Despite the currently short supply of vacant apart-ments, with a little patience and persistence you have a good chance of finding something suitable within a reasonable period of time. There are vari-ous ways of starting a successful search.

You can, for example:
• study the vacant accommodation and property pages of your local, regional or national newspa-pers;
• consult the Internet websites specialised in ac-commodation; you will find a selection in the list of links given below;
• contact the commune where you are planning to settle (most Swiss communes keep an updated list of empty apartments in the area);
• make direct contact with the estate agents oper-ating in your preferred region. Average rents in Swiss francs for apartments amount to (Source: Federal Statistical Office):

• 1-room apartment 630.--
• 2-room apartment 850.--
• 3-room apartment 1’030.--
• 4-room apartment 1,270.--
• 5-room apartment 1,600.--

 

BUYING PROPERTY
As a national of an EU or EFTA State you basically have the same rights with regard to buying prop-erty as the Swiss. You must, however, be in pos-session of a valid residence permit.

The purchase of a second residence near their workplace by cross-border commuters from the EU/EFTA is not subject to permission. You will find more detailed information on this subject in the fact sheet published by the Federal Office of Justice on the acquisition of real estate by foreigners.

Info Looking for accommodation in Switzerland: www.immoclick.ch or www.homegate.ch
Info Real Estate agents: www.les-agences-immobilieres.ch
Info Acquisition of real estate: www.ofj.admin.ch/themen/gba/lex-e.pdf

 

Coop, Migros, Manor and Carrefour are large re-tailers which originally sold food but have widely extended their range over the years and have in the meantime started to sell clothes, sports equip-ment, etc. Migros and Coop have the densest net-work of stores and can also be found in small towns. Migros traditionally declines to sell alcohol.

 

Opening hours: 9 am - 6.30 pm. As a rule, shops close at 4 pm on Saturdays; they are closed on Sundays.

In large towns there is a wider range of shops. They also have more flexible opening hours, i.e. they mostly keep open over lunch. Swiss cuisine has become quite international and you can find a number of delicatessens specialising in Italian, Spanish or Asian food. In towns the shops gener-ally stay open longer on Thursday evenings (late-night shopping). Closing time on such evenings is at 9 pm.

The shopping experience can vary greatly from one region to another. In rural areas and in smaller towns you will often find branches of Coop, Migros or Vis-à-Vis, which in spite of their size offer a wide range of articles for everyday use. They mostly close over lunch and on Wednesday afternoons.

There are also shopping centres with a wide selec-tion of stores offering products ranging from home electronics to food. They are mostly situated in convenient locations outside the towns.

Many railway stations now operate shops that stay open longer in the evenings and are also open on Sundays. The range of goods on sale varies de-pending on the size of the station: from a shop with articles for everyday use to whole shopping streets containing florists, food shops, boutiques, shoe shops and pharmacies. These station shops are becoming increasingly popular, especially as they stay open in the evenings and on Sundays.

Besides petrol, many service stations also sell food and beverages. Their prices may be slightly higher than average but such shops have longer opening hours (e.g. from 8 am to 10 pm); they are open 365 days a year.

In addition, Switzerland provides ever more oppor-tunities for on-line shopping.

Info Swiss tourism: www.myswitzerland.com