Hello Swiss people! :) I recently moved to Switzerland because the nature of my work requires me to move from time to time. I’ve lived in several countries so far, mostly in Europe, both Western and Eastern. I mean absolutely no disrespect with this post. :) I first visited Switzerland years ago, immediately fell in love with it, and I genuinely like Swiss people. But after a couple of months here (Geneva), I’ve noticed a few things that work much better in less developed (and even much poorer)countries.
- Air conditioning Across the entire Eastern Europe AC has been standard in houses and apartments for as long as I can remember. Many governments now even subsidise heat pumps because they are more environmentally friendly. This summer it was 36°C outside in Switzerland for a couple of weeks, I could barely focus on work, and yet nobody seemed to do anything about it. AC somehow still feels almost taboo here and am stoill unsure why.
- Everyday convenience and opening hours I don’t finish work exactly on time, my options become very limited unless I go to the supermarket at the train station (where dozens of other people have had the same idea, so it is completely overcrowded). Sunday shopping also, super heavily restricted. I understand the argument that workers need time off, family reasons, etc. and I share those opinions as well, but isn’t that why shift work exists?
- Supermarket variety It sometimes feels like there are only Coop and Migros, don’t you think so, like some sort of a monopoly of these 2 chains? The same private-label ecosystems and surprisingly limited choice in terms of variety.
- Repairs /other human services Labour is so expensive that minor repairs can cost almost as much as replacing the item, I was shocked to learn this. I recently went to a tailor to have a shirt slimmed, and the alteration cost only CHF 8 less than the shirt itself. In poorer countries, tailoring, shoe repair and small appliance repairs are affordable and completely normal. Here, the system almost encourages you to throw something away and buy a new one.
- Housing flexibility and practicality In the country where I was born things are simple, you find an apartment online or through an agency, contact the landlord, view it, pay the deposit, sign the contract and move in. Usually, your ID and proof of income are enough. In Geneva, you submit a full dossier, motivation letter, debt-register extract, salary documents and references, and then try to somehow appeal to the régie (without any clear idea how they choose). Because there are far more people searching than apartments available, prices have skyrocketed and many scammers prey on desperate applicants and try to insert themselves as another “middle” man between you and the landlord (apart from the regies). Many apartments advertised for CHF 2,000 had bathrooms worse than some I saw in rural Mongolia 10 years ago. Again, I really like Switzerland, and there are countless things it does exceptionally well. But these five genuinely surprised me. Am I being unfair, or have others noticed the same things? Thanks :)) submitted by /u/Holiday-Handle
Originally posted by u/Holiday-Handle on r/Switzerland
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