Offer Advice about Expat Relationships. Great quality of life in Geneva and Switzerland in general. Being professionally active as a mother of very young children is challenging as it is difficult to find daycare. Once the kids are in school it is easier to find additional babysitting solutions. The Multinationals, banking sector and international organizations also bring many English speakers to the Geneva area.
I meet a lot of English speakers who have lived here for years and have gotten by with English only. There are all sorts of networks and clubs for English speaking international professionals. A great network for professional women that I can highly recommend is the Geneva Women in International Trade www. A lot of people work and travel quite a bit and do not have time or energy to go to places where they could potentially meet a life partner.
I noticed this when I worked as a headhunter in Geneva and launched a company called successmatch, www. Geneva is a fantastic place to live. Every thing is small scale, no major traffic, quite safe. Especially if you like sports, the facilities here are wonderful. A very good place for children to grow up. For the "trailing" spouse it is often difficult to find employment, and then difficult to find good child care so it is important to be aware of that. Another challenge is finding housing.
Often companies help their employees with this. There are so many things to do here that you will never be bored. Check out www. I would say that the challenges in our relationship are not so much due to our different nationalities but are more the challenges that dual career couples face. Husband works and travels a lot, while I feel I am running the family and my business. The challenge is to find time for the couple! But where there is a will, there is a way.
Geneva is a great place for everyone especially if you like nature, outdoors and sports. A fantastic place to raise children. I can highly recommend it. It is important to immediately get linked up and involved in some networks to help smooth the settling in process and make your stay more enjoyable.
