Rude in Switzerland?

Question

My friend went to Switzerland and found the people to be rude and cold. What are your experiences? Are Swiss people sympathetic to homeless people or social issues?

Answer 1

I'm sorry to hear! I can assure you that people in Switzerland are usually very polite and friendly. Switzerland is a very social country - there are, compared to other countries, not so many homeless. In the larger cities (e.g. Zurich), there are a lot of places where the homeless can go and have something to eat or have a bed to sleep.

Answer 2

I certainly understand why your friend thought that the Swiss were cold and rude...they are!  They are very private people and aren't particularly warm.  I am the type of person that if I see someone with a baby or a dog, I will smile at them and make a comment about how darling the child/puppy is.  The Swiss hate this type of thing and consider it an intrusion!  Americans are open and friendly - the person above it correct, they are nothing like Americans and I can see why they can be perceived as rude...I found them the same way.

Answer 3

Wow! My experience in Lugano, Switzerland (Italian speaking Switzerland) couldn't be more to the contrary of your friend's accounts. People easily identified my travel mate and I as tourists, accosted us, and told us to have a great day! I really had a phenomenal experience, everyone was super nice, I thought it was a utopia and I was in a book. The streets were immaculate, and everything looked almost as if it were an illustration from a children's book come to life.

I didn't really have a chance to talk to people in depth about non superficial things not involving chocolate so i can't really speak on my experience with Swiss politics outside of what I learned in my Western European Politics course. Based on the nature of their political system, I would surmise that they would be sympathetic to all groups--the Swiss government makes a conscious effort to give all of its language groups (French, German, and Italian) equal representation.

Answer 4

Sorry to hear that. I believe Swiss people are  polite and courteous, but again, that is a general statement based on my own experience( 25+ years)

Answer 5

I am not sure where your friend is from, but perhaps Swiss people just are different and she/he took it as rude.  I am from Switzerland, and when I first came to the US I was surprised at how friendly and outgoing Americans were.  Usually, walking down a street in Switzerland (especially in bigger cities), people won't say hello to you unless they know you, this is not rude, just the way it is.  But that is the same in the US in a big city.  Small towns are a different story.  Also, Swiss people are kinda reserved.  Perhaps your friend just misunderstood the culture.  I am sorry she/he perceived it as rude and cold.  We really are nice and pleasant people!

Answer 6

I'm sorry your friend had such bad experiences. I think it's not different to other countries. There are friendly and rude people.

Answer 7

This can happen unfortunately but in general the Swiss are quite friendly with tourists. Social issues are another story since they have too many people (fake homeless/criminals etc.) coming in to profit from Switzerland.