Interview with Andy

"Choosing our health insurance was a bit of a challenge!"

 

In the new series New Town Asks The Questions, we ask expats living in Zurich about their experiences and challenges since they moved here. Our first interviewee is Andy from England, who has been living in the canton of Zurich since 2012. He moved to Zurich with his family after getting a translation job here. 

New Town: Andy, first of all many thanks for sharing your experiences as expat with us. When you look back at your start in Zurich, what was the biggest challenge for you and your family when settling in?

Andy: I would say finding an apartment – not easy if you’re a family, depending on the time of year and location – and dealing with all the red tape when registering my family and me at the local Gemeindehaus. As well as getting to grips with Swiss German, of course, which I am still trying to do! Oh, and choosing our health insurance was a bit of a challenge, as in the UK, you don’t have to take out cover at all – you’re automatically covered for everything there and pay a flat fee, although of course, you may have to wait months or even years for an operation, depending on the state of the NHS at the time.

"In the UK, you don't have to take out health
insurance cover at all – you are automatically
covered and pay a flat fee."

New Town: Is there anything about Swiss people or the way of life in Zurich that still appears strange or awkward to you even after living here for more than 4 years now?

Andy: Once you’ve settled in, life is pretty straightforward, enjoyable even ;-). Thankfully the Anmeldung process is but a distant memory… like many from Britain and elsewhere, I still find not being able to go shopping on Sundays irksome, and we are also not allowed to use the recycling bins on Sundays either. The customer service in some retail establishments also leaves a little to be desired… On the plus side though, the public transport here is great, as any Brit will confirm, although (and this concerns the folk in Zurich at least), after five years here I still get annoyed by the rather unseemly rush and blatant queue-dodging to get a seat or even a favoured standing space on the bus/tram/train during the rush hour. Overall however, and this probably also applies to the country as a whole, the locals are a pretty decent bunch – polite, considerate, friendly when you get to know them, and definitely very tidy, even if that last attribute can be taken to extremes sometimes…

"I still find not being able to go
shopping on Sundays irksome."

 

New Town: If you have to give one recommendation to an expat who has only just moved to Zurich, what would it be?

Andy: I would say be patient with the authorities during the registration process, do everything by the book and be prepared to hand over plenty of money for the privilege of receiving that all-important permit to live/work here. And go for more, rather than less, supplementary health insurance cover from the start, particularly if you have children, as it can be tricky or even impossible to add benefits later on once you have history in a certain area, e.g. dental problems. Unless you’re 20 years old and invincible, of course!

New Town: Thank you for being our first interviewee, Andy. More interviews with other expats will follow soon.