Does anyone like Geneva?

Mercer's is an international consulting firm which publishes a "quality of LIving" survey. This is not just some other survey, it is used by almost every major company (and the UN) when deciding were to set up offices and how much to pay staff that gets sent there. For the last few year, there has been a rotating winner. It's either Vancouver, Zurich or Geneva In 2010, Geneva came in 3rd

I have been visiting Geneva regularly since 1996 and have very close friends who live there. As a city, there isn't much happening. It is pleasant but expensive. Public transport where I want to go is usually bus and generally pretty convenient though it can take 45 minutes or longer to get across town.

The weather is something that you need to consider. While perhaps it isn't as gray as London, it is cold. Winters are snow filled and below freezing. And summers tend to be relatively mild. If you like skiing in the winter and hiking in the summer, there are lots of nearby options.

There are several museums, occasional festivals on the Lake. One of the things that I like about it is that it is a nice base for lots of day and weekend trips to interesting places in CH and F.

Ruth

I've been to Geneva a few times, and I agree with #2. If you think London's weather is crap, Geneva's is not that much better and is colder in winter.

And looking at some climate charts, Geneva has almost twice as much rainfall as London in the summer, and significantly more precipitation in winter (although not sure how much of that is snow, and they do seem to have fewer rainy days).

Geneva
London

It is fairly quiet, and lacks the bustle and buzz of bigger cities (or even many smaller ones).

But if the work opportunities are there then why not. I'd like to live there just to be close to the alps.

Well if you both hate London and have no ties there, and you think you can easily get jobs in Geneva, why not just give it a go?

I had a friend who lived there and agree with the above that it's a little dull, and has pretty bad weather, but for me the drawcard would be the proximity to good skiing in winter and other mountain-based activities in winter.

Bear in mind that finding accomodation in Geneva is extremely difficult. Say, 200 people could easily apply for one normal apartment... Do you know about this?

hello there,

I live near Geneva and have worked in Geneva a few years.
You can sure find jobs here but is it really worth it?
I'd say no.
These are some of the reasons:

-Flats are almost impossible to find, it will be outstandingly expensive if you do(count 1000£/month for a 40sqm)
-It's an expensive city with not much to offer. it's good for working, not so interesting for entertainment.
-People are cold and unfriendly.
-Transports aren't that efficient.

It will be a bit more relaxed than London but I wouldn't recommend it. When people say it's boring it's correct, nothing ever happens (no events, almost no bank holidays, not much life other than work) Actually, I'd suggest you skip Switzerland as it ends up being very boring wherever you may end up, you'll also end up working much more than anywhere else in Europe.

Edited by: jinbo

Very very welcome to Geneva.The place is very very cosmopolitan.More than 2/3 of people are foreigners or strangers.The city may have a lack of swissness.People who don't normally like it are the ones who have not tried to learn a bit of french or don't care about the city.It really worth exploring and getting into the local life.Step in and you will love it.Most of people speak good english,some(most of them old,French or from sudden countries) don't.Anyway everyone will be please to help you except some anti-globalization guys who don't like banks and multinational compagnies.Do not hesitate to check all bars and restaurants as they are so many.Some days some are very packed some boring and vice versa.Get inform about parties or special events.The best venues are in rue Ecole de Médecine,Bd Carl-Vogt,Paquis aera,Rue des Savoises,Rue Prévost-Martin,Carouge aera,Old town,Rue des Noirettes,Rue du Stand,Place du Cirque,Rue Arquebuse,Rue Richemont,Rue Lissignol,Rue carouge,rue Leschot,en l'ile,Rue coulouvrenière et Stand,Rue des Etuves and so on.In any case don't get stuck in the hyper centre aera as it may some days be a bit dull at night.You need to explore a bit more to find the best places.Moreover many are typically english or irish as the Pickwick pub,The clubhouse(burgers,sunday roast)The key and Eagle,the lady Godiva(fish and chips,burger),the seven,the Mulligans,l'ethno,le Scandale,Alhambar ect....Have a good look around,explore the city on foot.Anyway i am sure you will get to know very good english and french speaking friends.For buying english food go to coop city(city center),The american market,globus,American food avenue,Jim's british market in Gland and St-Genis Pouilly and so on.They have good english or american products such as peanut butter,crips,drinks and much more.For good burgers and awesome choice go to Holy cow and Inglewood.On sundays:Remor,Lady Godiva,clubhouse are open....As the venues in the hyper centre tend to be expensive and top notch go to the side districts and their side streets to grab a bargain.Walk around and enjoy life in Geneva and its great surroundings.Weather is mild all year round but 8 weeks a year it may be very cold and very windy(north strong cold wind),snowy or very wet.Geneva in summer is just great.Lot of festivals and parties.You will feel like by the Med.Winter good fun parties,winter sport and fun in great outdoors.As Geneva is straight in the heart of Europe and the airport very good connected to main european destinations,your flight will last between 50 minutes and less than 3 hours.The long haul daily and direct flights are Dubai(Emirates),Doha(Qatar airways),Abu Dhabi(Etihad airways),Washington(United),Newark(United),JFK(Swiss),Montreal,Toronto(Air canada).Direct Asia flights are expected within the next 5 year....

Edited by: se210

se210, don;t underestimate the value of the occasional line break (hitting the enter key)

Hi,
we've lived in Geneva for about 4 years now and I'd say that - compared to other cities - it is not as straightforward to get "into", especially if you're coming from London, NY etc.

it took us a really long time to find good places to eat, go out etc. basically these are the places the locals go to but they're a bit out of the beaten track of those who move here from abroad
here's a good blog about life in geneva [http://www.genevafamilydiaries.net/] you'll also find info on other local blogs, forums, Swiss colleagues etc. beware of locally self-published books for expats, all the places they recommend are not that great, which in turns will lead you to think that life in Geneva is not much fun

if you can, also try to find a job BEFORE moving here, not much emphasis is put on CV as it is in London, it's all about connections which you need time to make when you come from abroad

good luck !
Michela