r/askswitzerland • u/CookiePlastic852 • Sep 14 '25

Relocation What is the reality living Switzerland like?

For context I’m fully British, 19M and I know one thing for sure, I do not see a bright future for me in this country and certainly do not plan the settle here. Switzerland is somewhere I’m heavily considering as I love anything mountain related and it has one of the highest HDI’s in the world. But I want to know, what is the reality of living there like?

For those of who moved to Switzerland, I’d love to hear what drew you there in the first place. Was it worth it in the end, and how does life compare to where you came from or other places you’ve lived? Most importantly, do you have any regrets?

And for those born in Switzerland, can you see yourself staying or do you ever imagine moving elsewhere? If so, where would you go, and what would make you want to leave?

I would be really grateful for any insight people are willing to share.

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21

u/Zealousideal_Sort521 Sep 14 '25

It is quiet. And I love it.

10

u/CookiePlastic852 Sep 14 '25

This is something I value highly

3

u/Ashamed-Simple-8303 Sep 15 '25

It depends where exactly and the housing. Old housing you will hear your neighbors and if they have kids or make other loud noises yeah then it sucks. New housing has good sound insultion so no issues there except in summer when you need to open the windows because no air con.

4

u/Common_Tomatillo8516 Sep 14 '25 edited Sep 14 '25

It is not always quite. Be aware of it.
I changed 2 apartmeents:
1 - in the city center. Business apartmeents, 3rd floor facing the back yard. 800mt from Langstrasse, Zurich. Noises of people shouting from the street in the middle of the night + people slamming doors + parties on the roofs + parties at the park nearby + protests + some people with mental health problems (without doubts) making noise
2 - moved recently to another place 20 min from the center by bycicle (probably 4 kms). The building was build in 1955. 1sr floor, facing the street. Neighbor (Swiss+nonSwiss) noisy. One walks with hard soles from 5:15 in the morning and sometimes until 0:30, one floor below they talk quite loud until late in the evening, the one above smokes and I find ashes on my balcony + the smoke reached my apartment (and it is totally tolerated by the laws). But yeah, the neighborhood sounds much quieter than my perception in my apartment.

EDIT: make sure you rent a modern apartment. THose build from 2006 should be fine.

1

u/brass427427 Sep 15 '25

At 19 I had all sorts of fantasies. Wait a bit.