Asking Zurich expats: Do you feel at home in Switzerland?

Hello everyone, we hope you enjoyed this video. Let us know in the comments what does make you feel at home? 🏡✨

I, Canadian, have lived here more than 30 years and I knew it was my home from day one I like that the people are reserved It takes time to earn their trust, but once earned it is permanent

I think it makes a big difference when you have a partner/family with you because you don’t need anybody else. But when you arrive alone in Switzerland to start a new life, it’s very… very… very difficult to make friends and find a partner. I’ve been here for over 20 years and am waiting for my retirement to leave. What makes me stay is my job that I love, the good salary, the feeling of safety, and the good quality of medical services.

Awesome video & topic! I gotta say that after 2 years here, in Basel, me and my wife decided to move back home to Romania in the near future. What we are missing the most here are our family and our friends. In the end, right now we feel we are (now) here only for the money, even though 2 years ago we came super excited here and wanted to integrate in CH asap. CH is a beautiful country, the people are nice and polite everywhere, but we just couldn’t integrate. I’m kinda relieved to find out that many feel the same way.

As a Canadian living in Switzerland for 25 years, I think it is hard to integrate into any new country where the language is different. I did feel at home very quickly although it is much more different from Canada than I originally thought. But for those who come here who don't speak at least one of the official languages and aren't outgoing themselves, it will be hard. To meet Swiss people, you must get involved in something. Join a club, be it badmonton, indoor handball, a language course, get a dog and go out walking... that way you are sure to make friends. If I moved to the U.S., Asia or South America, I think it would be even harder to feel at home than here, no matter how nice the people are. Feeling at home when you are not at home will never be the same.

Having Real Friends....... Those who take initiatives themselves to talk with you; asking for your well being or wanting to see you progress in your life etc.

After 25 years in Zurich I still feel lonely. But it is probably on me. I am quite introvert person.

I do feel home when I travel in Austria. Better landscape, no problem with language and better food options than in Germany! Been to Switzerland twice but I guess I interacted with expats, foreigners mostly in touristy places, except once when I came across a Swiss man with his little daughter and we hiked together spontaneously for several hours. I found them very kind. I am sure that would not have happened anywhere in Germany between a foreigner and Germans. 😅 I think it’s the kindness of the local people that makes a foreigner feel at home. Not language, similarity in the culture or taste, anything that is made or acquired by a human being, but the basic human feelings.

What the guy at 12:20 mention is very interesting POV and straight to the point downside of the perks about living and working in Switzerland. I never hear about it before.

It's quite worrying that you get the same answers talking to Swiss people, especially those who moved from one city/town to another. I think it's not because of the language barrier, but just the way people socialize, the distance they keep, and the fact that many foreigners go back to their countries whenever possible, even for a weekend. It took me 5/6 years to feel (kind of) at home in Switzerland. Anyways, if it wasn't for the good salaries, I bet most of the foreigners would have already left 😅

So I grew up here and I think one thing about making friends is really important. Its not just about you being expads its about the culture as well. Most people I know have a circle of friends that started in their youth and making new close friends is actually difficult for us aswell. I think it has a lot to do with swiss people being very private in general. Its not a strange thing to hear that people work with others for over 10 years and knowing just about nothing about them. Of course its way more difficult for people from other countries but swiss people don't just go out and make new close friends all the time either. Maybe its just me but the video made me feel like its just a thing for expads which is simply not true. Liked the vid either way because I think it would be better for all people here if that would change. :)

Videography - second to none on YouTube vloging. Content - consistant at your level of expertise - you hit it out of the park again. Keep vloging. Thank you!

Cool video, deep insights here into how the expat community is feeling in Switzerland. It is rare to get such deep insights into the feelings and emotions of so many people. I enjoyed watching. Thanks for sharing!

10 years in Basel, hated it and eventually left, like so many others.

Great video guys! I really liked it. Sad to hear, that so many people do not feel home in Switzerland, even after such a long time.

The problem with the Swiss is that they are trained since childhood to look at change with suspicion. Change includes new ways of doing things, new people, new cultures, new tastes. Thinking out of the box is not considered a positive thing in Switzerland whereas in North America it's considered a positive trait. This makes the Swiss very hard to maintain relationships with because when something you do or say is not in line with what the accepted values are in Switzerland you are labelled to be someone unwilling to integrate. This is also why you often see expats hanging out with other expats.

Thank you, this was very Informative. 😀😃😄

Great videos, very helpful for those looking at Zurich

very important topic and a lot to learn from ❤ i really wish everybody to find the feeling of home in the near future, who haven’t found it yet 🙏🏼

I think is normal in every country in the world that in bigger cities people are more open to different cultures and etnicities than in small villages. It´s a completely different experience, as a foreigner, to live in zurich or geneva than Engleberg or Sion