How to adjust to the local culture
Depending on your country of origin and cultural experience so far, different people will find different levels of difficulty to adjust to the local culture in Zurich. Since Switzerland is located in the centre of Europe, its culture, of course, resembles a lot with general western cultures, especially those of western European countries. However, as Switzerland has four official languages, the local culture in different parts of Switzerland varies a lot. One cannot generalise and really speak of one local culture of Switzerland. However, in this article, you will find some tips and must-knows to ease your life in Zurich or the German-speaking part of Switzerland.
Living with Swiss Germans
In Zurich, Swiss German is spoken in daily life and High German. In fact, standard German used in Germany applies to everyday work life and official documents in Zurich. Specifically, they speak a version of Swiss German called Züritüütsch. Many Swiss people who live in Zurich may not come originally from Zurich but from other neighbouring cantons. This means that they may actually not be able to speak Züritüütsch. However, this happens often in Switzerland, as Swiss citizens speak four different official languages and many variations of Swiss German. As a result, most people you will encounter in Zurich will either be able to speak English or High German (with a 'Swiss accent', if you ask the Germans). Despite this, to integrate and understand the local people and culture better, many expats try to take standard German courses, or sometimes even Swiss German courses, in order to make their life easier.
How to behave in Zurich
One may say that Swiss German people are just like Germans. However, a Swiss-German person will point out that this hypothesis is wrong. Undoubtedly, Swiss-German culture has a certain level of similarity to the general culture of Germany. For example, like a stereotypical German, Swiss Germans are also believed to be punctual and very mindful of time. Swiss people, however, are generally quite reserved and need a lot of personal space when meeting new people. This is also evident in daily life as they encounter strangers. For instance, on a Swiss train, Swiss people tend to not sit next to a stranger unless they have no choice. In this case, they will politely ask if the free seat is occupied before sitting down, even if they know that the seat is free.
In Zurich, people also tend to be rather considerate of others. In the above example of taking the train, people would also be mindful of the noises that they make (e.g. phone calls), or the smell of their food if they eat in the train. Consideration for others is particularly important in your relationship with neighbours. Living in the same building means sharing a considerable amount of space, and also, life together. Making noises in 'unreasonable hours', such as in the evening, is frowned upon, no matter why ' whether you are having a house party, cleaning clothes or playing musical instruments.
Learning from the locals in Zurich
What will not be frowned upon as an expat in Switzerland is when you try to integrate, especially if you take interests in the 'Swiss things', such as visiting a farm and see how Swiss cheese is made. If you would like to adjust to the local culture, one of the best things you can do is to make local friends and learn about Switzerland from them. Observing how people behave and what people do in different situations will help you a lot to not only integrate into the local society but also to understand the locals. This will certainly make the way of adjusting to the local culture much more comfortable in the long run.
