RSS
 

Posts Tagged ‘apartment’

Moving to Switzerland and Finding A Place

16 Jan

I was talking to a friend this past week who is looking for a new place to stay. The discussion we had took the usual route for those that are looking to move. The back and forth about where he was looking, how big of a place he was looking for, and on and on.

Then came the common final sentence uttered with a depressed tone, “yeah, but there is nothing available.”

This is a common theme when looking for housing in some of the bigger markets in Switzerland. The fact that new building is greatly restricted means there are a lot less places to live. People that find a place to live typically stay put as well unless there is a really good reason to move. Case in point, my neighbor has been in the same apartment for over 30 years.

So if you are moving to Switzerland or just looking for a new place let me share some ideas to get you started.

1.) Homegate

Check out the homegate.ch website to look for a place to live. Your best place to start is always the web and this will at least give you an idea of the prices you might expect for your target area.

2.) Talk to Your HR Department

If you are working at a larger international company and people are coming and going all the time talk to your HR department to see if anyone is moving in the near future. If you can find someone that is leaving in a hurry you might find a nice place before it goes on the market.

3.) Find a Relocation Service

Again, your HR department might be able to help. You can also just stop my a local real estate shop and ask one of the office staff for help. If your German isn’t up to speed yet try a search for ‘immobilien schweiz’

4.) Ask Your Friends

If you are already in the country and looking to move or know people already in Switzerland tell them you are looking. Spread the word, the more people that know you are looking and know what you are looking for the more help you will get.

Do you have any other secrets to finding a place? leave a comment to share with the rest of us.

 
No Comments

Posted in Moving

 

The Tribunal

02 Jun


We have made a decision. After countless hours of comparisons and analysis we have decided to live in the city center. We think this may be our last chance to live comfortably in an urban area since we still don’t have children. After much thought we also think that it will be easier to learn the language and also meet new people if we live in the city.

The apartment we have selected is a 2 bedroom apartment on the fourth floor of an office building. This sounds strange but we think it is acutally ideal. There are only two units in the entire building, both are on the top floor. There is also one washer and tumbler (dryer) in the basement to share between the two units so laundry should really not be a problem. Another advatage is that the building is essentially empty after 7:00 pm so it should be realatively quite…..except for the large clock tower accross the street.

The catch is the balcony has a spectacular view on the midevil town center called Altdstat (old town). From the living room you see the clock tower (this picture was taken from the baclony. From the bedroom you look up at the ruins of the castle on the hill.

We are now at the mercy of the ‘Tribunal.’ Getting an apartment is not like in the U.S. You apply and then you are reviewed. Not only for credit history, but also for character, your musically instruments, size of your dog if you have one, just about everything. Apparently the staff of the leasing company sit around and chit chat about you to make their final decision. This process usually takes one to two weeks. So, we wait.

 
No Comments

Posted in Moving

 

Town & Country

28 May

I’m exhausted. We just got back from a week long excursion to Switzerland to try to find a place to live. Over the course of two days Frau Hildigard took us everywhere. We looked at over 10 properties and then had the remainder of the week to ponder our decision.

Luckily we took photos and video of every property. This meant just about every evening we were watching the videos ‘one more time’ to try to make a decision. The decision boils down to this…Town or Country? Urban or Rural? Center of the city, or out in the sticks with the cows.

When I say out in the sticks of course I”m talking 3 kilometers (about a mile and a half). I know that is not far, not far at all for Americans in there cars. However it seems that in europe three kilomters is a bus ride away. A whopping 12 minutes from society, truely in the hills. This is a very different mentality than what I am used too.

As an expatriot I think more of the concern is do we want to live in a small farming community where people stay to themselves and the streets are always quiet or do we want to be at the center of the action where everything is going on. Do we want a 3 room apartment or do we want a 1500 square foot house? Do I want to relax on my back deck and watch the cows munch the grass in the fields or do I want to people watch in the town square?

Oh and I can’t forget to mention the bomb shelters. Yes, every swiss house is mandated by law to have a bomb shelter. In each bomb shelter you are required to have cots for everyone in the house and a portable toilet. What I found amusing is that the real estate agents show off the bomb shelter like an appliance. “Here is your washing machine, dryer, and I shouldn’t forget, bunker.”

This was very strange considering that Switzerland is a neutral country.

Well back to pondering, tractors or buses? This will be tough.

 
1 Comment

Posted in Moving, Travel

 

The Hunt

17 May

We received a list of apartments from Frau Hildegard over the weekend. We have been pouring over the websites she sent us trying to determine from 3 or 4 pictures per apartment which apartments we will visit and which we won’t.

I just don’t think a few pictures on a website really do real estate justice. Yeah, the bathroom looks okay, I’m really glad they posted a close-up picture of the toilet, after all I do plan to spend a lot of time there. Or how about that great shot of the sink. Thank God the kitchen sink has two handles! I guess I don’t really know what I expect when it comes to these photos but something a little more representative of the space and not necessarily the fixtures would be a start.

Another thing I’ve discovered this weekend is the power of goolge language tools. What a great idea! Take a website in German, transalte it, and then show it just like the original website but now in english. Amazing! How do they do that.

Here is an example:

I guess I could tell people I can read German (If I have a computer with me)

tchuss!

 
No Comments

Posted in Moving