I find that socks and old training shoes have a similar effect when I want a new house to smell more like me.

I'm really impressed by this forum, the wealth of information and mostly the different backgrounds of the people here.

I think leaving your home country and settling abroad is quite a step and it often takes years to get used to this and that. And I'm not speaking about the real project of finding a job or a flat.

Well at least it was for me.

How did you make yourself feel at home? And how many years did you spend at it?

We eased our transition with a boxload of Heinz Baked Beans and Branston Pickle.

As for getting to grips with Switzerland, we did what you're doing -- read a ton of "how to" stuff on the forum, plus read the excellent "Living and Working in Switzerland" (try Google or Amazon). Best resource of all for me was probably joining a team of people at work who are largely ex-pat themselves, and had all the help and advice I needed.

But I have to say, in a country as beautiful as this, with shops filled with interesting cheese and wine, and shelves groaning with excellent chocolate, just how hard is it for anyone to make themselves feel at home?

Did lots of remodeling and interior design changes (ongoing project )
Reupholstered furniture, bought new things, changed wall colour to something we would not have tried before, planted a garden, etc. I seem to do this in every country we move to. Somehow, makes the transition easier and makes it feel more like home

.. for me it was joining the Stitch N Bitch in Lausanne every week, to have a structured activity by myself - without husband and kids. This leads to other nice activities.

I am trying to make small moves towards 'Swiss activities' but that is not going really fast yet. Practising my French with the garderie teachers helps. I hope to meet some Swiss when my son goes to sports, and primary school soon. Also, I still intend to check out the local sports nights here in the village.

Also, I have quite some visitors coming over from the home country, who fill the apartment with nice memories. This makes it feel like home too!

My method is: not to try too hard to force myself feeling at home. Because too much effort and desire will only upset me if the result is less than expected. So I prefer facing the truth: I am an expat here, and Im not pretending to be a local and not pretending to be home

Don't try to make here like home was. Think of your new place as a new home, every experience will broaden your horizon, new food, new language, new people... views etc etc.

Never think "Oh, I wish *this* was more like home", instead think "oh *this* is different to what I am used to at my old home". There's not many things here that are better or worse than the old country, they are just different.

I can honestly say that the only thing I miss about the UK is...

__________________
Mike

Monger of fine British Cheeses

Iv been here 2 months and making this apartment feel like home never crossed my mind. I came from a somewhat nomadic family and we had our "real" home only when the youngest (out of 5) stepped into college. Before that and even until now, all our houses are messy because of the constant travelling. Im glad i dont have to live with them anymore.

Right now it feels like home here because my bf is away and im allowed to make a little bit of mess. Also, i drew some flags with my daughter (philippine/swiss/german/taiwan/US). Its where we´ve been except US where her cousins are. I posted it on her rooms door. We also painted and decorated some black boxes from ikea. Posted pictures even without frames. We´ve quite some palms that have offsprings and cacti (is that the plural of cactus?hehe). I think all these and abit of mess makes it feel homely. Oh, the undone dishes, scattered books and documents remind me that i have quite a home to attend to. Like right now. My bf will kill me.

I was just moaning the other day to my husband that my house looks generic. Typical Swiss clinical new build, expat IKEA furniture - souless!

I try filling it with flowers, statement pieces (like a beautiful clock I chanced upon), my own personal touches of unique table runners, hand picked vases and picture frames but something is still missing..

My walls in the living room and dining area are still blank and that's never happened before as I love stuff on my walls. I would dearly love to give it a lick of paint too! I think subconsciously, I am trying not to make it too homely as I dont know when we'll need to pack up and go

__________________
Remember when someone annoys you, it takes 42 muscles to frown, BUT it only takes 4 muscles to extend your arm and b****-slap the mother-f***er upside the head.

Home is where I hang my guitars, and the kitchen is where I clean my motorcycle parts ((usually) when I'm not cooking).

Anyone who disagrees is free to find their own home.

Tom

As a girlie, loads of candles and bunches of flowers always help.