For those of you who didn’t make it to the Zurich Expat Expo and the International Community Fair, we found both events to be very successful – here are a couple of photos of our tables:
I was delighted that there was a great deal of interest in our new sailing operation, Sail YSL.
As I alluded to in the last blog post, Your Swiss Lifeline will be launching new services at the Expat Expo as well as offering a couple of show specials – you’d be mad to miss out 
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I’m afraid the blog has been a bit quiet over the last couple of weeks. The reason is that I’ve been working hard on preparations to exhibit at a couple of upcoming fairs over the next month. Continue reading
Your Swiss Lifeline is all about helping you get to grips with life in Switzerland. Life being the operative word. It’s all very well navigating your way round the systems but you have to have a bit of fun in the process. With this in mind, we have a number of new concepts in the pipeline so watch this space!! Continue reading
Part 2 of this series mentioned the mandatory training courses, SKN, that were introduced with the new Tierschutzgesetz (Animal Welfare Act) of 2008, which was enacted in response to a huge outcry following the Oberglatt tragedy of December 2005, when a small child was mauled to death by a dog kept by an irresponsible owner.
Another provision that this legislation introduced was that anyone offering to look after animals on a commercial basis i.e. for payment, must also be qualified. If you are going on holiday or need a regular dog sitter or walker while you are at work, you need Continue reading
I have no idea where this originated, but it’s a gem my mother found tucked inside a book some 40-odd years ago and passed onto me while growing up. Substitute the words “expats” for “travellers”, “life” for “holiday” and your nationality for “English” and I think it’s not a bad “life manual” for those of us living abroad: Continue reading
Having lived in Switzerland for 12 years, there are many things from the UK that I either no longer miss/have got used to living without or for which I have found an acceptable substitute (or have appeared in the shops here such as Ginger Nuts). Nevertheless there are still a few things that I wish existed in Switzerland and some get imported
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This is an oldie but a goodie.
Once upon a time, there was an e-mail that went viral in an age when the word “viral” was only ever associated with medicine. It was entitled “You know you’ve been in Switzerland too long when…” and proceeded to list various criteria that proved the statement. Its original author was Continue reading
Living in Switzerland with a dog is a delight in many ways as they are normally accepted in hotels, restaurants and pubs and in many shops. This may be a surprise if you come from a country where dogs are hardly ever allowed in public buildings but it means that you can take your four-legged friend with you almost anywhere. Continue reading
This two-part series is inspired by this excellent blog post by Rachel Yates of Defining Moves (which should be required reading for anyone contemplating an international relocation):
Unconventional but essential expat equipment – the dog
I’ve lived with dogs all my life and can’t imagine a home without the four-legged members of my family but an international move with pets adds complexity to the planning process and should be undertaken with due care and consideration. Continue reading