Switzerland has been our home for nearly six years now but in just over three months, it will be time to say goodbye. Moving abroad has been one of the most amazing things we have ever done. It’s brought adventure and sparked curiosities that we didn’t even know we had. We have met and become friends with so many interesting and amazing people from all over the World, something I am unbelievably thankful for. It’s also given us the opportunity to travel extensively.

But soon, all of a sudden, our every day lives here will be a memory, with the people we spent time with nearly every day, now on the other side of the world. Endings are always difficult, but how lucky we are to have had something that makes leaving so hard.

Living in a different country means you get to know it in a totally different way. It becomes a part of you in a way that you would never experience from just travelling there. Don’t get me wrong, there are certainly frustrating things about living here but life in a new country will always require some major adjustments from the life you left.

I know I will forever miss so many things about Switzerland, but also have faith that there are new and exciting adventures waiting for us when we move, this time to a new continent!

Should I stay or should I go?

Leaving is not the exception here.  Neither is staying. Its a very transient community we live in and I guess that’s been the most difficult thing to deal with – it’s the life – people come, then they go.

In almost any country in the world there is something to fall in love with.  Switzerland is the most breathtakingly beautiful place to live but there are also other places in the world just waiting to be explored and experienced and that is why we have chosen to go.

For some expats the decision to leave is out of their hands. We have seen it so many times and at worst people don’t even get to say a proper goodbye. For us, it’s always been our decision. ‘Where’ to go and ‘When’ to go?

Six years seems like a long time, but the days, then months, and then years, have flown by and here we are.

Keeping track of all of the memories has been so important to me and I am so happy with the thousands of photos taken and the yearly photo books that I’ve made.

Photos aside, I started to think about some of the more quirky things about Switzerland that you can only really appreciate if you’ve lived here.

Life in Switzerland can be a shock to the system. . .but not if you’re prepared.

Switzerland is well known as a place where rules are important and there are plenty of local customs, habits and codes of conduct – some you would not even believe to be true!
Here’s my list of Swiss’isms and things I’ve observed since moving here.

1. You will arrive on time. Not early, not late. And there are no excuses because clocks are everywhere.

2. Public transport is pretty amazing. Switzerland actually has one of the world’s most dense public transport systems, comprising 29,000 kilometres of train, bus and boat lines plus urban area systems that incorporate trams, trolleybuses, cable cars and ferries too.

3. However, because the public transport system is so good, you’ll find yourself tutting, along with other passengers, if your train is even one minute late.

4. One of the most striking aspects of living in Switzerland is the closeness to nature and the outdoors. The pure beauty of the Swiss landscape makes you believe you are living in a dream.

5. Every season has a marked difference in weather, temperature, colours and smells and I love how the whole landscape turns into a completely different place when covered in a blanket of snow. We have seen so much blue sky since living here and that just makes me happy.

6. You become a pro at sorting your rubbish and recycling into paper, card, cans, bottles, PET and normal rubbish. You make twice weekly trips (on foot) to the recycling areas to drop off bottles and cans. And you don’t blink at paying around 2-3 francs per bag for a specific regulation commune taxed bin bag!

7. Rare is a weekend without some sort of local festival or cultural event going on.

8. Whether you travel by car, bus, train or plane you are in the very centre of Europe so never far away from so many other countries to visit. We have taken full advantage of this in the six years we have been here.

9. Crime rates are one of the lowest in the world. You feel totally safe, even walking around at night and numerous times I have left things on tables in restaurants and they are still there on my return. Dolce and Gabanna sunglasses anyone?

10. As a result, you’ve stopped wondering ‘Where are the parents?’ when you see small groups of five-year-olds walking or scootering to school, without an adult in sight. An added bonus is their polite and cheery wave as they cross the road on the pedestrian crossing.

11.  You get used to everything working and being spotlessly clean. If anything breaks down, a team of workers will show up to do repairs and there are always people cleaning, planting flowers and I’ve even been witness to the pressure washing of the rocks by the lake!

12. Even if there’s only a single customer ahead of you, it will take about 15 minutes to be served in many shops as the cashiers think nothing of having a long personal conversation with the person in front.

13. There is a general relaxed attitude that tends to percolate throughout Switzerland, with a big emphasis on work/life balance, long lunch breaks taken out of the office are commonplace.

14. Meals out will typically be at least CHF35 per head and that’s not even for anything special! There’s a reason why so many people go to IKEA just for their lunch!

15. There are so many mountains here that people here have made it an art form to enjoy them all year round. The list of downhill pursuits you can try includes: skiing, snowboarding, snowbiking, sledding, snowshoe hiking, mountain biking, snow tubing, summer tobogganing, mountain scooting, go-karting and more.

16. You get used to being up high – suspension bridges, 90-degree funiculars and cable cars floating high over mountains are all part of life here.

17. You become immune to stunning mountain scenery… almost!

18. Seems like EVERYONE has a Nespresso machine here. No complaints there!

19. If you don’t speak French/German/Italian (whichever part you are in) you will be criticised at some point.

20. 12 pm is lunch time and it seems like the whole of Switzerland eats at the same time.

21. You get used to bills arriving, Dr’s bills can take months to arrive, but they expect prompt payment within weeks.

22. Talking of bills, don’t even get me started on Speeding/Parking fines. At least you don’t get points on your license but they do sometimes decide they will base the amount they want you to pay on your salary! So actually as a teacher, you get off lightly.

23. You sadly never expect your health insurance to actually pay for anything, despite spending 300 francs a month in premiums.

24. You get to travel back in time to the days when the shops closed at 5.30 pm on a Saturday and didn’t open again until Monday morning.

25. You’ve come to see “customer service” as non existent. ‘Customer is always right’ does definitely not apply here.

26.  You think nothing of handing over a 100 franc note to pay for a 2 franc item.

27. When driving, you get used to hairpin bends and your ears popping, parking spaces clearly not designed for 4×4’s and random Police checks.

28. The cost of food is so extortionate that you don’t even hesitate to drive to France for basic groceries. However, the food is of a high quality and things tend only to be sold when they are in season.

29.  You’ve stopped laughing at the fact that even small home renovations or a spot of routine garden maintenance seems to require three cranes and a digger.

30.  You have an allocated day and/or timeslot to do your washing so as not to annoy your neighbours, and you get slightly aggressive notes on the machine if you even dare to do your washing on the wrong day.

31. It genuinely shocks you when you spot a piece of rubbish. This country is immaculate.

32. Greeting someone seems simple enough to a British person because we don’t really do anything apart from say “hello” and hug people we know well. But in Switzerland, there is a whole fiasco that you have to negotiate. In short, if you are meeting someone for the first time, a handshake is fine. But when you meet a friend, you should exchange three cheek kisses (yes, three). You even find yourself doing it with British people!

33. It’s home to the best chocolate. Ok, so you can buy Lindt anywhere but I feel as though I am contributing to the Swiss economy with the amount I eat!

Despite the pernickety nature of the country, it really has been a wonderful place to live that has offered us some unbelievable opportunities and some of the happiest times of our lives.