About vickiseoul

Status:

Expatriate  

Currently Lives:

Hamburg, Germany

Citizen Of:

Australia

Some Forum Posts:

Switzerland: Looking for resale shops and thrift stores:

Hello I also enjoying shopping for hidden treasures. There is a large Brockenhaus in the city called Zurcher Brockenhaus or something similar. It is a large pink buildilng not far from the main train station in the city. Most of the towns also have Brockenhauses where you can buy lots of nice things at very good prices. Perhaps you could enter Brockenhaus into the internet and see where further ones are located. There are ones at Adliswil, Thalwil and Wadenswil that I know of. Good luck, Vicki

Switzerland: 10 Tips for Living in Switzerland:

We moved to Switzerland 2.5 years ago with our 3 children. It is an expensive country particularly for service and repair calls. The supermarkets are very good but do not offer the wider range that the German ones do. However most foods can be easily bought. The medical facilities are good as are the roads. Public transport is clean and efficient and I would recommend taking advantage of the many offers that particularly, the rail networks provide. There are a lot of rules and not much leaniency shown eg. speeding fines even when doing only a few kms over the limit. Also when leasing a house or apartment, there is an inspection done when moving in and when vacating. The moving out one is expensive as professional cleaners are recommended. Where there are double windows, the outer pane is removed and must be cleaned between the two panes..things like this. I know a lot of people have problems with their landlords and complaints from neighbours about noise. Use of washing machines, flushing toilets is restricted after certain hours in some complexes so be prepared to live within those boundaries. Living in a house is more autonomous. Switzerland is breathtakingly beautiful in any season and Zurich is a lovely city. However, graffiti is a problem which is a shame. Alcohol can be consumed at 16 which I think is too young. Smoking is unfortunatley popular but as of recently, is now banned in Zurich restaurants. We were surprised this had not been done years ago. The Swiss have this tendency to stare for longer than (to me) seems socially acceptable! Everyone notices it so it`s not just me but it happens and can be a little intimidating. In general, they are very polite and greet you at all opportunities. English is quite widely spoken although not one of the 4 official languages. The pre-schools encourage independence by having children walk to and from school unaccompanied but wearing a fluroscent vest. This is the Swiss local schools, not international ones. It`s a nice idea but fraught with potential problems I would think and I know a lot of foreigners don`t feel comfortable with letting very young children out on their own. A lot of dogs are allowed in stores and restaurants and on public transport and in hotels. The shopping is good but expensive as mentioned earlier. All in all, Switzerland is a nice place to live and has a lot of interesting cultural traditions. Also skiing is easy to do here as the slopes are within a reasonable drive of Zurich. Just be prepared for all the rules.

Switzerland: Moving to Zurich in 2 months:

Hello I am sure you will love living here in Zurich with your family. As one of the other respondents said, all products are available just different brands. Certainly disposable nappies and all baby care ranges are here. My children are older but we live in a house in a lovely village about 12kms from Zurich. We have a lovely private and large garden with a view to the Albis (mountains) and a pool. There are a lot of beautiful apartments available but some restrictions can apply with washing and times allowed to wash, noise etc. A house may work better for you with children as it does for us. Public transport is good and the two main supermarkets are Migros and Co op. Everything closes on Sundays so you must be organised for the weekend by shopping ahead. Also on Sundays you are not allowed to mow lawns or use noisy equipment. It is a country with a lot of rules but extremely well organised and very beautiful with lots of lovely places in Switzerland to visit and also of course, close to all other European countries. Please email if you have further questions as I am more than happy to offer my suggestions. Best wishes, Vicki

Australia: How do I move to australia?:

Hello I would suggest you look at a website called www.smartraveller.gov.au as it has a lot of information about Australia, visas etc and is very useful. There is only one T in smartraveller! Australia is a great country and Sydney is the largest city. Please email back if you have specific questions as I am happy to offer my suggestions. Best wishes, Vicki

Australia: job question,and money:

Hi there, I am sure there would be a job category for shopfitting. Maybe try contacting some of the big retail chains directly. Some of the big stores in Australia are Myer, David Jones, Harvey Norman, Woolworths, Coles, Franklins and Bunnings. You could look at the telephone directory on line by going to www.yellowpages.com.au and looking for businesses there. You don`t mention which city in Australia you are moving to. The largest city is Sydney closely followed by Melbourne and Brisbane. You could also register with job agencies/recruitment agencies who match people to jobs available. Again, you could look in the yellow pages for their listings. One of the big firms is Challenge but not sure what jobs they cover. The amount of money you are taking sounds fine as your exchange rate is very strong against the Australian dollar so that would be over $100,000 Australian dollars. Email further questions if I can help as I used to live in Australia for a long time and am happy to point you in the right direction for contacts etc.if I can. Best wishes, Vicki

Switzerland: Moving to Switzerland - need advice:

Hi there.. I see from reading the forum there are a few families moving to Switzerland. We moved here 18mths ago and live in Zurich. We have 3 children aged 15, 14 and 8 who all attend Zurich International School. We are happy with the school and I think the fees are about 26,000 CHF per year, or thereabouts. Zurich is a nice city and Shaffhausen is not far from Zurich. We drive through that area when we go to Germany. Zug is also a nice city as is Lucerne (Luzern). Switzerland is expensive in relation to insurance and cost of living. The supermarkets are good and the two main ones are Co-op and Migros with a smaller chain, Denner as well. There is no Sunday trading for shops. Let me know some specific questions and I will try and answer them. Switzerland is a very pretty country and very close to lots of other great destinations too for holidays, weekends and day trips. Housing is mostly apartments although we have a great house and they become available. It`s just a matter of timing. Best wishes, Vicki

Australia: Can anyone help re moving to Australia when pregnant!:

Hi Nicci Congratulations on two accounts..your pregnancy and moving to Sydney. We have 3 children and now live in Europe but we are Australian and had our three children in Sydney. Our youngest son born in 1998 was born at the Mater Hospital in Crows Nest and my obstetrician was very good. I had 3 different obstetricians for the three pregnancies and they were all good. We went through the private hospital system so I don`t have experience with the public hospital system. It depends on your health provider so best to call or contact them and see what you are covered for. I stayed in hospital for 5 days including the day of delivery and they were all normal briths. I am not sure if 5 days is still allowable under health insurance or whether it might be less now. It is important to organise an Obstetrician soon as bookings are heavy for both them and the private hospitals, if you choose this parth. First call should be to your health provider to see what you will be covered for. Good luck and email if anything else I can help with. Best wishes, Vicki

Australia: moving to brisbane from uk:

Hi there, We are an Australian family..we lived in Sydney for 9 years and prior to that in Brisbane. Richlands (if it is near Oxley) is not such a good area. The best areas in Brisbane are Toowong, Graceville, Indooroopilly, Kenmore. One well recommended primary school is Indooroopilly State School. This is a government school so not a private one, but it has a very solid reputation. Brisbane is about an hour`s drive to the Gold Coast and is a great city to live in..quite affordable as opposed to Sydney which is more expnesive. The climate is warm in winter and very hot in summer so try and rent/buy a house with a swimming pool as it will get lots of use. Let me know if any other questions I can help with. Best wishes, Vicki

Australia: Few questions about moving to Oz:

Hi, I don`t know anything about car salvaging or the associated laws but to find out about driving rules and regulations you could try the Roads & Traffic Authority. It is called the RTA for short and that is where you have to get a licence and do the tests for the State of New South Wales (Sydney). If you are moving to Brisbane it is called the RACQ (Royal Automobile Club of Queensland). You could also check the website for the NRMA which is another motor association. The rules vary between the States. Sydney is the biggest city in Australia followed by Melbourne and then Brisbane. These cities are all on the eastern side of the country with Perth on the other side in Western Australia. Hope this helps. I am not sure of the proper website titles but for the RTA it might be RTA.com.au Best wishes, Vickil

Switzerland: Transfering to Zug area questions:

Hi Gretchen We moved to Zurich last year from Australia and we are enjoying the experience very much. Zug is a nice town about 20mins from where we are and we often go there for lunch and my husband and one of our daughters cycle there on weekends. We have 3 children aged 15, 13 and 8 and they attend an international school so I am not up on the bilingual schools. Hopefully your relocation agent will help with this. Switzerland is a very pretty country and its proximity to lots of other European countries is a huge benefit. We often drive to Germany for the weekend and in winter, there are lots of wonderful ski resorts within 1.5hrs drive. It is a country with a lot of rules, especially regarding recycling and no noise on Sundays. Also no shops open on Sundays still catches me off guard for Mon lunches! Email me if you have any questions that I can help you with. Although I am not American I have a lot of American friends so no major difference there. Good luck with all the work involved in a move...Best wishes, Vicki

Date Joined:

7/1/2002

Total Posts:

32

Posts/Day:

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