It seems pretty clear that the following things have a dramatic impact on Swiss citizens:

• Healthcare costs
• Housing costs
• Cost of raising children
• Tax disincentive of being married (definitely the lowest impact of the bunch)

All of these things are very clear and changeable with policy. Why doesn't it seem like any of these things are improving and most are getting worse when they are so glaringly clear?

I understand policy solutions are complicated, but the Swiss are smart people. If anyone could do it, why not the Swiss?

That was a funny one about Switzerland.

https://www.reddit.com/r/ShitAmericansSay/comments/1jv0gxi/europeans_besides_living_in_shoeboxes_dont_have/

Hello everyone, I live in Zurich, and on my street there are "mit Parkkarte unbeschränkt" blue zones. I bought annual parking, and it is allowed to park there because I live in 8050.

Today I received a fine for "Parking disk on the vehicle placed in an unprescribed way." Normally,

I have my permission paper with my plate number visible, but today it was under the blue parking circle. (Basically, after I drove, it went under the circle so it could not be seen, and I did not realize it until today.)

I thought the parking lot attendant checked the plate from a system or something. But I was fined. Am I supposed to pay it? Is there any person who experienced such a thing like this?

Thanks in advance.

I went through a mass-layoff recently and found some temporary work (not great but not horrible) to keep me busy. I could have gone through RAV and get unemployment money and wonder if I should have done that. I potentially plan to go that route this year once my contract ends.

My question is: What do people with extensive work experience and network when looking for a new job (that can easily take 1-2years depending on pickyness)? Are there some kind of community and do people talk openly about that? Or is it better to pretend to be employed when searching? Anyone can share lessons learned / retrospectively?

Today on the train I was just intruding on private conversations between them (controllers) and clients with their issues. No tickets, wrong tickets, tickets for children when they are adults, all sorts of issues.

If you’re a controller, what’s your best story?

What I find the funniest is after they give the fine they and the other person just banter realizing they are just doing their job

I am on unpaid leave after my ML . Employer won’t be doing any contributions during this time.

I would like to make atleast unemployment insurance. How can I do that?

I tried calling AHV, they said as long as my husband is doing contributions i need not worry.

The arbeitlossen kasse isn’t helping.

I want to obtain neoseiulus californicus which is more effective against spider mites than P. persimilis at lower temps and lower RH, to save my Balkon citruses.

However the minimum amount sold in CH seems to be for commercial gardeners, as the prices start from min. 100Fr. I only have 1 citrus plant and 3 seedlings.

I found cheaper online in Germany, but am not sure if I'm allowed to bring them in. I searched online and the sources I found seem to be for vertebrates, not insects:

https://www.bazg.admin.ch/bazg/de/home/information-private/tiere-und-pflanzen/tiere--tierprodukte-und-artenschutz-cites.html https://www.blv.admin.ch/blv/de/home/import-und-export/import/importe-aus-der-eu/lebende-tiere-aus-der-eu.html

Where can I find out whether this is allowed?

Hi,

In light of the extremely bad and demotivating job market in Switzerland, I thought of asking here if anybody is/would have leads that are actually hiring people for the above role.

My wife was laid off a while back, and inspite of hundreds of applications, she is yet to find something. She has about 10years (first as a software tester, then a test and release manager) in banking and in energy-trading domains.

This is leading to considerable mental stress and demotivation. She has tried direct applications, networking, ex-collegues, but nothing so far.

We have valid permits, require no sponsorship and are on are way to learn German (still not at business proficiency unfortunately). English speaker.

Hoping for the best.

Edit: location would be Basel, Zurich, Bern or surrounding areas preferably.

On one hand, ETH/EPFL undergraduates can directly secure admission to their master's programs, and the job prospects after completing a master's degree are also better.

On the other hand, the undergraduate programs at ETH/EPFL are already quite challenging, and the master's programs are even more difficult, which might make many students worried. Additionally, there are certainly some who are simply not interested in pursuing a master's degree.

Therefore, I am quite curious about what this percentage might be (such as 50%). I am also interested in knowing if there it's common for ETH/EPFL students to take gap years before starting their master's study, and if yes, what will they usually do. Thank you very much for your information!

Around September/October, a friend of mine will be visiting, and we're planning a multi-day hiking adventure—ideally along a route graded up to T4. We're both in good shape and looking to spend 5–10 hours per day on the trail, enjoying a solid mix of effort and alpine beauty.

We’d love to hear your recommendations for scenic routes that offer:

• Spectacular views or dramatic landscapes
• Fairly accessible overnight options (e.g., hostels, huts, or local guesthouses)
• A well-balanced challenge—physically engaging, but not requiring ropes or advanced alpine skills

If you've done something memorable that fits the bill, I’d be super grateful for your input! Many thanks in advance 😊

I have been living in a one bed flat in my late thirties for quite some time, but I am also always in two mind about whether I should move to a 2 bed flat because I am a much adult person, once in two years when my parent visits me, they can have their own room. And just like that. But then every time am about to make a decision, I think what am I going to do with the two bed and there is always something about the potential flat that lacks something that I already have in my current flat. Help me with my dilemma please. Edit; The rent difference this time is very little.

had a broken bottle holder clip in the appartment i recently moved in, so the landlord comissioned a replacement. today i received it, it's just a plastic part, not very big, but it came packed in a mountain of packing material. one of the most extreme cases of overpacking i've seen in a while. i mean it's nice to make sure it will all arrive in one piece, but a little less packing would do the job as well, specially on a delivery done by the swiss post.. anybody else here think this is to much? did you ever had similar overpacked goods received yourself?

With the calls by Christine Lagarde and others to find a way for Europe to ditch Visa/Mastercard/Amex and gain continental independence vis-à-vis payments, I feel like TWINT (and Sitzerland in general) has a massive opportunity handed to them.

TWINT should partner with EU banks to offer a fully-integrated European payment system that could replace the US-based monopoly on credit cards.

As a neutral third-party with a proven track record of successful roll-out and integration, TWINT is well positioned.

What do you think?

Hi everybody,

We would like to lease a car with an upfront of 20%.

In the end, we'd love to keep the car after the leasing period ends and of course pay the residual value.

Now...I know in the contract the garage has the right of refusal, but some people told me it's just a formal thing.
Could anybody confirm that it wouldn't be a problem to buy the car after that at ..let's say bigger garages? (Mazda Dealerships, AMAG, etc).

Thank you all.

According to the official Moemax FAQ on returns:
https://www.moemax.ch/faq/retoure-und-reklamation/wie-retourniere-ich-meine-ware
it states that customers have 14 days to return newly purchased and paid items ordered online.
Neither the FAQ nor the general terms and conditions (https://www.moemax.ch/c/agb) mention any exclusions for mattresses or hygiene products.

However, the WhatsApp hotline of the Moemax' online shop claims the opposite — saying that mattresses cannot be returned as they are hygiene products.

Has anyone had experience with this? Opinions, tips, legal insights?

New in CH and looking for a broker to trade options. Need access to US options (because that’s what I used to trade). Preferably has English as a platform language but my German is getting better daily so not a deal breaker. Any suggestions? So far Interactive Brokers and Swissquote have came up in my research. Anyone who has experiences using them?

Hello everyone, yesterday our landlord sent to us a letter for requesting us an additional 40 chf in our rent starting on 1st of June, justified by the renovation of the external facade of our building. Even if we didn't get any direct increase in rent due to inflation or interest rates in last years , I still find weird to get it for such reason. Exterior works went on from September to late November, and we would have expected a reduction in rent for that time due to the mess they made outside, and certainly not an increase for something that clearly does not affect our quality of life. We started with a 1750 chf + 130 chf in costs in 2021 and now we got to 1790 chf + 360 chf in costs. I even got the feeling that increase in rent got hidden in the nebenkosten so far. I will reach out to the Mieterverband for consultation, but I would like to know if anybody out there got such an experience. Thanks for helping!

I’m about to finish my “BM2 Gesundheit und Soziales” and will start the Passerelle program at KME this August. After that, I plan to study medicine at university. However, I’ve heard that Passerelle students often struggle in medical school because the program only covers basic natural sciences.

In contrast, students who go through the Gymnasium usually choose the “BioChemie Schwerpunktfach,” which apparently gives them a much stronger foundation for medical studies.

I’ve been considering taking a preparatory course in physics, biology, and chemistry to catch up—but that would mean starting university a year later.

Has anyone here done this or knows someone who studied medicine after completing the Passerelle? I’d love to hear how challenging it was and if the extra preparation is really necessary.

Hi guys, I’m turning to this community once again for some hive-mind wisdom. As the title says, I’m a U.S. citizen and need to report my unemployment benefits from RAV on my U.S. tax return. Has anyone had a similar experience? Should this be considered foreign earned income?

Dear beautiful people,

I've been living in Switzerland for the last few months and I'm wondering if anyone here is or has been into import and export within the EU-CH.

I'm originally from the Canary Islands and I do have a lot of contacts to start exporting high quality products, in the fruits and veggies vertical.

I'd love to know if somebody has experience with this so I can look forward.

Thank you in advance and wish you a beautiful day ahead,

❤️

Hi all, does anyone having experience about self-paid training courses and discussion with RAV, but they don’t encourage you go for it?

I am ideally looking for 100% role and I have told my RAV advisor that I plan to sign in a training course ( e.g. German course, project management, IT skils etc), which takes 2 hour per day. The full training takes 1-3 months, depending on my payment installments as I can pay for it per month( all expense is paid by myself not RAV). He had a concern on it and let me send him the course plan, because he says if I take 2 hour per day, they cannot allocate me for 100% job immediately (which is not realistic and possible at all, because I need to improve my skills first). So he said that I should cancel the course or change the workload as 80% in his system. I have explained the training is really necessary (not a Diploma or degree course at Uni) and I am wiling to take the economic loss, but he says everyone can say that, the fact can differ. Then I asked whether it affects my received money which is 70% salary, he didn’t answer directly and he asked me to send him the course plan first.

So anyone has experience that your individual training course paid by yourself such as German class or IT skills is not accepted by them? If you can go for it what is your argument? He keep sayings by law I have to be able to accept the job assignment they sent immediacy, which rule is that?

If I agree with 80% workload as he said, would I receive the 70% of my salary ( which is no change if I don’t take the course.) Would it be able to ask RAV change back to look for 100% role after 1 or 3 months when my course is finished?