Anyone living in Switzerland help me?

Question

im an american and i want to know if i could live in swizerland and work a normal job like i do here in the states. i need to know what to expect, and what would be expected from me. i hear that zurich is the best city to live in. frankly ive had it with this country and all its lies and suppressions and i really want to start over some place that has real values and a good government. im worried about cost of living, whether id need to learn the language, if they accept citezenship and if they are accepting of americans. please give me full details and emails are welcome. thanks

Answer 1

It's alot to say. The cost of living is higher, but the wages are better, plus it's a very clean country, very low crime rates, quiet lifestyle, and people's individual freedom and rights are like a religion to the Swiss. And I know that they accept citizenship after 10-12 years of residence and you must pass a test of swiss culture (history, customs, and language - german of french).

Good choice, go for it.

Answer 2

My father is from Switzerland (CH).  Indeed it is a fantastic country and Zurich is a hella cool city.

I was reading the post from this girl talking of guns.  This is not a problem.  CH has many firearms, but one of the lowest instances of fatalities in the world.  So what she says is irrelevant.

CH is one of the wealthiest countries in the world.  With that in mind, it is extremely difficult to get a visa.  It is even more difficult than anything in the EU.

With any European country, you are going to have to demonstrate that you will not take a job from a capable Swiss citizen.  However, many Swiss citizens are well off and highly educated, so they do not want to work in the service industry.  

In the summertime the tourist industry creates more jobs than then citizens can handle.  So they offer a "Class C" Visa.  It is a seasonal visa.  So that is one route.  But you are going to face a lot of competition trying to get these jobs, especially if you do not speak German.

I think that the best route is to go there and visit.  You can stay for three months automatically with a US passport.  Then you must leave the country, get your passport stamped, and then you can return (you have to fly to do this).  To extend your stay, you must show that you have a reason to be there.  So enroll in German classes and you can get a student visa.  Then you can try and get a job with a student visa, working up to 20 hours a week only.  But, once you get your foot in the door they might keep you on.  And they will have to sponsor you.

CH, especially Zurich, might be cost prohibitive for you.  It is VERY expensive!  If you can get a full time job there it will pay you well, so you will make enough then.  But until that time, unless you have your own money, you will be tight.

You really need to do your research.  

If you want a very similar place to live then you might try Munich, Germany or Vienna, Austria.  They are all Alpine in culture.  However, Munich and Vienna are more conservative, while Zurich is one of the most progressive cities in Europe.  

But Vienna could be easier for you to break into.

Just be aware that the Swiss can be very fickle when it comes to protecting what they view as their own.  So it is going to be hard.  But if you wish to do it then go for it.  I wish for you the best of luck.

=)

Another option is to go to Germany to learn the language first.  And then travel to and from.  The best program in the world for German is at the Goethe Institute.  They have a program in Frankfurt that offeres 2 months of intensive german.  You come out of this class really speaking German.  The tuition also includes an apartment.  

http://www.goethe.de/lrn/enindex.htm

Ask them for more information about the Frankfurt intesive German.

Here is some infomation on Visas.  Go to your consulate's office and ask them about th Class C visa

http://www.learn4good.com/travel/swz_vis...

Here is some information on visas form the Swill Consulate

http://www.eda.admin.ch/eda/en/home/reps...

Answer 3

Why would you choose Switzerland above all?

It's very militarized, you will have to serve in the army, although most probably not in a war as Switzerland is neutral.

Everyone has a gun and although people are calm and shy sometimes too ready availability of guns can lead to bad solutions like suicide or homicide, although if you're in the US the same applies.

Also it is a very highly developed and rich region and that means there are a lot of immigrants generally East Mediterranean (Arab etc) but lot of others too and it results in considerable xenophobia.

The USA is seen negatively but if you leave it because you're so full of it then you won't be seen badly... Also is Obama is elected this might improve a lot!

Citizenship is rather hard to get... relatively to other European countries but then again probably not harder than in the USA.

You may need community approval (vote) but generally educated whites are not rejected. You'll also need a job but that depends on your profession it might be easy or hard to get one... especially if you want to evoid having to travel (back to the US) as part of the job.

A lot of people speak English so learning other languages is not necessary but it can be fun.

Cost of living compared to income is not high at all.

Answer 4

I lived in Switzerland for awhile and all that I can say is that it is an expensive country to live it.  The dollar doesn't go too far.  Food is expensive.  If you live in Zurich then you are really not living in Switzerland.  It is a city and as city's go it is just another city.  There are parts of Switzerland that are very beautiful that are Worth while living in....Lake Lugano, the french and Italian section. EXPENSIVE.

Answer 5

Well, I don't live in Switzerland, but we had an exchange student from there, and I have a co-worker who was married to a Swiss woman.  Switzerland has the strictest immigration laws on earth.  It is incredibly difficult, practically impossible, to immigrate there.

My co-worker married a Swiss woman, had 2 kids with her, and then they got a divorce.  He as immediately informed that he had 60 days to leave the country.  He said, "what?  I want to be near my daughters."  No citizenship.  No longer married to a Swiss citizen.  No way he could stay.  It is really bad for him because he rarely gets to see his kids.

Having said all that, if this is your dream, see what you can do to make it happen.  Very rarely, they do allow in outsiders, to work, when they can prove that no one in the country is capable of doing the work.  So get a highly specialized job that is in demand in Switzerland.

Frankly, you may be allowed to stay there while you are working, or if you marry someone from there, as long as you are married, but getting citizenship is practically unheard of.

Zurich is beautiful, though an expensive place to live.  Frankly I was much more enchanted by some of the more rural areas, like Lucern.

Most Swiss speak English.  There are 4 offical languages in Switzerland - German, French, Italian and Romanish (similar to Italian, only spoken there).  The part of Switzerland near Germany (like Zurich) speaks German (though a dialect).  The part near France, speaks French.  The part near Italy speaks Italian.  If you want to live in the Zurich area, learning German would be very useful.

Something to consider - it might be easier say to move to Germany, and live near the border and just go to Switzerland on a frequent basis, as a visitor.