The weather took a turn so I’m forced to come in and warm my hands by my laptop’s cooling fan. Sitting here I’m thinking about what I’m doing in Switzerland . More specifically, what brought me back? Lets face it, I was away over 10 years -- about as long as I’d lived here -- I can hardly say I was going “Home”.
When I arrived in 1986 I lived in Interlaken, then Bern, and finally in Zurich, I spent most of my time with Expats, who spent most of their time complaining about the Swiss; “Oh, they're too strict and uptight, too many rules, too controlled, and besides, they don’t like us”. No shit? I shouldn’t wonder...
But as they say, “you can never go back”. Now it’s been two and a half years, long enough to have formed an opinion about my choice. Sure enough some things have changed. For one thing, the new guard has taken over from the grumpy old guard. People smile and seem mean it. It’s more colorful, people of many ethnicities speaking Swiss German; second generation of families that were just beginning to trickle into Switzerland as I was leaving. I admit to the occasional double take to an unexpected perfect Swiss dialect from a non-traditional source.
This influx, plus the recent influx of EU workers (by the way, many Swiss are also leaving to work in the EU) seems to be energizing the economy and lifestyle. Switzerland is booming. Bars, restaurants and clubs are springing up, and some disappearing, daily.
According to the Economist, Switzerland has the second highest standard of living in the world, second to Ireland. And Zurich, where I happen to now live, has the highest standard of living of any major city. Cool huh? Actually, a couple years ago Time Magazine called it the “Coolest City on the Planet”.
Some things haven’t changed though. It’s still tidy. It’s still about the prettiest country there is. The Swiss are still efficient, things work more often then not, and the Expats still complain about the Swiss. I’m glad to be back. I think it’s home after all.
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