How did you find this forum?

Changeable.

[roegner]

Menopause.... can´t remember

[ZuriRollt]

Have been here in CH since quite a while (over 20 years).

Abandoned my first 2 attempts at getting EF contact, as the responses were truly horrible - not only increasing my loneliness when establishing a young existence within a new country, but it was depressing and useless. One of the worst experiences I've made during my transition here.

At the time there were only the pub crawls (pick-up joints), which have thankfully evolved.

Times are different, and the opportunities appear to be wider, for all groups.

Nowadays since joining in August 2015, I find this Forum a different place today (but it wasn't an easy path at all).

Happy to be here, for now .

It gives exceptionally good legal advice - personally I'd never give free if that was me ;-). But it also provides a good basis for letting off steam / sharing experiences / and creating the possibility to share experiences on and off-line without pressure.

Beats the Daily Mail on-line any day.

	Quote:	ZuriRollt
	Have been here in CH since quite a while (over 20 years). Abandoned my first 2 attempts at getting EF contact, as the responses were truly horrible - not only increasing my loneliness when establishing a young existence within a new country ... At the time there were only the pub crawls (pick-up joints), which have thankfully evolved.

But EF didn't exist when you were "establishing a young existence within a new country". It was only founded in 2005.

And your representation of the early social events organised through EF is grossly unfair. They were not simply "pick up joints" and "pub crawls". There were running events and cycling events and cheese tasting events and concerts and all sorts of things.

Are you sure you're not confusing EF with something else?

[ZuriRollt]

	Quote:
	But EF didn't exist when you were "establishing a young existence within a new country". It was only founded in 2005. And your representation of the early social events organised through EF is grossly unfair. They were not simply "pick up joints" and "pub crawls". There were running events and cycling events and cheese tasting events and concerts and all sorts of things. Are you sure you're not confusing EF with something else?

I don't actually remember which year I initially joined the EF. I came here to set up the first LAN, then WAN in CH, the internet followed quite a while afterwards.

But I can definitely say that my first experience with EF was quite masochistic and disgusting ;-).

[curley]

	Quote:
	EF was only founded in 2005.

Wow, that makes me one of the real early ones but I'm not really....
2006 cablecom was gonna take BBC-prime for me so it was time to set up a satellite-dish. Not having the faintest clue how to do that I landed here somhow, found two really nice, patient guys who talked me through the process. Then I forgot about EF for a decade although every now and then when I googled for things I would end up finding really good answers here in EF but logging on never crossed my mind for some unknown reason. I also can't recall what suddenly made me log on again in April this year. Finding all my stuff, avatar etc. still being here was quite a surprise - turns out EF is about the only stable thing in my life
The Brexit thread (the first one) got me stuck here. I also get lots of other information, which I usually have to gather myself, in much shorter time as everybody seems to be out collecting them and putting them in here. And the many hearty laughs I've had on here since April are worth overseeing the bickering.

I like this thread. Too bad Mark can not read it, I'm sure he'd like to see how we all got on here and how his baby grows up to be a teen-ager.

[shana]

I don't have a job
However, there are a lot of opportunities for development.
Realizing to know English is an asset
Thank you English Forum CH for being online!

[Oldhand]

Hehe, reading ZuriRollt's post reminded of my first time on EF. I'd only just learned how to switch on a computer and got my own email account. I was one of those newbies who knew bugger all about forum etiquette and yes, I did get slated.

However I was a quick learner and had some excellent teachers, not to mention patient EF leaders. It opened a whole new world to me, I'm still no good at debating, especially if it's not on a subject close to my heart but I have to say EF broadened my horizons at the time and still does.

[Oldhand]

	Quote:
	But EF didn't exist when you were "establishing a young existence within a new country". It was only founded in 2005. And your representation of the early social events organised through EF is grossly unfair. They were not simply "pick up joints" and "pub crawls". There were running events and cycling events and cheese tasting events and concerts and all sorts of things. Are you sure you're not confusing EF with something else?

What about me curry night?

[smackerjack]

I had just come out of hospital from having a heart procedure so having to take it easy I was surfing and came across EF.
This was in the early days and I remember the help and support I had from Mark and LOB and some of the other early members who sadly are no longer on here.

I have met some wonderful people and had some fab days out also.

I have also learnt so much about certain aspects that I have been able to pass this knowledge onto people who have lived here for many many years!!

Pregnant when I joined, then had a newborn who was in IC, then home, baby constantly sick, back and forth to Kinderspital and Docs for many years. I remember one particular winter not leaving the house for six weeks up to and over a Christmas, other than to visit the Docs a couple of times. I remember that year Slaphead wrote a very funny Christmas evening post: he was out somewhere, miserable, having a pint on his own after spending xmas day at his girlfriend's Mother's house and how the dog peed in his shoe. Well, that post saved my day, I laughed my head off..

It was the EF that got me through many an isolated time with the brilliance, banter and real belly laughs.

Cheers to the good old EF!

[BokerTov]

I moved to Switzerland in the summer and started googling "how do I do this?", "how do I do that?" and found the EF. It was my very first time on an internet forum, I never participated in one before, so it was all new. Between colleagues, friends and the EF, I had a smooth transition into the country.

At that point, I just introduced myself but did not contribute much. In the fall of the same year, I decided it was time to meet new people, so I discovered the Viadukt and the German Conversation Group. The rest is (wonderful) history.

Although I have now been out of the country coming up to 4 years, the EF is like the Hotel California:

"You can check out any time you like, but you can never leave!"

[JagWaugh]

I can't for the life of me remember how I found, or even why I joined EF. Unfortunately the search only goes back 500 posts, so I can't even look up my first post.

I think I was looking for a recipe.

I do know that there was a long while between joining and becoming a bit more active. I may have been sorting through old bookmarks and bumped into a link.

Anyway, it has been entertaining, and I think my written English has improved (just imagine how crap it used to be!).

[3Wishes]

	Quote:	JagWaugh
	I can't for the life of me remember how I found, or even why I joined EF. Unfortunately the search only goes back 500 posts, so I can't even look up my first post...

As best I can tell, this was your first post. Funny, this question (kids and multiple languages) still comes up regularly.

	Quote:	JagWaugh
	I spoke English with my children from day one, my wife German, the babysitter Spanish and their friends Swiss German. Lots of people warned us that this would be bad for the children. (Funny how many people are ready to tell you what you are doing wrong with your children). In the meantime they are 14 and 11, perfectly fluent in English, German and Swissgerman. I speak English with them when we are alone, but German when their colleagues are around. I wish that their Grandfather had spoken Slovenian and Serbo-Croatian with them. Andrew (newbie to the site)

[JagWaugh]

	Quote:	3Wishes
	As best I can tell, this was your first post. Funny, this question (kids and multiple languages) still comes up regularly.

Heh! I only searched for my posts from my profile, and that only returns 500 posts.

Thanks.

[McTAVGE]

The move from abroad combined with the shocking news of cancer 3 weeks before the move, followed by two years of a nightmarish alcoholic neighbour and two assaults, trials in court... 6 years on, we look back and wonder how we did it, but we know we could not have done it without the advice and support from EF, at a time we felt lost, alone and desperate to go back home (but knowing we couldn't).


So yes, sometimes you wince at some of the comments, you might boil once or twice even, but I cannot help feeling indebted to EF, I've met some lovely people through EF and will continue to contribute for as long as we keep being entertained by Adrian London!

[greenmount]

I don't remember if I was looking for something like "how to do this, or find that" or if I looked for some sort of expats/foreigners groups that meet regularly etc. Some characters here (or rather, their online personas) put me off for ever going to those meetings tbh, but I have met couple of nice folks through this platform, in other circumstances.
I also know folks who just read this forum from time to time (and probably shake their heads ) but find it too much to also contribute. Understandable.
There are so many lively discussions here and one gets hooked on, I guess it's just difficult to quit visiting, especially after one doesn't have any excuse to stick around - not a newbie anymore, not looking for new friends, or brown sugar, or..whatever. Boy, we're shallow.

I wish I had found EF sooner. The first few years in CH were quite horrible: awful neighbours, cold and judgemental people with a superiority complex, nothing much to do and no will to change it.
Then I moved to the other side of canton Aargau and everything changed: people were warm and helpful, my in-laws were a safe 50 kms away and I found EF.
It's been a few years now, but Adrian still makes me laugh too

[Wollishofener]

	Quote:
	But EF didn't exist when you were "establishing a young existence within a new country". It was only founded in 2005. And your representation of the early social events organised through EF is grossly unfair. They were not simply "pick up joints" and "pub crawls". There were running events and cycling events and cheese tasting events and concerts and all sorts of things. Are you sure you're not confusing EF with something else?

only found out about EF in 2008 with your help at Shamrock when I had domicile in Adliswil and I do not on well with [real name removed] These days

[happyjuggler]

I kept stumbling across it when I would look run google searches in English for question about Switzerland. Figured it could be a valuable resource and decided to join.