Stephanie left for Switzerland last Sunday evening for several days of attempted apartment hunting prior to our actual arrival. The trip, suggested by her boss-to-be, was a bit of a calculated gamble that, if successful, could shorten our need for temporary housing once we arrive and overall speed our transition. And of course, the more time spent in Zürich means greater familiarity which can never hurt.
Unfortunately neither the weather nor the apartments cooperated. The weather was unseasonably COLD at 45F (about 7C) and rainy--perfectly miserable. Reportedly there's already snow in the nearby mountains! There was a slight communication mix up with the relocation company who's helping us get establshed in Zürich; they were expecting her arrival a day later but were still able to set up a bank account (necessary to sign a lease) and see several apartments.
Perhaps not surprisingly the Swiss bankers are quite serious about their money. A pre-scheduled appointment is necessary simply to establish an account, and once established they told Stephanie that the untrustworthy husband would not have access to HER new personal account unless I was granted power of attorney (to reciprocate, my company paid its annual profit sharing bonuses this week and I deposited mine in a Cayman Islands offshore haven).
The apartments were nice enough, some very new and one slightly used, but the locations were not in the heart of the city itself--something more like nearby hybrid "city/suburbs" of Zürich, akin to an Evanston or Oak Park in Chicago. Apparently the city location apartments remain open for a day or less before they're snatched up. And the landlords list the rentals only one month in advance! And they're all asking for a three-month security deposit! Outrageous! In any event, it became obvious that a prerequisite for obtaining the most desirable close-in locations is already living somewhere nearby and being instantly personally available to jump on an open apartment. Not dissimilar from the rental situation in our old Chicago Lincoln Park neighborhood. Also wonderfully Swiss and xenophobic is complete disregard for equal-opportunity housing. If the landlord doesn't like you for whatever reason, e.g., he/she associates you with American foreign policy, then someone else (probably Swiss, yes?) gets the apartment, no questions asked. That's why the relo company is vital to our success--not just locating properties but also gutturally sweet-talking the landlord regarding our virtues and those of our 88 lb golden hairy son.
Steph did spend lots of quality time in Zürich with our new best friends whom I haven't met yet, a fellow Hyatt employee Dave (attorney) and his wife Heather who just transferred from Chicago about a month ago. Their situation mirrors ours almost exactly, just about two months earlier, which we're hoping will greatly ease our transition as they recount all their cultural and procedural snafus, of which there have been several already. The three of them had dinner two nights together this week and hit it off very well. And yes, they had sausage one night for dinner.
Steph returns on Thursday afternoon after four nights of being gone, which seems like forever when the house-husband spends all week prepping for both a house sale and a party for 100+ attendees this weekend.
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Sounds like quite the learning experience in Zurich this last trip. Can't believe there's no equal-opportunity laws. Well, of course it will all work out and it's great that you now have some mentors who have been through it already. What about that off-shore bank account? Now we'll know who to go to for money laundering - ha!
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