Hi Folks,

Myself & family are thinking of moving to Neuchatel in early sept, we are from Ireland & would love some info on cost of living, schools, healthcare, housing taxes & anything else we need to know!!
regards,
steven

Myself & family( 17yrs & 15yrs) are looking to move here in early sept,
Have job offer, unsure about moving from Ireland,
Would appreciate any help & info on pro's & con's on moving family here;

cost of living.
health insurance.
taxes.
education.
house hunting- area to live & rents.
salaries etc
social scene for teenagers & adults.

regards,
steven

Welcome to the Forum.

You'll find basic information on all these subjects in the Sticky Threads at the top of each sub-forum.

Check them out and then you can ask slightly more specific questions in the correct sections of the Forum.

Neuchâtel is relatively cheap (at least compared to Geneva or Zürich) for accommodation. There is however a shortage of large apartments (3 bedrooms or more) in town, and when these become available they get snapped up very quickly. The local bus/train network is excellent though, so you may want to target neighbouring suburbs/villages such as Colombier, Boudry, Bevaix, Hauterive or St. Blaise. Prices get much cheaper as soon as you move further away from the lake and up into the hills (Val de Travers, Val de Ruz, the area around La Chaux-de-Fonds). All of these places are well connected to Neuchâtel by public transport. The choice will also depend on where your job offer is... is it in Neuchâtel itself ?

Taxes are very high in Neuchâtel - higher than anywhere else in Switzerland. Lots of people actually choose to live over the other side of the lake in the cantons of Vaud or Fribourg because of this.

Social scene and activities... well, I know that my 22-year-old daughter finds it very quiet, it definitely isn't a place for clubbing. If you and your family like outdoor activities you will find plenty to do though. Water sports obviously, sports clubs of all kinds, skiing within half an hour's drive in winter, hiking all year round.

Good to take Mobility car and shift

many thanks for your help,
my job will be based in the centre of Neuchatel.
are there houses to rent? where is the best place to search for houses. we intend going over in early july to scout around. Any suggestions would be welcomed.
What is the average salary before tax?
regards,
steven

You didn't do what I suggested did you?

When looking for info about flats and renting it seems logical to me that you could start the search in the housing forum. Sticky with sites is there.

Salaries come, oddly enough, under Employment - again, look at the Stickies at the Top of the list of Threads there.

Asking varied questions in the Introduction part won't get you the answers you are looking for and, in the end, might irritate the very folk who would have been willing to help you with details later.

Very few and far between, and practically non-existent in Neuchâtel itself. The Swiss are apartment-dwellers for the most part. You will need to look out of town if you want a house (look for "villas" on the housing websites - that's what they call detached houses here)

The national average salary is something like 70,000 CHF... but that's an average that covers everything from shop workers to top managers. Without knowing what you do and at what level, it's hard to give any meaningful indication.

What I would say is that although it's an expensive country, the higher salaries outweigh the higher cost of living compared to the UK (and Ireland from what friends have told me), and that overall you will probably find that you have a higher standard of living here than at home.

stephen_NE seems to have it covered so just a hearty welcome to Neuchatel from me

Your kids are 15 and 17 but most likely only school French? Do have a peep in the education section as this would be the most serious consideration you may have...
It would be a shame to miss doing the Leaving Cert when it is so close...( but maybe the eldest is doing it now?)

cheers for the message

many thanks, looking at a general manager job in gastro pub.

thanks for advice, eldest is sitting LC in June 2012, we were thinking of leaving her in Ireland, son is doing JC in June 2012, we were going to bring him & place in local school?

I would agree with letting your daughter do the Leaving, the problem for the 15 year old will be that here there is no ordinary secondary that takes all types of students. They are channeled into different systems from primary onwards and only the best go on to do anything like the LC or uni. It's not impossible, just having to study everything through the local language takes time.
There are loads of threads on this in the family and education forums.

I have absolutely no idea about salaries in that business unfortunately. Would be interested to know what place in central Neuch considers itself to be a "gastro pub" though... nowhere immediately springs to mind.

cafe du cerf, no listings on trip advisor,

I can say that my husband and I find it painfully expensive here. Still worth it, and definitely a lot easier if you are earning in swiss francs, to pay in swiss francs (which is not the case for us).

When apartment hunting my husband called over 40 places, and ended up viewing about a dozen over the course of two months. Might be worthwhile to connect with an agency that helps organize this for you (since you likely can't wait indefinitely in a dorm with your family). Affordable housing is difficult to come by here and is taken quickly, though as previous posters noted, nowhere near as difficult as in Geneva. That said, every apartment I have been in has been quite nice.

The city is quiet in general, which we like, I guess it depends what your family members enjoy. The lake and forest are fantastic, as is the transit system...I haven't missed our vehicle except when we were trying to move furniture.

Good luck with the decision, it's a big one.

What is a "gastro pub"? Does it just mean a pub that serves food? Or does it mean a pub that serves posh food? The Cerf does not serve posh food. However, the Cerf is a HUGELY popular (we often go there) Irish pub type place. Pretty much the entire English-speaking expat community frequent there, it's my favourite place to go.

If you do decide to move, can we get a free round?

What I will add is that there are definitely ways to penny pinch. I just bought a tonne of meat in Coop for 30CHF as the guy was putting the 50% off stickers on it. Little things like that really add up to help you make savings. My boyfriend and I earn a combined salary of crap compared to the average, but we live relatively comfortably.

English speakers in Neuch, know this place well
Good luck will be an exciting adventure for you and your family!

It has been the place to go in Neuch for English speakers since way before I lived there in the late 90's.

Agreed with what the others say about Café du Cerf. It's a very popular, well run bar. Nothing remotely gastro about it though - it serves decent but very simple food.

Perhaps people actually living in Neuchatel can better comment on this, but we visited Neuchatel earlier this year - a glorious sunny day by Lake Geneva - but as we climbed up towards Neuchatel, we entered the cloud cover - in Neuchatel it was freezing and you could hardly see in front of you. So disheartening to see the sun but not being able to feel it!! Friends of mine who lived there found it very depressing - something to think about when you're looking for a place to stay - maybe you want to be high or low enough to be out of the cloud cover.