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EXPATS

Switzerland’s expat tribes: Where do you fit in?

Taxpat, trailing spouse or mountain bum: where you do fit in Switzerland's expat landscape?

Published: 11 July 2018 16:34 CEST
Switzerland's expat tribes: Where do you fit in?
File photo: Depositphotos

The love refugee 

You have been lucky (or unlucky) enough to fall in love with a foreigner and now you are in Switzerland armed with a residence permit. You already know that the Swiss kiss three times when they meet (starting with the right cheek of course). You also know how to host the perfect fondue evening and you’ve even got the recycling schedule down pat. 

Catchphrase: “The Swiss are great..once you get to know them.” 

How did we end up here? File photo: Depositphotos

The taxpat 

You’re here because it’s the best place to park some money without people asking too many questions, even though everyone says it isn’t like the ‘good old days’. It’s also nice being in a country where pretty much everyone is rich: it just makes things so much easier. 

Catchphrase: “Do we still have money in the Cayman Islands darling?” 

Read also: 43 habits you pick up living in Switzerland

The trailing spouse 

You are happy enough in Switzerland but something doesn’t feel quite right. You’ve thought of getting a part-time job but there isn’t much out there and the whole business of tackling the foreign job market sometimes seems like more effort than it’s worth. And if you’ve got kids, that takes up all your time anyway.

You drop them off and a couple of hours later you have to pick them up again. 

Catchphrase: “Do you know any good yoga classes?” 

Being a trailing spouse is not always easy. File photo: Depositphotos

 

The celebrity expat 

There’s a bit of crossover with taxpats (see above) on this one. But while both groups like Switzerland because it is discreet, it’s the lack of celebrity culture that appeals to these expats.

After all, Switzerland is a country where one of the biggest names in the world can go unrecognised – as Oprah Winfrey learned the hard way. 

Catchphrase: “Hollywood is just so fake these days.” 

Tina Turner is a long-term Zurich resident. Photo: AFP

The author-in-exile 

Following in the footsteps of James Joyce (who is buried in Zurich), Vladimir Nabokov and Herman Hesse, you have either gone into self-imposed exile in Switzerland or have been forced to take refuge here because of civil unrest back home (preferably in a country that no longer exists or that no one has ever heard of).  

Catchphrase: “Is there a foreign language bookshop near here?” 

The corporate expat 

This is 2018 so it must be Zurich. You’ve already done stints in Hong Kong and London, and Zurich (or Geneva or Zug) is the next stop on the corporate ladder. You like Switzerland well enough but wonder why you still can’t seem to save enough money despite your generous salary. 

Catchphrase: “Sure, I’ve tried learning the language but everyone just speaks English anyway.” 

The ski teacher/mountain bum 

Switzerland is a no-brainer. There’s skiing in winter, hiking in summer and climbing whenever – not to mention the canyoning, paragliding and mountain biking. 

You’re not happy unless you’ve got a car full of snowboarding equipment and a tent hanging out to dry on the balcony of your chalet.

Catchphrase: “Where did I put those carabiners?” 

You are never too old to be a bum. File photo: Depositphotos

The researcher 

Attracted by the spirit of innovation and the sheer quality of scientific talent (both home-grown and international) in Switzerland, you are taking a path forged by no less a luminary than Albert Einstein. You’ve got a plum job working on the Cern proton smasher or as a visiting fellow at Zurich’s ETH and you are in no hurry to move on. 

Catchphrase: “If you’re not part of the solution, you’re part of the precipitate.” 

Albert Einstein held Swiss citizenship. Photo: ACME/AFP

The NGO expat 

Being in Geneva is a necessary evil for you. You are being paid a pittance by Swiss standards, but it means you get to work for an organisation that makes a real difference in the world.  

Catchphrase: “Do Easyjet even fly to Bosnia?” 

The techpat 

You spend half the week in London and half the week in that place in central Switzerland you can’t remember the name of. Everything is always half an hour behind schedule, the servers are constantly on the point of crashing and you can’t understand why people’s eyes keep glazing over when you mention Blockchain. 

Catchphrase: “Why is the WiFi so slow here?” 

Read also: 14 mistakes foreigners make on moving to Switzerland

EXPATS

Expat stories: How I made my closest Danish friend

Many foreigners living in Denmark struggle to make friends with born-and-bred Danes. We spoke to five who have successfully made the connection.

Published: 16 September 2020 13:36 CEST
Updated: 30 May 2023 16:26 CEST
Expat stories: How I made my closest Danish friend
Fernando Secca (right) and her Danish friend Marie Peschardt (left). Photo: Private

Fernanda Secca from Brazil and her Danish friend Marie Peschardt 

When 32-year-old Fernanda moved to Copenhagen at the start of 2017, one of the first things she did was find a place to do pole-dancing, which had been her hobby back in São Paulo. Marie Peschardt, 29, was her teacher, and before long they soon realised they got on well.

“Coming to class a few times a week made us create a bond that was eventually taken to a personal relationship,” she remembers. “We now do everything together. We hang out several times a week. We go travelling together, we have dinner, we go to bars, we go dancing.” 

When The Local interviewed them in 2020, the two still trained together at the dance studio. 

Fernando Secca (right) and her Danish friend Marie Peschardt (left). Photo: Private 

“I think the friendship was possible because we were both open to meeting new people and building connections,” Fernanda says, adding that she doesn’t think Danes are particularly difficult to become friends with.

“There is no secret. Danes are not aliens. I think finding something in common that you can bond around or relate to helps in the beginning, because people are more likely to respond to that than a random request or small talk.” 

“Also taking a chance, inviting a person you feel could be interesting for a coffee or a drink, can be something spontaneous or quick. Some Danes might even appreciate being spontaneous because no one here really is.” 
 
On the other hand, it is important for those from more free-wheeling countries to understand that Danes like to plan ahead, she adds. 
 
“Appreciate that they have their schedules and bookings weeks in advance and you might need to fit into that type of style as well if you want to build a connection.” 
Marcele Rask and her Danish friends Jasmine and Carina
 
Marcele Rask, 36, a manager at Danske Bank specialising in financial crime and sanctions, met her Danish friends Jasmine and Carina at her previous job because they all worked in the same department. She said the three of them shared a similar appetite for adventure. 
 
“One thing that connected us three a lot is the fact that we are all very curious and like to try new things. So we programme ‘adventure days’  where we go somewhere new, or that we like or something and spend some hours there or even the day,” she says. “It doesn’t have to be fancy, or crazy or anything, but something nice to know.” 
 
She said they tend to do this about once or twice a month, either two of them, or all three together.
 
“Just after Denmark started to open from the lockdown, we went to a Gavnø slot for their tulip festival, and afterwards we went to eat MacDonald’s by the harbour.” 
 
She says that both Jasmine and Carina are quite internationally-minded, which she feels made them more open to making friends with a foreigner. 
 
“Jasmin lived some years abroad and was an expat herself. Carina has worked on international companies and is used to the expats’ life, having herself another great expat friend,” she says. 
 
She said they now spoke a mixture of English and Danish together, but were speaking Danish more and more as her command of the language improved. She said she felt her own openness had helped her make Danish friends. 
 
“I think one thing that it is very important to be as an expat is open — open for anything and everything — and not just to sit around bitching about the country, the language, the food, and everything else.” 
 
 
Ashley Norval and her Danish friend Mia Garner 
 
Ashley, 31, met Mia, 28 almost as soon as she arrived in Copenhagen in 2019 from Australia and the two were paired together for a group session during her university course. They have hung out together ever since. 
 
“I hear from her two or three times a week usually, and we do all kinds of stuff together,” she says. “We’ve travelled together, we catch up for dinner, we go to the movies, or just go to each other’s place. Sometimes we go walking or running, sometimes we just go and get an ice cream and sit in the park.” 
 
Ashley Norval (right) and Mia Garner at the Gisselfeld Klosters Forest Tower south of Copenhagen. Photo: Private
 
Ashley believes that many foreigners think, often mistakenly, that the Danish reluctance to impose themselves on others means they are not open to making new friends. 
 
“I think Danish people genuinely don’t want to encroach on your personal space and territory and I’m convinced that once you kind of invite them to something and show them that it’s fine, and that you do want to see them outside of your professional space or whatever, then it’s fine.”
 
She said that foreigners in Denmark needed to realise that they might have to make the move, and suggest going to see a film or get a meal. 
 
“If you make the effort to get to know any part of Danish culture, that is always well received with Danish people,” she adds, although she concedes that Danes might view Australians more favourably than people from many other countries. 

 
Camila Witt and her Danish friend Emilie Møllenbach
 
Camila, 36, met Emilie over the coffee machine when they were both working for a Danish payments company, but bonded over their academic interests. “Emilie and I had a I have a very strong academic background, so we just started to talk about different theories: physics, science and this kind of thing. And we connected over that and I think that the relationship grew from that.” 
 
They go for walks together, make chocolate together, go for dinner, or a cup of tea at a café. 
 
“Nothing really fancy, to be fair, just being each in each other’s companies and I think that both her and I share this perspective that we like we were there for each other and not to be on our phones.” 
 
Camila believes a lot of foreigners wrongly think that when Danes say they’re busy or booked up, that that means they aren’t open to a friendship. 
 
“Danes require more planning. I think that something we need to understand if we come from countries where you’re used to spontaneously say ‘let’ go out tonight, let’s go out after work and just have a beer’. 
 
“It’s really important to you know, proactively invite them and not take them saying, ‘I don’t have time this week’ as them shutting you off because in all honesty, many times they are booked. So it’s about finding that slot of time. It can happen in three weeks, but it will happen you know.”
 
 
 
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