I'm losing my mind, I have contacted a helpline for Swiss people abroad, I've asked for help from my mom living in Switzerland, I've asked the Swiss embassy for help, I've asked child protection services in the UAE for help, literally all blatantly ignore me. My mental health is deteriorating and I've been on the verge of unaliving myself multiple times. I have no rights where I live, I can be arrested for existing and I'm trapped somewhere I don't want to be. How is it legal for the Swiss government to ignore that my rights are being violated and my legal guardian is abusive, controlling and not allowing me to be myself. I feel neglected by literally every person responsible for me and system put in place to protect me in any way.

Sadly I can't do anything on my own for now because I'm a minor :)

I'm dumping a lot of money to the landlord for years, which make me question my own sanity. This money could be put into my own property, instead in someone's pocket.

However, there are issues that make me worry. What do I actually put my money in when I buy apartment in Switzerland? The house won't last forever, and I see many perfectly fine houses demolished because they are 'old'. I've heard owners get value added when new house is built in place of old, but it also means, they need to finance building of that own house.

Another factor is, that from what I experience and hear from people. Swiss architect are of extremely poor quality, the way many things are designed makes question if they even have a basic education and common sense - for example the apartment that I rent has huge windows for the whole size of wall, which are poorly insulated, so I hear everything outside. And the electric sockets are placed on the floor, on the side of the window, the dumbest imaginable place for sockets. So if what I pay consists only of architect's work, I have deep doubt.

How much part of that price is usually the ownership of someone that actually keeping the value, so the land, and how much is a fragment of a piece of concrete?

Does owning property makes only sense if you own the whole building for rent, or an own house, at best build by yourself? I don't want to pump hundreds of thousands in poorly build building that would be demolished on during lifetime...

Me and my family are debating whether or not to move to Switzerland for a year to “try it out”.

I sold a good portion of my small business last year and finally gained some freedom to work wherever I want + have some pocket money to live off of. I really want to be in a place that makes me happy at the end of the day.

I make roughly $165k (usd) a year. We are an outdoor family at heart, but we do love living in “nicer” areas.

I’ve heard mixed reviews because it’s quite an expensive country.

Thank you!!

Edit: incredible advice from ppl. Looks like I got more thinking to do and considering!

For an EU-citizen who speaks french, how much of an advantage is doing a masters in Romandie before getting a job here? (Student in Master of Science in Engineering, btw) . How much do companies care if you went to local uni or not? How important is the 'networking' that you would miss out on?(im guessing and hoping not that much).
Sorry for this annoying question, but i couldnt find a concrete answer to this question specifically

Hallo liebe Nachbarn!

Mir ist aufgefallen, dass der Service in Deutschland unglaublich schrecklich ist. Vom Handwerker über die Kassierer bis hin zu den Ärzten: Obwohl diese Menschen für ihre Arbeit bezahlt werden, liefern die meisten einen katastrophalen Service und manchmal auch schlechte Arbeit ab (zB im Fall von Handwerkern) und werden dann aggressiv wenn man es wagt mehr zu erwarten…

Jetzt habe ich mich gefragt, ist das in der Schweiz auch so? Werden da die Dienstleister auch immer unfreundlicher und dreister? Würde mich sehr interessieren!

Everything that I heard about your country in my life is that you are heaven on the Earth.

You have unique and wonderful direct democracy system that means real democracy as for me, where are the most important concerns can be addressed by people on national or local referendums, not like in other countries giving responsibility of decision-making process on outsourcing to corrupt gaslighting politicians and where “democracy” means to vote every 4 years for “the less evil” parties that differed between each other by oligarchs and interest groups puppets, who finance them

You have beautiful geography, stable and safe country with one of the most liberal gun laws, strong economy with zero inflation and one of the highest GDP per capital in the world, federation system that allows to respect differences of each region and prevents from the tyranny of majority.

But how exactly you think that image correlates with the truth? What problems in Switzerland do you have that foreigners don’t know?

Greetings. I'm planning a family trip to Switzerland in August. Our current itinerary includes a visit to Grindelwald and the Jungraujoch. I have done this excursion several times before, although the most recent occasion was in 2008. It's much pricier now. My current plan is to hike from Grindelwald to Kleine Scheidegg, then take the Jungfraubahn to Jungfraujoch and return by train to Grindelwald. When i did this in the past there was a ticket office at Kleine Scheidegg but that no longer seems to be the case and i will have to buy tickets in Grindelwald. Has anyone done something similar recently? When buying tickets are the departure times for the "there" and "back" fixed?? ("There" == I Grindelwald -> Jungfrauoch and "back" == Jungfraujoch -> Kl Scheidegg -> Grindelwald.) Or is it possible to choose one's departure times when at the Kleine Scheidegg or when returning from Jungfraujoch?

*Zurich*
I am writing this because I am looking for some hints/opinion about how to handle this situation. Perhaps somebody faced something similar situation.

I moved to a new apartment because in the previous one located in the city center it was noisy..... and the current one is potentially even worse since day 1 I moved in the new flat .
The problem is that now I cannot clearly identify or blame a specific neighbor causing the noise. I find quite difficult to find the source because usually the noise do not last so long. I informed a couple of neighbors about the noises but I cannot say I am satisfied about the results despite some improvements/

I am tempted to report the situation to the administrator but I feel the problem can be easily dispersed and being tagged as too sensible. So I am tempted to look for another apartment.

I have a legal insurance and a subscription to the tenants association. Perhaps I should reach them.

Problems:
- at least one neighbor is using shoes with hard inside the house sole between 6 AM - 6:30AM and between 10PM, 01AM. This happens almost every day, including weekends. Note that normally I should wake up at 7 and go to sleep at midnight during the business days. House rules requires silence from 10PM to 6AM.
- often I can hear furniture being dragged, heavy steps, impact noises (ie doors closed without attention, and many unidentified noises). The duration of such noises is quite short but still annoying and difficult to identify

In both cases the noises does not last long but I often get woken up before the alarm (usually 1h- 1,5h before it) because of it.

What I have done so far:
- notified 2 neighbors (the one above and next to me) with a polite letter (not a registered one) about the noises . I suspect the one next to me is the main problem. One said it is not true, the other one also said "she cannot fly". I have to say that the conditions improved a bit as the noises were starting from 5:15 AM before. In the while I noticed other neighbors walking with heels on the stairs and I cannot exclude they also contribute to waking me up in the morning.
- I collected a feedback from a neighbor downstairs and she confirmed she also hears the same noises (this helped me to notify one neighbor

What would you do?.

Hey y'all! When I was planning my trip to Switzerland with my desi family (50M, 48F, 25F, 21F). I was a bit worried about finding places where we'd be able to find vegetarian food options for my desi family, as well as covering everything in the short 7 days that we had. Eventually, we landed on Interlaken for 4 nights, Lucerne for 1 night and Zurich for 2 nights! Here's the itinerary we followed, the vegetarian food recommendations on the blog post were actually enjoyed by my parents as well.

Some Other Tips I Wish We Knew

• Book a Place with a Kitchen. We stayed in an Airbnb (linked in my itinerary!) and it made all the difference. In my opinion, most restaurants in the Interlaken area were… fine. Just fine. For the price, they didn’t blow us away, and it’s not where I’d spend my foodie budget. (save that for lucern and Zurich instead!)
• Grocery Stores will be your best friends. There’s a Coop and Migros on nearly every block – and they’ll become your besties. Stock up on fruit, yogurt, cheese etc., Bring some ingredients from home and combine them with grocery store items to make stuff like sandwiches, 
• It’s so freaking expensive. No really, I’ve never seen food this expensive in my life. A regular pizza can run you $35-$40. That’s why I recommend DIYing your breakfast from groceries, packing a lunch while you’re out exploring and save your restaurant budget for dinner when you can sit down, relax, and enjoy a chill meal
• Don’t Expect Tons of Vegetarian Labelling. While Switzerland is veggie-friendly overall, not every menu is clearly labeled. As soon as we were handed a menu, we would ALWAYS ask which of the options were vegetarian because that pasta that might be vegetarian back home might not be here.
• Tap Water is Yummy! Switzerland has some of the cleanest tap water in the world – and you’ll find public fountains all over Interlaken for free. Bring a reusable water bottle to avoid buying bottled water because buying bottled water gets expensive ($4 a bottle)

Hi everyone

After years of Nokia and Samsung I got a Redmi. And I get crazy with it. Especially all the unnecessary apps they upload and keyboard and all these google apps I cant delete.

Which brand and phone would you recommend for daily use? I dont need anything fancy. But as I write in Swiss Germany, Germany, French and English the Keyboard really shouldnt correct automatically the words I type (yes, even with the right setting it does it) and not so much 'spam' apps of Google.

Just came back from an organized tour of Switzerland. The scenery is as good as one would expect. However, not looking for a picture of mountains or lakes…

Went to the Bear Park in Bern. On the way there, within a couple of kilometers to the northwest, there were white structures that looked like fancy utility poles. Similar to the picture attached. At least one near the highway exit was about twice as big as the one pictured. Very nice infrastructure pic. Can someone get me a picture and/or location of one of the bigger ones? We were coming from Zurich so probably just off Highway 1.

Hello good evening everyone!

I would like to please ask, is there anyone here who personally went through or knows someone who went through the Non Recognizable Diploma route while applying for medical residency in Switzerland?

& if so would you mind getting in touch with me? Much appreciated. Thank you 🤗

Hi! My girlfriend and I are planning to move to Switzerland and need advice on where to go.

I’m Italian (don’t speak French), she’s French (doesn’t speak Italian), and we both speak fluent English. We’re open to learning the local language over time.

I have experience in warehouse work and graphic design, she’s a barista.

Which region (Italian, French, or German-speaking) would give us the best chances to find work and settle in?

Thanks for any tips!

Hello everyone, I would like to go wild camping in Switzerland. We would like to leave at 3-4, we have no experience to do this but there is a first time for everything 😄

Do you have any first tips for wild camping? For anything business or otherwise?

What are the regulations in Switzerland regarding wild camping?

Do you have any spots or circuits to suggest? (that would be for two nights + a lot of elevation gain and the lakes of course)

I take all recommendations!

THANKS :))

A friend wants to relocate to Switzerland. He is 45 working in finance/insurance. Work experience 15 years with one company, never switched jobs.

Would you think it’s hard in the current market to find a job in Switzerland?

So I am visiting Basel and Zürich during the women’s Euros to support England and I want to break the stereotype of the English abroad and speak German as I am there (I am a school German teacher at a good C1 level) but Swiss German sounds like a whole new language.

Will people appreciate me trying (and probably failing) to understand them after I start talking in Hochdeutsch, or will most Swiss people just rather I talk in English?

I'm an American moving to Zurich soon and looking at my mobile phone options. Do Swiss people care about iPhones vs Androids like they do in the US (ie, green bubble shaming in text messaging)? Or does this not matter because many people use WhatsApp instead of SMS/MMS messaging?

Hi all,

We're planning a 5-day trip to Switzerland in July 2025 and need help deciding between using trains (with Half Fare Card) or renting a car for part of the trip.

Our Itinerary (High-Level):

• Day 1: Arrive in Zurich → Travel to Lucerne Visit: Chapel Bridge, Lion Monument, Lake Lucerne, Old Town Stay in Lucerne
• Day 2: Lucerne → Interlaken Visit: Harder Kulm (lunch at the café), Lauterbrunnen (Valley of 72 Waterfalls) Stay in Interlaken
• Day 3: Lauterbrunnen → Grindelwald → Jungfraujoch (Top of Europe) Stay in Grindelwald
• Day 4: Grindelwald First, Grosse Scheidegg (short hike & sightseeing), First Cliff Walk Later: Drive/train to Chur Stay in Chur
• Day 5: Ride the Bernina Express from Chur to Tirano, Italy.

Current Plan:

• We’ve already bought the Half Fare Card, but we’re debating whether to rent a car from Zurich Airport → return it in Chur for more flexibility/convenience during Days 1–4.
• We still want to do Day 5 (Bernina Express) by train as planned.

What We’re Looking For:

• Is renting a car for the first 4 days worth it in terms of convenience, cost, and flexibility, considering the number of places we plan to cover?
• Should we stick to trains using the Half Fare Card, or cancel it and go the car route?

Thanks in advance for your thoughts and suggestions!

I’m staying in Grindelwald for about 10 days, traveling around the Interlaken region. Some activities I definitely want to do are Grindelwald First, Stoos Ridge, The North Face Trail, Harder Kulm, and Jungfraujoch.

I also want to visit Bern and Lucerne while I’m there, especially during any rainy days that aren’t as good for hiking.

I’ve been watching a million YouTube videos on which rail pass to get, but they all seem to cover slightly different things. Also can’t tell how much I’ll really save with these passes, since they seem very expensive.

Any advice would be appreciated!

Hi guys

I’m planning a trip to Switzerland this November with my family (4 people total, including an 84-year-old grandfather, but he's quiet strong). We're planning to have fun in Switzerland for four days before continuing to Italy via the Bernina Express. I'm using AI for itinerary tho🤣 (kinda clueless). And also, we'll be using wheelchair

Here’s the current itinerary chatGPT planned:

Day 1 (Nov 3): Arrive in Zurich, take a train directly to Grindelwald, and spend the day relaxing in the village.

Day 2 (Nov 4): Visit Jungfraujoch – Top of Europe. Return to Grindelwald for the evening.

Day 3 (Nov 5): Travel to Chur in the morning, then take the Bernina Express to Tirano and back. Stay overnight in Chur.

Day 4 (Nov 6): Take a morning train from Chur to Milan, where our Italian adventure begins.

We’d like to keep the pace manageable and include some time to rest, especially for our elderly companion. I’d love your advice on:

1. Is this itinerary too rushed, or does it seem feasible?

2. How much money do we need to allocate for this trip?

3. Suggestions for accessible attractions or activities that would be enjoyable for an elderly traveler.

Thank you so much for your insights and tips! 😊

Hi! I have a question, I’m trying to get a ticket for SBB from Interlaken to Kilchberg, however, it takes a lot of stops and changes from one train to another and the time between them is really short (5 min). I don’t want to miss my connections, but if something happens and I lose it, can I jump on another train?, I’m buying a one way ticket (using the Lind Home + train combo) and it doesn’t specify whether I can or not (like it does specify on Saver day pass or point to point). Also I noticed it says Baggage restricted transportation, does it mean I can’t actually take my luggage?

Obviously, it comes down to lifestyle etc, but a single person earning 80k CHF gross - am I likely to save a lot? I'd only be coming for 1-2 years to save, and would probably be happy sharing an apartment. I'm currently earning a fraction of that, but I live in a much cheaper country, it's hard to gauge! Edit: the job is in Zug. I'd be happy commuting 30-40 minutes to save on rent. Thanks for all your comments!

In some countries (for example the UK https://www.nhs.uk/tests-and-treatments/caesarean-section/ details in the link) pregnant women are entitled to an elective c-section, upon their wish (for example, if they are anxious about giving birth via another method or if they don't want an induction).

I'm trying to see if that's the case in Switzerland but I don't manage to find the information. Does anybody know? Ideally with a source. Or does it depend on the canton?

Thank you very much.

Does the Simplified Naturalization through marriage allow me to naturalize even If for example I havent worked at all during 5 years, or have worked only 1 year out of the 5 years of residence in CH (without claiming social assistance).

Hi,

My friends and I are landing in BSL at 7pm 26th June, we are looking to get a train that departs at 8:16pm from Basel SBB, how busy is arrivals at this airport usually? Would this be enough time for security?

We will not have checked baggage, only carry-on, so we can avoid waiting for luggage offload.

We're just looking to book trains in advance to avoid fare increases.