The apartment we ended up with is truly the apartment we were meant to have. When I arrived at the open house I was late. When I say I was late, I mean that I arrived at 11:20 when the open house was scheduled from 11-11:30am. When an open house is scheduled in Switzerland, it is assumed that about half of the visitors will visit 15 minutes before the scheduled time and the other half will visit within the first 15 minutes of the actual open house. I arrived just as the last few visitors were leaving. It was my second apartment visit of the day on a Saturday morning. The Herr was attending to another open house, so I was on my own. When I walked in I greeted the tenant with my favorite German phrases: "Gruezi! Sprechen Sie English?" and prepared for the worst, "Nein". Instead, I was greeted with a big smile and a "Yes, I do."
Living/ Dining
Typically at open houses, the apartment is packed with visitors and the current tenant is kept busy fielding questions. If the apartment amenities are obvious enough, I don't try to tackle a conversation. On this occasion, as the only visitor with a willing and able English speaker, I felt at ease. It was only through this conversation that we realized what a good fit the apartment was for us. Had I arrived 15 minutes earlier with the rest of the visitors, we probably wouldn't be living here now!
Living/ Dining
On the visit, I described our frustration with the lengthy apartment hunt and how eager we were to find a real home and settle in Switzerland. Our week to week lease at our temporary apartment and limited belongings allowed to to be flexible with our move-out date and willing buyers of unwanted furniture. I soon learned that the current tenant was moving out to live with her boyfriend and was interested in leaving as soon as possible to save money on rent. She also wanted to sell nearly everything in her apartment to avoid duplicate items with her boyfriend after the move. It was a match made in Himmel.
Kitchen
We applied that afternoon and crossed our fingers. I continued to fill our calendar with open house visits for the coming week knowing that a "sure thing" doesn't exist in the Zurich housing market.
Bedroom
The following Monday afternoon, the Herr received a call from the real estate company offering us the apartment. We didn't believe it and remained nothing more than cautiously optimistic until the contract arrived in the mail a few days later.
Bathroom
After working out the details of purchasing the contents of the apartment, we were all moved in a little over two weeks after our initial visit. Home sweet home!
Hi All!
This post has been a long time coming...we have a HAUS! We moved in mid-September and couldn't be happier with our new home. Why the delayed announcement? Well, after such a long, painful process, better to wait until you can look at the experience with humor! Here are some stats: Length of housing search: Roughly 2 1/2 months To be fair, we didn't start our housing search in earnest until we returned to Switzerland in July. The Herr and I both needed to have all of our documents in order before we would be considered serious applicants for any apartment. In addition to providing our work contracts, we also had to obtain a special form (betreibungsauskunft) from our local Geminde (town office) stating that we don't have any outstanding debts. In typical Swiss fashion, you must pay for the form (17 CHF/person) stating you are debt free.
Zurich is organized into 12 districts, or Kreis. (See title reference)
Number of apartments visited: 45-50 With a country full of renters, it's estimated that approximately 1% of apartments are ever available at one time. Apartment open houses can draw upwards of 100 visitors leading to registration restrictions (see below). I put off counting the number of open house entries I had on my calendar because I thought the sheer number would make me want to cry. It still does make we want to cry a little bit. Now imagine the time it took to travel to and from these visits, actually view the apartments, and try lamely to make yourself standout as a good candidate while not being able to speak German.
Sadly, rejection was common.
Time spent combing listings online: Approximately 1-2 hours daily This became an obsession. Apartments can be listed for an open house as little as one day in advance. Some apartments require that interested parties sign-up to attend an open house and will only offer a limited number of appointments for prospective renters. Some apartments require you to call a real estate company or current tenant to arrange a visit...when you don't speak German. Time required to complete and submit an single application: Approximately 2 hours By the end of our housing search, the Herr and I had this down to a science. All our documents were scanned into the computer. The only items remaining were the application and cover letter. In the USA, apartment procurement follows more of a first come, first served model. If you express interest first, the apartment is usually yours as long as your employment info checks out. Not so in Switzerland, where apartments are few and renters are many. Rental companies and landlords, can collect tens to hundreds (a real estate agent verified this) of applications for a single apartment before making their selection. If none of the applicants are suitable, additional open houses are held until an appropriate candidate is identified.
About 90% of Zurich residents rent their homes.
Apartment offers received: 2 Ironically, we were offered the first apartment we visited. It was in the old part of Thalwil, in a beautiful old building with stone floors, exposed beams, and wooden balcony. Horses and chickens would have been our neighbors, and the white washed fireplace could have made for cozy winters. It would also take the Herr 20 minutes to walk to the train station on top of an additional 30 minute train/tram commute. Storage space was limited to the under-stair crevices, the kitchen was cramped, and the previous tenant was a smoker. The pictures would make you swoon (or make you sing the "Little Town" song from Disney's Beauty and the Beast), but the reality was that while the apartment would have been perfect for one person, it would have been too cramped and inconvenient for two.
Deutsch Belle sings in German, but greets her neighbors with bonjour. An interesting dichotomy, but so very Swiss. Perhaps her little town is outside of Biel/Bienne?
Stay tuned for a post all about our new home! -The Ms
Switzerland is an amazing country, but it still doesn't quite feel like home. A recent trip back to the States reminded me what I missed most about being in America. 1) Family and Friends. Working from home certainly has its advantages (case in point: traveling to the States without taking time off), but it also means it's hard to get out and meet people. Meeting people here takes effort. From what I've heard, (and according to my book on culture in Switzerland) the Swiss are slow to warm up and make friends, especially with foreigners. They are reserved and don't go out of their way to introduce themselves when they meet someone new. It takes them a long time to build meaningful relationships. In fact, they tend to keep to themselves so much that it's said that "Even the Swiss don't like being friends with the Swiss"! During my visits, I had the opportunity to see friends from all over.
Friends from near and far...sometimes very far!
Three beautiful weddings this summer! So glad I could be there!
LOVE!
2) Incidental Conversations (Not sure what to call this...) Those pleasantries with the grocery clerk, comments about the weather with the bank teller, the simple "How are you today?" from the security guard...those don't happen in Switzerland. Prior to moving to here, it never would have occurred to me that I would miss those things. The Swiss are friendly, but not in the warm, open way that Americans are. Swiss tend to err on the side of business-like efficiency. In America, it was my habit to greet most people, from the coffee shop barrista, to the front desk attendant at the gym, with a "Hi. How are you?" When I tried the same line for the first time at the train station ticket office, I could tell that my greeting took the clerk by surprise and answering made her uncomfortable. I quickly learned to remove such greetings from my social script. These seconds-long side conversations were always part of my life in the States, albeit a part that I never paid much attention to. As soon as they were absent, I realized how, in a small way, they brightened my day.
Good ol' visitor's center of Dixon, IL. I cleaned up on brochures and soaked up small town America.
3) Sweet Potatoes, Peanut Butter, Greens and Sweet Corn Despite spending a year in North Carolina, I'm far from a Southern girl, but this list sure makes it look like it. These very American foods are not popular in Switzerland. Sweet potatoes are the only food in the produce section of our Migros sourced from the US and it shows in the price: over 6 CHF per kg. Compare this with any variety of white potato for around 3 CHF or less.
Imposter!
Ah, peanut butter how you have sustained me through the years as my lunchtime companion. Alas, no more. The peanut butter here is sadly lacking in flavor and concocted with tropical oils and sugar. In short, it is not the peanut butter I know and love in the States. 48oz of Trader Joe's PB made the transatlantic flight back to Switzerland with me a few weeks ago. It will be carefully rationed over the coming months.
Salads: yes. Sweet corn: no. (Reminds me of a Nasco food model!)
While salad greens are very popular in Switzerland, cooking greens such as collards, kale and (ironically) swiss chard are not. I have yet to see cooking greens sold in our grocery store or farmers' markets. Unlike cooking greens, sweet corn is available, just ridiculously expensive. The price at Migros this afternoon: 5.35 CHF for 4 ears. In short, don't take your CSA box's overabundance of mustard greens and wormy organic corn for granted! Enjoy, friends! -Swiss Ms
More Bitz- Restaurant Edition
Eating out in Switzerland is a pricey endeavor. This stems from two hallmarks of the Swiss lifestyle that are related to each other. 1) Food is sourced locally whenever possible. While listing the origin of a restaurant's meat and vegetables is a relatively recent trend in the US, it's simply expected in Switzerland. The Swiss like keeping their money close, so they buy from local producers, even when limited supply means very high prices. 2) All professions are paid livable wages. Swiss farmers and ranchers are paid enough to make a living as are restaurant employees including waitstaff. In a country where everything is expensive (and just across the boarder in places like Germany and France, prices are significantly cheaper), the Swiss know the importance of paying their citizens well to keep them (and their money) within national boarders.
Cows, cows, cows.
1) Tipping Did I mention the waitstaff don't even get tips and they still make a decent salary? Apparently, tipping in Switzerland will typically result in embarrassing your server and is only done in the most extraordinary situations. While going out to eat at restaurants may seem really expensive it's not too different from the States.
I made this pizza with garlic mascarpone, spinach, and egg. We already shared all of our restaurant pizza pictures, so just pretend we actually ordered this one in a restaurant...
Switz Bitz Arithmetic Blitz:
Swiss Example: 23 CHF for a small pizza with fancy toppings at a nice restaurant. The price already includes tax (and as you now know, no tipping required) so the amount you see listed on the menu is the total price you pay.
US Example: Let's work backwards and find out what the price of that pizza would have been in the States. (I'll stay in CHF for simplicity.) Assume you are a lovely and generous person (Herr Cervelat), and tip 25%. (25% of your total bill is $5.75, meaning your pizza plus tax was CHF 17.25.) Now, assume the nice restaurant is located in Philadelphia where the sales tax is 8% and there is no additional meal tax. (8% of CHF 17.25 is CHF 1.38, meaning your pizza (without tax and gratiuity) was CHF 15.87. The lowest denomination of Swiss Franc is 5 rappen, so let's call it a day at CHF 15.90 for a small pizza. Granted, CHF are valued higher than USD, but this reasoning makes that Swiss pizza with fancy toppings look a little more reasonable.
2) Seat Yourself
Mission accomplished!
See a free spot at that cafe? It's yours! No free spot? This calls for vulturing the outdoor tables to get that nice two-top in the sun. Vulturing (noun)- Lying in wait near a desired object until a fellow trophic level consumer abandons the desired object. (Example desired objects include: that cafe table, last shirt in your size on the rack, hands-on exhibit at the science museum monopolized by a single child for the past 20 minutes, cookies).
3) A Side of Chocolate
Why doesn't anyone else do this? Nothing makes all that vulturing worth it more than a piece of chocolate next to your steamy beverage. They are perfect partners. The Swiss have this figured out. Nine times out of ten your coffee or tea will come with some tasty bite on the side.
That chocolate says, "Come stay awhile. Relax and enjoy". Don't mind if I do, chocolate.
While the majority of our entries so far have focused on the places we have visited in Switzerland, we thought that it would be interesting to also talk about day-to-day life in a new country. We present to you, the first in a series of entries describing some interesting bits of Swiss culture, or "Switz Bitz". Yup, I'm proud of that one. 1) Smoking The Swiss are known for their love of the outdoors. Swimming in the crystal clear lakes, hiking in the mountains, nordic walking (see below), and biking just about anywhere. "Fitness" and "wellness" seem to be the national pastimes.
This is a sign we saw during our Uteliburg trek. In addition to showing the hiking trails, the figure on the right demonstrates proper Nordic walking technique. Nordic walking = walking with sticks!
For such an active country, we were so surprised by how much smoking there is. Young and old, men and women, everyone seems to smoke. On our recent trip to Bern we boarded a train in Zurich that had already been in transit for a few hours. When the train arrived at the station, a large number of passengers disembarked to take a smoke break for the 10 minutes or so before the train departed. Walking down the platform was a challenge from the sheer quantity of people just standing in place smoking, not to mention the cloud of smoke. Last September, Swiss voters rejected a total ban on smoking in enclosed public spaces. Only the canton of Geneva voted in favor (very slight) of the ban, while the other 25 voted strongly in opposition. Luckily, the interior of most restaurants are smoke-free. 2) Noise and Sundays Sunday in Switzerland is a "Family Day," and is how the country encourages its citizens to spend time at home. We should clarify that they mean it should be "Quiet Family Time." There are widespread restrictions on noise, dictating that people should keep noise at a minimum after the hours of 9PM and before 7AM. These restrictions apply all day on Sundays and public holidays. What's noisy? Laundry, vacuuming, lawn-mowing, children running inside, parties, etc. If it might be louder than a typical conversation, it's too loud. The Swiss are not afraid to report your disruptive activities to the police, resulting in a stern talking to (and probably a fine) from the local authority.
Playing in gravel would be too noisy on Sunday. Sorry, bears.
3) Recycling So, in a country as efficient as Switzerland, you would think waste disposal would be managed very effectively, right? Yes and no. Trash collection is financed by the purchase of special trash bags. Trash can only be disposed of in these bags which differ by region. Trash bags are available for purchase at grocery stores and the post office. The more trash you create, the more you have to pay to bag your trash for collection. Fair. The trash bags we use in our apartment cost about 1.60 CHF per 35 liter bag. Bags are placed in dumpsters located near our apartment complex and collected regularly. Compost is collected just like trash, but is free! For a country full of apartment dwellers, this is an excellent idea. Kitchen scraps are placed in designated bins right next to the trash dumpsters. Stacks of paper tied with twine are placed near the same dumpsters once a month for recycling. Other recyclable items are all taken to public repositories frequently located near grocery stores. When you go grocery shopping this is where you return your empty glass bottles and aluminum cans.
On the street off Bahnhofstrasse, recycling is encouraged.
Collecting the recyclables. Yup, those bins go deep underground.
Inside grocery stores is an area for recycling plastic milk bottles, PET drink bottles (from soda, bottled water, etc), and batteries. What's that? You still have plastic containers that once held your delicious yogurt, orange-yolked eggs, and himbeeren (raspberries)? Sorry, if those containers aren't made of PET and didn't spend their life as a milk bottle you can't recycle them. Why Swtizerland?!? More Bitz to come! -Swiss Ms
