We will soon be leaving Switzerland.
As I deliberate over international move number seven, I realize that the process has become much different over the years. The more experience I gain abroad, the more opinionated I become regarding what I want out of my next home.
You don’t always know enough about your possible future host country to consider many different factors – you just have to jump in with both feet and see what happens. But in our current situation, we know a decent amount about our two top contenders. As it turns out, this isn’t making the decision any easier.
Just a few of the factors on our long, long list:
- Language: we are looking forward to escaping the 2-language system of Zurich. Beyond that, how much of a challenge are we up for?
- Travel opportunities: both places offer easy, affordable travel to different cities and countries
- Quality of life: hard to put a finger on, but some cities are just more appealing than others. Factors like public transport, walking areas, parks, a body of water, art and other cultural aspects, outdoor cafes and yummy restaurants all go into the ‘quality of life’ category.
- Friendliness: ever notice how in some cities, everyone you encounter seems to hate you just for existing? This attitude can kind of get to me after a while.
- City size: We like to think of ourselves as big city folk. I thrived in cities like Berlin, New York, and Milan, whereas Zurich has felt a little too small at times. But why do we really need to live in a big city? It’s not like we ever go to the opera or the theater or other things that only a big city can offer. Is it just nice to know they’re there?
- Beer: both locations have considerably better beer than Switzerland, so at least that’s a win-win.
At the end of the day, we have two fabulous opportunities laid out in front of us. Either way we will probably be happy with our choice. But still, it’s a hard choice.
What factors are most important to you when choosing a new home?
I think “How close will I be to Beth and will it be close enough for her to give us a lawn ornament of some sort?” should really be your make or break question…
Oh crap, there’s something else we need to add to the list.
Oh man! Why leave? You always made me feel like I wasn’t totally alone out here.
I think your factors pretty much sum things up. However, I would probably add “weather” into the mix.
While I like the temperatures here in Switzerland, it could definitely do with more sunshine.
…looking forward to finding out to where you’ll be moving.
Big city … it’s not just the conveniences. It’s the people there, the energy.
NHS – aw, nice to know I’ll be missed. At least you’ll still have TBF…
TBF – weather is definitely on the list of factors. Ideally we’d like cooler summers than Zurich, and colder, snowier winters. 🙂
MollyB – you have a point. Big cities attract other big city people, and we like them. Plus a city’s vibe is important, but hard to quantify.
Come to think of it, I don’t think I’ve ever gotten to choose where I’d like to live next. If I ever had a choice, I’d like to live closer to friends and family. *sigh*
BTW,
“kynrcoep”
That is a dang long captcha!
I think it’s awesome that you even get that choice. My husband is really dead set against living outside of the US. I, on the other hand, have my heart set on it.
Do you mind if I ask you what you and your husband do for a living that allows you to be so mobile?
wow. I’ve loved all your posts from Switzerland… I wonder what missives your new home will bring!
I think Friendliness is important… I think a combination of access to nature, walkable streets, and some sort of cultural availability is important to me. Oh yes, and weather, I agree with The Big Finn.
It sounds like you would do well in Paris. Do you speak French?
I don’t speak French, but I do fake it pretty well. 🙂
Paris does sound like a place I could live, even though I didn’t care too much for France until recently. It’s not a choice this time around, though.
Choosing a country, at least for me, depends on what I really want in my life at that moment and in the near future. It didn’t really make any sense for me to be where I am, however I did it because it was a dream. In between, I landed in other countries because of bureaucracy, however I never considered returning “home” an option.
Like you, I’m ready to leave for somewhere else. Unfortunately, and for the first time in many years, I have a partner who has a limited professional background and is quite unwilling to go anywhere but the USA (which coincidentally is nearly my last choice and he knew that).
It can get tiring to move around and uproot all the time. I might be at the end of that rope now after 15 years traveling and living abroad, but it sure has been fun and who knows what could change my mind if the right opportunity or yen came along 🙂