Adjusting to life in Zürich
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March 24th, 2009
It is hard to believe that we have been living in Zürich for over a month now. The time has gone by very quickly, and it has been surprisingly easy to adapt to our new life. I think a lot of our recent travels have been to developing countries, so by comparison Switzerland doesn’t seem that much different from the United States. Also, Zürich is a particularly easy place to get around anyway; it is a small, walkable city with efficient public transportation where almost everyone speaks English. So the transition has been very smooth so far.
That being said, there are still many differences between living in San Francisco and living in Zürich. This is not a comprehensive list but here are some of our initial observations:
- German. Ok, this one is obvious but it is a constant reminder that we are not in the US. Luckily, almost everyone speaks English and it is easy to get around. Switzerland is an interesting place to try to learn a language because it is common to hear high German, Swiss-German, Italian, French, and English in the same day (or in the same restaurant).
- Smoking in bars and restaurants is allowed. Every night we come out smelling like smoke. This is definitely one thing I miss about San Fran. Apparently this is only in Switzerland because the EU has passed a no smoking in bars/restaurants law.
- Tax is included. The price you see is the price you pay. I love this. Much more transparent.
- Tipping is not required. The restaurants (and other service jobs) actually pay their employees so there is no need to tack on an extra 20% to your bill. We have heard that the general rule is tipping is not required, but it is customary to round up for good service (so if the bill is CHF $48 you just pay with a $50 bill).
- Trains are the easiest way to get around. Trams in the city are frequent and punctual. Also, there are trains running just about everywhere in Switzerland and Europe. It is great not having a car!
- Water is not brought out automatically at restaurants. Even though the tap water in Zurich is very high quality (they say you can drink out of Zurich Lake), everyone seems to drink bottled mineral water. Very strange. Oh, and bottled water usually costs as much or more than a beer (so you can guess which we usually end up drinking…).
- You have to pay for ketchup (even at a McDonalds or Burger King. And yes, I have already been to both of those fine establishments. What is it about travelling abroad that makes McDonalds so much more appealing?).
- The ground floor is not the first floor, it is floor zero.
- 24 hour clock (military time). No AM/PM.
- The metric system. Ok, at least I expected this one, but I still don’t really know how warm 5 degrees Celcius is (or my height in cm or my weight in kg).
- Everything is closed on Sundays. There is one grocery store open (Migros under the train station) and it is packed. Restaurants and movie theaters are the only places open so that is what everybody seems to do.
- Expensive. We had heard this before we came and can now verify that it is true. Eating out is especially expensive, at least relative to the US. You can eat for CHF $20 – $40, but there just aren’t any cheaper options here.
- Cars always stop at the crosswalk for pedestrians. If you are anywhere near the crosswalk, the cars will stop for you. You can basically just start walking across the road without looking (if you want).
- The weather. The weather has actually been surprisingly mild so far, but it is still an adjustment from California weather. We just caught the tail end of winter here so it was a good time to move. We are already starting to see signs of spring and are looking forward to warmer weather and being able to sit outside at cafes and restaurants.
