I ask as part of a linguistic study covering this topic!
Examples could include things like Winti, Neuch, Lôz or LugAngeles (never mind how common they are)...

Hey everyone,

I've been living in Switzerland for a while now, and lately I've been finding it a bit difficult to build a real social life here. It's not that I don't enjoy living in Switzerland, but sometimes it feels like everyone already has their own group of friends.

I have hobbies and things to keep me busy, but it's not quite the same as having people you can grab a drink or do something together on the weekend.

For those of you who've experienced something similar, how did you manage to get out of this situation? Are there any clubs, activities or communities where you've genuinely met good friends?

I'd really appreciate any advice or hearing about your own experiences. It's nice to know if other people feel the same way.

Hi, I heard a lot about Bernina Express but judging from people's suggestions here, I've decided to abandon it for regional trains, BUT, I have about 30 hours from the point I reach Tirano to move onwards to Switzerland and back around 6-7 November.

I have the option of staying at St. Moritz or Chur or other places that any of you may suggest.

I'll be travelling on a budget, so I would appreciate if I could get suggestions on how I can achieve this, my budget for a party of two is around 350-400 euros for the 30h. I'm aware of the Saver Day Pass from SBB and it alone costs me around 152 Euros for two and I'm not yet sure whether this pass would even be feasible. I'll try leaving Tirano as early in the morning as possible.

Considering I'm coming from a desert and I'd love to see the Bernina Route through regional trains. I'd appreciate if you could share your experiences as well.

TIA!

We always hear tourists say how spotless Switzerland is compared to the rest of the world. So we wanted to test how much litter is actually lying around in a regular Swiss village if you look just past the main pavement. We grabbed two trash pickers and gave ourselves 60 minutes to clean up around the village before weighing everything at the local recycling point. While the main roads and even the local construction sites were super clean, the bushes, field edges, and side paths were a different story. We ended up filling two large bags with 7.3 kg of trash in an hour (Cans, PET bottles, snus pouches, wine bottles, scrap copper, broken kids' scooter dumped in the bushes etc.). You can see everything we found here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WkQicGISyAc

It got us wondering: do you feel like littering (especially throwing cans and wrappers into the bushes or out of car windows) is getting worse in your Gemeinde, or has it always been like this and the cleaning services just hide it well?

I have my own washing machine, but it's not working. So I'll have to use the one in my building. But I have no idea how to use it or how to top up. I have the card though. Does anyone have this same system too? I tried Googling the brand but found nothing useful.

I cannot really complain about my standard of living, yet the social isolation here is remarkably difficult. I am not referring to dating; simply finding a normal group of men to share a beer, watch football, and discuss everyday matters feels nearly impossible.

Originally from Southern Italy, I have lived in Ticino, Zurich, and now Uri while still working and travelling to Zurich two or three times a week. The pattern has been consistent everywhere. I am beginning to question what kind of life this is when there is almost no human contact outside work.

It is odd because I have many hobbies, I am very active, and I see myself as quite outgoing. Still, building a social life here seems entirely out of reach. I am close to obtaining citizenship, but at present my only real escape is flying back to Italy nearly every weekend just to feel connected to people and the world. There I meet people easily—men, women—just for a beer, a coffee, or a flirt (with women in that case ).

I thought I would try this. I am a 36-year-old Italian man, 178 cm tall, living in Uri. I speak Italian and English, plus a little French. I hold degrees in IT, Economics, and Law. I enjoy cycling and sports in general, but I also love music, opera, theatre, and travel. I am easy-going and able to adapt to quite high-standard settings.

I am always on the move and eager to learn new things. If you are looking to meet someone new, wherever you are, let us connect and have a coffee.

Hi everyone,

Is it just me, or has the IT job market in Switzerland come to a complete standstill?

I've been applying for various positions for about a year now, including IT support roles, and I either get ghosted or receive a rejection. Out of roughly 80-90 applications in the Schaffhausen/Winterthur area, I've only managed to get a single initial interview, which unfortunately also ended in a rejection.

A bit about my background:

I'm a Software Developer (Fachinformatiker für Anwendungsentwicklung) and completed my apprenticeship in January 2024.

I'm currently working as a Production Software Engineer in the industrial sector at a large German corporation, focusing on the development and maintenance of production systems and machinery.

I'm comfortable working independently with C++ and common development tools, and I'm also experienced with version control systems such as SVN and Git. My work also involves functional safety. I have also done several program enhancements on SIMATIC-controlled machinery.

Additionally, I have hands on experience with industrial communication protocols such as PROFINET, PROFIBUS, and OPC UA.

On top of that, I have around 13 years of personal programming experience across various fields, including automotive, industrial automation, and databases.

So, what's going on? Is the Swiss IT job market really that bad at the moment, or am I missing something?

I'd be interested to hear about other people's experiences, especially in the Schaffhausen/Winterthur region.

This is probably just AI/my algorithm on Instagram trying to influence me, but it seems that businesses in Switzerland have noticed how gridlocked the job market has been and want to speed up the process of applying.

Or is this just a marketing trick for more clicks and data collection?

I've been looking for work, but I have a feeling this approach is too good to be true.

All I know is that Switzerland has multiple official languages: German, French, Italian, and Romansh. I am asking how do Swiss people whose mother tongue is one of the official languages learn (an)other official language(s). If learning these involve textbooks or other materials, what are they and where can they be bought? For adults, are classes in private schools mostly a thing or are government offerings available too for them?

Also, as a bonus, are there polyglot citizens who can fluently communicate in all four languages? Thank you!

Hello I need to buy a Dior lipstick for my friend’s birthday and I wanted to know where in Geneva would be the cheapest place to find it?
I also need to buy other Elf products so please recommend accordingly!
Other than this, what is your go to place to buy expensive makeup?
Is it Douglas?

Hi all,

I’ve accepted a job offer in Lenzburg and I’m planning to live in Aarau, since it’s a bit bigger and seems to have more going on socially.

I’m a social person, but since hitting 30 I’ve found it harder to just start talking to strangers in bars or on the street. So I’m wondering:

• How is the social life in Aarau? Is it realistic to build a circle of friends when starting from zero?
• Where do people actually meet? Clubs (Vereine), sports groups, language exchanges, expat meetups, specific bars, or something else?
• Would you recommend Aarau over Lenzburg, or is it better to look toward Zürich or Baden for a social life?

A bit about me: I’m moving from Germany and work in engineering.

Thanks in advance!

Why do all the good selling platforms have to become greedy and ruin it all at some point?! (Vinted & Etsy I'm looking at you)

I moved to Switzerland a year ago and because I used to be a vintage shop owner before, I started to use both Marko and Ricardo for selling my vintage collection. I'm not going to talk about Ricardo here, because we all know it sucks in so many ways. But Marko I really used to like- lower fees, more intuitive and pretty similar to the famous Vinted. I liked it until today, when I received an email from them informing me about their fees increase. They went from 1 CHF+ 1,9% of the selling price to 1.50 CHF+ 2,9% or 3,9% if you're not one of their super sellers. It's a smart move for them to split the fee into a fixed amount plus a small percentage of the price, like this the final fee seems smaller. But if you do the math, they'll take circa 10% of an item priced 20. And that's only from the seller, but there's a 5% fee for the buyer as well. Which makes it more expensive than Ricardo, in the end (at least for lower price items)...

Why @Marko , why?

Sorry kleiner rant den wir leider alle jährlich teilen.

Ich habe CHF 2'500 Franchise, wähle immer das billigeste Prämienmodell, gehe nie zum Arzt und falls doch zahle ich trotzdem alles selbst.

Die Politik soll gefälligst mal nachaltige Lösungen bringen, das geht so nicht mehr auf. Gehaltserhöhung habe ich seit 2022 keine bekommen.

Hier eine Übersicht wie sich meine Jahresprämien seit 2022 entwickelt haben:

2022: CHF 2'662.-

2023: CHF 2'909.-

2024: CHF 3'284.-

2025: CHF 3'489.-

2026: CHF 3'789.-

2027: CHF 4'063--

Gemäss KI wird es sich konservativ gerechnet so weiterentickeln:

2028: CHF 4'234.-

2029: CHF 4'411.-

2030: CHF 4'597.-

2031: CHF 4'790.-

2032: CHF 4'991.-

2033: CHF 5'201.-

2034: CHF 5'419.-

2035: CHF 5'647.-

2036: CHF 5'884.-

2037: CHF 6'131.-

Habt ihr eine Idee wie wir dieses Problem nachhaltig lösen können?

I've heard that it an be MUCH cheaper to import a car from Germany or Netherlands due to bigger market and tax reduction (from import) as well as lower prices. Is that true?

Or do you see ne benefits here from importing cars into Switzerland and rather buy from a vendor here with MFK.

Hi all I’m looking for someone who is creative and has a passion for filming and editing videos. If you’re a student and willing to make some money please reach out to me. It’s about building a personal brand.

Edit: ideally I would like to find someone to work on something together to build this brand and share the outcomes.

I’ve now been on hold for 20+ mins for the 3rd day in a row couldn’t get through previously and don’t have the patience for this anymore. I just need to know how to auto-approve eBills in the UBS app?

I’m in Payments and in the Inbox I see “to do” and I see the eBill. I want this paid automatically the next months. How do i set this up? I don’t see any options in settings. Thanks

There's a small footpath connecting our village to the next one. I've used it to walk to the train station for years.

It's not some unofficial shortcut through someone's garden. There are yellow hiking signs at both ends, and the path is still marked on the swisstopo map.

About two weeks ago, a metal gate appeared across it with a sign saying "Privatweg – Kein Durchgang."

No construction work, no diversion signs, nothing explaining why it's closed.

The alternative is a fairly long detour along a road with no proper pavement for part of the way. What used to be a pleasant 12-minute walk is now closer to half an hour.

I initially assumed it was temporary, but the gate now has a proper lock and the old path markings are still there.

What bothers me is that quite a few people used this route to get to the station, including schoolchildren. I've already seen people walking around the gate through the grass, which obviously isn't a good solution either.

I'm not claiming the landowner has done something illegal. Maybe there's a perfectly legitimate reason, and I just don't understand how these things work.

But I thought Switzerland had a fairly well-regulated network of public footpaths and hiking routes.

Can a private landowner simply close a path that's officially signposted? Is there a way to check whether it has a registered right of way, or whether the route has been officially changed?

And who would you contact first about something like this: the Gemeinde, the cantonal hiking association, or someone else?

I'd rather find out what's actually going on than start an argument with whoever owns the land.

​

Hi everyone!

I’m looking to connect with other Computer Science Master’s students at the University of Basel who have just resumed their studies and would be interested in forming a study group.

A little background about me: I decided to return to Computer Science after spending about five years working in finance. I thought I could pick up where I left off, but honestly, returning to university has been a serious reality check.

I’ve only just resumed at Uni Basel, and I’m already feeling completely overwhelmed by the classes. It feels like almost everything I knew about Computer Science has become obsolete, and some of the mathematical foundations I once understood are incredibly rusty. Between Discrete Mathematics, Scientific Computing, and the other courses, I’m struggling to find my footing.

I’m trying to catch up, but I know it would be much easier to do this with other people who are going through the same experience. The idea is to meet regularly, go through lecture notes and exercises together, explain concepts to one another, and generally help each other survive the semester.

You don’t have to be an expert or have everything figured out. If you’re also struggling to adjust, trying to catch up after a break from academics, or simply want people to study with, you’re more than welcome.

If you’re a CS Master’s student at Uni Basel and interested in joining, please comment below or send me a DM. Hopefully, we can get a small group together and make this semester a little less overwhelming for everyone!

Thanks!

Hi everyone,

I am looking for some insights into the current salary landscape in Zurich for a Platform/Cloud/DevOps Engineer with around 14 years of experience.

For someone at a senior/lead level with 14 years in the industry, what is a realistic total compensation package (base, bonus, stock) to expect in Zurich right now?

Thanks for your help!

Hi everyone,
I am going to move to switzerland next year for my residency and the HR department of my hospital needs me to give them an IBAN of a swiss bank account. Are there any recommendations, maybe even specific ones for doctors? In germany there is the apobank specifically for doctors which offers better interest rates for opening your own practice and stuff like that so it would be good to know if I slept on options like that in switzerland. Besides that it would be important for me that you can invest in ETF within reasonable conditions and that you can open a shared account with your partner. Our plan is to stay in switzerland long term, so a good bank will be important for us. We will live in the german speaking kantons. I googled a bit and found some options but I would like to hear your recommendations.

Thank you!

Hi everyone,
I’m a dual French-Canadian citizen and considering relocating to Switzerland in 2027. I've never worked or lived in Europe.
I’m particularly interested in Geneva and the French-speaking part of Switzerland, although I’m open to other regions.
I have university degrees in law and political science, speak French and English fluently (plus Spanish), and have experience in administration, customer service, logistics/warehousing and other roles.
I’m not necessarily looking for a corporate career or a management position. My priority would be to find a reasonably paid job relatively quickly, get established financially and then explore longer-term opportunities.
I’m particularly interested in:
Logistics, warehouse and forklift jobs
Customer service and call centres
Retail and sales
Administrative and office support
Temporary agency work (intérim)
For people familiar with these sectors:
How difficult is it currently to find these types of jobs, especially around Geneva, Lausanne or elsewhere in French-speaking Switzerland?
How long does it realistically take to get hired through temporary agencies or direct applications?
What are typical gross monthly salaries for these positions, particularly for someone with previous experience?
Are employers willing to hire EU citizens who are still living abroad, or is it much easier once you’re physically in Switzerland?
Which recruitment agencies would you recommend?
Is it realistic to support yourself and save money in Switzerland on these salaries, particularly when renting a room in shared accommodation?
I’d especially appreciate recent firsthand experiences rather than general impressions about the Swiss job market.
Thanks in advance!

I am so confused. I sent a registered letter as recommended to exit the church which got returned because nobody picked it up so I sent it again but not as a registered letter. tell me HOW is it possible that the letter got returned again because nobody picked it up? I sent it as a normal A-letter. I've never ever had this happen before with regular letters? Guess I have to go to the church and hand it over in person. I've originally sent the letter TWO months ago and I refuse to pay for 2 additional months (since we're already well into October). Has anyone else had such huge problems with the Kirchenaustritt or am I just cursed edit: 2 additional months and not 3 like I wrote

My friend visited Switzerland in October and told me:
“Looking back, my entire life in Japan felt almost like a punishment. It was as if I’d committed some kind of crime and had been serving my sentence by earning little money and living that kind of life in Japan.”
“They say Japan is one of the best countries in the world to be born in, but Switzerland felt like it was on a completely different level of happiness.”
I’ve never been to Switzerland myself, but everyone I know who’s visited seems to say something similar. They enjoy other destinations too, but Switzerland is always described as something else entirely. It seems to leave a uniquely powerful impression on people.
I’m genuinely curious, and honestly, incredibly envious!

For those who live in Switzerland or have lived there, what makes life there so happy? What is it about Switzerland that makes it feel so special?