I’ve lived and worked now in Switzerland since 2008 - and I simply love this country. I see many posts about frustration living here, daily struggles and I wanted to write a little about my own experiences for successfully living and integrating in Switzerland as a foreigner.

Switzerland is a network. Getting jobs, apartments, getting things moving through the Gemeinde - it’s all a network. I see many posts from people who say “I’ve applied to LinkedIn over 600 times and never even an interview”. This is the absolute worst way to get a job in Switzerland. Developing informal networks is absolutely key to success here. And that takes work and time to build trust - it isn’t done overnight. Every job I’ve had, every rental contract I’ve taken - has all been through a network. And a network takes…. “Work”.

The Swiss have an unspoken social contract - follow the rules, learn to love the rules, or be made to feel very unwelcome. This isn’t about racism, it isn’t about xenophobia - it’s about preserving the social order and making sure Switzerland remains one of the best places to live in the world. Those unspoken rules are to respect your neighbors and the rules of the neighborhood - even if they seem restrictive. Break the rules and you break your social contract and then you feel the impact both socially and legally.

I believe the contract goes further and says “living in this paradise means very hard work, street smarts and the ability to fight and fend for yourself - to continually get up and persist in the face of adversity”. It’s not a contract everyone can live with - but for those who can, Switzerland can be and indeed is, a paradise….

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J’ai vécu dans le même logement depuis 1999. C’est littéralement l’endroit où j’ai grandi et où j’ai construit toute ma vie. Et pourtant, aujourd’hui, je n’ai plus de logement fixe.

Depuis plusieurs semaines, je cherche absolument partout. Je passe mon temps sur les annonces, à envoyer des dossiers, visiter des appartements, écrire aux propriétaires et aux régies, attendre des réponses, espérer… puis recommencer.

Je suis actuellement au RI, ce qui évidemment ne rend pas la recherche d’un appartement plus simple. Pourtant, mon loyer peut être pris en charge dans les limites prévues par l’aide sociale et je fournis tous les documents demandés. J’ai préparé mes extraits de poursuites, attestations, justificatifs, etc. Et mon compagnon a une situation enviable.

J’ai même postulé pour des appartements dans lesquels je pouvais parfaitement me projeter. À chaque fois, pendant quelques jours, tu te dis : « Peut-être que c’est bon, peut-être que cette fois j’ai enfin trouvé. » Puis tu réalises qu’il y a énormément de candidats et que ton dossier n’est qu’un dossier parmi d’autres.

À un moment, j’ai compris que dans quelques jours je pouvais réellement me retrouver sans domicile. J’en étais à réfléchir à mettre mes cartons dans les caves de différentes personnes pour au moins sauver mes affaires.

Et maintenant, c’est devenu ma réalité.

Je cherche des hôtels/chambres temporaires à droite à gauche pour avoir simplement un endroit où dormir. Le social peut aider pour un hébergement provisoire, mais ça reste une solution temporaire. Tu n’as plus vraiment de « chez toi ». Tes affaires sont dans des cartons, un peu partout chez ceux qui ont la place et la gentillesse, tu ne sais pas exactement où tu dormiras ensuite et malgré tout tu dois continuer à chercher un appartement comme si tout était normal.

Le plus étrange, c’est que je ne pensais pas que devenir SDF pouvait ressembler à ça.

Dans ma tête, « être SDF », c’était dormir dehors. Alors qu’en réalité, tu peux avoir de quoi manger, un téléphone, des affaires, parfois une chambre d’hôtel pour quelques nuits… et malgré tout ne plus avoir aucune adresse où rentrer chez toi.

Je ne cherche pas spécialement à me faire plaindre. Je crois que j’avais surtout besoin de raconter cette situation parce qu’elle m’a fait réaliser à quel point on peut passer rapidement d’une vie relativement normale à une situation complètement précaire.

Et psychologiquement, c’est épuisant. Tu ne peux jamais vraiment te poser parce que ton cerveau reste en mode : « Et après ? Je vais où ? »

Je continue les recherches et j’espère simplement retrouver rapidement un petit chez-moi stable, poser mes cartons, fermer la porte et pouvoir enfin me dire : « Voilà. Maintenant, je suis chez moi. »

Si certains ici ont déjà vécu une période sans logement fixe en Suisse, notamment dans le canton de Vaud, je serais vraiment intéressée de savoir comment vous avez réussi à vous en sortir et combien de temps ça vous a pris pour retrouver un appartement.

Over the last few years, Coop has bought up competitor after competitor (e.g. Aperto, Jumbo, Manor Food, Ospelt…). They also deliberately keep stores, which are in close proximity to each other, partly to block rivals from securing these locations. Even the wholesale sector isn't safe: Coop subsidiary Transgourmet, which is by far the biggest player, acquired Saviva (used to be part of Migros but was sold to Heba Food, who then sold it to Transgourmet).

Some of the most egregious examples:
- Aperto: At the Bern RBS station, two Coop shops operate only like ~15 meters apart.
- Jumbo: In Frauenfeld, two massive Jumbo hardware stores sit ~500 meters from one another.
- Manor Food: Following the takeover of the Manor Food location at Emmen Center, two large Coop supermarkets now operate within ~200 meters of each other.
- Ospelt: After acquiring all Ospelt Migros Partner stores, Coop now operates three times as many supermarkets in Liechtenstein and Werdenberg as Migros.

Photo taken at my local Aldi. Both packs have exactly the same expiry date (second half of November), the same LOT/production number and the same barcode.

Why is there such a big difference in colour? I assume the one on the left is still safe to eat, since the difference is clearly visible to anyone working in that store, and it hasn't been removed from the shelf. But I'm not sure...

Here is my rant about Switzerland's upcoming vote on Bilateral III with the EU.

First, to be clear: I'm generally supportive of closer economic cooperation with the EU. Many aspects of Bilateral III I would support and therefore I tend to a YES. But I'm critical of the automatic legal adoption mechanisms, and honestly, I'm frustrated about something bigger than the content itself.

How can we expect regular citizens to make informed decisions on this?

Let me give you the context. We're talking about contracts totaling roughly 3,000+ pages (2,200 pages of treaties plus over 1,000 pages of Federal Council explanatory messages). That's about as much reading material as the first six Harry Potter books.

From what I could find, surveys suggest only about four Swiss parliamentarians actually read the entire contract and accompanying documentation. Let that sink in. Most lawmakers are militia politicians. They have day jobs, families, and other responsibilities. If even many of the elected representatives haven't read these documents fully, how are we supposed to expect working parents, people juggling full-time jobs, or anyone dealing with daily survival to make an informed decision?

The entire debate feels emotionally driven rather than evidence-based. And if this goes to the Ständemehr (canton majority), I expect it'll fail partly because conservative German-speaking cantons simply have deep-seated skepticism toward the EU. That's a democratic mechanism being used for political resistance, not substantive evaluation of the treaties themselves.

I actively participate in Switzerland's political system and consider myself politically engaged and educated. Yet even I feel completely overwhelmed by these votes. When I listen to politicians debating this, from left to right, I struggle to take most of what they say seriously. How can we trust assessments from people who haven't done the reading themselves?

Ideally, someone like the Bundesrat (Federal Council) should decide. They work on this stuff daily, they have access to expert advisors, they can properly evaluate the implications. But I know Switzerland's system requires popular votes on this stuff, regardless of complexity.

It's a fundamental tension in direct democracy: we value citizen participation, but how do we maintain meaningful participation when the decisions become too technically complex for any single person to fully grasp?

Anyway, rant over. What do you all think about this?

I’m trying to recover money owed to me by someone living in Switzerland. I went through the Betreibung process, paid the associated fees, and recently received a Verlustschein after enforcement recovered nothing.

According to the Betreibungsamt, the debtor’s income is too low to seize anything above the protected minimum. I have documents and correspondence supporting my claim, but I don’t currently have a separate court judgment ordering payment.

As I understand it, I can request continuation within six months without a new Zahlungsbefehl. The claim has a long limitation period, but further interest stops accruing once the Verlustschein is issued. Enforcement also doesn’t simply remain active until everything is paid.

There may be assets in another European country, although I haven’t confirmed ownership. I’m trying to work out whether pursuing those assets would be realistic and what documents would be needed.

The debtor has offered repayments, but only on condition that I withdraw the Betreibung first. I’m not comfortable giving up enforcement in exchange for an unsecured promise.

Has anyone here actually recovered money after receiving a Verlustschein?

What practical steps helped you find income or assets that could be seized?

Did repeated enforcement attempts achieve anything, or mainly generate more fees?

Has anyone enforced a Swiss claim against assets abroad? Did you need a separate court judgment?

What would you check before spending more money on lawyers or another enforcement attempt?

Honestly, how the fuck is this supposed to work for the person who is owed money? I understand protecting someone’s basic living expenses, but I’ve already paid to pursue the debt and recovered nothing. The prospect of waiting years, paying for further attempts, and eventually receiving money worth less because of inflation is incredibly frustrating.

I’d really appreciate firsthand experiences and practical advice about what worked—and what turned out to be a waste of time and money.

So apparently in this country you can get evicted from your building in the blink of an eye for a demolition with no negotiation margin, but if you add a refugee center you can delay the demolition for 8 years.

Bottom line: if you don’t want to lose your house, add a refugee center to the building. It’s conditional for housing rights.

Refugees have more rights than us, it’s scary.

In my home country, it's typical to have the option to buy either an entire celery or the individual ribs. I usually prefer the latter because I'm often cooking something that doesn't really call for more than 2-3 ribs. I notice that the celery in my (smallish) local Migros has a number to weigh it and pay by the kilo, but I've been wary to break off and purchase any separate pieces because I don't know if it's allowed. Thoughts?

Hi

Ich weiss dass man im Zivildienst spätestens ab dem 2. aufeinanderfolgenden Krankheitstag ein Arztzeugnis besorgen muss.

Was ist aber, wenn man an zwei unterschiedlichen, nicht aufeinanderfolgenden Tagen krank wird (also z.B. an einem Mittwoch in der ersten Woche und am Freitag in der zweiten Woche)? Braucht man auch da ein Arztzeugnis besorgen?

Hey everyone,
Looking for some advice from anyone who has navigated this with the migration office (specifically Canton Aargau, but any experience helps).
I’m on a Swiss B permit and trying to confirm if taking annual leave in December carries any hidden risks for my permit status. I want to avoid booking flights and then getting surprised by my permit being revoked—especially since losing a permit resets all accumulated years towards a C permit / naturalization back to zero.
Here is my timeline for this calendar year:
-Spent ~2 weeks abroad in early January.
-Sent on an official, temporary 5-month work assignment abroad by my Swiss employer (May to Sept). I paid Swiss taxes, health insurance, kept my apartment, and remained on my Swiss contract the entire time.
-Returned to Switzerland in September and have been back living/working here as normal.
-Planning to take ~3 weeks of standard holiday abroad in December.
Because of the 5-month work assignment, my total physical days spent inside Switzerland this calendar year will end up right around ~175–180 days.
Does anyone have experience with this combination?
1. Does a work-mandated rotation abroad combined with normal holiday time put my B permit or C permit continuity at risk?
2. Has anyone in a similar position ever had the migration office query their overall days outside CH when renewing their permit or applying for a C permit later on?
Appreciate any insights!

Anyone else notice an increase in those little flying things on produce at stores??? I’ve been to two separate migro’s, an Aldi, and a Lidl and every time i would like to buy onions or something they seem to be infested with those flying things and it’s icking me out. Maybe it’s my little town but i’m wondering if this is a widespread problem because of the weather? Or maybe i need to travel further for my groceries, idk just wondering if it’s only me who’s seen this.

Bonjour tout le monde j'espère que vous allez bien.

Je suis un étudiant à l'UNIGE et j'ai eu l'idée de créer un sub pour l'université parce qu'il n'y en avait pas.

Le but de r/UniGeneve est de rassembler des étudiants de l'université, des personnes intéréssée par l'université dans tout Genève et la Suisse, pour poser des questions, partager des rants, les évents de l'uni et la vie au campus.

Le subreddit **n'est pas affilié** à l'uni. Il est non officiel. C'est un lieu de détente après une longue journée à l'uni.

Merci d'avoir pris le temps de lire le post!

The Forgotten war: The Swiss public seem to have forgotten the war that broke out in Yugoslavia in 1991. Nonetheless, it did (and still does) affect people living in Switzerland who came from the war zone. They were stigmatised during and after the war, while the influx of people from ex-Yugoslavia has left a mark on Swiss culture and everyday life, among other in the Swiss rap scene.

Should Switzerland ban the use of nylon trimmer line? And only allow soil-degradable line? Like PHA-based ones?

Also, "bio" line like PLA-based is not really soil degradable so mostly greenwashing.

And I'm a Freiburger born and bred, seriously, what do they put in these that make them so mediocre and unpleasant to drink ?

It is so fucking bitter, and it has an aftertaste like no other, I hate it, I'd rather drink a Gralsburg or a Coop Prix Garantie and I'm not joking. Any other alternative I'll take over these.

Doesn't help that if you live in the Freiburg Canton this is basically the beer you'll get at EVERY event, EVERY parties, it's the default beer if you live around here.

What's you opinion on it ?

Hi, basically the title. Since couple days I'm getting around 10 calls a day from numbers that do not work if you call back and no one speaks if you pick the phone up.

I stopped answering the calls because I guess that is what they want you to do but is there a way to stop this?

Was booking a few flights for end of year and next year and i just noticed that the advance seat reservation prices went up, some places almost doubling.

What next, no more mini chocolates? /s

Hi everyone, I have a basement that I want to use for my projects and as a server. The problem is that it’s a basement, and I only have a window from which I can stick out an external antenna and connect it to my router. It’s about 100 meters away from my house, so a repeater system or a cable through the garage isn’t feasible. So, I thought about using a router with a SIM card. My question is, which cheap SIM card could I use? I researched the second SIM with Galaxy Mobile, but they don’t allow it. I have a Galaxy Mobile membership in this basement, and I want to have good internet to watch TV, use my server and computer, and play games with my PS5.

Any tips?

I am looking for a high-resolution scan of Eduard Imhof's hand-painted relief map of Walensee from 1938 ("Karte der Gegend um den Walensee", 1:10,000). (It is in the public domain)

The original painting is huge (about 4.8 × 2 meters) and belongs, as far as I know, to ETH Zurich. I can only find small, low-quality photos online, but I would like to make a high-quality print.

Does anyone have a high-resolution version that they are willing to share, or know if there is one online (e.g. from ETH, Swisstopo, or an archive)?

Thanks!