Hey all,

2 questions:

1) What are people's experiences commuting from France to Geneva? We are considering living in France and taking the bus into Geneva each morning for work. Will this save us a significant amount of money?

2) Where in France might you recommend we live? Ferney Voltaire, Saint Julien and Annecey all appear to be common choices. Are they nice towns? Me and my girlfriend have only just left uni, so im a little worried they could be too quiet for us. Are there many bars? Any nightlife or young people at all?

I have friends who live in Annecy and work in Geneva. There is a bus or even better is driving as there is a new highway that'll take you about 15 minutes. I love Annecy. It is one of my favorite places.

Make sure you factor exchange rates into your decision. Strength of the Swiss Franc has made living in France considerably cheaper.

Annecy has nightlife in which the junior Zappas (17 and 20) participate. You can drink inexpensively in the bars in the Old Town and there always loads of people about, especially in summer, of course. However be aware that Annecy is one of most expensive and snobbish towns in France outside Paris. Bizarrely, it is totally different from Geneva. This is bourgeois France with very little multiculturalism. Speak french or suffer. We love living NEAR it .

without a car, I don't think anecy is an option. St. Julien is quite nice and has a bus connection to Geneva.

Yes but Annecy is a bit far away, you can look closer for example in Divonne, or Cessy, if you look for a temporary accommodation go to www.bnbcoppet.com, lots of interesting place to rent. Good luck for your stay.

In terms of convenience, Ferney Voltaire, is probably the best, but then again the prices are close to that of Geneva, with a big commuter community. The bus connection is likely the best.

I would drop Annecy, while nice, it really is a commute, and I would second the need for a car.

Divonne is nice too, but without a car, it will not be easy.

Search the forum, there have been many discussions on where to live in France, especially which side is better compared to your office location.

Thanks for all the feedback guys. We have ruled out Annecy due to its distance from Geneva. WE are staying in a hostel in Ferney Voltaire for a few nights when we arrive, so hopefully that will give us chance to get a feel for the place before deciding if we like it.

I work is France quite a bit, so I do the opposite drive through Geneva to France, but the amount of traffic coming into CH/Geneva from France was amazing in the morning rush hour. It is not that the highway capacilty could not handle it, rather all the cars being funneled to the border point that caused lot of backups.

If you are really considering moving, I would stay there in a hotel in France for a few nights and try the morning commute a few times to see how long it really takes (it might move quicker than it appeared to me) but when moving, better safe than sorry.

Loads of people do it. Especially if they are working at CERN or the UN organizations where St Genis and Ferney and even as far as Gex are just a few minutes away by car.

For me the major drawback is public transport. While in the canton of Geneva the system is extensive and efficient it all gets a bit patchy once over the border with only the very centres of the towns being served. Outside commuting hours the buses become fairly infrequent - check out the TPG website for the F bus. So after an evening of, ahem, refreshment in Geneva, getting home can be a problem. Taxis in Geneva have got to be some of the most expensive in the world.

It seems to suit responsible adult types with children very well though - especially the cheaper food shopping.

If you are up for it, I would also recommend biking from Ferney Voltaire. The bus from there is decent, if not crowded, but biking is very easy.