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Switzerland: Possible move to Basel:
Hi Stuart,
I'm not Swiss myself and I don't live in Basel, so I might not be able to answer all your questions, but you can find more info at http://www.baselexpats.com/.
My (Swiss) husband works in Basel, we have been living here for almost 4 years, and here's the info I can give you:
- Basel is German speaking, though you'll also find a lot of French speaking people because France is so close.
- English is pretty wisespread, Basel is a really "industrial" and "work" type of city, so tere are quite some business people and most of them speak English.
- I don't think there is an expat football team, but I think you could probably start one. Nigel, the webmaster of the BaselExpat.com site, has quite some contacts in the area.
- Students come to Switzerland all the time, usually to study in the Zurich university, which is one of the best in the world; so I don't think that it would be a problem for your girlfriend to get a student permit
- it is very realistic to live in France and commute to Basel, in fact I know several people who do and like it better as France is not nearly as expensive as Switzerland per what I have heard. Basel is right at the corner, really close to the border with both Germany and France, and apparently there are special rules valid only for Basel that allow people to come into Switzerland from both countries to work on a daily basis.
- I would say all of Switzerand is pretty safe, the rate of criminality is amongst the lowest on the planet, and Swiss are really conservative, picky ehm.. precise and efficient, so it's definitely one of the safest countries to live in.
- Some of the best skiing resorts are quite close, like Fribourg, on the French part of Switzerland, the Bern mountains and Neuchatel, also in the French part of Switzerland.
- the weather: it gets pretty warm in summer, but with a rainy day every few sunny days. The rain doesn't usually last long in summer though. Spring and autumn are more rainy and umid but you'll still enjoy nice weather and can take forest walks and so on. Winter is cold, but not excessively (we just got the first snow 3 days ago and today it's a few degrees under 0 Celsius), but it's the dry kind of cold.
I hope this helps!
Elisa
Switzerland: English health/nutrition books and fitness videos for sale:
Hi there,
I read a lot and like to workout with videos, and I purchase new videos and books all the time. Now I am running out of space, so I am selling some health books and fitness videos (List is below). All items are in English. If you see something you migh be interested in, please e-mail me at elisa.bieg@swissonline.ch and I'll give you the specifics. Here's what I am selling right now:
- GERI YOGA fitness video with Geri Halliwell - NEW, viewed only once, CHF 18 (new it costs 40 CHF)
- BARBARA CURRIE'S POWER OF YOGA fitness video - NEW, viewed 3 times, CHF 15 (new it costs 30 CHF)
- CALLANETICS - MUSCLE PENETRATING EXERCISE ROUTINE fitness video - NEW, viewed only twice, CHF 10 (new it costs CHF 30)
- DR. ATKINS' NEW DIET REVOLUTION, by Robert C. Atkins, diet book, soft cover - CHF 5 (new it costs 14 CHF)
- THE VEGETARIAN CHILD by Lucy Moll, parenting/health book - NEW, CHF 10 (new it costs 20 CHF)
- EAT SMART, PLAY HARD by Liz Applegate, nutrition/sports book - NEW, CHF 12 (new costs 31 CHF)
- JUMPSTART by Denise Austin, diet/fitness book (21 day weight loss and fitness plan) - in good condition, CHF 8 (new it costs 24 CHF)
You might also get a better price for buying several items, depending on the quantity and the total amount.
Germany: looking for woman's bicycle:
Hi Ava,
have you tried EBay Germany? You're very likely to find one there. www.ebay.de
Elisa
Switzerland: Can American Dentist work in Switzerland?:
Vicky,
I am afraid I won't be of much help, as I don't know if you'll have to take an exam or just ask for a permit to work here.
The first step is to have a visa that allows you to work, so I would concentrate on that before, as my first visa didn't allow me to work here. There are a certain numbers of work permits that can be given out each year, so if you don't ask specfically, you won't get it the first time.
I suggest you ask the clerk when you go get your permit at the personal records office, and if you can get the right visa, he'll also be able to advise you as to what steps you need to take to be able to practice here. If you do open your practice in Zurich, let us know! I don't have a dentist here and I am in need of one, but I am really scared of dental work and the last dentist I tried didn't talk to me at all, he behaved like I was not even there, which made me even more uncomfortable.
Anyway... good luck!
Elisa
Switzerland: is life in Zurich recommendable?:
I find it hard to believe that someone can find life in Switzerland so hard. Since I came here 3 years ago, I found the Swiss to be yes a bit conservative, but very helpful, very well-mannered and extremely well organized. Life is expensive, that's true (though not compared to the salaries, which are high), but quality is very high, it's really uncomparable to American standards. The Swiss do things well or don't do them at all.
The public transportation is extremely well organized, you can go to any remote corner of Switzerland by public transport and have perfect connections throughout the trip.
Cleanliness is seen as a vital part of life and business, and the streets, stores etc are very clean here. Don't dream of throwing a candy wrap on the street as you walk or you'll get bad looks, afterall there are disposers every few feet.
As for evenings and weekends:
-in the city: Zurich has lots of great restaurants (here there are no bars, just restaurants), several pubs, and many movie theaters. When going for movies, you can always choose between watching it dubbed in German or watching the original English with German and French subtitles. There are also several museums, soccer fields and a big opera house. International stars often include Zurich as part of their tours and play in one of the large halls in the city.
-outside the city: plenty to visit, you can go to the mountains in every season, for snow-related sports and fun in winter (going into spring, too) and for hiking, picnics or just sighseeing in summer. There are some truly incredibly beautiful places. The country side is also very nice and they have many nice forests where you can go walking - they sell maps of the forest roads, so you cannot get lost.
There are also some very good gyms, and the medical care is excellent.
If you do speak enough German to carry out a conversation comfortably, people will probably speak to you in German, or they might offer to speak English (if they can speak it) if they think you might be more comfortable.
I hope it helps.
Elisa
Switzerland: Don't accept "deals" from Atlas!:
There is a publishing company called Atlas who is currently selling bad-quality, cheap looking children fairy tales in Switzerland, by mail. They contacted me a couple of months ago and the lady tried to convince me for over half an hour to accept their "special offer": for only 5 CHF I would get like 50 children fairy tales and "a very cute brifcase". I asked repeatedly if 5 CHF was for ALL of it, and she said yes. She only said I would then keep receiving things but I could refuse them.
I got the first part of this "deal" last month. The fairy tales are not in books, they are VERY summarized versions, printed on sheets of carton paper (1 sheet per fairy tale!). The "very cute briefcase" is actually not cute at all, a cheap printed carton paper box with a button to open it. And the package was only composed of this box and just a few fairy tales. The 2nd installment came yesterday, with a few more fairy tale summaries printed on carton paper, and a box of crayons. Now per the lady, 5 CHF paid all of it, so you would think this was included... WRONG!! There was a payment slip in it, for OVER 13 CHF!!! Off the rails, that stuff is not worth that much.
Needless to say, I'll be calling them to interrupt the mailing and tell them never to contact me ever again, but I also wanted to warn you so that you would not fall for it like I did.
Elisa
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