New members of the Switzerland forum, introduce yourself here

53173POSTS

12 years ago

Hi all,

Newbie on the Switzerland forum? Dont know how to start?

This thread is for you

We invite you to introduce yourself on this topic, to share with us your expat story if you are already living in the country, or to tell us more on your expat projects in Switzerland if you are planning to move there.

It will enable us to help you better but above all to wish you a warm welcome.

Welcome on board!

2 members reacted to this post

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Julien Founder

53173POSTS

12 years ago

Welcome aboard Lotte !

should you want to meet new people, please to not hesitate to propose a meet up on the Geneva forum

raynjj Member

1POSTS

12 years ago

Hi everyone,

Fairly new to Switzerland. We moved here last April 2013 and the first 4 -6 months were the most hectic and crazy days. With all the moving, from one country to another, looking for a house, settling kids in school, finding our way around...all the headaches most of you can relate to.

... But all in all, we're glad to be here.

Thank you for the welcome....

1 member reacted to this post

rodina Member

1POSTS

12 years ago

Hi I'm rodina,
I live in Guyana, I have never been to switzerland! My now fiancee visits me in guyana! And were getting married! The wedding will be held in Guyana! and I was wondering after marrage do I(A) need a visa to come to switzerland?(B) And what type of visa?(C) And how do I go about getting one?

betta07 Guest

0POSTS

12 years ago

Bonjour! My name is Elisabetta and I moved to geneve yesterday for an internship for three months. I would know new friends, so if you want we could meet to take a beer or other.

1 member reacted to this post

cassandraflowers Member

1POSTS

12 years ago

Hello all,
I have been living in Switzerland since June 2012, and I have just recently moved from Bern to Basel with my fiancé. I have found it difficult to make friends in Switzerland, so I am hoping that now that I live in Basel I will be able to find some fun, english speaking (my German is okay, but not great) people to hangout with. I would love to go for coffee, have drinks, maybe yoga or hiking, too. If anyone is interested and in the area let me know.

3 members reacted to this post

don_greek Member

3POSTS

12 years ago

hi everyone,
i'm a musician from cyprus and will be moving to ch on july 1st...(landing in basel)
i'd love to meet new people since i don't really know anyone there...so my pleasure to interact with everyone...
i'll be offering music lessons for anyone interested & also looking for a job playing piano at a hotel...
feel free to contact me here or by email... herc_best@hotmail.com
any advice or feedback would be appreciated...
thanks...

firas megrahi Member

1POSTS

12 years ago

Hello, hope you're fine

i'm Firas 20 years old i live in Tunisia, exactly in Tunis, Ariana. i'm in second year at university, i'm studing informatics i visited Switzerland in christmas, exactly Luzeren, Zuric and zoug, they were amazing and i really liked the people living there,my new objective is to finish living there, i'm trying to find a way to finish my masters degree in switzerland, and why not after finishing my education mayybe i find a job and i live there because i really felt happy in Switzerland and i really feel it's the perfect place for me to live

i hope my answer was exactly like u wanted.
thank you for responding sir. Have a nice day

DrinieBiggs Member

1POSTS

12 years ago

Hi Members,

My name is Drinie Biggs. I am 55 years old, have four adult children, two of them living here in Switzerland and two in London. I am from South Africa and moved here permanently a year ago. My husband is the CFO for Frontiers and works at the EPFL in Lausanne. We are currently living in a large old farmhouse in Moudon. My view from the kitchen is rolling hills and grazing grass for Angus beef cattle. (They are lovely cows and I cannot bear the fact that they will be ending on someones plate) In summer they are grazing and out in the open, in Winter they are put away in a huge nearby barn. I am happy to stay here although last summer we experienced the onslaught of flies which I absolutely loathe. Also the farm smells from around the area get a bit much. However I love the quaint farmhouse and there is space for our three dogs who have moved here with us.
I am studying psychology and in my final year. This keeps me busy as well as doing all the housework. I have started feeling more isolated lately and find the language barrier difficult at times. I am determined to start learning some French and will attend the classes in Moudon.
In South Africa I owned my own florists for about 20 years and worked as a floral designer and wedding specialist.
I enjoyed the interaction with people and do miss that at times.
I would love to join a painting class, fitness or yoga class and meet up with fellow expats for coffee. I love hiking and would love to join a hiking group. Perhaps starting a book club would interest some of you? Also do some part time work.
Would love to meet some of you!!

mewwhite Member

1POSTS

12 years ago

#10

Hello Everyone,

I am living in Basel for last 3 months. I am presently staying at home but very soon will look out for a job in finance domain (that's my speciality). I am here with my Husband. Its my first experience of living my country and coming to new place, amongst new people. I lived in India. The place where you are surrounded with all near and dear ones.
Initially I did not like this place for the reason I was all alone and also I don't know any foreign languages. I have hardly found people speaking in English around. So its a bit difficult to interact. But Getting used to it.

I would surely like to interact with new people and know them and know more about their experience. I am always ready for quick chat.

Best Regards,
Mewhite

fozyfauz Member

1POSTS

12 years ago

#11

Hello, I am currently living in Singapore and would be moving to Schaffhausen in May 2014 to join my husband. I have joined this website a year ago but never really checked it til now that I am finally moving. I will be a hausfrau til i improved my german enough to land a job (or better still I get a job using mainly English language). It would be nice to make friends for activities. I will be enrolling in German language & Zumba classes to keep myself occupied.

El_Jost Serial expat

732POSTS

12 years ago

#12

mewwhite wrote:
Hello Everyone,

I am living in Basel for last 3 months. I am presently staying at home but very soon will look out for a job in finance domain (that's my speciality). I am here with my Husband. Its my first experience of living my country and coming to new place, amongst new people. I lived in India. The place where you are surrounded with all near and dear ones.
Initially I did not like this place for the reason I was all alone and also I don't know any foreign languages. I have hardly found people speaking in English around. So its a bit difficult to interact. But Getting used to it.

I would surely like to interact with new people and know them and know more about their experience. I am always ready for quick chat.

Best Regards,
Mewhite

Hello Mewhite,
If you like walking please look over the Yahoo Group BaselWalkers (Put it into Google).
Here is the group description...
"This is a group of English-speaking people that live in/around Basel, Switzerland and meet for walks every Monday. The group is open and anyone in the group can suggest and/or lead a walk. Most walks last 2-4 hours and vary in difficulty. We usually take lunch with us and sometimes have coffee along the way or at the end of the walk."
If interested, join the Yahoo group and you will get regular emails detailing the walks.

1 member reacted to this post

El_Jost Serial expat

732POSTS

12 years ago

#13

Please delete!

MANA TITA Member

1POSTS

12 years ago

#14

Hello

I'm James, I just moved into Switzerland and life has not really been the best. Apart from the very demanding life, I still need to learn how to live here. I live and school in Fribourg. I am a masters student studying law at the Faculty of Law at the University of Fribourg. I will really need your support to get life going here in Switzerland.

El_Jost Serial expat

732POSTS

12 years ago

#15

kloemoon wrote:
Hi all,
I have been working in Switzerland since 6 years and I now finally decided to move here, too.
I am living in Lugano since December 2013 and I adore it but hey, it's hard to have new friends here.
Anyone from Ticino for a coffee and chat or a walk or whatever on evenings/week-ends?
Anyway I am available if you are coming in the region to discover new places with you
Take care,
Claudia

If you, or anyone else, wish to increase your contact to English speakers in Switzerland you may find more contacts in the "English Forum Switzerland". Look up in Google.

Dr Garry Bonsall, Basel Member

21POSTS

12 years ago

#16

When coming to Switzerland, enrol for German (or French) classes straight away - and do it for life!
Listen to German news and weather on the TV and try and read the local papers in the cafes. That way, you enjoy your time here all the more, if you know what is going on around you and can follow conversations. It all depends on you! Don't let people talk back to you in english! Insist on continuing with your new German, ask them to speak slowly and clearly and help you and they will! Otherwise you will never learn and then we Swiss will say: "The newbies don' t learn German !"

5 members reacted to this post

El_Jost Serial expat

732POSTS

12 years ago

#17

kloemoon wrote:
Hi again,
am I the only one from Lugano?
Why the Ticino region is not available among the choices "7 destinations in Switzerland"? Let's add 1 more destination How is it possible to do it? Anyone knows how it works?
Thank you,
Claudia

Make the suggestion in the forum...
Help us improve the website

Regards
El

El_Jost Serial expat

732POSTS

12 years ago

#18

kloemoon wrote:
Hi again,
am I the only one from Lugano?
Why the Ticino region is not available among the choices "7 destinations in Switzerland"? Let's add 1 more destination How is it possible to do it? Anyone knows how it works?
Thank you,
Claudia

From another point of view:
I reckon Basel must have an English speaking population, what with chemical, pharma, banking and other industries, of several thousand people. Yet posting on the expat forum for Basel is not very high. Problem is I imagine there are too many alternative places, both online and offline for English speakers to meet up with other people.

Alexandrakalog Member

2POSTS

12 years ago

#19

Hello everyone,
I am new to this site and at the moment I am trying to find out how it works!

However, I subscribed because I am interested on getting a job for this summer in Switzerland, mostly in the French part! Currently I am student of Psychology and Counselling in UK but I come from Greece! I would be interested in anything that has to do with costumer service of even provide my knowledge of English and Greek Language! I speak good French and a bit of German.. Thank you and have a nice day!

fbelato Member

15POSTS

12 years ago

#20

HI EVERYONE, I'M MOVING TO BASEL WITH MY SON IN THE NEXT COUPLE OF MONTHS.IT WILL BE GREAT IF YOU COULD GIVE SOME ADVICES TO LET INTEGRATE MY SON IN THE BETTER WAY POSSIBLE.WE'RE COMING FROM ITALY (NAPLES)FOR US IS THE FIRST TIME WE MOVE TO ANOTHER COUNTRY.WE'LL FOLLOW MY HUSBAND THAT IS AN YEAR WHO WORKS IN BASEL.PLEASE SEND ME ALL THE INFOS YOU HAVE THAT CAN HELP ME IN THIS NEW ADVENTURE.THANKS A LOT!!!

El_Jost Serial expat

732POSTS

12 years ago

#21

Hi fbelato,
Welcome to the forum and soon to Basel.
I know little about facilities, schools etc. for Italian-speaking children.
Please note, however, this site has an Italian-language section. If you looked at that you might find some useful information on various subjects there. You may also find someone on that forum with more detailed information for you.
Kind regards
El

Edit: One thing I forgot to mention. Basel has a VERY large Italian population, although many are now Swiss citizens.

robert delcevo Member

1POSTS

12 years ago

#22

Hi I look forward in traveling to Switzerland and working there I'm from Macedonia just finished college in Bulgaria.I'm open to any kind of work from mid september to december 2014

jnemastil Member

2POSTS

12 years ago

#23

Hello expats. As a result of my wife taking a job based in Zurich, we relocated from Minneapolis, MN USA to Switzerland in January 2014. She's had six years of German language in school, but I'm starting from zero and working now on ramping up my skills quickly. I'm running my USA-based company from home here and hope to meet other entrepreneurs. Life in Switzerland is wonderful. We feel blessed to have this opportunity.

Marceliti Member

1POSTS

12 years ago

#24

Thanks
I moving to Nigeria from Switzerland.
Regards
Marcela.

LeslieSte Member

2POSTS

11 years ago

#25

Greetings forum! My husband and I just found out this week that we'll be moving to Geneva for at least 2 years for his job, starting in September 2014. Wanted to introduce myself (I'm Leslie!) and I look forward to reading through the wealth of information on this site as well as likely posting some questions and looking for advice.

As we begin the planning process for our move in 3 months, any advice / recommendations / resource referrals are certainly welcome! We have a lot to figure out but are certainly looking forward to it.

betta07 Guest

0POSTS

11 years ago

#26

Hello my name is Jaimilee i am a Mauritian and now in The Netherlands. I want to have some more informations about moving to Switzerland and all that. I am already married my husband is a Dutch. I want to know if we can move there. I am not a EU citizen! My husband want to the necessary for me to have the papers to stay in Europe. I am currently on a tourist visa of 3 months. Thank you very much

Kashan Suleman Member

1POSTS

11 years ago

#27

Hi ,
My name is Kashan Suleman and I live in pakistan ,seeking for suitable job pertaining to wall paint ,n want to see myself in zurich regarding this job, I am hard worker and want to support properly to my family financially ,and want to expel out my skills.

craigofw Member

1POSTS

11 years ago

#28

Anglo-Chinese Eurasian British Citizen born in Singapore and spent my secondary, tertiary and postgraduate education in the UK. I have lived in Hungary for 1 1/2 yrs and the Czech Republic for 4yrs.

I have just started working for Frontiers at the EPFL Innovation Park on the 12th May 2014 and will be moving from Camping du Vidy to Crissier tomorrow (Saturday 31st May) for 3 months.

Will be hopefully here in Lasuanne until at least 14th November 2014.

Cheers Craig F. Wilson

NomadLawyer Serial expat

693POSTS

11 years ago

#29

Hello, everyone. I'm considering a position in Zurich but am concerned about my kids' schooling and whether my wife will be able to make friends. She is from the Spanish-speaking Caribbean (she speaks English as well) and I worry she may experience severe culture shock and isolation in Zurich.

My kids are ages 11 and 6 and do not speak German (or French, for that matter). I've seen the websites of the two most prominent international schools (ZIS and ICS) but, even though I would be making a good salary, I am unimpressed with their tuition costs. Can anyone recommend a lesser well known English language school that is high-quality but better value?

Also, we have an English Mastiff that weighs 55kg that we would bring with us from Ireland. We'd really need to rent a house with a garden. From what research I've done so far, they seem hard to find. If anyone can recommend a website or provide advice on finding a house with a garden it is greatly appreciated. For instance, is it hard to find a landlord that would allow a large dog?

Thank you!

masharick Member

1POSTS

11 years ago

#30

I am masharick.my hobby is reading books.and learning new things.i have liberal and creative ideas.now i am work as a
product consultant.i already done advanced level in science stream.i have done diploma in computer programming.i have experience in hotel industry. as well as done certificate in international cookery

El_Jost Serial expat

732POSTS

11 years ago

#31

vinafaurien wrote:
Hello Everyone,

I am new to this site and recently moved to Geneva from Bali-Indonesia
Hope to meet some new friends here

Cheers,
Vina

Hello Vina,
Welcome to the forum and welcome to Switzerland.
There seem to be many other people interested in coming to and working in Switzerland.
I'm sure many would be really interested in hearing how you managed it, if you are prepared to tell us your story.
Best regards
Elwin (near Basel)

Adityajain Member

2POSTS

11 years ago

#32

Hi people..
This is an excellent place to connect with new people..I am aditya and I am staying in Zurich. I am looking forward to meeting new people and also open to traveling in other parts in Switzerland..you can contact me on adityajain23@gmail.com

Thanks

Niksha New member

9POSTS

11 years ago

#33

Hi Everyone.
I've been living in Australia for the past 15 year and I am moving to/or around Zurich in late September. I already have family and friends over there so I'm very lucky and I have been there 4-5 times already so I have a very good idea about Swiss culture. English is my mother tongue and I have been learning German for the past few years, I'm also just in the process of getting my qualification recognized so I can get a job in my chosen field.

Even though I will be staying with family for the first month, I still need to find a place of my own so if anyone would like to share an apartment please contact me.
I'm also hoping to meet new people and make some new friends so if anyone wants to make contact before I move in September then please feel free to contact me also.

I look forward to hearing you.
Niksha.

Urstil Member

2POSTS

11 years ago

#34

Hello, I'm Kenyan who has spent time 2 years Canada, I would like to network with expats who are based in Basel since I'm now planning to start a PhD program at the Swiss Institute. I believe by making friends with you will help me in the transition since I only speak English. Thanks in advance and looking forward to meeting you.

1 member reacted to this post

life_raza Member

3POSTS

11 years ago

#35

Hello, I am in Pakistan & going to get admission in one year M.B.A program offered by SSBT. Please guide me about living, food and job opportunities during & after studies.

MaurizioM Member

1POSTS

11 years ago

#36

Hi everyone, thank you very much for your welcome. I mMaurizio Maglia, Italian teacher for foreigners, I work in Rome and abroad as a Language teacher in private schools and in companies. I'd like to start a new work experience in Switzerland

betta07 Guest

0POSTS

11 years ago

#37

[moderated: inappropriate post]

Parvez Hasan Member

3POSTS

11 years ago

#38

Hey , I am Md Omar Parvaz from Bangladesh. I completed Diploma in engineering Survey. I want to work in Switzerland. Dut I don`t understand how can it is possible.

Maximilien ViP

12633POSTS

11 years ago

#39

Hi Parvez Hasan - before getting any conclusion on whats possible or not I suggest you to get in touch with the Embassy for more information regarding your questions please