Hi,
We spend Summer and winter holidays in Pontresina/ st Moritz
We love the area and will need advice on if we can afford to live there

I have a uk disability pension about £100.00 a week
My husband’s pension is £11,000.00 a year and I have a trust fund of £1600.00 a month

We have a house worth £360,000.00 and the portion of my mother’s estate coming to me is £500,000.00

I have a severe illness and we both have to pay health of course

Would we be able to live relatively okay in the region?
Would be fine to live in a less posh area

Have you started by looking at property and rental prices in the area?

EDIT - This bit may not be fully true but keep it in mind:

If you have a pre-existing severe illness then your health insurance and medical costs will likely be sky high. There is no NHS in Switzerland.

I always understood that basic health insurance wasn't allowed to hike premiums for per-existing conditions. Am I wrong?

Ok then maybe I am missing that nugget of info, but if someone with for example cancer that requires constant treatment has the same easily accessible premiums (for example with 300chf excess) as someone in full health then I would be very (pleasantly) surprised.

Basic insurance premiums are the same for everyone irrespective of their medical history. The premiums only vary depending on age and location.

You also need to know that the rules on getting and keeping all types of Swiss permit are being tightened. One of the things you'll need is to speak a Swiss language: German, French or Italian depending on which language is the official one for the canton you want to live in.

https://www.englishforum.ch/permits-...ml#post2888475

This is coming in this year.

Frankly, I would not make the move. While you will be able to get health insurance here for you it will be only basic cover only, no supplementary cover. This may or may not cover the same sort of things you get in the UK at the moment.

This is not true. Medical insurance does not care/may not care about pre-existing illnesses.
That would only go for the additional health insurance and to be honest, that's not worth having anyway.

Still the monthly spending money sounds low - and to live in St. Moritz of all places?
Who took St. Moritz over? The oligarchs?

Hi

Thanks for replies.

It is very early days and to be honest if we can find anywhere which is in Engardin I would like to say it would be good enough!

St Moritz - not a priority - somewhere near to the trains would be fine

If it's just mountains, pretty views and a railway station you're after, you might consider somewhere a bit less well known. The canton of Glarus, for example, is as beautiful as anywhere near St Moritz, but a fraction of the price. Also the people are nicer, the beer is better and we have green cheese.

Sorry DB, but the only thing that Glarus has over the Engadin is its accessibility.

And Schabziger. Don't forget the Schabziger!

In fact, having a serious medical condition could even be a reason to move to Switzerland. That is if, of course, you could get permission to live here.

Not only is what is called the "basic" insurance cover available and compulsory for all residents, with no exclusions on the basis of any pre-existing medical record, but the actual access to medical services is excellent, with low waiting times and quick access to doctors, usually easy referrals to specialists, and very good hospitals.

Of course, there is no paradise on earth, and certainly not so when one is ill, and doctors and hospitals here make mistakes, too. But being able to get to the treatment, and being allowed to change doctor if ever you feel you're not being taken seriously, are some of the real blessings of living in Switzerland.

Being happy, or not, is partly a question of one's personal expectations.

Here are some examples of monthly budgets:
http://www.budgetberatung.ch/Budget-...08de802.0.html

How old are you, and your husband? If you are senior citizens, or if your illness means you'd need help in the home, then remember to add costs of care. As a general figure, to cover wages and compulsory insurances for your staff (cooking, cleaning, shopping, laundry, mending, errands, accompanying to appointments, etc.) you can calculate about Fr. 35 to Fr. 40 per hour.

Since they are both on pension, I would expect that they will be covered by the UK government as are other pensioners.

Good point!
https://www.nhs.uk/NHSEngland/Health...roduction.aspx

Have you researched whether or not doctors and facilities needed to manage your care are available in the areas you are considering? And whether those doctors will accept patients on basic insurance, or are willing to take on any new patients at all?

I bring this up because of some of the barriers to accessing care I have run into. I live in SZ and do not know the areas you are looking at, so take my comments only as background info to start your research.

I live in an area lacking GPs (a problem many non-urban areas struggle with) and underserved by specialists. I have had trouble finding doctors willing/able to take any new patients, and I have found that some specialists will only see patients with supplemental insurance.

You will likely not be able to qualify for supplemental insurance, so you need to establish if you can access appropriate care in your area with basic insurance.

This does not seem to be much of an issue in larger more urban areas, as there are more doctors. Are you able to travel to meet your healthcare needs if necessary?

Sometimes one can pay an upgrade fee to get access to those specialists only seeing private patients, but you might want to consider the financial implications.

In Switzerland you will hear a lot of ‘it depends...’. You will read of widely differing, even contradictory experiences. All are accurate, as where one lives may mean radically different norms.

So just a heads-up, to do your own research into the individual villages and areas you are considering as you assess both affordability and accessibility of the specific health care you need.

Wishing you all the best.

Yes, meloncollie, that's a very good point.

OP, as a kinda sweeping rule, the closer you live to an urban centre, the better the access to a wide range of medical treatment, the better the public transport (more geographically networked, more frequent timetables), but the higher the rents.

Moving to the countryside can enable you to find a lower rental or maybe even to purchase something, but the medical network will be more sparce, as meloncollie describes, as will the public transport network. She is right that you should research this in terms of doctors (or other therapists) for your specific condition. And I'd add, for access to public transport. You can find timetables here: https://www.zvv.ch/zvv/en/home.html.

Oh hell

sorry guys I will go all in in honesty

I'm 43 unwaged for life on disability living alowance indefinite for Schizophrenia
my husband is 46 and has always worked in the railway.

my mother is unwell and it is unclear how much we will get at the moment but my sister is also terminally unwell and even if my father is alive i get money from him
his estate will be a trust for me and his second family

Please understand i wanted to give a picture that didn't include a grave robbing story.


You are all being so much help
I wasn't expecting an answer for a week

i think my husband would be happy anywhere within sight of a Chur - Poschiavo station.

for me it is the weather and the pretty view

we both have mild autistim and don't mix much or drink much beer.
sorry for misleading post above

the figures are guess work but probably quite accurate

sorry to be a pain!
I was genuinely expecting to wait a week for a single reply and then end up with 2 half hearted no - don't bother responses

Never mind! Yeah, while for any idea that anyone ever has, there are always some "no, don't bother" responses, this forum doesn't run on much "half-hearted".

It sounds as if there is no urgency to move. That's a good thing because it gives to time to do your research well.

I'd suggest that, for a start, you concentrate on having a look at these things:

1. the permit requirements as set out by Medea (would your husband work, for example?)

and, if you think you might qualify, then go on to look at

1. the budget examples, and compare those to your current budget
2. public transport for areas that appeal to you
3. a few alternative areas, just to compare
4. google "psychiatrische klinik" in case you ever need in-patient care... and have a look at lots of websites and especially the photos
5. go onto the telephone directory www.directories.ch to check how many psychotherapists there are in an area you'd consider.

Enjoy the online ride!