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Five commuter villages near Zurich where it’s easier to find an apartment

Fewer vacant apartments, rising rents and failing construction activity are fuelling the housing shortage in Zurich - but there’s a possible solution. These five villages and suburbs with excellent transport links are less than an hour from Zurich.

Published: 10 March 2023 15:54 CET
Five commuter villages near Zurich where it's easier to find an apartment
Commuting to Zurich and living elsewhere might be the best option given the housing crisis. Photo by Jenny Wagner on Unsplash

Wetzikon

If you’re not afraid of leaving behind the city life and embracing the great outdoors instead, a move to the Zürcher Oberland will not only save you money, but it also provides ample opportunities for hiking and cycling right at your doorstep.

The municipality of Wetzikon is only a 20-minute train ride away from Zurich HB with a direct connection available nearly every 10 minutes, making it a perfect commuter town for those heading into Zurich on the regular.

Though the town counted only 25,056 citizens as of December 31st, 2020, it has two railway stations: Bahnhof Wetzikon servicing the lines S3, S14, S15 and S5, as well as the Bahnhof Kempten with the S3 line.

In their leisure time, residents are well advised to check out the nearby Robenhausen locality based at the southeastern lake shore of Pfäffikersee.

The wetland Robenhauser Ried is part of the protected prehistoric pile dwelling area by Pfäffikersee and as such is listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Average rent: from 900 francs for a 1.5-room apartment.

Buchs

Not to be confused with Buchs of the cantons St. Gallen, Aargau, or Lucerne, Buchs ZH was first mentioned in the year 870 as Puhsaha, which roughly translates to stream by Buchs. At that time, the large landowner Landeloh donated his estates in the Limmat and Furt valleys, including Buchs, to the St. Gallen monastery.

Today, the village counts 6’598 citizens (3’267 women and 3’331 men) of which around 26 percent are foreign residents (December 31st, 2022).

Buchs is particularly family-friendly and currently hosts Märchen-Theater (fairytale theatre) and the Midnight Move Buchs featuring various sporting activities for the youth. Meanwhile, adults can enjoy a late-night drink at the Brasil Bar, play a round of tennis at the local Tenniscenter or win and dine at one of the village’s outstanding restaurants.

Zurich HB can be easily reached via the Bahnhof Buchs-Dällikon with trains (S6) departing every half hour from Baden to Zurich and vice verca.

Average rent: from 1,450 francs for a 1-room apartment.

Opfikon (Glattbrugg)

Only a 10-minute train commute from Zurich HB, the former hamlet Glattbrugg is growing in popularity with would-be residents due to its excellent location, infrastructure, and expanding economy.

The Glattbrugg area sits within the municipality of Opfikon and is particularly known for the famous GLATT – Switzerland’s most popular shopping centre. The latter is home to a range of speciality shops and larger department stores selling local and international items. Fun fact: the shopping centre was first to welcome the Apple Store to Switzerland.

Aside from shopping, Glattbrugg has excellent transport links to both Zurich Airport in Kloten and Zurich HB from Bahnhof Glattbrugg. The station is serviced by the S-Bahn lines S3, S9 and S15, as well as the Zurich tram routes 10 and 12.

The only downside to life in Glattbrugg: the airport noise.

Average rent: from 900 francs for a 1-room apartment.

Volketswil

Despite its 19’532 inhabitants – 26.2 percent of which are foreign residents – Volketswil does not present itself as a city.

The canton Zurich-based municipality consists of five villages, namesake Volketswil, Hegnau, Zimikon, Kindhausen and Gutenswil, and greatly benefits from its proximity to larger cities such as Zurich, Winterthur and Uster.

The town boasts a culture and sports centre with beach volleyball facilities, a community swimming pool, library, restaurants, and various shopping amenities. In short: though quaint, you won’t get bored in Volketswil.

Moreover, Volketswil is the hometown of two Swiss ice hockey players: defencemen Ronny Keller and Dean Kukan.

Sound too good to be true? There’s a catch. To reach Zurich HB, you’ll have to hop on a bus to nearby Bahnhof Schwerzenbach. From there it’s only a 10-minute train ride to Zurich.

In 2003, the town had petitioned to rename the railway station Schwerzenbach-Volketswil, but this request was denied. In Switzerland, train stations can only be double-barrelled if there’s a risk of mistaking them for one another town and even then, the change can prove very costly.

Average rent: from 955 francs for a 1-room apartment.

Pfäffikon

Pfäffikon is attractive for living, working, and shopping and has excellent public transport connections to Zurich, Winterthur, and Zurich Airport. The location on the lake is unique, as is the varied forest and meadow landscape around the village.

Numerous clubs and organisations ensure that cultural, social, and sporting life pulsates in Pfäffikon. Its 12’697 residents (20 percent foreign) can choose from exploring the village’s quirky typewriters’ museum or breaking a sweat at the Sportanlage Barzloo.

In the autumn, the town also hosts an annual market (November 7th, 2023) where residents display and sell various handcrafted goods.

Bahnhof Pfäffikon ZH connects the village with Zurich HB on Zurich S-Bahn Service S3 in just 30 minutes.

Average rent: from 784 francs for a shared 5-room apartment.

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ZURICH

Growth spurt: What Zurich needs to do to accommodate 2 million residents

Switzerland's biggest city Zurich is becoming more densely populated. With the population expected to pass the 2 million mark in the coming years authorities are devising plans to make it liveable for new residents.

Published: 29 April 2024 15:08 CEST
Growth spurt: What Zurich needs to do to accommodate 2 million residents

At the end of 2023, over 1.6 million people lived in Zurich, Switzerland’s most populous canton.

But this number is far from static.

The population is continuing to grow — so much so, that it will reach the 2-million mark in the coming years, cantonal authorities said in a press release.

This means an increase of around 450,000 people within the next two decades — a 28-percent growth rate, which is “significantly higher than the Swiss average.”

The primary reason for this hike, accounting for 49 percent of the increase, is immigration, followed by births (44 percent) and, to a lesser degree (7 percent), people moving to Zurich from other Swiss regions

On one hand, this is good news because “it is evidence of the canton’s attractiveness and economic prosperity,” authorities pointed out.

On the other, however, this demographic evolution will create a number of new problems and exacerbate the already existing ones.

That is why “strategic decisions are needed on how to handle challenges facing various areas,”  cantonal officials said.

‘Dealing with consequences’

With this ‘growth spurt,’ Zurich will experience many of the same challenges as Switzerland on the whole will, as demographers are expecting the country’s population to swell to 10 million (from the current 9 million) people in the coming years. 

Just as the federal government has started to think about the best ways to prepare the country’s infrastructure for the growing numbers, Zurich’s authorities too will be “shaping this growth” and “dealing with its consequences.”

To achieve this goal, they have launched the ‘Growth 2050” project to begin in the summer, which will  examine “which approach is most suitable for strategically addressing the challenges ahead,” according to the press release.

What exactly does this mean?

While the project’s findings will not be made public until 2027, authorities will have to ensure that Zurich’s infrastructure, such as housing, public transport, as well as school and healthcare systems, will not crumble under pressure, but be able to function optimally — from both the financial and practical perspectives — in the new context.

While all these areas are important, in Zurich’s case, housing appears to be a particular problem as more residents move into the canton.

With  tens of thousands of foreign nationals having settled in Zurich in the past few years, for instance, affordable housing had become scarcer — a situation that has continued to deteriorate and is expected to grow worse as more residents continue to arrive in the future.

READ ALSO: Zurich hit by affordable housing shortage amid record-high immigration

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