Hi All,

My husband, son (age 5), daughter (7 months) and I are planning our relocation to Switzerland in April.

My husband will be based in Cham for work, so we're thinking of living in the Barr/Cham/Zug area. We are struggling to find a house (4 bed detatched ideally). We have applied to ISOCS and ISZL for schooling for our son.

We could really do with some advice on the areas to look for a house, as we have based our decision purely on the fact my husband will work in Cham.

What other areas could we look at in order to 'widen the net' to find an appropriate house or do you know of a property that might work fo us?

Fingers crossed!

Hi
I can suggest Rotkreuz and Hunnenberg See which are adjacent to Cham and quite nice. There are some houses around but quite difficult to find, and my own search for a detached house was a failure. You may have to take a semi d or terrace, but the sound insulation in the new build I am in is very good so noise should not be a problem.It would be good to come over for a short visit and look around to see what might suit you, there might be more choice further out for instance and public transport is so good that might be better. As a recent arrival I can honestly say it is a very easy place to live and there are lots of English speaks around to help if you have any settling in difficulties. Rumours of unfriendly Swiss have also not proven to be true in my experience

Welcome to the forum Mrsprogers . I'm not able to help you with housing in the areas you mentioned, however, I do hope your move goes well for you and your family.

We live in Holzhausern\Rotkreuz area and Cham is just 5 min from us not even taking the freeway. My kids go to ISZL and I know they have school bus service almost out to Kussnacht. That should give you some more room to widen your search. Good luck.

Hi
I just moved to Zug a couple of weeks ago. I did a pretty extensive house search around the city covering Baar, Cham, Hunenberg, Steinhausen and Rotkruez. Finally settled upon a place in Steinhausen. Its a nice locality and very children friendly. Its not an independent house though, its an apartment. Its not more than a 5-10 drive from Cham and very close to shopping with Zugerland mall at walking distance.

There ought to be quite a few options available as my relocation agent took me to at least 17 places, a few of which were in Cham.

Cheers

PM'd ya..................................

Homegate lists only 6 single family homes for rent in Canton Zug. Prices start at 4,200.-chf. per month for one which is near Cham. The others go up from there with one at a whopping 11,800.-chf per mo.

source: http://www.homegate.ch/rent/apartmen...romItem=ctn_zg

Thanks all, after several nights of trawling the internet, we have some possibles in following locations:

Neuheim ruhig
Langnau am Albis
Ritcherswil (will need to apply to ZIS for school)
Landlich
Abtwil

Thoughts??

Also one in Immensee

OK, I don't mean to be mean-spirited but have you thought about using a relocation consultant? It might save you a lot of aggravation looking in vain for places like Neuheim ruhig (which means "Neuheim-quiet) or Landlich (which means rural) on a map....

A relocation consultant worth its salt will be able to advise you on the best area to look for accommodations and schools. A good one may also know of properties that are not being advertised openly. Trying to move a family based on advice from the forum and trawling through homegate is well, chancy at best.....

Langnau am Albis is nice the higher up the hill you get. Direct trains into Zurich and a lot quieter now that the highway between Zurich and Luzern has been completed.

You don't say where your husband's going to be working, but you if you ask at his workplace you may find that they have a 'relocation expert' who can help you find a place.
When my husband first came over (to work for Alstom) he was taken round properties by someone from his company whose job it was to help people relocate.
This was only for his initial accomodation, since then we've moved a couple of times and found houses ourselves.

You'll find http://www.comparis.ch a really good site to use to find a place. (Also in english.)

Good luck in your search.

__________________
That's for me to know.......and you NOT to find out!

Is your husband's company not paying for a relocation agency to help you with the transition? In my case, the relocation agency fees, moving costs & the first month's living costs were covered under my relocation agreement. I was also given a lump sum relocation allowance to pay for new furniture & other expenses. I really can't imagine that your husband's company would be sending him to Switzerland without providing something similar - have you discussed this with him?

A relocation agency won't do everything for you, but they do help a great deal in getting you on your feet in the country & making sure that all the important filings & registrations have been done. They also provide a lot of good advice in terms of helping you find & get (challenging!) a property rental. I used Schweizer Relocation & I thought that the service was excellent. Good luck with the move.

Welcome to the forum...

You will need to tell us what your budget is... and why exactly a house? the majority of people live in apartments, or occupy a single floor in a house. The apartments here are a lot more spacious than houses in the UK.

I would also say stick to the original areas you were thinking of, Zug, Baar, Cham, Huenenberg and Steinhause will be more than enough.
A lot of families also live in Knonau but you have to consider the tax implications as it's in Kanton Zuerich, however the tax increase will more than likely be offset by the rental costs. (don't quote me on that though).

For a decent detached house, of more than 120sqm you will fork out more than CHF7k, and it won't be in a central location.

Hope that helps.