--- Send us your questions ---

You've taken a huge step: packed your bags, filled out all the forms and moved to a completely new place. But once the initial period of excitement wears off, living abroad can start to feel a little bit lonely, especially if your new life isn't fully set up yet, or something great is going on back home. Don’t worry, everyone feels homesick at some point! We've got some ideas to help you get through it.

...
Join the community Chat
Subscribe to the free newsletter

...
Send your questions:
Drop us an email: [email protected]
Send a voice message to play on the show +41 76 282 67 66
Find us on Bluesky: Jo and Simon
Find us on Instagram

...
Subscribe on iTunes, Spotify, YouTube Music
Other ways to subscribe

--- Send us your questions ---

With only a few weeks to go until Christmas, it's definitely time to pick up the Christmas presents you want to take or send back from Switzerland for friends and family abroad. We have sack-loads of ideas, from traditional Swiss souvenirs, to the more unusual. Hopefully there will be some ideas for you as well!

Notes on this episode of Swiss and Chips: Your British Guide to Switzerland

Here are some specific gift ideas that we talk about in this episode:

•  Alprausch
•  Swiss Federal Railways watch: they even sued Apple over using the design, and  won
• Caran d’Ache pens and pencils
• Läderach chocolate
• Tête de moine cheese
• Hobelkäse
• Belpler Knolle
•  Kressi vinegar
• Products made from Swiss army materials

...
Join the community Chat
Subscribe to the free newsletter

...
Send your questions:
Drop us an email: [email protected]
Send a voice message to play on the show +41 76 282 67 66
Find us on Bluesky: Jo and Simon
Find us on Instagram

...
Subscribe on iTunes, Spotify, YouTube Music
Other ways to subscribe

--- Send us your questions ---

Switzerland has four national languages: German, French, Italian and Romansh. But how often do the Swiss use, or try to use, a language that's not their mother tongue? A trip to see the famous annual light projection at the Swiss Federal Palace, the Rendez-vous Bundesplatz, brings up the question as to how much the Swiss are expected to use Swiss languages other than their own in their daily life. 
 
 We answer listener questions:
 - when are high German and Swiss German used?
 - is it possible to get a working holiday visa as a Canadian?

...
Join the community Chat
Subscribe to the free newsletter

...
Send your questions:
Drop us an email: [email protected]
Send a voice message to play on the show +41 76 282 67 66
Find us on Bluesky: Jo and Simon
Find us on Instagram

...
Subscribe on iTunes, Spotify, YouTube Music
Other ways to subscribe

--- Send us your questions ---

Making the move to Switzerland is the first big step for expats: starting a social life is one of the next, and it can be just as difficult. The Swiss are not known to be very open at first - luckily there are some simple steps you can take that will make your life in Switzerland easier, and hopefully better.

In this episode we talk about my first steps trying to make friends and get to know people in Switzerland as an expat, and I'll give you some tips and ideas from my own experience. We also talk about some prejudices expats have about Switzerland and give you the Swiss perspective: What do the Swiss think about expats, what do the Swiss think if you don't speak their language and how can you respond if the Swiss are rude?

We really hope this episode will make your life in Switzerland as an English speaker a bit easier and give you the courage to get out there and start making this country your home!

Notes on this episode:

• Celebrating the 20th episode of 'Swiss and Chips': thank you for listening! If you like the show, please support us and leave a review on iTunes.
• German C1 exam: I took the test: here's how it was, and I explain how a language tandem works.
• How I made friends in Switzerland, and what it was like when I first moved here.
• Make friends with a Swiss: some tips from a Swiss perspective.

...
Join the community Chat
Subscribe to the free newsletter

...
Send your questions:
Drop us an email: [email protected]
Send a voice message to play on the show +41 76 282 67 66
Find us on Bluesky: Jo and Simon
Find us on Instagram

...
Subscribe on iTunes, Spotify, YouTube Music
Other ways to subscribe

--- Send us your questions ---

In German and Swiss German there are some words that we don't have an equivalent for in English. We think you'll find some of them quite useful! As there are so many words that are hard to translate, we split the show into two episodes: this is part two of the Swiss German/ high German challenge. How many of the words do you know?
 
Notes on this episode of the podcast:

Zugzwang

Innerer Schweinehund

Hundsverlocheti

Bürogummi

Verschlimmbessern

Kummerspeck

Bünzli

Tüpflischiiser

Sturmfrei

...
Join the community Chat
Subscribe to the free newsletter

...
Send your questions:
Drop us an email: [email protected]
Send a voice message to play on the show +41 76 282 67 66
Find us on Bluesky: Jo and Simon
Find us on Instagram

...
Subscribe on iTunes, Spotify, YouTube Music
Other ways to subscribe

--- Send us your questions ---

Today's episode is a direct challenge for you! We talk about Swiss German words, Swiss slang and German words that are hard to translate into English.

Notes on this episode:

Input from our listeners in our Facebook Group:

Susy: Schadenfreude

Seamus: Bitsly

Katharina: Fremdschämen

Susy's second word: Längizit

Some others:

• Fernweh
• Feierabend
• Muskelkater
• Zugzwang
• Innerer Schweinehund
• Hundsverlocheti
• Ohrwurm
• Bürogummi
• Verschlimmbessern
• Kummerspeck
• Bünzli
• Tüpflischiiser
• Sturmfrei

...
Join the community Chat
Subscribe to the free newsletter

...
Send your questions:
Drop us an email: [email protected]
Send a voice message to play on the show +41 76 282 67 66
Find us on Bluesky: Jo and Simon
Find us on Instagram

...
Subscribe on iTunes, Spotify, YouTube Music
Other ways to subscribe

--- Send us your questions ---

"All" shops are closed on a Sunday in Switzerland! Well, maybe not all, but many at least. Luckily Switzerland offers many other exciting things for expats and tourists to do on a Sunday. We recorded this episode on the top of the Gurten, a 'must see' in Bern - on a Sunday. Tune in and get some inspiration and ideas about what you can do, and what the Swiss do, on a Sunday.

...
Join the community Chat
Subscribe to the free newsletter

...
Send your questions:
Drop us an email: [email protected]
Send a voice message to play on the show +41 76 282 67 66
Find us on Bluesky: Jo and Simon
Find us on Instagram

...
Subscribe on iTunes, Spotify, YouTube Music
Other ways to subscribe

--- Send us your questions ---

It's not easy to find the perfect place to live and it's even more difficult if you move to a different country. In this episode we answer the all-important questions for English speakers moving to Switzerland, who are looking for the perfect apartment. Should you rent or buy? How much will it cost? Where to find an apartment in Switzerland as an expat, and which documents will you need before you can secure a lease on a new place. After this episode you'll know where and how to start looking and be prepared for when you find the place you could start to call home, whether it's in Geneva, Zurich or Bern - or somewhere in between.

Notes on this episode of Your British Guide to Switzerland: How to find an apartment as an expat

This is where it all began for this episode: in our Facebook group,  Kate from Moscow asked: "How to find an apartment to rent in Switzerland?"

General things to know about finding a place to live in Switzerland, should you rent or buy, is it difficult to find a place, what possibilities you have as an expat when you move to Switzerland and what are the prices you can expect?

How do you find the perfect area to move to?

• A flat-share is called a WG in German, short for Wohngemeinschaft
• For a bit of fun and to get the feel of a place, check out this hipster map

...
Join the community Chat
Subscribe to the free newsletter

...
Send your questions:
Drop us an email: [email protected]
Send a voice message to play on the show +41 76 282 67 66
Find us on Bluesky: Jo and Simon
Find us on Instagram

...
Subscribe on iTunes, Spotify, YouTube Music
Other ways to subscribe

--- Send us your questions ---

Children in Switzerland walk to school alone. They go home at lunch time and there is no security at the school. A typical Swiss school day also contains some surprises compared to other countries and can be quite a revelation for expats new to Switzerland. In this episode, you'll get two different perspectives: what surprises expats in Switzerland about the schools and what a typical Swiss school day looks like (from someone who's actually been to one)! Plus, we discuss German language exams, and take a trip to a traditional Swiss sports festival.

Notes on this episode of Swiss and Chips: Your British Guide to Switzerland

• The school run - Swiss style - and other surprising aspects of Swiss school routines
• The expat and Swiss perspective
• Reasons behind these differences
• Extra: A visit to the Eidgenössisches Hornussenfest (Federal Hornussen Festival) 2018

...
Join the community Chat
Subscribe to the free newsletter

...
Send your questions:
Drop us an email: [email protected]
Send a voice message to play on the show +41 76 282 67 66
Find us on Bluesky: Jo and Simon
Find us on Instagram

...
Subscribe on iTunes, Spotify, YouTube Music
Other ways to subscribe

--- Send us your questions ---

It's one of the big questions you'll be asking yourself before you move to Switzerland: how can I find a job there? Once you arrive in Switzerland it might not prove as easy as you'd hoped to find a job as an expat either. However, if you know where to look for a job and what you must include in an application, it will be much easier.

Where should you look to find a job in Switzerland as a foreigner, how can you make the most of your skills as an expat and what do you need to know before writing your cover letter to a potential employer?

Notes on this episode of Swiss and Chips: Your British Guide to Switzerland

• Where to look for a job
• What to do if you're applying from abroad
• What to include in your application
• Overcoming your weak spots: the language (s), knowledge of the country, uncertainty over long-term plans, unfamiliar qualifications
• Make the most of your strengths: a fresh perspective, knowledge of a specific culture or market that isn't Swiss, different language skills
• Q & A from our Facebook group '[Switzerland for English speakers.]

...
Join the community Chat
Subscribe to the free newsletter

...
Send your questions:
Drop us an email: [email protected]
Send a voice message to play on the show +41 76 282 67 66
Find us on Bluesky: Jo and Simon
Find us on Instagram

...
Subscribe on iTunes, Spotify, YouTube Music
Other ways to subscribe