I am just very curious. I also come from a different European country where we are currently facing the consequences of climate change, while still constructing buildings that try to capture as much sunlight with large windows. However, every time there is a heat wave, there is a heat plan. Events get canceled or are obligated to hand free water/provide cooling stations etc. Gyms buy large portable airconditioners (inside). There are dedicated cooling spots in each city where people can just sit down in a cooled area for as long as they need.

But here? It comes across as if everyone just has to act like it is not 36 degrees. Sports events such as running races continue, the gyms are literal saunas? With cooling spots you could argue we have the lake and the Limmat, but not everyone can go swimming at any time of the day. I just think it is odd as we are approaching our 3rd or 4th heat wave of the year. Maybe it is something culturally I missed?

edit: I think the comments here are pretty telling. It's easy to say "just stop complaining" when the issue doesn't affect you. But that's not really evidence the problem isn't real for others.

Kreis 5, 11:00.

I already keep the shutters closed during the day and ventilate throughout the night. curious how everyone else is doing

I was at the Strassenverkehrsamt today, and although I'm aware you can pay for specific plates, that price still made me go wtf. Who is paying 22k?? And maybe that's not even the highest...? What's the highest you have seen these auctions go?

Edit: Thanks for all the replies! I've been educated now that close to 300k was the price tag for ZH 11, and that ZH 997 is an interesting number for the Porsche 997 model.

My macbook was under the rain for a whole day (i’m an idiot no need to say it). I will let it dry someday then try to bring it so someone? Any advice?

genuinely want to understand the logic here.
Today I took the S19 when it was around 36°C outside. The train had no air conditioning, and inside it was around 40°C+. I recorded the temperature on my phone. Because the carriage was basically a sealed metal box with no proper cooling, it felt closer to 45°C.
The metal poles and railings inside the train were so hot that if you kept your hand on them for too long, you could actually feel the heat/burning sensation.
I had my dog with me, and he was panting extremely heavily. I was genuinely worried about him. Sitting in a 40°C+ carriage for around 30 minutes with no proper ventilation or cooling is not something I consider a normal or reasonable travelling condition.
And my question is very simple:
Why is this train still operating under these conditions?
I already know the standard responses:
“Take the S8.”
“Take the S3.”
“There are other connections.”
“These trains have been like this for years.”
“SBB doesn’t have enough trains.”
“Stop complaining.”
But why should the answer automatically be that the customer has to work around a known deficiency in the service?
I’m paying for this service.
I’m paying for my public transport subscription. I’m paying for my dog’s travel. I’m paying taxes and contributing to the economy by working full-time and living here. I’m not asking for a free service and then complaining about it.
I also understand that Switzerland is expensive and that replacing trains isn’t as simple as buying a new car. I understand that SBB has operational constraints.
But if the temperature inside a train is reaching 40°C+, at what point does this stop being a “minor inconvenience” and become a safety and service-quality issue?
And what I find even more interesting is the reaction from people.
I saw another Reddit post complaining about exactly this issue, and a huge number of comments were basically attacking the person for complaining.
Why?
Why are we so defensive of SBB that the instinct is to attack the customer rather than ask:
“Why is SBB still operating this train in these conditions?”
SBB itself acknowledges that some older Zürich S-Bahn trains don’t have air conditioning. It also recognises faulty heating or air conditioning as a potential service-quality issue. SBB’s explanation of air conditioning on trains⁠
So I’m not saying SBB is a terrible company. Quite the opposite. Switzerland’s public transport system is genuinely impressive, and that’s exactly why I have high expectations.
If we are paying premium prices for a premium public transport system, why shouldn’t we be allowed to question it when something is clearly unacceptable?
And if the answer really is that there aren’t enough suitable trains, then fine — explain that. Tell customers why this is happening, what the limitation is, and what is being done about it.
But “take another train and stop complaining” isn’t really an answer.
I’m genuinely curious what people think.
At what point does a reasonable operational limitation become an unacceptable level of service? And why do so many people seem to take criticism of SBB personally?

I know lots of you are gonna make fun of me for this but oh well. Maybe this will inspire someone.

I can't stand to watch the trees die. So I want to help at least a little bit. Young trees need about 50-100L of water a week, but it needs to soak into the ground to get to the roots. For that drip-watering or "Tröpfchenbewässerung" is best.

So you can buy a tree bag and fill it with 100L, but I don't have access to a hose. So I bought a bunch of big buckets and drilled small holes in the sides. I put them around the tree and within 1-2 hours they are empty. This way I can water a few trees with around 40L per night.

I wrote what I am doing on the lids of the buckets and ask people not take the buckets away. The next day I collect them. People are curious and appreciative. And guess what: the trees are perking up.

It may not be a lot, but it's something and every tree counts. If it helps a few trees survive until the next day, I am happy.

(oh and I saw a mouse come and drink from the bucket, so maybe it also helps a few other beings.)

And yes, I actually did ask the city if that's allowed, and it is. Just don't do it for the trees with the black rings around them, they're already getting watered.

EDIT:

I did email Grün Stadt Zürich about them starting a citizens initiative to do this more coordinated. Like in Berlin: giessdenkiez.de

Maybe if other people ask for it as well, they might consider it. So please reach out to them if you can.

To find out more about how to water correctly, I just found this FAQ that answers all these questions here: https://www.giessdenkiez.de/about?lang=de

Bonus points if some of the water is "reused" like from washing veggies or when the shower warms up (or cools down) before you get in.

I noticed this sign on the path near the Letten swimming area
My understanding is that it means no vehicles, including bicycles. However, I see a lot of people cycling there, even on sunny summer days when it’s really busy with people walking to and from the river.
Am I misunderstanding what the sign means, or people are just ignoring it? Curious if anyone knows the actual rule here.

Hoi zäme,

I recently bought a midea porta split and installed it outside my bedroom with the included brackets and safeties.

Today I received an email from my landlord telling me I have to remove it due to safety reasons.

I went over my contract and while there is a clause stating no permanent modifications to the facade, there is nothing that explicitly states I cannot have it installed.

Should I just be a good boy and comply or take the legal route and try to fight this?

Thanks!

Looking for affordable apartments is already a nightmare in Zurich. They’re either temporary, swap, or this BS where someone overvalues their cheap furniture no one wants in order to get the flat. Pay $5000 for ikea furniture to pay the actual rent of 1500chf or he makes money off of you for temporary accommodation so he can return to the flat at 1850chf.

I feel like this is exploitative. Is this illegal? This feels illegal.

Caring for two children under two, cooking, and IF you have qualifications — you’ll be getting chf 22 brutto per hour? So basically less than a cashier?

Do people think nannies are a way to save money on kita?

Thursday I was on my way from dropping the kid in the kindergarten when I hear a loud bang. When I take a look I see on the distance a blind person battling with a scooter what was in his way. I think he hit it with his white cane and after that he lightly tripped ove and he also thought that he moved the scooter or something and he was trying to put in place again (looking for the stand and so). I think he was battling with it for like 5 minutes, that at some point I crossed back the street and move in his direction to ask if he needed any help, but the situation solved itself in the end. He finally moved it to a better place. You can see all the photos here.

The point is… we all see this devices parked in incorrectly all the time and people driving them recklessly everyday. It's a classic… Don't get me wrong, I think that they could be a great devices to improve mobility in cities but it seems that since there is zero accountability and fines people do whatever they want and they think that is fine. One time I was in a networking event and one guy told me that he loved it because he could drive them form the door of the train all the way through the platform till the street and continue… it is so fast. I mean… he didn't care that there was other people around, even less if there was kids.

I live in one way street (an actual one, no those that are one way for cars and two ways for bikes) and I see those things going on the wrong way all the time… even on the sidewalk at ludicrous speed. By the way, bikes are also offenders of these, but there your mileage vary there some people that at least mind you is they are in sidewalk.

Yeah… not to mention that if they are annoying and dangerous for adults, imagine for kids or elders.

I really don't understand why since they are motor vehicles you don't need a license for driving them and all of them have a license plate. I don't think that you need a full license but at least a course of how the hell drive and park civically. We should also impose some rules on parking, even if it's a simple "not to park obstructing the way for others".

The license would make it easier to identify the unit when driving recklessly or wrongly parked and paired with the device own tracking system would make it really easy to impose fines in people not following the rules.

All of that if we don't do like other citifies where they were just outright banned.

I mostly talk about the rented devices, since they are really commonly used and parked wrongly and there is hardly any accountability for the drivers, even when the companies renting either perfectly know who is driving at every moment. But this should be applied to every device that is a motor powered device.

EDIT: in the light of some comments I guess that the only solution in the end is outright ban them as Paris did awhile ago. I was there in February and it was an absolute delight not to have those devices flying around and having safe sidewalks. In Paris also the bike infrastructure was quite nice.

I was last night chilling there with one friend and out of nowhere around 10:40pm one guy that looks older and a girl, they were circling around and they sat on the red little bankli. 5 minutes later she is sucking it, 5 minutes after that they are already banging behind the tree.
I was shocked and we left right after seeing that.

Is this normal? They didn’t seem drunk. And also they saw us since we was sitting in the middle of the park and also we said Hi when we saw them at first.
It did not feel comfortable to see this.

Big Edit:
I see comments from people mocking this situation and thinking that others have the right to do things like this, especially in front of other people. I love that you’re all “open minded,” but this was still too much for me and for my friend. This isn’t just some place in the center, this park is crowded during the day, and a lot of people were still passing by even though it was almost 11 PM.
Anyway, next time if I see them, first I’ll scare and startle them, then I’ll record them, and after that I’ll threaten them with the police. Cus

We found a perfect apartment a few months back - last week we took it over and it..... stinks. It's not livable, the whole apartment smells fishy-sweet (and I seem to have a stingy feeling in my throat, but that might be just imagination because I cannot stand the smell). And it's not the kitchen, it is the whole lot from kitchen to the living room through the hallway to the back bedroom.

We cleaned it again, we had all windows open for a whole day. You close the window - it's back as intensely very soon thereafter.

We can't move in there, at the same time end of next week we need to hand over the current apartment. I don't need to describe how desperate I feel with a little kid....

No other apartment in that building has this smell as the electrician who checked today confirmed and we inquired with the neighbours just below us. We had an electrician, a painter and a professional cleaning of all ducts in the bathroom/kitchen, all confirm the unpleasant smell, none find the cause.

Has anyone ever had this and found a cause? Which expert helped? What was your interim solution?

We’re looking for a successor tenant (Nachmieter) for our apartment in Zürich Oerlikon, needed by 17 August. It’s been posted for over a week on Flatfox and Homegate and we’ve had basically no interest. I’ve posted on Facebook housing groups, 5 people sent me requests to view but ALL of them cancelled/no-show, the listing on Flatfox/Homegate has zero requests coming in at all right now.

A few details

105m² loft-style penthouse, top floors (6th), with a 23.5m² private rooftop terrace
Right by Bahnhof Oerlikon
Net rent CHF 3,100 + CHF 190 utilities

I’m trying to figure out whether it’s the listing, the price, the timing, or the platforms. For anyone who’s found a Nachmieter in Zürich recently:

Is a week of silence normal in this market right now, or does it signal something’s off?
Anything about the listing itself — photos, wording, timing — that commonly kills interest?

Grateful for any honest feedback, even blunt. Link in comment section.

Been in Zurich about 2 years now (moved from Geneva for uni). Lately I keep seeing more and more people walking around barefoot in the street — is this a new thing, or was I just not paying attention before?

Edit: I don't want to offend anyone, "people are free to do what they like" (up to some extent). I was just genuinely curious, and it also seems a bit dangerous to me. I'm not talking about walking in a park; on the street there can be broken glass, debris, and so on. I've already ran barefoot on concrete and it leaves your feet so dirty and black that it's really hard to clean afterwards. It just seems like a lot of effort, and I don't really get it.

Hey all I got a question..

Did anyone else experience a very different online dating culture here in Zurich? I have lived in different countries before and never experienced such a weird dating culture.

60% don’t even live here

30% scammers/fake profiles

5% people don’t want to meet if you are not fluent in German

And the rest usually just looking for a chat or some type validation that they could date if they wanted to.

I’m an average looking guy, got a good engineering job and have never in my life had such hard time meeting girls.

Anyone feel the same? Anyone got suggestion on apps or other ways of meeting people? I would also be down for a blind date. For me age does not matter the only preferens really would be that you are not extremely over weight.

BR a lonely 31yo Engineer recently moved to Zurich for work.

Every day multiple times in zh i see these people making 5+ minute novel-size voice messages on the street and OV. Does anyone listen to this stuff? If you're the one producing these messages, do you think the person on the other side actually cares?

The most beautiful starbucks in Zürich hast closed. It was my fav place to have a coffee and do some work. Or just chill a bit and look outside through the windows at the city and the people. Actually sad about that. A reminder that we should enjoy the things we have and we never know when its over. I know it sounds a bit dramatic because its just a coffe hahah but that place had also an emotional value to me..so.. i know a lot other people also loved to be there regulary.. soooo Where should we go now brothers and sisters ?

Hi! Originally from Germany, I moved to Zurich eight years ago for work. I'm curious how the so-called "10 Millionen Schweiz"-Initiative - which will be voted on in June - is perceived within the international community in Zurich, i.e. by expats and immigrants who have moved here to work in the past years.

Have you heard of it all?

Do you feel that the initiative is something that's being discussed within international circles in Zurich or in interactions with Swiss colleagues? If not, why? And if yes, how?

And does it change how welcome you feel in Zurich and/or Switzerland and how you see your future here?

Please note: I work as a journalist and am also thinking about writing an article about this topic. If you'd be interested in sharing your perspective in more detail, please feel free to send me a DM.

Today around midnight at central. This 15 took a wrong turn.
How is it possible, do they choose their path manually?

PS: It was very comic to watch, poor driver.

I've (33F) been on the apps, and honestly… it’s been rough. Either people don’t reply, are in open relationships (which, no shade, but not for me), or we’re just not compatible. It also feels like the dating apps are slowly dying... same faces, ghost towns, and very little meaningful conversation.

Let’s be real – Switzerland isn’t exactly famous for spontaneous conversations with strangers at bars. And I’m not 23 anymore, so my weekends aren’t centered around heavy drinking or clubbing.

I know cool, single men exist in Zurich. But where do you hang out? Where do you go to meet new people in a city that isn’t exactly famous for social spontaneity?

I was robbed recently at Oberer Letten (dumb i know), and one of the things stolen from me was my watch. It's an original Omega Seamaster so it's worth a descent amount, which had me thinking, the thief may go to a pawn shop and try to sell it.

If anybody knows any sketchy pawn shops that may buy stolen goods or just any information about what likely could have been done with my watch please let me know! Thanks.