Swiss Life: 30 Things I Wish I'd Known

I was an expat living in Switzerland for three years. These stories rang true, although I venture that the level of tolerance towards a white man who is fluent in French and Italian, but living alone in a Swiss-German speaking engagements canton is higher than for a trailing spouse.While Swiss trains do run on time, other failings are accepted with a shrug. Two weeks in winter without heat or hot water because the pipes had not been maintained was accepted the same way. "You can take a shower at work, no?" And "buy a heavier duvet".The fear of foreigners is so very true, even among second generation Swiss. The need to integrate before becoming Swiss is not unlike a melting pot, except that as one melts one becomes "Swissified".Having returned "home" there are many things that I miss about Switzerland. But the personal freedom to mow my lawn on a Sunday, or wash my car or exceed the speed limit without fear of omnipresent traffic cameras ready to issue fines for a 5km/h transgression are liberties that I missed.Thank you Chantal for writing this. It is a must read for anyone considering the move.

I really enjoyed reading this relatively short book. Having been exposed to Swiss culture for the past 26 years through my lovely wife and her wonderful family and friends, both in the U.S. and Switzerland, I found myself laughing out loud at Chantal's stories her life in Switzerland. It was a very entertaining and quick read, and it might just encourage you to clean your gutters or shine up your garbage can! Or not. :-)

If you’ve never lived in a country whose spoken language is not your own (and in fact doesn’t exist in written form), then you may not understand the true menace of a ringing phone or doorbell. In this book, Chantal Panozzo deftly captures the terrible experience of finding oneself a fully-grown adult with toddler-level language proficiency, as well as other surprising and vexing aspects of living as an expat in a country that doesn’t exactly embrace its foreign population.The book is propelled by a delightfully wry sense of humour. The accounts of language-impaired exchanges often made me think of David Sedaris, which is to say that they’re skillfully rendered and painfully funny. A few memorable characters populate its pages, too, with the author’s Swiss neighbour often stealing the show.Like the author, when I came to Switzerland because of my husband’s job, my mental images and expectations, fed by travel websites, were largely devoid of reality. Like her, soon after arriving I felt trampled by the realities of inscrutable laundry machines and Swiss xenophobia, and the challenges of continuing my own career. I wish I’d had this book to read before I moved. It would not have deterred me from taking the leap, because in this book lamentations about difficulties are balanced by some considerations of what makes this place and the expat’s experience in general so great. It might, however, have disabused me of some of my storybook notions, and better prepared me to face certain realities of life as a trailing spouse, and more importantly, an Ausländer who will always stick out among the Swiss, for better or worse.

Having read "Living and working in Switzerland", and a few other books for expatriates living in Switzerland, I was very disappointed by this book. The purpose is rather unclear: it is not necessarily helpful for people, anecdotes are rather an illustration of how Americans can be self-centered and ignorant of the rest of the world. An example: the shared washing machine approach works in Baden, but not in San Francisco. The Swiss thought about why and have set up rules (though not perfect, they are effective). Americans just ruin them and keep complaining about them. The book should have been named: "how I discovered myself by living abroad - and getting out of my American bubble".

Having lived in Switzerland for 15 years now, this little gem certainly made me laugh out loud. I've lived in both the Swiss-German part, and the Swiss-French part of Switzerland, and felt that Panozzo's observations were spot-on. A great read for a newly-minted expat to Switzerland (particularly the German-speaking part), or for expat "trailing spouses" considering a move to Switzerland. Funny, easy-to-read little tidbits that remind the reader that it's okay to feel totally out of your element initially!

I loved her article on her life in Switzerland and had to buy her book. She states in the introduction she almost called the book a B***h Abroad because it does seem like a lot of complaining. This is actually pretty accurate. Would have liked to see a little more about what she misses in Switzerland and how her adjustment was when returning back to the USA.

Easy read that is entertaining. A bit of a generalization of Swiss people. I've yet to meet anyone in Switzerland like their neighbor. lol

When I started reading the book and the various situations the author described, the questions 'why would she do that!?' and 'what was she expecting!?' frequently came to mind. But the further I read, the more I could connect with the author, even if not always agree.I liked the way this book made me question myself and how would I behave/cope if I were an expat. It made me appreciate the expats living in my country and their efforts to fit in even more. Danke, Frau Panozzo.

The amusing and insightful story of one (American) woman's efforts to integrate into Swiss society. When Chantal's husband gets a job in Zurich she goes with him to carve out a new life for both of them. And in 30 short, witty chapters she chronicles her struggles to fit in with the uncompromising and set-in-their-ways Swiss. She learns German only to find the Swiss don't speak German - or not High German. They speak Schweizerdeutsch. Her experiences force her to examine her life and assumptions. The foibles of the Swiss are lovingly exposed and explored, but what makes the book a joy is Chantal's own honesty in her responses and how she changes. She falls into the classic ex-pat mould of eventually feeling foreign in both her native and her adopted countries. She gets jobs and loses jobs. Endures her husband's Alphorn practice and her neighbour's OCD cleanliness. And has a baby. Good book for anyone considering living in Switzerland or simply interested in a very interesting and unique country - or anyone just wanting enjoy the sound of cultures clashing. Chantal is a witty and engaging guide.

As a reader you get the impression that the negative aspects to living in Switzerland outweigh the positive aspects, especially since the positive sides to Switzerland can be found in many other Northern European countries as well, without many of the negative sides.The book gives you a fairly clear impression of what living as an expat in Switzerland means. The problem, though, is that most of the author's opinions about the Swiss are based on just one person, her Swiss neighbor. Quite ironic that the author thinks the Swiss are xenophobic, while she herself bases most of her negative opinions of the Swiss on a single person.The book isn't a bad read per se, though, and the author is very honest about not wanting to romanticize expat life.

I was expecting so much from this book and was so disappointed. I could sum up the content/information in 2 sentences.

enjoyed the book but found the centre of it rather boring....just my opinion

I am an expat on the French speaking side of CH. I have lived here for over a decade and this all has not been my experience in CH at all. It was interesting to read but hard to relate to, as I have had more friendly neighbours (tho the current one above me and her toddler are not Swiss and make a ton of noise, ugh!), better job experiences, and while I have been critical of some of the smae things as the author (UDC right wing party for example), mostly this book stuck me as a good personal reflection but might scare people off.