumb but it means there are a lot of flats changing hands at the end of March and the end of September. It also means that a large number of flats are advertised as available from 1 April and 1 October. You will also find people looking to move outside their contractual notice periods which means they have to find someone to take over the lease, so you might be able to get a good place at an irregular time by looking for flats where the tenant is looking for what is called a "Nachmieter".

It depends where (geographically) you're looking. Many of the places in Zurich and the surrounding villages (especially on both sides of the lake up to Horgen / Meilen) seem to be advertised with a short "waiting" period meaning that they would be available within roughly one month after being advertised. This are usually places where somone is looking for a "Nachmieter" (as stated in a previous post) and those apartments are usually good value for money because if you're not sure if you can rent your apartment within a short period of time you might want to wait until the "official" termination date. But again, certain exceptions apply .

Look for apartments that you like on the links provided and try to schedule apointsment for when you're here. Good luck!