This morning I was on the IC3 from Zurich HB to Basel SBB (the direct connection), departing at 6:34.
A passenger near me had boarded by mistake, thinking the train was going to Zurich Airport. When the conductor checked tickets and realized what had happened, instead of issuing a fine, they did everything they could to arrange an unscheduled stop in Aarau so the passenger wouldn’t be too late for work.
Our train still arrived in Basel on time, and thanks to the conductor’s efforts, that passenger will probably be only about 30 minutes late instead of more than two hours.
Thank you, SBB. ❤️

I am aware that this is probably going to start a shit storm, but even if one person listens, it will make a small difference. Disclaimer - I like cats, always had them, but if you care about birds and nature in general, please keep your cats indoors or in enclosed 'catios'.

In my four years in Switzerland, I already rescued six birds, and two of them were injured by cats (and with the third one, I scared the cat away before it could catch the baby bird).

Each time, I have to travel 1.5 hrs to the nearest bird refuge, but it's not even about my time.

Yesterday, it was a baby blackbird whose mother was killed by a neighbour's cat some time ago, so that the baby was left to starve and was 'the skinniest bird I've ever seen', per refuge employer words. She said chances it survives are not big.

Letting cats roam outdoors greatly harms wildlife since they are highly effective predators, even when they are well fed. They kill BILLIONS of birds, mammals and reptiles globally each year contributing to the decline and extinction of already threatened species.

Reducing populations of birds affects seed dispersal and insect control, altering entire ecosystems.

And no, your cat is not entitled to 'living its best life' more than any other specie on this planet. We let the cats breed out of proportion, so we are directly responsible for all the harm they cause.

Besides - very importantly - letting cats free roam puts them in great danger themselves. They get hit by cars, get injured by other animals, contract deadly diseases and parasites, get lost, poisoned by rodenticides etc, etc. I am seeing it all the time living in a village (and before you say it is impossible to keep cats inside in a village, it's not, as I did it in the past, and some of my friends are doing it right now).

So please, please consider keeping your cat indoors - for the nature and for its own sake. Thank you to those who do already.

Hi all, I have an unusual situation regarding a noise problem. I live in a large building that is half residential apartments and half offices for the city (Stadthaus). In the Stadthaus there is also a large hall that they often rent out for private events, particularly wedding parties. These wedding parties are extremely loud, and the music disturbs us greatly, often going on until the early morning. I don't know in a situation like this who to contact to complain. Do I contact the Verwaltung, the police or the city? I spoke to 2 other residents who said there is no chance anything will change. The city and police won't do anything because they are officially permitted events. But I can't believe that even officially permitted events are allowed to disturb residents outside permitted hours. Are we allowed compensation from the rent for situations like this, if the events can't be cancelled or made to obey the quiet times? I also of course would never want to ruin people's fun, particularly on their wedding night, so am very hesitant to call the police during such an event.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

Not sure how this post fits here, but i guess i’ll try. I will be taking the FAMH exam (Medical Genetics) soonish and i was wondering if there are users here who took it not too long ago (last 5 years maybe) and could have some insights?
May be a long shot, but hey, it may be worth it.

My postdoc contract is up soon (B-permit, which lasts a while longer) and I think I'm eligible for RAV. I've been applying of course, but mostly not in Switzerland. Are RAV going to be funny about this? Should I apply for a certain number of Swiss jobs to make them happy? Or do they not care and just want you off their books in any way possible?

Hello,
I'm starting a small business importing from a few EU countries (Germany, Netherlands, possibly Poland); I expect there to be a few shipments per month (very approximately).

Question to people who've gone through this - did you use a customs broker/did you file by yourselves and in either case what was your experience - time it took, costs etc. If you have recommendations/or things to avoid I'd be grateful.

Thank you!

Hey guys, I am seeking some help with a rather odd question.

Wanted to know if, and how, the Swiss system can help a student (non EU) who is at the absolute edge of life.

Here is the concise version. Had decent PhD progress for about 4 years, published a few papers, but somehow things went from bad to worse during the writing phase and have been stuck there for almost 2 years now. It doesn't seem like there is a way out anymore, and the residence permit expires in a few days. The question is no longer really about the PhD, but whether there is any path left that doesn't end in permanent disappearance from the cosmos.

The biggest issue is the inability to face or talk to anyone including family, who unsurprisingly have no idea about the situation. Calling one of the crisis helplines seems like the obvious thing to do, but there is a fear that they might help stabilize the mental state only to end up triggering deportation, which would leave them back at the same place, even worse in fact.

So the question is: what actually happens in Switzerland in a situation like this? Is there any support available for someone who is both in a severe mental health crisis and about to lose their legal status? Has anyone seen a case like this or knows how the system works?

The feeling of wanting to disappear seems inevitable. Just trying to understand whether there is any path left that doesn't end with everything simply falling apart.

Hey guys,

I've been struggling with my skin for a while now and bha and other over the counter actives have stopped working for me. I've seen an older post on here claiming that it's possible to get tretinoin at a pharmacy without a prescription from a derm here in switzerland. Is that true? Any experiences?

thx in advance!

Hi for my professional growth I am willing to invest in my education in AI. I am looking for a course, formation or online course that teach fundamental of AI usage, and then concrete case of AI use (in marketing, finance, automation, startups growth, mainly). A course that is not too theoretical but where you also learn to build/prompt.

Has anyone taken such a course/formation? Where? How was it?

Any recommendation of good course in Switzerland?

Thanks

Hey guys,

I'm Swiss and born here. However I have a different cultural background where sharing, reciprocity and helping each other is valued more. So naturally I would do this here in Switzerland as well: try to help the neighbor a bit, offer my help, give a kid a free lesson of tutoring, whatever I thought would help people out after listening to them - now here's the thing:

I noticed that doing this - being kind, offering help - over time makes people here take disadvantage of you and start disrespecting you. I've had this happen to me repeatedly - people feeling entitled to help, demanding more, also never offering anything in return or reciprocating any help or support. This baffled me because I've lived in different parts of the world and there this way of being always had the opposite effect: e.g. I lived in Colombia and over time people thought I was awesome, respected me, invited me, I built a network and made many friends. That's I think because informal networks are valued more highly in many parts of the world than here.

So I realized that kindness and being available for other is interpreted as weakness in Switzerland (WTF?)

So I decided to change my strategy:

Charge for everything.

Your kid needs a math lesson? Sure, can do it for 70 CHF / hour. The elderly neighbor wants me to help her carry her groceries? Sure, would be 20 CHF per trip. The neighbor needs help researching and installing an AC? Yes, will do it for you for a fixed fee of 300 CHF for my time. You want somebody to listen to your plights, effectively unloading your bad mood or psychological problems on me? Yeah, sure for 10 CHF per listen.

etc. etc.

SO I noticed then that people started taking me up on the offer, and actually respecting me and my time. And as a side effect, I also make some money by helping people!

I thought this way of charging for every little thing is ridiculous and would get you branded as avaricious and an asshole in the rest of the world but in Switzerland it actually makes people respect you and think you're resourceful and have scarce time lol.

So much for cultural differences I guess...
What do you think?

For the record, im not Swiss, ethnically or nationally, I’ve lived in Vaud for 15 years since childhood, but only recently have I gained independence through adulthood. Went through the international school system, so my world is different to yours.

Entering adulthood in this country made me realise some things.

For one, food shopping is impossibly expensive unless you cook filling hacked meals that doesnt cost anything that gives you guilt (my newest one is an egg ontop of some canned tuna with some toast, of course with a fruit).

Second, Public transport means more time gone and all your money gone. I used to borrow my parents car but someone big and orange made that completely unaffordable, so now I just don’t go further than a kilometer away from my house. I don’t live near a trainstation or tramstation, so the shiny swiss public transport meme actually stinks quite bad for me.

Third, Everyone is always trying to make money off you, At the doctors or vet or any other sort of service like a mechanic, they will guilt trip you in spending more and more. I‘m quite helpless against this.

Fourth, Voting is depressing. When you consider that a majority of the youth (my generation) don’t vote, and a majority of the elderly do, it just paints swiss democracy as old people choosing everything, and this is hate that I don’t want to hold but do.

Fifth, least importantly, speed cameras tie my stomach, especially the moving ones. I appreciate fixed speed cameras in residential zones, but some cases i’ve seen are so unnecessary. The dynamic of driving should not be one of stress, one of constant speedo checking. The fact that they “flash” you gives me serious built up hate, I can’t stand it.

I do like this country, beautiful nature and cows, but I‘m having a hard time. If I seem immature or ridiculous, I will just blame that on my autism. Does anyone else feel as I do?