Blackden is a boutique of Swiss-based financial advisers whose work includes expat mortgages and primary & secondary residences, pensions and taxation. Based in Versoix.
The Know-it-all Passport book, which comes out every two years, provides a substantial collection of addresses and information about where to find things in the Lake Geneva region. It’s now part of a larger offer, with the web site providing information and calendars for activities, events, and local businesses, with companies invited to submit their own information.
The book began life as a guide for mothers in the area, written by Lisa Cirieco, who grew up in Geneva in an American family. It has been expanded over the years and a special strength, also reflected on the web site, is some of the smaller community groups and activities that are hard to find elsewhere.
The English Forum is Switzerland’s largest social network, with forums/discussions on numerous topics.
Use the search engine to find what you’re after. A strength is that it is active in all parts of Switzerland, although this can make it harder to find information for a particular region until you’re used to using the site.
The site is managed by a company based in Sweden. It added news, thelocal.ch, in 2011: this is part of a chain, based at the same company in Sweden, managed by a business staff rather than an experienced independent editorial team.
Glocals.com is a social network that started out in Geneva and now operates further afield, although the Lake Geneva region remains its heart and soul. The local nature of the site, with city groups, and the events organized by the owners over the years have made it a hit with people, especially newcomers, looking for entertainment and ways to meet other people. The “latest things to do” is a popular feature, as are the classifieds. The “Guides” by sponsors provide bullet point lists that are easy to follow, mainly useful for newcomers to Switzerland on topics like banking and insurance. The city guides are collections of addresses with starred reviews by Glocals members. The owners recently started a new online group buying business, BuyClub.ch, and Glocals members receive alerts about the offers there.
The Swiss government provides two useful brochures for people working here who are considering relocating or retiring elsewhere. Both are in pdf format and can be downloaded:
Social Security in Switzerland, January 2010 update
Leaving Switzerland and Moving to an EU or EFTA country
Additional information is available from the Swiss-EU Liaison Office.
It’s difficult in Switzerland to know what anyone earns, which makes it hard for many people to work out what their salaries should be, compared to the market. Some helpful official online tools: canton Vaud has a salary calculator, in French, as does Geneva, and the Union Syndicale Suisse has one, in French, German and Italian, for all of Switzerland. They’re imperfect and no calculator lists every job, but they’ll give you a relatively good idea of what value is put on various jobs, experience.
The Swiss federal Solarium web pages give salary data for regions, by gender, foreigners compared to the Swiss, and more – keep in mind that “foreigners” covers a wide range of workers, with many of them in the hotel and restaurant industry, one of the lowest paid business sectors in Switzerland.
TSR recently published a chart with salary indications.
Easy to understand, nicely illustrated, quick to download: the WWF pocket guide to climate change gives you the basics, painlessly, of a subject that will remain in the headlines for the rest of 2009 in the weeks leading to the Copenhagen meeting to replace the Kyoto Protocol on carbon emissions (if you aren’t sure you follow this, you need the guide!)
A handy pocket guide from the Swiss government, published 1 September 2009, with Swiss environmental statistics and information on 17 environmental topics.
The Geneva Communicators Blog was recently updated to the GC Network, with a new web site and team, more events and activities for 209. The new site still carries news and views from corporate communicators in the Lake Geneva area. This is the voice of a group of corporate communications professionals in the region, an active group.
The global financial crisis has been happening so fast that it’s hard to keep up. The BBC’s special pages have a useful timeline with graphics. Also useful: its financial crisis jargon page.
There is a lot of confusing and just plain wrong information about Swiss bank accounts on the Internet. The safest source is the Swiss Bankers Association page in English, aimed at the general public. For details during the global financial crisis about bank guarantees on deposits in Switzerland, see our GL article, 9 October 2008.
Corporate web site for the company that owns GenevaLunch.
Official international website for the promotion of canton Vaud where you will find a lot of information in English for expatriates and for those who want to start a business.
British adult education and distance learning university. Has around 200,000 students around the world. Dozens of courses available in the Geneva region.
Independent business network which aims to promote British-Swiss business and further the interests of its members. Based in Zurich and London.
Not-for-profit organization committed to the promotion and facilitation of business relations between the United States of America and Switzerland.
Provides career-related counselling, networking and coaching to accompanying spouses in Switzerland.
Search for any business in Switzerland, get the address and the location on a map. English, French, German, Italian.
International business and social network for women working in the Geneva area.
Association of professionals who teach English as a foreign language.
Business directory that allows you to search by groups. Search jobs, restaurants, industries, etc.
English language section of the official information site of the Swiss government. Includes information on permits and work.
A list of multinationals settled in the area that can be of interest for expatriates.
English language professional organization for librarians and information specialists. Includes links to job pages. Based in Grand-Saconnex, Geneva.
The GL guide to managing your finances.
A consumer group, Comparis offers comparison tables and a good basic explanation of lending offers in Switzerland.
