Moving to Berne

Hi Elena,

Just a quick remark - if you are qualified in insurance/banking (as you mentioned), then Zurich might be ideal for you. Try checking the recruitment sections of some Swiss-based insurances companies or banks to see if there is anything to suit you.

I have visited Bern and Zurich and definitely preferred Bern (my own personal feelings) due to the fact that it felt more cosy and quaint. Zurich for me resembles any other large city, so didn't really attract my interest.

As I said, Bern is a nice town and if you like bears then there's a little something waiting for you there...

In general, the quality of life in Switzerland is good, most schools are of a good standard (particularly private schools) and the transportation system is a sort of national pride; a bus or train running more than a couple of minutes late is seen as both a disaster and a disgrace, so the network is usually very efficient.

In general, Switzerland is quite safe (little to no threat from terrorists due to the country's neutral status), but in recent times the crime level has begun to rise a bit in the big cities. This tends to be mainly pickpockets and opportunists hanging around airports and trains (especially Geneva airport). If you are sensible and cautious then you should be fine.

Language is another point to consider - if you speak English fluently then finding a job in the larger cities in Switzerland (Zurich, Geneva, Bern, Lausanne, etc.) shouldn't be a problem. However, for areas like Zurich and Bern you would need to learn Swiss German - this is different to High German (German tourists often cannot understand spoken Swiss German). In Geneva and Lausanne French is the main language, so you would need to learn that to be able to fully integrate into life there.

I moved to Lausanne in 2009 and didn't speak much French at the time, but living with a family who only spoke French (as well as being surrounded by French on TV, newspapers, radio, local people, etc.) helped me learn very quickly, and that for me has been crucial to settling in well.

Hope some of this information is helpful.

I would recommend Switzerland to anyone who wants to come here - it's great!

Paul