What can you Expect from Geneva ?

When you move somewhere new you will always have some sort of expectations on how things are going to be like, whether its generic stereotypes, or whether you have travelled to a certain place before so you have an idea of what it will be like – however these expectations will change in some way or another when you start to actually live somewhere. As days go by you will see things differently, more like an insider than an outsider.

Here are a few things to expect when you move to Switzerland:

Punctuality isn't everything

One of the things I always hear about is how Swiss are always punctual. Of course they are punctual when it comes to closing stores, and transport is mostly on time – however it isn’t as strict as the stereotypes portray. At the university some teachers arrive late and some don’t arrive at all, during sport the coach arrives fifteen minutes late each lesson – don’t be fooled by the stereotypes!

Is making friends easy?

Making friends is an interesting topic to approach. Of course everyone on Erasmus is in your position therefore when it comes to making friends it is simple. However you arrive in third year to a University, all the local students will have already made their friend groups therefore it will be trickier to make friends with locals unless you are incredibly outgoing and confident or try to join activities such as sport classes!

Is Travelling expensive?

Traveling within Geneva is not too bad. It costs 45 CHF per month to travel in Geneva by tram and bus. However when it comes to traveling around Switzerland, that’s when prices are sky high and you can expect to spend a minimum of 100 CHF on a return ticket for a one-hour and a half train journey.

Is Geneva boring?

There is nothing boring about Geneva – It has clubs, it has bars, it has restaurants it has cafés, it has parks, it has shops, it has a lake, it has mountains, it has museums – what more could you want? I understand that drinks and restaurants may be expensive so the idea of a night out will be very different to what your used to, however this does not necessarily mean that you cannot have fun!

Expensive to buy food?

This was also in my expectations, in fact I arrived here with 10 packs of pasta (that was already a whole kilo in my suitcase), 6 tuna sauces, 2 pesto sauces, 4 tins of chopped tomatoes and God knows what else. But the whole “Expensive food” is not necessarily true. Firstly it depends where you shop: Globus and Manor are the expensive supermarkets, then you have Coop and Migros which are the Medium range and Lidl which is cheap! Secondly it depends what you buy, meat and fish is pretty expensive but all the rest is like any other city.

How bad is the weather?

Quite. I expected the weather to be cold, and it is very cold. Not only it has already snowed and its mid November, but it rains a lot too. Therefore I already can tell this winter is going to be freezing. But when the weather is nice you really appreciate the beauty of Geneva, you can see the deep blue coloured lake and all the mountains in the background. It is such a beautiful view I could never get tired of it. It is one of those: Rainiy 5 times a week but those two days of sunshine outshine the rest.

Geneva is not a student town at all!

This can be both true and untrue. From a travelling point of view, you do not have any discounts for being a student when travelling around Switzerland. However when travelling within Geneva you do have a small discount for under 26 year olds for your monthly pass. Also certain restaurants such as the Holy Cow do cheaper student menus. Finally if you join the ESN Facebook group, they are the Erasmus social group that host events and therefore you go out on discounted nights out/trips in Switzerland.

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