Going to Switzerland for a year?

Question

I am an Australian teenager and I really want to go away for a year as an exchange student. I thought Switzerland would be really interesting. Is this a good destination for a whole year?

Answer 1

Switzerland is a pretty good place in temrs of scenic beauty and adventurous sports.... Its good to be here for a break ...but a year here would seem very long to me...  Its a very very expensive country and one more thing is that its not yet a part of schengen..... so if u are planning something like this u should probably chose one of the schnegen countries.... Germany according to me should be good for such a thing....and if u know german it will be a great place to be in....  Its culturally and historically much richer too

Answer 2

For sure, though I'd consider going as an au pair instead if you can.

Answer 3

I am laughing because I totally agree with hillsideliq above!  Switzerland is totally square and everyone is very anal.  It will be an interesting experience, but don't expect people to grett you with open arms...they won't.  If you are going to learn a language, then it is a poor choice.  Not many people in the world speak Swiss (and the dialects from city to city are unbelievable.)  For a language, choose France or Germany.  I know alot of Swiss go to Australia to learn English, but you coming to CH is not quite the same.

Answer 4

Hello, Switzerland is a really nice country to visit. But, myself being American I find it very square. Its extremely clean (not a bad thing of couse), very punctual, and just overly anal retentive.  Oh yeah, and it is very very expensive. Its a beautiful country for the scenery and outdoors type adventure, yet in the cities like Zurich and Geneva its a nice place for a cup of coffee or a nice cocktail.  Its very easy to get around, small country so you can hope from European country to European country with ease, but its extremely diverse as well. Swiss German, French and Italian are all national languages so be prepared for Autobahn exits to change from Ausfart to Sorte within 1 km of each other once you've left the German and entered the French parts of CH.

But, there is no reason for you to think that spending a year in Switzerland is not a good idea. Its a great idea but just be prepared for a little squareness.  

P.s. the Zurich nightlife scene is very nice, from night clubs to hotel bars, you can find a good time. Check out the Neiderdorf section of Zuri, oh wait, maybe you shouldn't.......

Answer 5

Yes. But so is everywhere else.

I'm not dissing Australia by insinuating that anywhere is better than Down Under, but for the kind of experience you're looking for, almost anywhere will do.

Think about places you don't want to go, it will make narrowing it down much easier. Don't go to places currently engaged in civil war or that have notoriously bad conditions for foreign visitors.

Answer 6

pk

Answer 7

Yes.  In the winter you could go skiing, in the summer you could travel Europe.

Enjoy!

Answer 8

Sure, it's a neat place. Most of my family lives there, though I grew up in the US. People are pretty nice, and the club scene in Zurich is great. Outdoors stuff such as hiking, mountain biking skiing is in massive abundance too. The country is small so it's easy to get around, and cheap if you have a student rail pass, as well as using cheap *** flight like Air Berlin to go to Greece for the weekend! The only disadvantage is the country is kind of expensive and swiss german is difficult if you're used to speaking regular german.

I personally think Italy is the best place to go- great food, great party, beautiful people.