Moving To Bern from Canada
Perspective on Moving to Bern, Switzerland
Links for moving to Bern
• Cost Of Living in Bern
• City of Bern
• Canton of Bern Government
• On Arriving in Bern
• Importing a vehicle into Switzerland
• Swiss Visa and Immigration Information
• Swiss Health Care
• Education: Best Schools in Bern
• University of Bern
• AREA CODE for Bern is 31
(Remember that the country code to use first is 41)
Tips For Moving to Bern
1. Bern has the best of the four distinct yearly seasons. Warm summers, cold winters, beautiful spring and autumn weather, each with their expected scenery.
The best time for moving is literally any time. If you are able to target the days between tourist seasons, especially the end of the ski season into early spring, you will be able to save some money. Winter snow has become moderate so only presents a minor inconvenience for moving. Don't worry about the ski hills, they have adjusted with professional snow making equipement.
These are interesting times to move from Canada to Bern. On one hand we see the impact of a serious drop in international tourism opening up economic opportunities for those moving to this tourist dependent country. Alternately a costly danger arising from COVID-19, is the dependability of travelling on a specific date, for the family moving to Bern. Airlines have had to become careful in filling every seat on all flights. They cannot afford a fight with to few seats filled so move bookings to the next flight until adequate seats are sold. The implications from unexpected delays are arriving late and extra costs.
2. Bern's culture and lifestyle have aspects that impact daily life. One of the 1st things anyone moving there runs into is how things are closed down on Sunday's. The Swiss take the weekends to enjoy the outdoors and the country they have created, balancing out the work needed to make this co-operative society successful and earn a living.
3. English is widely spoken, much as it is throughout Europe. None the less, you can expect public interactions to be primarily in the local language NOT English. That local language, whether the cantons official German, French, Italian or Roman, also has significant local differences. Swiss German, for example, is not the high German often expected... for starters it has over 3000 unique words in its vocabulary and different than expected definitions for words such as pound.
Relocating to Bern
Bern is part of the second largest canton in Switzerland. Its population, around 150,000, is part of a market area that includes 660,000 people.
Stay on top of your moving decisions.
Monitor changing COVID coverage in the Bern local newspapers and media.
Bern, a beautiful place to live, is also a very expensive city to live in, even when compared to other expensive cities like New York or London. Negotiating a salary that is adequate to maintain the expected life style is important, especially given it is unlikely your spouse or partner will be able to secure a second income.
Vehicles that have been used for at least 6 months have duty free status. However the paper work required for importation of it and other personal possessions is challenging.
CURRENT WEATHER IN Bern (click for forecast)
