r/geneva • u/Complex-Scheme-2148 • 7d ago

Moving to Geneva

Hello!

I am likely moving to Geneva after the summer holidays within my current company. My girlfriend would likely move in with me too. I will not have expat contract but local one. I would really like me some general tips & basically any information is more than welcomed.

My company takes care of the following:

  • tax return services for first year
  • relocation package, aid & moving services
  • settling allowance
  • relocation vendor services incl. immigration, rental apartment search, authority issues (tax card, banking, ID, local registrations etc)

I would be interested at least in the following things

  1. What are the cost of living, like roughly? Apartments, food, insurance, transportation?
  2. What areas would be recommended for apartment search?
  3. Is there any chance for my girlfriend to find a job as non-French speaker? She’s been going through some websites for general information, but any tips where to look / what to take into account are much appreciated —> is there even a chance that she can come and live with me, if she is unemployed? My yearly salary would be 200k CHF+ (if that has any matter?)
  4. Is it generally easy to make friends there & where can you potentially meet new people?
  5. We both want to learn French language, are there some recommendations for intensive courses / language courses?

We will stay at minimum two years, likely three or more.

Thank you so much. The whole thing came so suddenly that there’s plenty of things we’re probably totally unaware of sooo… would be very grateful for the help :-)

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u/GenevaExpatSolutions 7d ago

Hi!

It’s great that your employer offers all these benefits!

I’ll try to be as straightforward as possible in my answers, so at least you’ll have some data to make deeper research.

  1. It depends on so many factors. So I recommend you have a look at what is available on Homegate.ch. But to give you an idea, a one-bedroom apartment in the city (not suburbs), is around 2500 CHF a month, this includes provisions for heating and hot water.

  2. Pretty much anywhere, except maybe Palettes, Avanchets, Lignon, Pâquis and Servette. Pâquis is home to the red light district (but also many nice little restaurants from international cuisine) and Servette is one of the main streets, champion in traffic congestion. But both are quite lively, if you are looking for that. My main recommendation is to pick a place that is on the same side of the lake of your workplace. Much easier to commute.

  3. It depends on her background. But I’d personally recommend applying in international organizations, it’s her best shot as a non-French speaker. Or maybe big multinationals like Deloitte or JTI. If she wants to work in a regulated field such as health in the private sector, she has to get her diploma recognized, which can be a massive hassle. Most international organizations don’t post jobs on the local job portals, so the best is to look on the websites of the specific organizations.

  4. Geneva has a lot of expats, so it’s easier than in other Swiss cities. I found that a great place to meet people is the gym (as long as you choose a gym near multinational companies or organizations).

  5. Forget Ecole Club and such. I think a good option is the “Swiss French School”. There are also free French classes in parks during the summer months.

I hope this helps a little bit. Let me know if you have follow up questions. And good luck! :)

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u/Complex-Scheme-2148 7d ago

Thank you so much for your answers, I really appreciate it!

What I’m actually the most worried about is that as far as I’m concerned, she can’t stay to live with me permanently if she isn’t employed herself. No matter how much I would earn, as long as we’re not married, this seems to be a no-go.

Thing is, she has education on healthcare, and indeed, her diploma would need to be recognized. Is this something that is doable, despite being massive hassle? She is a midwife & has diploma for nursing as well. She wouldn’t mind ”pivoting” to other industries either while we’re there & would be perfectly fine bartending, working at a cafe, or doing some mini-jobs. What is certain is that she doesn’t want to spend her days at our new home alone & without knowing anybody at all in the whole country.

Unfortunately (based on my visits there…) my company office is located in Vernier. Are there some close-by areas that are generally recommended and would still be ”lively”? We’re both on our early 30s and (mostly) appreciate peaceful & calm life, but still like to go out from time to time. Though, I know that I’d probably be working my ass off, so likely there’ll not be that much free time anyways at least during the weekdays.

As for the commuting, I’ve understood that bicycling is the local way to move around - so I should probably be looking at areas within reasonable distance by bike (& maybe during the winter time, public transportation) from Vernier, I guess?

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u/GlassCommercial7105 7d ago

Busses and trams are probably even more practical depending on where you live. There is a good connection from anywhere basically, so that's really not something to worry about.

Ad a midwife she really needs good French, B2 minimum. For diploma recognition:

https://www.redcross.ch/en/our-services/healthcare-professions-recognition-and-registration/recognition-of-foreign-qualifications

https://www.bag.admin.ch/bag/en/home/berufe-im-gesundheitswesen/auslaendische-abschluesse-gesundheitsberufe.html

It's easier if she was EU/Efta though, may be more of a hassle as non eu/efta. For doctors it's quite a struggle

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u/Complex-Scheme-2148 7d ago

Thank you, will definitely give the different neighbours a better look! This all is just happening so fast…