Hi everyone. I'm a US citizen from the Pacific Northwest living in Vorarlberg, Austria with my wife. I've recently accepted a job offer in Sargans and will likely relocate to Chur at some point next spring/summer. I'm a native English speaker with some (limited) knowledge of German but I don't understand the Swiss German speakers at all.

I enjoy skiing, hiking, climbing and traveling. I also do some (very easy) bicycling but I am thinking of maybe trying to do some downhill mountain biking if I move to Chur as it seems quite popular there.

Welcome to the forum.

Welcome to the forum, and soon to Switzerland.

The German in Voralberg is very non standard anyway, if you can understand that you could be halfway to understanding some of the Swiss.

LOL, I was thinking the same thing. If you understand the Austrians, Swiss German will be a walk in the park.

Welcome to the forum.

Welcome to the forum.

Indeed, Chur is the entry point to a whole lot of bike trails up in the mountains for all riding levels.

PS. I just remembered the UCI MTB world cup is on Arosa-Lenzerheide from 3-5 Sep 2021. The downhill race is an incredible show of athletic ability.I'll try to be there.

Thank you!

Yes, it's a bit different from high German which is what they teach in the classes here. I find that I'm able to do simple things like go to the store, bakeries, restaurants and fill forms without much if any trouble. When I went to Chur a couple of weeks ago I didn't understand anything the person at the cash register at the grocery store said to me.

Thanks, see the above reply.

I will try to check it out as well then.

I have the same problem after a few years of living here, even though my Standard German is C1. How people manage to adapt to Swiss dialects is still a mystery to me.

Hello and welcome to the forum.

It's pretty standard, actually.

Tom

Welcome
Chur is often mentioned in the traffic news, around 7-7:30 AM. Probably in the opposite direction of yours, but you may want to have an eye on that nonetheless as traffic jams have a tendency to spread. FM1Today for instance is a local radio that covers the area.

C1 and still struggling. Now I'm scared.

I've taken A1 but the class wasn't very good, the teacher didn't even finish the course. I think I've learned more just stumbling through daily life although the grammar was a huge help.

Thanks.

More than Swiss German anyway.

I've checked Google maps in the mornings and afternoons and it seems OK for the direction I'm travelling.

I'm a bit surprised at how much more public transportation costs in Switzerland compared to Austria. I'm aware that costs in general are a fair amount higher. From my investigations I've found rents in Chur would be similar to what I pay now, groceries 10%-20% higher, leisure activities around 2x and dining out around 1.5-2x but I don't go out to eat often. An annual transit pass in Vorarlberg is 385 EUR but the annual pass I would need to commute from Chur to Sargans is 1865 CHF.

For now I'm planning to buy a car anyway since I won't be relocating for at least several months.

Welcome to Switzerland

Not if you're in Muntafun...it's very close to Rhaeto-Rumansch.

Katz fressat Gras, z'Wätter tuat om.

That's not the reason cats eat grass.

Just politely ask them to speak High German!

Do you mean, buy in Austria before your move?
Generally speaking, importing pretty much any "ordinary" car won't be worth the hassle and costs.

Ah yes I was wondering if this was frowned upon or if people would be willing to accommodate. I assumed people can understand and speak high German since the written form is basically the same.

Yes! My understanding is that if you own and use the vehicle for at least six months then you do not have to pay the import duty. From the following FAQ page on the Swiss government website:

https://www.ezv.admin.ch/ezv/en/home...craft/faq.html

Q: I would like to bring my car, which I have been using for more than 6 months. How should I proceed?

A: Under certain circumstances, you may be entitled to import your vehicle tax and duty-free as household effects. The requirements are the same as those for other household effects. Information on this can be found on our website.

The following page is listed as a reference in the answer:

https://www.ezv.admin.ch/ezv/en/home...-effects-.html

If I understand correctly this means I can move with a vehicle to Switzerland provided I have owned, registered and operated it as a resident in a third country for at least six months.

Looks correct. AFAIA immatriculation abroad for more than 6 months also avoids the CO2 tax.

You have 12 months to get it immatriculated, which includes passing the car inspection (lingo MFK, MotorFahrzeugKontrolle). You want to have a CoC (Certificate of Conformity, aka EG TypenGenehmigung) for that.

Newer cars are likely to have lower resale value after import.

I believe you have to actually live outside of Switzerland but I don't plan on moving until probably April anyway. It's possible we would move earlier if we find a place we really like and just eat the tax/paperwork.