Why would anyone in their right mind, at the exact moment of final immigration that took 18 months to secure, want to move to another country? I say it depends entirely on which mind and which country. Let me tell you how I came to be considering this new level of chaos.
Once the book was published, Rusty and I had several long chats about what was next for us. May I remind you that he’s been supporting us for almost 2 years now. While I say doing laundry and sipping wine counts for a lot, it was never my intention to be unemployed forever. I haven’t ruled out the position of Euromillions lottery winner, but the time has come for me to figure out what to do with myself. And in our discussions one fact became very clear. Whatever I decided to do, it would likely not be done in a French town of 4000 people.
We thought about Paris, ooh la la, but in reality way too big and hectic for me. We thought about medium sized towns in France, but we feared feeling isolated moving to a place where we had no connections at all. As we were reflecting, I had been talking with a friend who lives in Zurich who has more connections than the internet. We talked a lot about Switzerland and how much she enjoys it there. She introduced me to another incredibly connected woman who happens to live in Vevey and she’s agreed to meet with me to brainstorm about a career path.
Our dear friends Anne and Michel have a place there, their kids are there, they know the town well and, in all honesty, maintaining our friendship with them is as big a draw to Vevey as Lake Geneva. So our trip this weekend involved looking at apartments, scouting out facilities and amenities and so far I’ve learned a lot. I could live in the shadow of Swiss mountains, stroll and bike along the lake anytime I damn well pleased. I could walk to a gym, a French school, the spectacular market, any necessary shops and services, even a certified Apple store.
Lausanne is a mere 20 minute drive away and Geneva airport an hour by train. Montreux and its famous music festivals are around the corner. Plus, the town is surrounded by miles and miles of terraced vineyards (wine anyone?). And, because this is the town that houses the global headquarters of Nestlé (chocolate anyone?) and Merck (drugs anyone?), the population is exceedingly international making work for me more likely.
Easy, peasy, lemon-squeezy, right? In theory all I have to do is pack up my housette and tip over the border. The trouble is this theory has more holes in it than a mountain of Swiss cheese. First things first. Switzerland has one of the highest costs of living on the planet. A haircut will set me back about 90 bucks. I saw a steak in the grocery store for 25 bucks and laundry detergent prices require a defibrillator. I would have to double my rent for half the space, trade my garden for a balcony and kiss my second toilet good-bye. Oh and immigrate to the only bloody country remotely close to me that isn’t part of the European Union.
New rules and regulations, yet another driver’s licence drama, a veritable crapalanche of paperwork. Not to mention finding a way for an unemployed fool to survive in the most expensive country in Europe (clearly as a vegetarian who once again cuts her hair with an electric razor). And moving yet again, my nerves rattle at the thought of it.
This caper feels like absolute folly to me, which explains its appeal. My only concern is that I’m possibly doing this just to have endless blog material. “Leap and the net will appear” I believe is the saying. Of course “have you lost your friggin’ mind?” works just as well.
Shall we vote? One hand=stay, two hands=go. My vote=Two Hands!
A sequel: Sussing things out in Switzerland?
I will now demonstrate my complete lack of geographical knowledge. Does Vevey border France ? I have a friend who lives in France but travels over the border every morning to Germany to work?
France is just across the lake! My plan would be to buy laundry detergent there!
Bonne idee!
Is there nothing one can do via internet or international phone (Skype comes to mind) that would not require such a drastic relocation? My niece is a personal life coach, or whatever she calls herself, and seems to do quite well at that via phone contacts, f’rinstance.
I remain open to all manners of making a living, virtual and otherwise!
I think it’s a definite maybe, Bobbi.
Do what feels right. It worked before.
If not now, when?
Thank you for the gorgeous photos! Whatever you do; your life is more fun to follow than Coronation Street.
Finder and Follower
Arlene in Alberta
your instinct has already proven it knows what it’s doing. if it says switzerland, i’d trust it. who knows what riches you’ll find.
Twenty years from now, will you be saying to yourself, “Gee, I’m so glad I avoided that crapalanche!”
Thought not.
There are always work-arounds, when the stakes are high enough! And so often, the apprehended obstacles turn out to be nothing.
Sounds like either way is a “winner” to me……
Well, vegetarianism is good for the environment anyway.
What does Neil say?
Je dirais, bienvenue à Vevey ! I first visited the area in my early 20s and was immediately in love with it. To be honest it had never occurred to me to live there… perhaps it seemed a life reserved for the quietly wealthy. But then again, I always assumed I’d have to be rich and retired to move to France… It’s a whole different set of challenges, but really, look at the view! To paraphrase the venerable Mother Abbess, we’ve followed the rainbow, now perhaps it’s time to climb the mountain.
Then lace up your lederhosen (I think I’m confusing nationalities here but let’s go with it) and get ready to twirl like Maria on the mountaintop.
XO
I lived in Geneva many moons ago. I used to do 95% of my grocery shopping in France. Nip across the border to save mucho dinero. The other 5% of the time I lived off Swiss chocolate which was more than reasonably priced. I also got my hair cut and coloured in France rather than pay the outrageous prices in Switzerland.
Sounds to me like your heart and head is telling you to go. If your other half is one board why not go for it?
Awww, hunni, I have no doubt that you guys will do whatever’s right for you. :) It would be soooo exciting if you did move but, if you decide to stay, that would still be awesome.
Lausanne is one of my absolute favourites of the cities I’ve visited! Of course, last time I was there was a little (ahem, humour me) while ago. Just try to stop me from finding a reason to visit you!
Hi there, just back from vacation, sorry we missed you in town. Any chance of getting two signed copies of blook??? Got three months of your bloging to catch up on, should be a hoot. As for the move, you two are like a dog with a bone, a good quality, that stick-to-itiveness, if it is to be, you surely will find a way to make it happen. By the way that was an awesome review of your book in yesterday’s St. John’s Telegram, Page F4.
Switzerland is great (especially Lausanne/Vevey) if you’re Swiss, employed by a Swiss company, or already very rich. Anyone else can’t afford it, and wouldn’t feel very welcome. So unless you can secure one of those options first, I would stay where you are :)
The trick to get employment in a small town in France is to work online. You can also look for worldwide companies offering work-from-home deals (do not restrict yourself to French companies).
(advice from a guy working-from-home in a small village in the center of France, who knows Switzerland well)
Merci Thierry. I suspect you are right. Not a very practical option so we’ll see.
I’m all for life changes at every step of the way. If you don’t try, I suspect you will be disappointed. But then again, don’t be afraid to back down if good sense drops through the bottom of the bag. I’m sure you’ll both work it through!
It’s yet another opportunity to ask my favorite question and then to ignore the answers that may come.
Why not?