We live in GUmligen ( Muri bei Bern) in a lovely flat with our 2 daughters ( 6 and 2 years old). We are very happy here and when I read other threads about the problems some people face here regarding accomodations and neighbours, We are very lucky. We have a 3 1/2 room flat and pay about 1900chf a month.

It's very clean, very friendly and VERY safe. My 6 year old play alone outside with all the other kids around until late in summer and when the weather is good.

We live 2 minutes away from a tram station , just a 10 minute tram ride from the center of Bern Zytglogge.

I don't think you'll need to go too far. As I said in my last message, I moved to Rufenacht, which is only 18 mim. from tram to downtown. I rent a 93m 4.5 rooms, totally renovated and modern apartment for 1720. Just look carefully and be patient.

Have a look here immo.search.ch/ its a good start

This is where I live, but different block ..It's like a huge residential area. You may not like the building but I can promise you that all is very modern inside. and outside, there are all the local schools you need, lots of garden and park and we can even use great slopes for sledging just a walking distance away.

http://www.immoscout24.ch/IS24Web/_V...52709&index=11

there are quite a few adverts in Gumligen
http://www.immoscout24.ch/IS24Web/_V...otal=21&page=2

Great input everyone My workplace is in western Bern and so far I have been looking for an apartment in that part, but if I understand things correctly the area around Bümpliz-Betlehem is not a very nice/safe place?

I live in Kappelisackerstrasse 99, like it here, lived in number 101 before it was reconditioned last summer. I offered advice not criticism.

This user groans at Ittigen for this post: MrVertigo


Edited to say, please take back your groan.

By the way: I lived in Looslistrasse 64, 3027 Bern, for 2 years. During that time 3 people were murdered in that road. The garagist shot, a fitness center helper was burnt alive at night during Easter, one lesbian was knifed to death by her older lover (she is still on the run) I am sure they were all Europeans, but not a place to reccommend to anyone is it!

If you like Swiss neighbours then best areas are:

3073 Gümligen
3074 Muri
3047 Bremgarten


Maybe not suitable due to high levels of non EU people:

3027 Bethlehem
3018 Bümpliz
3052 Zollikofen
3098 Köniz
3063 Ittigen

I know someone living in bumplitz.. There are nice areas within the neighborhood... There's a cemetery there and all around is quite nice. Unless being near a cemetery creeps you out.

I agree there are nice parts to all those areas!

But some of these areas were very dodgy over the past 20 years, and haven't improved a lot. Since the Serbian Kosovo war stopped and the rebels in Sri Lanka were beaten, things have quietened down a lot.

But when the Berne social department wants to re-house some fresh asylum seekers they are sent to the bad lands, not to the areas with a higher population of local poltiticians!

You have to be honest on this forum, I cannot reccommend anywhere in 3018 or 3027.

OP, if you want 2 bathroom, I think it will cost you more than your budget. Being back in Europe, it is one luxury you may want to cut..and I'm someone who used to live in a flat with 2 and even 3 bathrooms in Asia.

Yes, there are many swiss here in Gumligen but I like it because it is also very cosmopolitan with many foreigners EU and non EU. It's a good mix.

Personnaly, I know that the best choice for us with 2 young kids have been NOT to live in the city. Bern is not child friendly at all. If I go to Bern, I try to go alone without the kids.

And as for as of safety, it is safe here but you still need to aware.. I do lock my bike, I don't let my bag on my bike and my neighbour warned other parents and myself, that the little girl of one of his friends who is shopkeeper in the district Bretarain got nearly abducted...there is not frontier for sex maniacs.

I think 1800 CHF is a bit optimistic for Bern, but you might have a bit more luck in and around Thun with that sort of budget. The only area to avoid in Thun is Lerchenfeld.
I live in a small village outside of Thun (less than 10 minutes bus ride from the city), and pay a little under 1800 CHF for a 4.5 room appartment.

Grrr, just wrote a lenghty post, then had to check sth. for work and now all the text is gone. Will write it down again tonight or tomorrow.

For the time being: One thing you might want to keep an eye on is public transport. Accesibility can vary a lot. For example, in the nice village of Rüfenacht, you will need a car. Zollikofen on the other haand has about 30 connections/hour to the city.

In Zollikofen, you might want to avoid Steinibach (basically the part nearest to Bern) and Bernstrasse (heavy trafic). On the other hand the "Quartier" between Landgarbenstrasse and the Aare river is very calm with nice houses and affluent neighbours.

@Olympe: I disagree with you that the city of Bern is not child-friendly. You are talking about the old town I guess.

[QUOTE=
@Olympe: I disagree with you that the city of Bern is not child-friendly. You are talking about the old town I guess.[/QUOTE]


Good, please prove me wrong: can you provide me with a list of kids friendly places where you can bring your kids for a break from shopping. I only know the Rosengarten which is too far from the shops. I have also heard of a place (grossechance ?) in the train station but I've never managed to find it.

That was actually my point. You are talking about shopping in the old town. Certainly the best known part of Bern, but only a very tiny fraction of the bernese population actually lives there (that's what this thread is about, no?). If the OP finds a nice appartement on a quiet side street in Breitenrein, Länggasse etc. the child-friendliness factor will actually be quite high.

Breaks when shopping in the old town (I agree that this can be stressfull with young kids).:

• In the summer: Let them get wet on the Bundesplatz
• Try Münsterplattform (next to the Münster)
• Grosse Schanze (above the main station, inside the station, walk to the end of the tunnel that leads to the tracks, take the elevator to the top floor. Avoid at night.)
• Kleine Schanze (right hand side of the federal palace, avoid at night)

Yeah, the Bundesplatz fountain is cool, and good advice about the Grosse and Kleine Schanze. I also wanted to mention that the Laenggasse (3012), just west of the city center is quite expensive, probably due to proximity with the university. For example, we were looking 3 years ago at 5 rooms newly renovated and just the rent was 3400.

You should be aware that many contracts stipulate that you can only leave "normally" on 1st November and 1st May.... and in between these dates there is a limited offer.

This might be suitable for a couple of years until you find something exactly to your needs,

http://www.immoscout24.ch/IS24Web/_V...90466&index=30

The taxation is OK too: http://www.homegate.ch/homegate/fina...FciWzAod0x7jzw

This is the Swiss map search, http://map.search.ch/muehleberg/murtenstr.24

Thank you Ittigen!

Hi !

You're move is geting closer.I just wanted to know if you know now where you'll be living and if you've found something within your budget.

I am in Bern right now and currently close to signing an apartment contract. But I have a bit of a difficult situation right now since I will not be able to move in until the 15th of November and not the 1st as I first thought.

So anyone in Bern reading this with a room to rent for around two weeks or so?

hi, i'm finally in Bern now! I absoultely love the city. It is old and pretty. now we are staying in a temporary serviced apartment in the city until we find a permanent accomodation. Thanks so much for the lengthy threads they do help a lot and make my search easier! I have come across only one American at coop. I feel quite foreign in here! I guess that's what makes it cool. anyways, does anyone know if it is easy to find timber floor apartment around the suburbs recommended? e.g. Muri, Gumligen, Bremgarten, etc? and do these suburbs all have trams/buses direct to Bern city?

hi Olympee, was this question directed at me? sorry if it was, i actually didn't see your thread and couldn't figure out how to reply to this post when I got your message in my email. where abouts do you live? and did you say you have 6 and 2 yr old kids?

I love this comment. Thank you for keeping it real.