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From hot & humid Singapore to the Land of Chocolate & Cheese

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sandrayc

HI
Sandra here - i've been living in Switzerland for almost 5x yrs now. It has been difficult but also had good times. & it is a very beautiful country. Life is certainly very different from where we come from. We came cos my husband has work here & we will be staying as long as he has work here. My days are filled with the normal home management stuff & going to activities with my 3 yr old boy. Recently, i just started a home business, selling English Children's Books.
i love the exchange of info which happens on a forum such as this - i hope to be able to contribute as much as to get advice/help from this.
If any members in Switzerland fancies a get-together, drop me a line. :cheers:
sandra in Langendorf, SO, Switzerland

Julien

Welcome on board Sandra!

Thanks in advance for your contribution :)

What is your first recommendations to somebody who would like to move to Switzerland?

sandrayc

HI Julien,
Thanks for the nice welcome.
Hmmm.. 1st recommendations - well, 1st of all to know that Switzerland is a country quite unlike anywhere else - even in Europe it is really unique in it's culture & people.
Next, be ready to learn another language (Switzerland has 4x official languages but only 3x are widely spoken - German, France & Italian) - it helps greatly in getting to know people & in getting around, especially if you are settling in a nice little country village like where we are. Oh, do read Beyond Chocolate to get an idea of Swiss culture. i'm only reading it after being here 5x years - i can see how it would have helped me in the beginning.
The 1x thing you should do is to give yourself time - it will all come together & don't be afraid to admit that you need the refuge of your countrymen or other foreigners once in a while. i know some people try very hard to integrate & decide that the best way is to cut connect with people in similar situations & plunge head 1st into being Swiss. It can be a very lonely road that way. The other thing to take note of is that the way of life here is very family-oriented which is great for families but can be lonely for singles. Know also that the standard of living is high & expensive so expect that your dollar would not stretch that far.
Here are a few websites to start getting info:
www.swisshelpdesk.com/eng/index.html?siteSect=100
www.swisswiki.ch/index.php/Main_Page
www.swissworld.org/
Hope this has been helpful.
take care
regards
sandra

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