Lausanne

Name three things that you wish you had brought and three you wish you had left at home.

Wish I had brought:

1. more books as they are expensive here

2. more furniture, same reason

3. certain food items that I miss

Wish I had left

1. my sheets, etc as they didnt fit

2. appliances as they dont alwys work easily

What advice would you give someone preparing to move to your area about the actual move, choosing a neighborhood and finding a home?

Contact the american women's club, or the international school and even the relocation companies. Also the people we rented from were very helpful with a lot of our questions.

A "villa jumelle" which is 2 houses next to each other. This is a good value here as the rent is a good value and you have your own house and garden and not so much land or expenses to take care of for a stand alone house. This is very common in this area.

How did you choose your neighborhood and find your home or apartment?

I contacted lausannehomerentals@gmail.com as they had some good houses in the lausanne area that were really good for my family as they were close to the city center but still very residential and "suburban" but without being far away, and close to international school for my kids.

Are your housing costs higher or lower than they were in your home country? What is the average cost of housing there?

Higher. Our rent seems to be less than some of our friends though. You can expect to pay 6 thousand francs per month easily for a family home in a good area.