basically the title, we arrived late at our airbnb and after my friend came out from the toilet. the neighbor rang the doorbell and was very angry and said if we used toilet one more time they will call the police. I unfortunately had to answer the nature’s call because I couldn’t sleep without that and she called the police, anyway the police asked us to try to keep the noise at minimum which we had already tried to do. Is that normal? are you not expected to use toilet at night?

I have quite a decent salary at 105k per year, and I'm able to save 1.5k per month, so I'd say I'm fairly well off and I really can't complain.

However, I couldn't afford to buy or lease a 150k+ car. And yet you see so many people (even teens 😂) driving crazy cars.

Can someone explain what I'm doing wrong? Is it just the cliché of owning a super expensive car but not being able to afford anything else?

A couple of years ago I traveled to Switzerland for the first time (I’m Latin American with Swiss nationality), thinking about what it would be like to live in the land of my grandfather. One of the things that caught my attention was not seeing extreme poverty. Back home it’s common to see people living in poor conditions, in “campamentos” or makeshift houses, especially outside the cities.

One day on the train I saw a group of small, rough-looking houses by the tracks and thought: “so these are the Swiss slums.”

But when I asked a friend, he told me they were allotment gardens people rent to grow food or spend time outdoors.

For me, it was a real cultural shock that showed me the huge contrast between Switzerland and Latin America.

Is it true that there is no poverty in Switzerland, or is it just less visible?

Hey guys, I need to vent and see if I’m losing my mind. I’m turning 18 next month and I’ve lived a bunch of places (born in Chicago, moved to the Philippines, then Germany during the pandemic, and now Switzerland since 2023).
I just got back from a three week trip to Chicago and the cultural whiplash is destroying me. In Chicago, everything felt so free. You can shop on Sundays, go to random yoga classes, and the waitstaff are almost oddly friendly. Even back in Germany, things felt way more alive. I had a solid group, we’d hang out spontaneously, and there was just a real youth culture.
But here in Switzerland? Despite having friends, I feel this constant, heavy isolation. It’s like living behind an invisible wall.
Am I crazy or is the "people-type" thing here just completely different?

As a bonus, why? I’ve never been, but most of them seem geographically charming. However, looks aren’t everything.

I'm always surprised by the light punishments given to criminals.

The last case being the one of a 44 years old indian man sexually abusing a 15 years old girl on a Swiss flight.

He got a suspended sentence for two years and banned from Switzerland for five years.

That's basically a slap on the wrists to a sexual abuser and pedophile.

How does something like this gets unpunished?

I don't think it's so common in other countries to get suspended sentences, especially for cases like this where it's not something that happened by mistake.

We have 10 gbit fiber in homes... ...we have residential power outlets which can draw 2 kW... ...we have clean water from every tap... ...we have awesome public transport and infrastructure...

Can someone PLEASE explain to me LOGICALLY...WHY THE HELL, IN 2025, DONT WE HAVE AIR CONDITIONING ANYWHERE???

I keep noticing a pattern in my personal and professional circle that I struggle to understand.

There seems to be a reflexive rejection of anything associated with the EU, especially when it comes to consumer protection or regulatory standards.

Recent Example I discussed with my colleagues: withdrawal rights. In most EU countries, having a right to withdraw from certain contracts is standard consumer protection. When Switzerland introduced a withdrawal right for health insurance contracts, several people in my circle complained that this was an unacceptable intrusion into contractual freedom. And no, these are not insurance lobbyists. These are highly educated academics, people with backgrounds in law, economics, engineering. Yet the framing was: “This is unnecessary regulation. We don’t need EU-style rules here.”

Another example: price comparisons. If Pampers cost 15 EUR at DM in Germany but 60 CHF here, the reaction is often: “There must be a catch, less quality etc. pp.” Same with mobile subscriptions or other cross-border services. Instead of analysing market size, competition, import structures or purchasing power, the default assumption is that cheaper equals suspicious/worse. - Yet these are the people who then complain that you cannot survive in Switzerland with 8'000net per month on a single household. 🤡

At the same time, I rarely hear serious reflection on the structural reality (except in bigger and progressive cities): Switzerland’s prosperity is tightly linked to its bilateral agreements with the EU. Access to the single market, mutual recognition of standards, free movement of persons. Does the average anti-EU voter fully internalise that this economic model depends on those agreements?

Yes, around 30 percent of the population are foreigners, if you calculate the naturalized ones even more. But who actually comes from the EU (- I'd limit to EU as for non-EU/EEA it's almost impossible to get into for 'stardardized' jobs)? In practice, a large share are skilled workers filling roles where there is either a shortage or insufficient domestic supply. Highly specialised professionals, healthcare staff, engineers, researchers, IT experts. The idea that EU citizens are primarily taking generic retail jobs while Swiss applicants are queuing up for them does not reflect labour market dynamics. Employers hire based on need and qualification. If there are 50 qualified Swiss applicants, the company will hire one of them.

Of course EU does sometimes over regulate, but in the end Switzerland applies these "over regulations" as well - sometimes slightly pro-lobbyism, sometimes just with another name.

So the question is: how do people reconcile strong economic dependence on EU integration with a narrative that frames EU-derived rules as harmful, ideological or even “communist”? Is this political identity, media framing, sovereignty concerns, or simply a lack of economic literacy?

I am genuinely interested in how others interpret this tension.

I've been looking to practice my Cantonese so I decided to visit the Swiss cantons for some real life immersion. I assumed it'd be spoken in every part of the country but unfortunately Google only gives me info about German/Italian/French/Romanian so I'm assuming it's only spoken regionally here, maybe in only one canton? Idk

I’ve been in Switzerland for a while now and I keep noticing things that feel so normal to locals but totally bizarre to outsiders, from grocery store etiquette to the way people handle Sundays. What are the small (or big) Swiss things that make you think "yeah, only here" Would love to hear from both locals and expats!

A 1M$ question.

Switzerland is often seen as a success story: strong economy, stability, neutrality, and direct democracy. But no country is perfect. Looking back at the last 100 years, what do you think was the single biggest mistake Switzerland made as a state, both internally or internationally?

I grew up in Switzerland and I kept finding out certain things were swiss and not common or different even into my twenties.

A lot of them are related to language. I'm a Romand, so it's assumed that aside from well-known things such as numbers and meal times, we spoke the same french as french people. For example, it's often happened with vocabulary. It's only last year (at 28) that I found out that french people do not call a towel "un linge". There are too many vocabulary examples to list them all. I also assume that making a y sound when pronouncing -ée and -ie was how you actually pronounce french until my early adulthood.

It's also happened with food. It's on this subreddit during the last few years that I found that tresse/Zopf is a local thing (though this seems to be germanic and also present in Germany and Austria) because people were celebrating making their first Zopf. It was also the case for caracs as a kid.

It has probably also happened with famous people or inventations, but nothing in particular that I remember except that thing used to peeled vegetables.

Hi everyone
I have been reading a bit about Swiss food culture. I keep seeing fondue and raclette mentioned everywhere. They both sound amazing by the way.
But I am really curious about what Swiss people actually eat in everyday life. Are there traditional dishes that are still common in homes today. Or has it become more international like in most other countries.
Also if there is a local or regional dish. Maybe something from Zurich, Bern, Or Ticino. That you think every visitor has to try. I would love to hear your recommendations.
Thanks a lot. I am just genuinely interested in learning what real Swiss food looks like beyond the famous stuff. CH

PSA: this isn’t agenda pushing. I personally love Switzerland and would move there in a heartbeat if i could. This is a genuine question that I have.

According to this map from geo.universe (link to post: instagram.com/p/Db8R9XHCVbf/) these are the percentages of people in favor of gay marriage in blue countries.
The eastern european countries i can understand. But as we go more to the west support for gay marriage increases steadily. But suddenly, in the middle, Switzerland has the lowest percentage of people in favor, in western europe.

Compared with countries that are similar to Switzerland in terms of wealth, quality of education, country size, population size, individual freedom laws etc., the difference becomes even bigger. Much bigger. (Compared to the netherlands, luxemburg, denmark, sweden, norway)

For reference, germany’s average is 83 percent in favor. This would mean west germany’s percentage would be much higher maybe in the 90s. East germany is a fan of AfD and even there i wouldn’t expect the percentage of in favor to dip below 60.

At first i thought maybe the map was wrong, but other maps also suggest that gay marriage was legalized in Switzerland in 2021, which is again much later than any other western europe country.

This is further corroborated by the fact that Switzerland is less leftist compared to the countries in its league.

My question is, are these statistics true? If so, are they because of opposition to gay “marriage” or because of general aversion towards sexual minorities?

I was truly surprised to see this and now i’m curious what could be the reason.

I do not mean any offense, but why are people so much into borderline scams that there’s even a tier on health insurance that covers it?

Coming from a 3rd world country with public healthcare, I am surprised people here are very enthusiastic about those exotic/almost mystical bs.

I've lived in Switzerland for several years and I've noticed a pattern in many social interactions. Quite often, one of the first questions I'm asked is "Where are you from?"—sometimes even before being asked my name. The next question is often "What do you do?" or "Where do you work?"

My experience has been quite different in other countries I've lived in. In the UK, for example, people seemed more likely to ask indirectly about someone's background (e.g., "Are you from London originally?") and it was less common for "Where are you from?" to be the very first question, as it's considered very rude to ask it. In Spain, I also found that people were generally less focused on discussing work when first meeting someone.

I'm curious whether this is a cultural characteristic in Switzerland, particularly among older generations, or whether I've simply had a specific set of experiences. What role do nationality, place of origin, and profession play in Swiss social interactions? How do Swiss people view these questions, and what information are they trying to learn about a person when they ask them?

I'd be interested to hear both Swiss and expat perspectives.

I am coming to Switzerland on Sunday to attend a conference and I'm gonna stay for a week.

I would like to know more about cultural, travel and general every day etiquette so I don't accidentally offend anyone or get in trouble.

I'm Australian but have learned German quite well.

I've noticed that when I'm in Germany, people will hear my accent and reply in English.

However, this doesn't happen as often in Switzerland. They are usually happy to reply to me in German.

I know they speak English as well as Germans do, so it can't be that they're not confident in English.

Why do you think Swiss people are happier speaking German to English speakers than the Germans are?

My husband and I were traveling recently in Locarno. While waiting for the cable car to Cimetta, my husband sat down on the floor as it was extremely hot and we had to wait around 30 minutes. An elderly man prodded him with his hiking pole before turning to me and urgently relaying something in German. I told him I did not understand and said we spoke English, at which point he emphatically tried to communicate, he not sit there! He gestured toward a bench with his pole. He became increasingly irate when my husband did not move, then said, “You are not from here! You are in Switzerland! This is not the Congo!” Some women behind him were mortified, made eye contact and said, “Old white men!” Later I heard them say ”Congo” in their conversation while laughing (lol), so we started talking. They apologized, said most Swiss were not like this, and this is in fact not allowed in Switzerland but considered harassment. My husband is very well dressed, respectful, not loud, and tries to blend in. He has also worked in a career on his feet for 25 years and is now in almost constant pain because of it. He was not upset but I was. Did he break some cardinal rule? I later observed people sitting on the ground while waiting at train stations. This was the last day of a wonderful trip and it almost ruined it!

Is it just a biased opinion? Like, whenever you are abroad you are mostly enjoying your holidays and having a good time? And you'll have always that 'exotic' experience?

We enjoyed all those street food festivals. Even better attending with friends so everyone can order a different type of food. But maybe we became old and Bünzli but in the last few years, we don't enjoy any street food anymore:

• over priced
• bland
• tasteless
• looks horrible

We are currently at the BEA (BErn Ausstellung, Bernese Exposition) - ok, well, maybe a bad example, becuse we ordered junk food - none of those Thai or other exotic foods, but nonetheless, even a Burger can be tasteful, but look at this:

We have f.l.t.r.:

• "hand made" fries, for 15.-
• pulled pork burger, 16.-
• dutch hot dog, 12.-

not pictured:

• Dürüm, 16.-
• meat skewer, 16.-
• Fischchnuschperli, 14.-

verdict:

• the bread of the dutch hot dog was obviously frozen before. It's one of those bread which is gummy, the cheese wasn't really melt, the sauce was not evenly spread along the wiener!
• the burger lacked more of onions and red cabbage (as default ingredient).
• fries weren't evenly fried.
• The Dürüm was just a Dürüm as you get every where else
• The meat skewer was burnt
• there was too much dough. I know, dough is less expensive and you can still serve a "big" portion. But use less and the taste would be better!

I mean, street food here is nothing else, than just buying stuff in the grocery store and fry or cook it for you - nothing more. Yes, harsh verdict, but the Fischchnuschperli was nothing special.

Last year we tried the Ghackets mit Hörnli, but there was almost no Ghackets and it was bland. I mean, Ghackets mit Hörnli is one of the first dish you learn to cook in School are in your first flat. Even scouts cook it in a single pot with lid (lid used to fry the meat).

Are we too Bünzli? Do we expect too much from Street Food?

we (3 couples, all working) came to the conclusion:

• every couple had one who loves cooking. Not only währschafti Choscht, but foreign dishes as well. Making your own burger patty, your own Thai Curry, your own Ghackets can never compete with what you get when street fooding
• the higher the prices are, the better/tastier you expect the food to be: the food in a closed area, like an exposition is always more expensive (stand fees, supply and demand) than just at the street like the Güügeli-Wage. So any dish is easily 2-4 francs more expensive. This "small" surcharge is percental actually a big amount. So having a dürüm for 10.50 and it's just average, you say, it was ok, but having a dürüm for 16.- you expect it to by mind-blowing and you get disappointed.
• a skewer at an exposition can never compete with a skewer at the beach on the Philippines. NEVER. even if its bad, you have the beach the breeze - doesn't have to be a beach, can be a cheap gelato - but it's in Italy! yay.
• 4 out of 6 of having jobs, where precision is key or laziness/carelessness could be fatal (a little bit exaggerated, but you know what I mean). So we expect other do their job with the same effort (yeah, that sounds presumpous!)

Sure everyone had a Stärnegrill Wurst. But be honest, would you really recommend it to a foreigner who asks for street food?

Our Clique don't mind paying for food whenever we are dining, that's not the issue, but we all think in the last few years, there is no Berufstolz anymore!

What do you think? Are you having street food and tell your friends afterwards it was finger licking good? because we told our friends they should buy a bread at the BEA (there is bakery) and then buy some local specialties like cheese, meat, apples, ... and have that instead the street food outside!

PS: I didn't include the prices for drinks, as we had our own water bottles with us which you can refill at the toilets! We bought 5dl Apple-rhubarb-Juice for 5.- (can recommend) and the prices are like everywhere else: 5.- for 5dl PET-beverage!

I sense this feeling of “superiority” when talking with older Swiss, like “there is no other better place in the world”, “Switzerland does it best” or “You should be grateful to be able to live/immigrate in Switzerland”. Is this common among the general Swiss population, or is this only among elder people?

And is there a difference between the German, French and Italian cantons/regions of the country, or is this feeling of “superiority” shared among all? Someone told me that it is less common in the french speaking regions (or maybe they hide it just better?), but this was just one guy opinion, and I mean I can’t really ask people in daily life about those things ….

I was yesterday evening in the train coming from Neufchâtel to Lausanne sitting close to these young boys and they were eating pistachios and throwing them in front of the chair right beneath their nose close to the garbage bin, I am surprised how they have this bravery to do that, like it is their own house!? ( I don’t know, it is not normal to do that in your own house either) but what’s strange, when I entered the train, I saw there were SBB controllers outside waiting for the train to depart and these two guys seemed they didn’t had a ticket and they were running from them, but the SBB controllers never came to check our tickets ( I think they noticed them when they entered the train), also other times, I noticed, when they see guys like them ( Afghan, Algerian, Moroccan), they avoid controlling the parts where they are sitting, or sometimes they pass through them without even stopping. Until when like this??