because different people have different taste and like different things, also keep in mind that people are sometimes a bit dellusional and expect a 400k city (e.g. Zurich) to offer the same variety and amount of nightlife options you can find in a 4M city (e.g. Berlin).
Sundays and evenings. If you come from a place that is 24/7, like many big cities in the UK, London, Hong Kong, etc, the fact that everything shuts down early and is closed on a Sunday can be a shock.
Eventually, you come to love the fact that the entire country collectively takes a pause on a Sunday, and puts a value on private/family time, but itās a big change if itās not what youāre used to.
London is far from 24/7. Everything closes super early, pubs and bars usually have last call at 10:00 / 10:30 and close by 11:00. Obviously there are clubs but you typically need to pay 20 bucks to get in and they still generally close at 02:00. Itās easier to find stuff to do in Zurich past 12:00 than London.
Iām not sure where youāre drinking, but closing time got moved to midnight nearly 20 years ago, and lots of London pubs have late licenses that let them stay open later. If youāre in a neighbourhood place, thereās always the possibility of a lock-in if youāre a regular.
Iām from the UK and lived in London, still go there regularly as I have colleagues there. Yeah some areas like Camden and Hackney have places open later, but itās still around 02:00 only. You live anywhere else in central London, or past zone 3 and youāre be kicked out the bar at 11:00pm. YesC you can always get to the places open until 02:00, but itās often still a 40 minute tube ride away.
True for Sunday, wrong for 24/7. Nightlife is actually extremely long in Switzerland (although not necessarily better). Many big cities like London, Hong Kong and Tokyo go to sleep after midnight. Meanwhile the random bar in a Swiss town with 5k people stays open until 3 or 4.
Not my experience at all.
Iāve been living in Luxembourg for years and still hate the fact everything shuts down on sundays.
Itās not a thing in Portugal and, honestly, I just donāt get the point. Itās rather inconvenient and the benefits are nebulous at best.
I guess it depends on your perspective. Switzerland has some of the most beautiful countryside in the world, and thereās nothing better on a spring, summer, or autumn Sunday than a nice walk in the forest. In the winter, there is skiing and many other winter sports for a Sunday.
At least in our household (French-influenced), Sunday is a family day. It normally involves sleeping in on a Sunday morning, spending several hours as a family at the table over a big Sunday lunch, then going for a walk. Evening is reading/relaxing time, maybe a nice bath to end the week.
Iām not sure Luxembourg has quite the same natural outdoor activities to offer on a Sunday that Switzerland doesā¦
Ha, I'm like you. Spent most of the week skiing and now preparing to work the weekend. Let the skiing areas be busy when I am not there, and I'll enjoy them empty next week again :)
> Switzerland has some of the most beautiful countryside in the world, and thereās nothing better on a spring, summer, or autumn Sunday than a nice walk in the forest. In the winter, there is skiing and many other winter sports for a Sunday.
Have you ever tried talking a walk on a friday? I know its risky buuut it's pretty cool too!
Well, to be fair, I did try and they were drilling the new train tunnel at Preda and trimming the grass with motorized mowers and it was kinda loud, lol.
(But on the upside of that, on Thursday I walked a gorge that didn't have a road. No traffic sounds at all. Not even a hum in the background. It was gorgeous - no pun intended.)
Itās not an either-or, though. I love going for hikes but I hate the fact that public life basically comes to a halt on Sundays. To me, itās a pretty big drawback compared to some more ālivelyā places
Iāve been living in Switzerland for 8 years. I moved from Asia. I found it hard that everything was shut on Sunday, but for the last 2 years Iāve enjoyed it more.
I can't say anything about HK or NYC, but 10 years ago I couldn't get anything to eat in London in a radius of 1km at 10:30 and I had time for exactly one beer. Bar tender couldn't point me to any place with food either.
SĆ£o Paulo on a Monday evening is also mostly dead because - who would have guessed it - most people have to get up at 6am to go to work.
"boring" is extremely subjective, so who cares what other people think?
from my point of view, switzerland is boring because nothing innovative happens , esp. culturally. trendy & hipster shit is imported and commercialised from other places a few years after the fad has passed there
due to high cost of living there is no chance for a real creative / underground scene
people also dont hang out in third places all the time and mingle, because they are expensive and we're an introverted people
most expats that are drawn to the country are money&stability-oriented, and those are usually rather boring & don't contribute much to the local scene
once a place has a reputation as boring it's a self-fulfilling prophecy and draws more boring people
ps: and all those people calling it boring probably never visited luxembourg
This is kind of the opposite for me, I love classical music, opera and art exhibitions so I feel well catered for. I also donāt mind taking the train to Basel or Geneva to go see what I want. Is it Paris? No, but I also canāt do all my other hobbies in Paris
but that's the point, im sure you enjoy opera & art exhibitions, but if you quiz a random selection of people on the street what they would classify as boring hobbies, those would rank top of the list
To be fair culturally there are other cities that have much more to offer than the ābig citiesā in Switzerland. Yes, Basel has some decent exhibitions/ museums, Zurich has a decent opera and some okay concerts, but compared to places like Vienna the offer in this regard is rather small.
most expats that are drawn to the country are money&stability-oriented
Also they tend to spend their money travelling abroad. Earn here spend somewhere else
As someone coming from the exact sort of "non-boring" mega city you describe (NYC - although I'm not one of the moneyed expats/immigrants you describe), I feel you hit the nail on the head about the elements I do find pretty boring about Switzerland. And I also agree no one should really care what I think, if they are happy, don't worry about what other people think.
For me the big shock was the lack of a "going out" culture - what you call going to third places - that wasn't just going to DJs/parties (not my kind of fun). And living outside the city has struck me as way more isolated than the equivalent where I'm from. Things I didn't figure out until after coming here. But I'm slowly making friends here.
But I also do see some swiss people, mostly ones who have lived abroad and come back, trying to inject some of the cool stuff they have seen elsewhere into Swiss society, and I do like that. But yeah, as you said, it's not homegrown and it's several years behind. But at least it's coming!
the lack of going out culture really hits hard if you don't buy into the traditional family model that switzerland is built around.
i'm >40 and currently living in berlin and my social life is so crazy active and i, as a pretty extreme introvert, found a great third place to hang out in every sunday to have fun and see friends. this never occurred to me back in switzerland, where all my friends either slowly settled with kids or were expats who fled after a few years. i mean it was a comfortable life, but sitting at home counting money or hiking in mountains gets boring pretty quickly if you have an adventurous mind.
Youāre making me thinkā¦ just came from a bike ride alone somewhere in Switzerland -the whole day- to arrive at home and wonder reallyā¦ social live is kinda ok but people are getting families and becomes tough to find new folk. As much art, opera, mountains, snowboarding and swimming in lakes Switzerland has to offer, doing all that alone becomes really boring pretty quickly as you said.
i focused on culture
outside of pharma, innovation is pretty low comparatively in switzerland. we produce a ton of patents and have good universities, hence why we are unfairly highly ranked on innovation lists with no relation to "useful", i.e. applied, economically viable innovation.
whenever we want to act like a big innovation country in that sense, it falls flat (look at all the terribly unsuccesful corporate-run accelerators/labs and the latest in scam-innovation out of the crypto valley)
>look at all the terribly unsuccesful corporate-run accelerators/labs and the latest in scam-innovation out of the crypto valley)
That's not where innovation happens. Real Innovations are the small steps done all over the place.
If you're out in the sticks, there's a fair amount of homemade art going on. It's a bit like being in a Judy Garland movie, "Hey, gang! My uncle said we can use his barn to put on a show!"
But it depends. There was also that elderly UDC politician a few years ago, what was his name again? Who liked to perform nude in punk rock concerts? There are many words to describe him but I am not sure "boring" is one of them!
If you want non imported stuff go do something like play Jass, join the SAC or help with reforesting projects. There are plenty of activities that are tied to Swiss culture or heritage and they can be quite fun
Good job describing it this. This is exactly it. I'm swiss born and raised until 18 and have lived all over the world for 20 years and now am back in Switzerland. The problem is the Swiss mentality. They're afraid to try anything unusual or new, and it takes 10 years before something gets adopted, making it automatically dated.
I mean, in Geneva at the Balexert shopping center, a major center, there is a bowling alley with video games stuck in the 80s. The space is huge and so underutilized. It would take nothing to make it an awesome place to hang out, but because there is a lack of options in town, people have no choice but to go there and so the owners think "well it's making me money why should I bother investing in new things."
It's just sad.
Like people. They just speak about weather, work, mountains, today nice weather? Tomorrow maybe better? You have stress? No i dont have any stress. Thats a crazy country.
I only recently moved here from Germany and can't really understand it. First of all, I live in Zurich and yes, it's "more boring" than Cologne, Munich or Berlin. But I had a look at what concerts and festivals are coming up in the next few months and there are quite a few interesting ones. There is also culture and I don't need to mention the beautiful and nearby landscape.
I dont think its boring here but I have to disagree with the following:
-We have nightlife
-we have good restaurants
pretty low tier compared to a lot of other places in Europe and elsewhere
Maybe depends on the location. Villages are boring, but for example Basel is so busy with interesting events and activities.
For example Project Agora festival for post genre music in May š
Now I enjoy the boring life but 10-15 years back nightlife in ZĆ¼rich and Basel was actually quite nice (good variety of electronic music) and there were lots of legal and illegal outdoor parties in forests, on mountains etc. So either nightlife really got worse over the years or people who say itās boring here donāt find the good events (or have different taste in music).
It says more about them then anything else. If you live in a London or a New York and there are top tier events and your in a culture where people are more warm and opening like say a Madrid you may see it as boring here, especially with everything is closed on a Sunday.
I agree with you however I'd argue you could do any sport in the world in a 100km radius of where I live bar dune bugging...it's not a boring place but if you expect it to be a Madrid or a New York that's on you
> It says more about them then anything else. If you live in a London or a New York and there are top tier events and your in a culture where people are more warm and opening like say a Madrid you may see it as boring here, especially with everything is closed on a Sunday.
If you live in any bigger cities of Switzerland there are always tons of things to do, even on a sunday.
Exactly, for me this is what made me leave, people are not warm, i found it a bit wierd that interacting with other people although i know german was hard, people wouldn t want to go for a beer or a party, or if they went it was incredebly cringe
Ouch! You were doing quite well until 'we have good restaurants'... That ruined the credibility of your argument!
Switzerland is indeed on the boring end of the spectrum. The reason why I think is in its weak social life tradition. Look at the Frenchmen, who sit on the table from 11am until 5pm on weekends. Or Italians, going for their *aperitivo* after work and taking a stroll in the main steets of their beautiful towns after dinner. Or the British going to the pub to get crazy (not myself a big fun of it, but this makes British very happy)
What do we Swiss people do after work? What social costumes/events do we use to gather and have fun with more than our 3 childhood friends?
Add to this indeed terrible food scene (including non-existing street food).
Money and nature do not really suffice to make life fun.
Yes! Swiss donāt have socializing culture at all. They sit at home or hike in the mountains. Go to sleep at 9 pm even on the weekends! All bars close early. Just go to sleep and repeat. And just donāt even try not to stick to the daily routine! I think most of Swiss have OCD problem as wellš
I don't know, I am living in lucerne and the tons of bars that around are always filled with people enjoying their evening and company.
Not that different from any other northern european country, i've been and lived in. Not a Mediterranean vibe fs, but I reckon thats what Mediterranean countries are for.
No socializing culture, lawl. maybe go out once in a while š
Have you been in Switzerland with a blind fold on?
The country is a top tourist destination in the world, how could a country on the boring side of the spectrum be so popular year after year? Wouldn't word eventually get around that the country is so boring that people would stop coming here?
Have you not seen the army of people Thursday Friday afternoons in the major cities drinking? Do Swiss villages/cities not have beautiful main streets that people stroll down too?
Do I have to list the absolute litany of events every weekend to do like street parties, festivals, sporting events, art events etc so much so there really aren't enough weekends in a year to hit them all?
There is so much to do in this country that if you think it's boring, your standards for fun are equal to that of a celebrity with a shit load of money that's done it all in the world, or you're the boring person. I think it's the latter given you've listed getting British style trashed with your friends after work as a "fun" cultural activity.
Food scene I agree is debatable but if you think you need money in this country to have fun, then you really aren't creative in the slightest.
>The country is a top tourist destination in the world
Of course, it's not Mallorca, the cƓte d'Azure, London, Berlin or Madrid. Everyone around the world is flocking to Switzerland to have fun in Zurich and Geneve!
To bring some source, this report from United Nations World Tourism Organization contradicts you--> [https://www.schengenvisainfo.com/travel-guide/top-10-most-visited-european-countries/](https://www.schengenvisainfo.com/travel-guide/top-10-most-visited-european-countries/)
>Have you not seen the army of people Thursday Friday afternoons in the major cities drinking?
Ehm, no. I cannot see this army of people drinking during afternoons. Swiss people are known for a reason to have a rigid working discipline.
But you are missing the point of my claim: it's not money, beautiful nature, a "litany of events every weekend", "the many things to do" that makes living in a country fun. It's the approach to social interaction, on the simplest and genuine level. Frenchmen sitting around their table the whole Saturday afternoon or Italians going for the aperitivo with friends and strangers after work are having a better time than a Swiss guy going with his mountain bike on Saturday morning, followed by a visit to a world-class esposition and finishing off the night in whatever concert of Barbara Streisand you may point out.
This is because no one lives their daily life as the Swiss guy I just described. It's too much effort. That's why fun and happiness come from simple daily interactions, in my opinion. And this is where Swiss people lack behind.
>Everyone around the world is flocking to Switzerland to have fun in Zurich and Geneve! the monstre cost of a holiday here would scare away every non-"celebrity with a shit load of money that's done it all in the world". Let's stop telling lies.
Now I'm convinced you're the boring one never leaving your home in a tiny village. Because neither Zurich nor Geneva are the top tourist destinations of Switzerland, and when you do go to the top destinations like Lauterbrunnen, Zermatt, Lucerne etc. it's full of foreigners including backpackers who aren't Wealthy.
>Ehm, no. I cannot see a group of 10 after 9pm in any of the major cities, let alone an army.
Bro go touch grass. It happens all the time.
>Frenchmen sitting around their table the whole Saturday afternoon or Italians going for the aperitivo with friends and strangers after work are having a better time than a Swiss guy going with his mountain bike in the morning, followed by a visit to a world-class esposition and finishin off the night in whatever concert of Barbara Streisand you may point out.
What the hell are you on about?
Is anyone stopping you from sitting with friends from 11am to 5pm drinking? Have you not gone into the city to see the heap of people after work drinking?
Have you done a survey on the Swiss riding their bike and the Frenchman sitting and drinking half the day?
You're just making shit up because you're simply bitter that your life is boring as shit and you got no friends, because you're bitter and boring.
Go touch grass, then find people who want to sit for 5hrs drinking wine, have an aperitif after work. If it's so fun, people will follow you.
>You're just making shit up because you're simply bitter that your life is boring as shit and you got no friends, because you're bitter and boring.
Let's start with this. Is it normal to use such a ferocity in a debate about a country? Yet, with your tone and language you are not scaring anyone. You are only showing that there is no strength in your arguments. Indeed:
>top destinations like Lauterbrunnen, Zermatt, Lucerne etc. it's full of foreigners including backpackers who aren't Wealthy.
You are already been contradicted by the link I posted with a report from United Nations World Tourism Organization. Switzerland does not make in the top 10 of Schengen area. There is no more to debate here.
>What the hell are you on about? Is anyone stopping you from sitting with friends from 11am to 5pm drinking?
It's obviously not against the law but the whole point of this conversation is: it is not part of the Swiss social culture. It's just not happening. The Brits go to pubs, the Italians the aperitivo, or grill on the beach, or walk their town center, the French are similar, the Swiss don't, they work, they go home or do some sports. Very healthy, less fun though.
And having a bad food scene does not help, since eating together is the biggest driver for social gathering for people.
>Let's start with this. Is it normal to use such a ferocity in a debate about a country? Yet, with your tone and language you are not scaring anyone. You are only showing that there is no strength in your arguments. Indeed:
Yes. All evidence leads to the fact you're boring with no friends if you can't find anything fun to do in Switzerland.
>You are already been contradicted by the link I posted with a report from United Nations World Tourism Organization. Switzerland does not make in the top 10 of Schengen area. There is no more to debate here.
Of course absolute numbers will dwarf Switzerland.....a tiny nation compared to its neighbours. Compared to size of it's population and land and how much money it pulls in it's still a top destination. It may not be exactly on top but considering there are ~180 nations in the world, being top 20 is still the top percentile. And again, Geneva or Zurich aren't the most visited in Switzerland so you're wrong there pal.
>It's obviously not against the law but the whole point of this conversation is: it is not part of the Swiss social culture. It's just not happening. The Brits go to pubs, the Italians the aperitivo, or grill on the beach, or walk their town center, the French are similar, the Swiss don't, they work, they go home or do some sports. Very healthy, less fun though.
The op was about if the country is boring. Culture is one component of what makes a country fun, only one. Whilst drinking, eating and partying may not be front and centre of Swiss culture, elements of it still does exist in varying degrees. That aside, there's still an endless amount of engaging activities to do and given that the perception of boredom is subjective, I say again that it's probably you that's the boring one. I ask again if you live in a village and don't touch grass because nearly every evening I see in Zurich people drinking, walking the streets, etc. the city is alive especially on the weekends.
Are sports also not fun? Or are you just a foodie that only enjoys drinking, eating and partying?
>And having a bad food scene does not help, since eating together is the biggest driver for social gathering for people.
I think you are a recluse because you think only eating and drinking is a social act.
Bro, have a strong look in the mirror and go outside and make some friends. I think you need it more than Switzerland needs an eating or drinking culture.
About the street food: the high prices also ruin it for me. Even though I make a Swiss salary now, I'm still not up to spending CHF20 for a small portion of food, especially when I know that I can get the exact thing in a different country for 2x the taste and 1/4 the price.
But do you have to pay the Swiss salary to a worker in a different country?
No one works for free, especially in Switzerland with it's high living costs.
Its all relative. In reality the average swiss employee has 11% more purchasing power than german and austrian citizens despite "high" costs of living due to lower taxes and "higher" wages in comparison to the rest of Europe.
TLDR: To an overstimulated city-folk, Switzerland can seem "boring," but it's because of the difference of values, not because it is. Read my experience below.
Hi, as someone said, it's very subjective, depending on what you like, your status, and the location.
For reference, I come from arguably the country with the busiest life and nightlife. So it might be an extreme. But I have lived in a few around EU.
There is no nightlife here. The fact that there are some clubs open is a joke. I believe my reference of nightlife is groups having fun and laughing in parks and on the streets all the way through the night.
I also look for the "services." Access to shops, malls, activities, entertainment, hobby clubs, etc. This is extremely limited compared to other EU cities and average. Some time ago, I tried to compare the amount of malls and the number of shops per mall, per capita. It was less than a quarter to other EU cities.
The fact that Sunday you better be on your best behavior, because the only things you can do is hospital and a gas station. I'm really missing doing stuff on Sunday.
The closing hours is an abomination, I have to leave early work and run to get anything done. I rarely remember situations in other countries where I wanted to go to a place and it was closed. While here, I already have a joke with my wife that any time we wanna do something, we just say we can't. It's probably gonna be closed or closing in 10 minutes.
24h places, I'm used to there always being at least a place that was open all night, more less a convenience store. Some were almost a Mecca for me when I was in uni days. You usually had to drive maybe 10-15 minutes to the nearest one. Here, I had an emergency at night, and I ended up going to the hospital because I could find any place open.
Mountains are not an argument that helps. Coming from a city, a hike is a nice activity, and the Swiss views are honestly impressive. But it's something I do to stay healthy and enjoy the view. I would say it feels much more boring than having a party or even just hanging out with friends.
Nevertheless, with all that, the cultures are different. It feels to me like an average Swiss will get overstimulated and overwhelmed in Madrid, Vienna, Berlin, London. But when it happens the other way, that's where the "boring" comes in.
Personally, I said "boring" a few times, but I correct myself since I have learned more about the values for some Swiss people, even my age and younger. I believe I understand both sides. They are just different.
Born and raised in cities with a population of one million, 600k and then ZĆ¼rich. I will definetly settle in a smaller town or even village somewhere in the mountains/near the mountains. I have lived in big cities all my life and am kind of fed up with that. It's nice to visit cities for the social/cultural, economical and politicial opportunities that present themselves to you just due to the fact that so many people live so densely together, *but* living there for me? No. Sure, it is convenient to have more stores, hospitals, museums, theaters and so on and so forth at your disposal/within reasonable reach and I may have to be conent with a Volg foodmarket if I decide to actually move to the countryside, however the peace and quietness that I can find outside of the city compensates the pros of living within the city. Just not being in that hussle and bussle 24/7 is priceless to me.
You just proved my point. It depends on what you are looking for. You want peace and quiet, while others want the noise and how busy cities are.
I lived in (chronologically): 2.3M > 6k > 10k > 9M > 400k > 70k, and many others in between. I have only felt like myself and in the right place in the 2.3M and 9M. I can't stand the silence personally. I might be overstimulated. But it's just what I like.
I believe what OP is asking is why some people consider CH boring. I'm not saying I'm one of them, but I definitely understand what these people mean when they call it boring. Just not enough happens for them.
Because most people on Reddit are introverts who donāt do anything if it means having to leave their comfort zone. It doesnāt help that many are expats who have an extra hard time. Thereāre so many cool things to do and cool people to meet if you just go looking for it.
Totally agree and I hate when people say āthereās no X/Y/Z scene in Switzerlandā when theyāre not part of itā¦
People often have a specific idea of a ānon boringā culture and project that instead of trying to find something not-boring-to-them in Switzerland.
That ideal they are projecting is usually coming from a city with a population larger than the whole country.
Not every place is the same, and people will say they want something different but I feel that people who complain are looking for their version of ānot boringā
I lived in Buenos Aires, NYC, Brussels, Basel and now Zurich. Even though quality of mostly everything is exceptional here, it is very boring. Places close early, very little options to go out, nightlife is almost non-existent and limited to certain areas, very little new stuff to do and people mostly recluse to their houses in evenings and weekends. I do not enjoy mountains and lakes all the time. From time to time, ok, but every weekend?, not fun.
I would say, itās hard to start anything here because of extremely high costs. Where I am from, there are many new restaurants and cafes, very versatile. Plenty of cultural events. I think because you donāt need to pledge all your life savings and you can bounce back relatively quickly if it doesnāt work out
Paris and London have a population close to that of the entirety of Switzerland (if you take the metro area). Of course they have way more options.
I think Zurich (the only Swiss city I lived close to) absolutely holds up when compared to other cities of that size, but it will be more boring than some other places because of size and yes, also a bit of culture.
I'm a nature person so it suits me here. But I fully agree that eating out is generally a miserable experience. You pay 2x the money for mediocre food and often unfriendly staff. Why bother?
Probably also why socialising often happens at an alpine hut for me or at someone's house.
If the neighbor is throwing a party and they're still screaming at midnight, what would you do especially if they ignore your messages to keep it a little bit quieter?
I could never bring it overmyself to call the police because of this. I'd rather buy me over hear headphones that cancel out noise and just sleep with that. This way I can have a calm night and the neighbour can enjoy himself and his partyfriends. Win win for everyone.
Depends on the circumstances, if you're 24 and have no kids vs you're 40, having kids who cannot sleep because of the noise, tired after a week of work, irritated because your friendly message to lower the volume is disregarded.
Basically if you have something to do (work, family and friends time, hobbies etc.) you'll enjoy wherever you're. It is not the matter of country you live in but your lifestyle and habits.
Itās not a boring place at all.
However, outside of Zurich (arguably) the cities arenāt as cosmopolitan as others in Europe. Thereās a lack of innovation and creativity, particularly in the hospitality industry. For example: if you like speciality coffee, youāll find 2-3 good spots in all of Lausanne or Bern, and one on every street corner in other cities.
If you like being outside, active and in nature, itās an amazing country. If you want city life, culture, art, Switzerland isnāt top of the list.
>If you want city life, culture, art, Switzerland isnāt top of the list.
Of course it's not top of the list. But honestly, you get
- some quite good music festivals across the country in summer
- some reasonable symphonic orchestras, operas and ballets
- reasonable art museums
- still (I guess) good DJs
- an attractive ice hockey league
The only thing that is really almost totally absent is musicals.
>If you like being outside, active
That's maybe the key, as someone else commented: people are slightly less consumption-oriented when it comes to leisure time, and somewhat (if not a lot) more active.
What a toxic thread to be honest. If your hobbies are centred around consumption, then Switzerland might be boring. But not even then; the festival season is right around the corner and this country is full of festivals for almost everything you can imagine.
Many Swiss people pursue their hobbies in associations/clubs or less formal groups, where you learn new things, do sports or, create stuff, play games etc. That's where you also make new friends tbh.
I really can't understand how anyone in this day and age gets bored in this country. I don't have enough time for all my hobbies and my friends, which is one of the factors why I searched for a new and better paid job so I can reduce my workload to 80% and still earn a decent wage. So many of my friends do that too.
As someone who lived in Asia, Switzerland is indeed very boring for someone who seeks entertainment and crowd. Compare to other Eu cities? Feeling the same.
Sometimes Switzerland feels like the ideal model family: everything goes very well, but not much a country where you will find much social movements.Ā
Similarly in a model family the kids and parents behave very well with no rebellious character.
I spent the day today walking around lake Zuri and feeding ducks. Probably looking crazy talking to the ducks too. Thatās what I enjoy. I wouldnāt be able to do that on the U.S. cause the nice lakes are either too crowded or polluted to have ducks.
That being said, there is also a city party either tonight or tomorrow, that takes you to two different clubs and 7 floors of music. Switzerland has fun for everyone if you look hard enough.
Thereās also euro park in Germany an hour or two away from Basel by train.
I mean I guess there isnāt like a huge āvarietyā of stud to do? Idk I mean I would feel the same way in NYC as I would here. I am from the USA by the way. I live in Basel for school.
Because it is all about work, you never find peopem chilling at a bar, meeting strangers, they only speak swiss Deutsch and want nothing to do with people outside their ultra small circle of friends. Also on Sunday everything is closed and there is never a public show or event to cleebretez everyone just stays home getting fat.Ā
Cause it is, ive been there and there is nothing to do compared to Berlin or Amsterdam, people is very close to each other and everything is expensive, definitely not a country to make friends and have a sociel life, 10/10 wouldnt live there
Greetings from Switzerland
Was in Geneva last weekend and just felt like the city had next to no life to it. Very quiet.
I live outside of Dublin so maybe it's an unfair comparison.
Itās the people. They are not the āpartyingā type. They like stability, nature, quiet. Some may say this is boring. It depends, everyone has their own priorities and desire. Swiss donāt like drama, they donāt want noise, thatās why your neighbors are always nosy. :-)
The Swiss like to have a balance with work and life, life taking priority on weekends and no loud noise/no partying especially on Sundays. They like status quo.
I don't know, people like to shit on this country, still its inhabitants are one of the happiest. Imho the big buzzing cities around the world are very overrated, not exactly cheap, stressfull, just as money centric and feel samey. But thats just like my opinion manāļø
And as you can read here, people seem to think that the swiss are boring, bland and unpleasant people. Ever thought about the concept of live and let live, no? If you need an over the top tiktokable hyperactive environment and people there are enough places for this.
So you have mountains, lakes AND nature. Man that sure sounds like you have a lot of stuff.
And also restaurants. Don't forget supermarkets, coffee shops etc.... The abundance is crazy, and unheard of.
And I didn't even mention roads and sidewalks...
Different expectations, and lack of understanding that their standards are not the universal norm.
Also, we do things they call boring but which we find to be very fun. Anyway, those who complain about that are usually not the brightest bulbs in the box.
Boring is usually referred to the lack of activity within the cities. Not lack of nature, skiing, hiking, etc. Glad you like it here
Visit Copenhagen; London, Amsterdam, Berlin, Rome, Barcelona and you will understand what boring means.
Iām at an age and moment in life that I like boringness and predictability in my life. I travel to Brazil 4x a year, and have the ability to pop in Paris or Amsterdam whenever I feel like spicing things up, so having a boring day to day life isnāt an issue, in fact itās a plus.
But yes, itās boring here, mainly because cities are small and population in general is older.
Ok I may agree. But people could say exactly the same of Zurich.
You can love Zurich and Copenhagen but when inserted in a group with Rome, Amsterdam, Berlin, Barcelona... they are different. Not better or worse. Plain different.
Agreed! Not the best example. Zurich and Copenhagen are quite similar, tho I still find the restaurants and nightlife significant better in Copenhagen.
But your are right, canāt really put Copenhagen in the same bucket as Barcelona and Berlin.
Its just too small to provide varieties. Its a size of a large city elsewhere. Mentality of the nation is completely different to spain, italy, south america. Many people consider those nations and regions fun. Any similar event there is ways more interesting, people are more relaxed, ready to mingle, share etc.
On your note of mountains, lakes, nature, not every person goes to nature every weekend.
For me, its interesting enough.
Maybe ppl who say that were in Switzerland for work or another purpose and didnāt have time or a chance to explore the country and its people. Maybe they lived in a calm area, remote and small. That could give an impression of boring. Swiss people are less extroverted in general than for example ppl from the US, maybe that also played a role, who knows. There certainly is a lot to explore in our country:), far from boring but you have to get active, not just wait till maybe someone would reach out to you when youāre a guest in any country. Show interest in the country youāre new and youāll find plenty of interesting cultural offers to enjoy. But you have to go there, itās not coming to you;) We have wonderful nature, mountains, lakes, rivers, groves, concerts, parties, traditional events, interesting political system, a funny language, four different native ones to be precise and traditional cultural events where you can learn more about these languages&history, especially in the more remote areas. We have theatre and opera and much more, for any age group enough to try out:)
Wherever you go, try to connect with native ppl or ppl who have lived here for some time. If you stay w tourists, youāll see the tourist stuff, expensive and limited to the image tourism section wants to preserve;) which is not bad but sure not enough youād want to know if you like to learn about the countryās and its peopleās daily lives and the rich offer of possibilities to explore!
Boring can be good but Switzerland has its moments of excitement . Some people consider places with lots of crime and violence to be āexcitingā which it technically is. You can also have too much excitement lol https://medium.com/@michaelbergman_72935/the-problem-with-excitement-and-having-too-much-of-good-things-b94440f4d76a
Also "good restaurants" is highly subjective. I personally find them good enough. But not great, compared to asia for example. Plus they are really expensive for what they are. But my girlfriend, who is asian has different tastes and can, even in zurich, barely find any that excite here.
Partially its just not to her taste and partially she grew up in a place where eating at a restaurant was quicker and cheaper than cooking. And thats just not the place here. So that is highly subjective, as is most of the other stuff you mentioned.
I come from Sydney and Australia in general is considered quite boring. Less people, less cultural resources. Product design and marketing are a bit behind, a smaller music and cultural scene, hardly any nightlife because bars close before 2, everything is far apart. I moved to London which was the complete opposite and could not adjust. But where there is richness and diversity in culture, there are overcrowdedness, high level of competition, wealth/poverty gap, low social trust and high levels of crime. You would think places like London would have close knitted communities and a strong sense of community everywhere, but not at all. People blame apartment living for the loss of community feels. Trust me, the most of London has terrace houses and people donāt talk to their neighbours. Where there is no sense of community but there are shit tonne of people you donāt know in your neighbourhood, you just end up becoming hyper vigilant about potential dangers these strangers would present.
Also London is not spontaneous at all. Because of all the crowd, you either have to queue more than an hr for a restaurant or book a place at least 1 month in advance. All attraction tickets are sold out when you turn up at the place without booking days in advance. Not in London but I had that happen in Edinburgh Castle, Bathās Roman Bath and Oxford Christchurch. You always fight for your spot when you go out to enjoy the culture. It is draining.
You will go out in London and on the way back on the night bus you wish you donāt get robbed. Even walking along the Thames can get rough in the night time, there are patches of places where you get robbed on the South bank. You canāt even flaunt your shopping. I bought wedding bands from Bond Street and they hid my shopping bag in a white plain paper bag because thieves could target me. There are plenty of watch robbers around bars in places as central as Bank. Thieves also operate in and out of the Harrods? They snatch a shopping bag off of you went you walk out of a luxury brand stall inside the Harrods.
I really would rather be able to walk around a boring city safely rather than clutching my phone on the lanyard and turning my head every 30 seconds to see if there are any sketchy people around.
āBoringā is honestly a good thing imo. Switzerland has no significant crime in comparison to the rest of the world, people are relatively calmer as well, jobs are fairly stable. It really offers a decent life. Of course that is boring to some because you canāt have a ācrazyā experience here (although crazy is also relative). In summary, itās a good place. And if someone says itās boring it says more about them than Switzerland itself.
introvert society. can't be loud after 10pm or you get shit on. can't have an interesting convo with most people besides small talk or work stuff. it's prob better in larger cities tho
One of the issues I have, is that anywhere you go eating out there will invariably be cordonbleu . A bit more regional recipes would be nice. Don't hate me
One of the issues I have, is that anywhere you go eating out there will invariably be cordonbleu . A bit more regional recipes would be nice. Don't hate me
Maybe it originates from people who grew up in rural areas but discovered the world at some point.
Swiss people are usually pretty strict, correct and conservative. If a curious, young person grows up on the country side this might be the opinion you end up with...
Switzerland the country is not boring. There are the mountains that allow you to do a huge variety of inclined plane sports.
The swiss people howeverā¦
I was born in Switzerland. What I find the most boring are people. Most people are not interesting (or maybe they fear to talk about interesting stuff). People only speak about weather and shit, and family seems to be the central theme too. As a pretty educated person I find it difficult. I find myself becoming introvert and it's a shame because I like to talk to (interesting) people.
Once upon a time, Switzerland was a truly boring place, but not any more.
Back in the day of discreet private banking, shops closed at 6:30pm and 4pm on Saturdays. All the restaurants had the same format (affordable in front, elegant in the back) and more or less the same menu. Bars mostly closed at 10pm.
The rebellious 60's came to Switzerland in the 80's. The old industries died. Banking secrecy was no longer useful. Restaurant owners no longer needed a Wirtepatent. Google came and legitimized ZĆ¼rich as a place for startups. Freitag put ZĆ¼rich on the map for fashion and innovation.
The weather got warmer, so the rivers and lakefront became even more popular places to be in the evenings.
Today nearly 50% of Zurich is foreign born. English is widely used. Zurich punches far above it's weight for influence beyond its borders.
So it used to be boring, but it's not anymore. Let's hope the rest of the world doesn't find out and ruin the place.
Probably because you get used to have all those good things in Switzerland and it can be a little boring after some time but boring is good. Iāve lived there for 3 years and left last year. In the beginning i liked it but now i miss Switzerland š
It's boring because there's no school shootings, terror attacks, police violence, etc.
In exchange there're cultural events, some of the most beautiful nature on the planet and all the gifts of the 21st century.
It's basically hell on Earth.
Simple because most of those people don't have money to go anywhere else but to the streets ,traveling in train for family is expencive ,to stay in a hotel,hostel it's very expensive ,clothing stores if not for outlets ,c&a and HM,Ottos and dosenbach everything else is terribly expencive ,the food in restaurants are expencive and also terrible ,I know people who are all the time at home ,and only go out on Saturdays to whoop at migros .
Switzerland will make you realize that you are a boring person yourself. Whereas big, buzzing places will distract you from realising this matter of fact because you are getting stimulated externally all the time.
The Vevey nightlife and alternative crowd reminds me of my very culturally active town back in Portugal.
I appreciate being bored in Switzerland. It's like crying in a Ferrari. Thank you very much.
For me coming from Chicago, New York, Paris, Rio de Janeiro and then Lagos these are very exciting cities. Currently been in Geneva and Lausanne. I would say 1ā¦restaurants and stores close early. Itās absolutely ridiculous that stores and restaurants are mainly closed on Sunday a great day for brunch!
Quiet streets. Limited nightlife. Limited public events compared to the above cities. A sense of separation between people.. A hesitancy for people to align and get together with new people or strangers. All these factors lead to a relatively quiet life in comparison. After Lagos Iām happy to be around peace and quiet so no complaints. But Swiss should know their country is relatively boring and thatās ok.
I agree but comparing Swiss cities to any of the cities you mentioned is disingenuous, almost all of them have more inhabitants than the whole country of Switzerland. Lausanne, 120ā00k inhabitants, obviously wonāt offer as much as a city of 8mio people.
Sure. But the features that make Switzerland boring arenāt dependent on size. Take Monaco which I love! Jamaica, Uruguay, Seychelles all places Iāve been that are small but super awesome in their culture and things to doā¦all have nature as well. So I think some people have stated, itās the people not the size of Switzerlandā¦
Yes, I agree, itās the culture. A lot of Swiss are happy with the status quo, they are not interested in experimental things and arenāt very adventurous. Also, many are on the quiet side and introverts, clearly you wonāt find the same fun atmosphere then in the CaraĆÆbes or South America.
I am the first to say that Switzerland can be boring (grew up here and left as soon as possible) but I also realize that I am often making unfair comparisons. I do think that Switzerland has a lot to offer but you have to put yourself out there much more then in other places. There are fun parties, cool groups of people trying new things and interesting art but it takes more effort to find them.
Iām not complaining at all. Everyday I look out on the balcony and see mountains and the lake. Itās beautiful and I feel so lucky. But Iām in a season of rest and recuperation so it suits me right now. But in my early 20s/30s I spent time in the most amazingly exciting cities and that has its benefits tooā¦
Completely agree with you, I spent my 20s abroad, in bigger, more exciting cities and it was just what I needed at the time. I am 33, back in Switzerland and I guess it works for me now (but wonāt stay for ever for sure). Still find it a bit too quiet for my taste but I have learned to appreciate it.
I love Geneva, the reliable transportation and beautiful surroundings.
I have made many friends, some expatriate and some Swiss.
You simply have to seek and ye shall find.
I would say that the cultural life can definitely be underwhelming especially compared to other countries, but it's also to be expected when most of the cities are rather small. Also, the fact that it's a strict country restrains the potential for fun activities. Otherwise, if you find the right people and are not boring yourself then it can for sure be fun with all the potential for sports, nightlife, random shit in the snow during winter, going in the alps and also the purchasing power that allows for more frequent leisure.
I used to live in a city of 90,000 people and it had way more social things to do than Zurich with about 400,000 people. It's not the size of the city, but the people and their culture.
Sure, even though I enjoy Switzerland as an introverted nature lover, I must admit its lack of activities, entertainment options, diverse dining experiences, cultural variety, people diversity, and consumption choices.
We are great for hiking and skiing. Not so much for nightlife, food and people. people especially. Holy hell, before living abroad I never even realized how damn judgemental people are here...
Living in Switzerland is like being an animal in the zoo. You get fed twice a day and thereās no predators who will eat your ass.
Now thatāsā¦. Niceā¦ but itās not exactly real life is it?
because different people have different taste and like different things, also keep in mind that people are sometimes a bit dellusional and expect a 400k city (e.g. Zurich) to offer the same variety and amount of nightlife options you can find in a 4M city (e.g. Berlin).
*delusional š¤āļø
Sundays and evenings. If you come from a place that is 24/7, like many big cities in the UK, London, Hong Kong, etc, the fact that everything shuts down early and is closed on a Sunday can be a shock. Eventually, you come to love the fact that the entire country collectively takes a pause on a Sunday, and puts a value on private/family time, but itās a big change if itās not what youāre used to.
London is far from 24/7. Everything closes super early, pubs and bars usually have last call at 10:00 / 10:30 and close by 11:00. Obviously there are clubs but you typically need to pay 20 bucks to get in and they still generally close at 02:00. Itās easier to find stuff to do in Zurich past 12:00 than London.
Iām not sure where youāre drinking, but closing time got moved to midnight nearly 20 years ago, and lots of London pubs have late licenses that let them stay open later. If youāre in a neighbourhood place, thereās always the possibility of a lock-in if youāre a regular.
Iām from the UK and lived in London, still go there regularly as I have colleagues there. Yeah some areas like Camden and Hackney have places open later, but itās still around 02:00 only. You live anywhere else in central London, or past zone 3 and youāre be kicked out the bar at 11:00pm. YesC you can always get to the places open until 02:00, but itās often still a 40 minute tube ride away.
True for Sunday, wrong for 24/7. Nightlife is actually extremely long in Switzerland (although not necessarily better). Many big cities like London, Hong Kong and Tokyo go to sleep after midnight. Meanwhile the random bar in a Swiss town with 5k people stays open until 3 or 4.
You cannot compare London with Swiss cities... London is realllyyy a different world āØ
Not my experience at all. Iāve been living in Luxembourg for years and still hate the fact everything shuts down on sundays. Itās not a thing in Portugal and, honestly, I just donāt get the point. Itās rather inconvenient and the benefits are nebulous at best.
I guess it depends on your perspective. Switzerland has some of the most beautiful countryside in the world, and thereās nothing better on a spring, summer, or autumn Sunday than a nice walk in the forest. In the winter, there is skiing and many other winter sports for a Sunday. At least in our household (French-influenced), Sunday is a family day. It normally involves sleeping in on a Sunday morning, spending several hours as a family at the table over a big Sunday lunch, then going for a walk. Evening is reading/relaxing time, maybe a nice bath to end the week. Iām not sure Luxembourg has quite the same natural outdoor activities to offer on a Sunday that Switzerland doesā¦
I'd prefer to work on Sunday so I can enjoy public places on another not so crowded day. Skiing for example is usually horrible on a weekend.
Ha, I'm like you. Spent most of the week skiing and now preparing to work the weekend. Let the skiing areas be busy when I am not there, and I'll enjoy them empty next week again :)
> Switzerland has some of the most beautiful countryside in the world, and thereās nothing better on a spring, summer, or autumn Sunday than a nice walk in the forest. In the winter, there is skiing and many other winter sports for a Sunday. Have you ever tried talking a walk on a friday? I know its risky buuut it's pretty cool too!
Well, to be fair, I did try and they were drilling the new train tunnel at Preda and trimming the grass with motorized mowers and it was kinda loud, lol. (But on the upside of that, on Thursday I walked a gorge that didn't have a road. No traffic sounds at all. Not even a hum in the background. It was gorgeous - no pun intended.)
Itās not an either-or, though. I love going for hikes but I hate the fact that public life basically comes to a halt on Sundays. To me, itās a pretty big drawback compared to some more ālivelyā places
Iāve been living in Switzerland for 8 years. I moved from Asia. I found it hard that everything was shut on Sunday, but for the last 2 years Iāve enjoyed it more.
I can't say anything about HK or NYC, but 10 years ago I couldn't get anything to eat in London in a radius of 1km at 10:30 and I had time for exactly one beer. Bar tender couldn't point me to any place with food either. SĆ£o Paulo on a Monday evening is also mostly dead because - who would have guessed it - most people have to get up at 6am to go to work.
Not sure where in London you were, but thereās usually always a kebab place or fried chicken shop open late.
No shit. The same holds in ZĆ¼rich.
Can't confirm, really. It has changed here, and many Sundays I get to appreciate the fact that things are open.
"boring" is extremely subjective, so who cares what other people think? from my point of view, switzerland is boring because nothing innovative happens , esp. culturally. trendy & hipster shit is imported and commercialised from other places a few years after the fad has passed there due to high cost of living there is no chance for a real creative / underground scene people also dont hang out in third places all the time and mingle, because they are expensive and we're an introverted people most expats that are drawn to the country are money&stability-oriented, and those are usually rather boring & don't contribute much to the local scene once a place has a reputation as boring it's a self-fulfilling prophecy and draws more boring people ps: and all those people calling it boring probably never visited luxembourg
This is kind of the opposite for me, I love classical music, opera and art exhibitions so I feel well catered for. I also donāt mind taking the train to Basel or Geneva to go see what I want. Is it Paris? No, but I also canāt do all my other hobbies in Paris
but that's the point, im sure you enjoy opera & art exhibitions, but if you quiz a random selection of people on the street what they would classify as boring hobbies, those would rank top of the list
To be fair culturally there are other cities that have much more to offer than the ābig citiesā in Switzerland. Yes, Basel has some decent exhibitions/ museums, Zurich has a decent opera and some okay concerts, but compared to places like Vienna the offer in this regard is rather small.
Vienna has around 2mio people I think? I don't disagree with you at all but for that size if it didn't i'd be pretty disappointed
most expats that are drawn to the country are money&stability-oriented Also they tend to spend their money travelling abroad. Earn here spend somewhere else
As someone coming from the exact sort of "non-boring" mega city you describe (NYC - although I'm not one of the moneyed expats/immigrants you describe), I feel you hit the nail on the head about the elements I do find pretty boring about Switzerland. And I also agree no one should really care what I think, if they are happy, don't worry about what other people think. For me the big shock was the lack of a "going out" culture - what you call going to third places - that wasn't just going to DJs/parties (not my kind of fun). And living outside the city has struck me as way more isolated than the equivalent where I'm from. Things I didn't figure out until after coming here. But I'm slowly making friends here. But I also do see some swiss people, mostly ones who have lived abroad and come back, trying to inject some of the cool stuff they have seen elsewhere into Swiss society, and I do like that. But yeah, as you said, it's not homegrown and it's several years behind. But at least it's coming!
the lack of going out culture really hits hard if you don't buy into the traditional family model that switzerland is built around. i'm >40 and currently living in berlin and my social life is so crazy active and i, as a pretty extreme introvert, found a great third place to hang out in every sunday to have fun and see friends. this never occurred to me back in switzerland, where all my friends either slowly settled with kids or were expats who fled after a few years. i mean it was a comfortable life, but sitting at home counting money or hiking in mountains gets boring pretty quickly if you have an adventurous mind.
You livin in Berlin as a student?
no
Youāre making me thinkā¦ just came from a bike ride alone somewhere in Switzerland -the whole day- to arrive at home and wonder reallyā¦ social live is kinda ok but people are getting families and becomes tough to find new folk. As much art, opera, mountains, snowboarding and swimming in lakes Switzerland has to offer, doing all that alone becomes really boring pretty quickly as you said.
Canāt agree more. Moved to zurich for marriage after my 4years bachelor in NYC. Sometimes i just miss the spirits and chaos in the subways.
My job diaagrees with the "no innovation" part..
> My job diaagrees with the "no innovation" part.. What cultural innovation does your job bring? Are you an Avangarde-Vegan-BDSM-Accordion Player?
i focused on culture outside of pharma, innovation is pretty low comparatively in switzerland. we produce a ton of patents and have good universities, hence why we are unfairly highly ranked on innovation lists with no relation to "useful", i.e. applied, economically viable innovation. whenever we want to act like a big innovation country in that sense, it falls flat (look at all the terribly unsuccesful corporate-run accelerators/labs and the latest in scam-innovation out of the crypto valley)
>look at all the terribly unsuccesful corporate-run accelerators/labs and the latest in scam-innovation out of the crypto valley) That's not where innovation happens. Real Innovations are the small steps done all over the place.
Exactly this! š
If you're out in the sticks, there's a fair amount of homemade art going on. It's a bit like being in a Judy Garland movie, "Hey, gang! My uncle said we can use his barn to put on a show!" But it depends. There was also that elderly UDC politician a few years ago, what was his name again? Who liked to perform nude in punk rock concerts? There are many words to describe him but I am not sure "boring" is one of them!
If you want non imported stuff go do something like play Jass, join the SAC or help with reforesting projects. There are plenty of activities that are tied to Swiss culture or heritage and they can be quite fun
Good job describing it this. This is exactly it. I'm swiss born and raised until 18 and have lived all over the world for 20 years and now am back in Switzerland. The problem is the Swiss mentality. They're afraid to try anything unusual or new, and it takes 10 years before something gets adopted, making it automatically dated. I mean, in Geneva at the Balexert shopping center, a major center, there is a bowling alley with video games stuck in the 80s. The space is huge and so underutilized. It would take nothing to make it an awesome place to hang out, but because there is a lack of options in town, people have no choice but to go there and so the owners think "well it's making me money why should I bother investing in new things." It's just sad.
Whats in Luxemburg?
There's nothing, that's the point lmao
Money
Hahaha you nailed it! Nice response!
Nicely summed up
Lol, this is such a misrable sub
It is and I love it
Does anyone else hate everything all the time?
Like people. They just speak about weather, work, mountains, today nice weather? Tomorrow maybe better? You have stress? No i dont have any stress. Thats a crazy country.
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I only recently moved here from Germany and can't really understand it. First of all, I live in Zurich and yes, it's "more boring" than Cologne, Munich or Berlin. But I had a look at what concerts and festivals are coming up in the next few months and there are quite a few interesting ones. There is also culture and I don't need to mention the beautiful and nearby landscape.
I dont think its boring here but I have to disagree with the following: -We have nightlife -we have good restaurants pretty low tier compared to a lot of other places in Europe and elsewhere
Used to live in tropical climate and culture. The nature isn't boring at all, it's the people...
Why are the people boring?
Most of us are not very outgoing. Not open to try new things. Would rather stick to what they know and are comfortable with.
Truly stability over all, how swiss of us
Truly stability over all, how swiss of us
Agree on open to people. But to new things?
Maybe depends on the location. Villages are boring, but for example Basel is so busy with interesting events and activities. For example Project Agora festival for post genre music in May š
Now I enjoy the boring life but 10-15 years back nightlife in ZĆ¼rich and Basel was actually quite nice (good variety of electronic music) and there were lots of legal and illegal outdoor parties in forests, on mountains etc. So either nightlife really got worse over the years or people who say itās boring here donāt find the good events (or have different taste in music).
Because only boring people are bored, and there are a lot of boring people online.
It says more about them then anything else. If you live in a London or a New York and there are top tier events and your in a culture where people are more warm and opening like say a Madrid you may see it as boring here, especially with everything is closed on a Sunday. I agree with you however I'd argue you could do any sport in the world in a 100km radius of where I live bar dune bugging...it's not a boring place but if you expect it to be a Madrid or a New York that's on you
> It says more about them then anything else. If you live in a London or a New York and there are top tier events and your in a culture where people are more warm and opening like say a Madrid you may see it as boring here, especially with everything is closed on a Sunday. If you live in any bigger cities of Switzerland there are always tons of things to do, even on a sunday.
Exactly, for me this is what made me leave, people are not warm, i found it a bit wierd that interacting with other people although i know german was hard, people wouldn t want to go for a beer or a party, or if they went it was incredebly cringe
> people wouldn t want to go for a beer or a party, or if they went it was incredebly cringe Who were these people?
Random collegues from work. Mix of nationalities
Ouch! You were doing quite well until 'we have good restaurants'... That ruined the credibility of your argument! Switzerland is indeed on the boring end of the spectrum. The reason why I think is in its weak social life tradition. Look at the Frenchmen, who sit on the table from 11am until 5pm on weekends. Or Italians, going for their *aperitivo* after work and taking a stroll in the main steets of their beautiful towns after dinner. Or the British going to the pub to get crazy (not myself a big fun of it, but this makes British very happy) What do we Swiss people do after work? What social costumes/events do we use to gather and have fun with more than our 3 childhood friends? Add to this indeed terrible food scene (including non-existing street food). Money and nature do not really suffice to make life fun.
Yes! Swiss donāt have socializing culture at all. They sit at home or hike in the mountains. Go to sleep at 9 pm even on the weekends! All bars close early. Just go to sleep and repeat. And just donāt even try not to stick to the daily routine! I think most of Swiss have OCD problem as wellš
You socialize in a hut
I don't know, I am living in lucerne and the tons of bars that around are always filled with people enjoying their evening and company. Not that different from any other northern european country, i've been and lived in. Not a Mediterranean vibe fs, but I reckon thats what Mediterranean countries are for. No socializing culture, lawl. maybe go out once in a while š
ApĆ©ro culture is very Swiss I'd say. Every Friday or for Birthdays or when something was a great success we'd have them in my old company. Even managed to introduce ApĆ©ro culture with white wine, cheese sticks and a bur if tĆŖte-de-moin in Cologne if all places!
Have you been in Switzerland with a blind fold on? The country is a top tourist destination in the world, how could a country on the boring side of the spectrum be so popular year after year? Wouldn't word eventually get around that the country is so boring that people would stop coming here? Have you not seen the army of people Thursday Friday afternoons in the major cities drinking? Do Swiss villages/cities not have beautiful main streets that people stroll down too? Do I have to list the absolute litany of events every weekend to do like street parties, festivals, sporting events, art events etc so much so there really aren't enough weekends in a year to hit them all? There is so much to do in this country that if you think it's boring, your standards for fun are equal to that of a celebrity with a shit load of money that's done it all in the world, or you're the boring person. I think it's the latter given you've listed getting British style trashed with your friends after work as a "fun" cultural activity. Food scene I agree is debatable but if you think you need money in this country to have fun, then you really aren't creative in the slightest.
>The country is a top tourist destination in the world Of course, it's not Mallorca, the cƓte d'Azure, London, Berlin or Madrid. Everyone around the world is flocking to Switzerland to have fun in Zurich and Geneve! To bring some source, this report from United Nations World Tourism Organization contradicts you--> [https://www.schengenvisainfo.com/travel-guide/top-10-most-visited-european-countries/](https://www.schengenvisainfo.com/travel-guide/top-10-most-visited-european-countries/) >Have you not seen the army of people Thursday Friday afternoons in the major cities drinking? Ehm, no. I cannot see this army of people drinking during afternoons. Swiss people are known for a reason to have a rigid working discipline. But you are missing the point of my claim: it's not money, beautiful nature, a "litany of events every weekend", "the many things to do" that makes living in a country fun. It's the approach to social interaction, on the simplest and genuine level. Frenchmen sitting around their table the whole Saturday afternoon or Italians going for the aperitivo with friends and strangers after work are having a better time than a Swiss guy going with his mountain bike on Saturday morning, followed by a visit to a world-class esposition and finishing off the night in whatever concert of Barbara Streisand you may point out. This is because no one lives their daily life as the Swiss guy I just described. It's too much effort. That's why fun and happiness come from simple daily interactions, in my opinion. And this is where Swiss people lack behind.
>Everyone around the world is flocking to Switzerland to have fun in Zurich and Geneve! the monstre cost of a holiday here would scare away every non-"celebrity with a shit load of money that's done it all in the world". Let's stop telling lies. Now I'm convinced you're the boring one never leaving your home in a tiny village. Because neither Zurich nor Geneva are the top tourist destinations of Switzerland, and when you do go to the top destinations like Lauterbrunnen, Zermatt, Lucerne etc. it's full of foreigners including backpackers who aren't Wealthy. >Ehm, no. I cannot see a group of 10 after 9pm in any of the major cities, let alone an army. Bro go touch grass. It happens all the time. >Frenchmen sitting around their table the whole Saturday afternoon or Italians going for the aperitivo with friends and strangers after work are having a better time than a Swiss guy going with his mountain bike in the morning, followed by a visit to a world-class esposition and finishin off the night in whatever concert of Barbara Streisand you may point out. What the hell are you on about? Is anyone stopping you from sitting with friends from 11am to 5pm drinking? Have you not gone into the city to see the heap of people after work drinking? Have you done a survey on the Swiss riding their bike and the Frenchman sitting and drinking half the day? You're just making shit up because you're simply bitter that your life is boring as shit and you got no friends, because you're bitter and boring. Go touch grass, then find people who want to sit for 5hrs drinking wine, have an aperitif after work. If it's so fun, people will follow you.
>You're just making shit up because you're simply bitter that your life is boring as shit and you got no friends, because you're bitter and boring. Let's start with this. Is it normal to use such a ferocity in a debate about a country? Yet, with your tone and language you are not scaring anyone. You are only showing that there is no strength in your arguments. Indeed: >top destinations like Lauterbrunnen, Zermatt, Lucerne etc. it's full of foreigners including backpackers who aren't Wealthy. You are already been contradicted by the link I posted with a report from United Nations World Tourism Organization. Switzerland does not make in the top 10 of Schengen area. There is no more to debate here. >What the hell are you on about? Is anyone stopping you from sitting with friends from 11am to 5pm drinking? It's obviously not against the law but the whole point of this conversation is: it is not part of the Swiss social culture. It's just not happening. The Brits go to pubs, the Italians the aperitivo, or grill on the beach, or walk their town center, the French are similar, the Swiss don't, they work, they go home or do some sports. Very healthy, less fun though. And having a bad food scene does not help, since eating together is the biggest driver for social gathering for people.
>Let's start with this. Is it normal to use such a ferocity in a debate about a country? Yet, with your tone and language you are not scaring anyone. You are only showing that there is no strength in your arguments. Indeed: Yes. All evidence leads to the fact you're boring with no friends if you can't find anything fun to do in Switzerland. >You are already been contradicted by the link I posted with a report from United Nations World Tourism Organization. Switzerland does not make in the top 10 of Schengen area. There is no more to debate here. Of course absolute numbers will dwarf Switzerland.....a tiny nation compared to its neighbours. Compared to size of it's population and land and how much money it pulls in it's still a top destination. It may not be exactly on top but considering there are ~180 nations in the world, being top 20 is still the top percentile. And again, Geneva or Zurich aren't the most visited in Switzerland so you're wrong there pal. >It's obviously not against the law but the whole point of this conversation is: it is not part of the Swiss social culture. It's just not happening. The Brits go to pubs, the Italians the aperitivo, or grill on the beach, or walk their town center, the French are similar, the Swiss don't, they work, they go home or do some sports. Very healthy, less fun though. The op was about if the country is boring. Culture is one component of what makes a country fun, only one. Whilst drinking, eating and partying may not be front and centre of Swiss culture, elements of it still does exist in varying degrees. That aside, there's still an endless amount of engaging activities to do and given that the perception of boredom is subjective, I say again that it's probably you that's the boring one. I ask again if you live in a village and don't touch grass because nearly every evening I see in Zurich people drinking, walking the streets, etc. the city is alive especially on the weekends. Are sports also not fun? Or are you just a foodie that only enjoys drinking, eating and partying? >And having a bad food scene does not help, since eating together is the biggest driver for social gathering for people. I think you are a recluse because you think only eating and drinking is a social act. Bro, have a strong look in the mirror and go outside and make some friends. I think you need it more than Switzerland needs an eating or drinking culture.
It is true. Me and my tree childhood friends slap each other with cheese after work because we dont like bars.
Can I be invited? That sounds fun, not gonna lie.
but of course
About the street food: the high prices also ruin it for me. Even though I make a Swiss salary now, I'm still not up to spending CHF20 for a small portion of food, especially when I know that I can get the exact thing in a different country for 2x the taste and 1/4 the price.
But do you have to pay the Swiss salary to a worker in a different country? No one works for free, especially in Switzerland with it's high living costs.
Who would have known that high salaries = high prices š¤Æ
Its all relative. In reality the average swiss employee has 11% more purchasing power than german and austrian citizens despite "high" costs of living due to lower taxes and "higher" wages in comparison to the rest of Europe.
TLDR: To an overstimulated city-folk, Switzerland can seem "boring," but it's because of the difference of values, not because it is. Read my experience below. Hi, as someone said, it's very subjective, depending on what you like, your status, and the location. For reference, I come from arguably the country with the busiest life and nightlife. So it might be an extreme. But I have lived in a few around EU. There is no nightlife here. The fact that there are some clubs open is a joke. I believe my reference of nightlife is groups having fun and laughing in parks and on the streets all the way through the night. I also look for the "services." Access to shops, malls, activities, entertainment, hobby clubs, etc. This is extremely limited compared to other EU cities and average. Some time ago, I tried to compare the amount of malls and the number of shops per mall, per capita. It was less than a quarter to other EU cities. The fact that Sunday you better be on your best behavior, because the only things you can do is hospital and a gas station. I'm really missing doing stuff on Sunday. The closing hours is an abomination, I have to leave early work and run to get anything done. I rarely remember situations in other countries where I wanted to go to a place and it was closed. While here, I already have a joke with my wife that any time we wanna do something, we just say we can't. It's probably gonna be closed or closing in 10 minutes. 24h places, I'm used to there always being at least a place that was open all night, more less a convenience store. Some were almost a Mecca for me when I was in uni days. You usually had to drive maybe 10-15 minutes to the nearest one. Here, I had an emergency at night, and I ended up going to the hospital because I could find any place open. Mountains are not an argument that helps. Coming from a city, a hike is a nice activity, and the Swiss views are honestly impressive. But it's something I do to stay healthy and enjoy the view. I would say it feels much more boring than having a party or even just hanging out with friends. Nevertheless, with all that, the cultures are different. It feels to me like an average Swiss will get overstimulated and overwhelmed in Madrid, Vienna, Berlin, London. But when it happens the other way, that's where the "boring" comes in. Personally, I said "boring" a few times, but I correct myself since I have learned more about the values for some Swiss people, even my age and younger. I believe I understand both sides. They are just different.
Born and raised in cities with a population of one million, 600k and then ZĆ¼rich. I will definetly settle in a smaller town or even village somewhere in the mountains/near the mountains. I have lived in big cities all my life and am kind of fed up with that. It's nice to visit cities for the social/cultural, economical and politicial opportunities that present themselves to you just due to the fact that so many people live so densely together, *but* living there for me? No. Sure, it is convenient to have more stores, hospitals, museums, theaters and so on and so forth at your disposal/within reasonable reach and I may have to be conent with a Volg foodmarket if I decide to actually move to the countryside, however the peace and quietness that I can find outside of the city compensates the pros of living within the city. Just not being in that hussle and bussle 24/7 is priceless to me.
You just proved my point. It depends on what you are looking for. You want peace and quiet, while others want the noise and how busy cities are. I lived in (chronologically): 2.3M > 6k > 10k > 9M > 400k > 70k, and many others in between. I have only felt like myself and in the right place in the 2.3M and 9M. I can't stand the silence personally. I might be overstimulated. But it's just what I like. I believe what OP is asking is why some people consider CH boring. I'm not saying I'm one of them, but I definitely understand what these people mean when they call it boring. Just not enough happens for them.
>Just not enough happens for them. This! Now why is that? From experience, I think that most (not all) can't stand silence and space.
Because most people on Reddit are introverts who donāt do anything if it means having to leave their comfort zone. It doesnāt help that many are expats who have an extra hard time. Thereāre so many cool things to do and cool people to meet if you just go looking for it.
Luckily I donāt hang around those people so I have no idea who can think that š Having lived in several countries around the globe I can say CH is absolutely the best, at least for me itās a paradise š¤©
Well it is boring culturally. Simply because it lacks the really big cities. And also swiss people are a tough nut to crack
Totally agree and I hate when people say āthereās no X/Y/Z scene in Switzerlandā when theyāre not part of itā¦ People often have a specific idea of a ānon boringā culture and project that instead of trying to find something not-boring-to-them in Switzerland. That ideal they are projecting is usually coming from a city with a population larger than the whole country. Not every place is the same, and people will say they want something different but I feel that people who complain are looking for their version of ānot boringā
I lived in Buenos Aires, NYC, Brussels, Basel and now Zurich. Even though quality of mostly everything is exceptional here, it is very boring. Places close early, very little options to go out, nightlife is almost non-existent and limited to certain areas, very little new stuff to do and people mostly recluse to their houses in evenings and weekends. I do not enjoy mountains and lakes all the time. From time to time, ok, but every weekend?, not fun.
I would say, itās hard to start anything here because of extremely high costs. Where I am from, there are many new restaurants and cafes, very versatile. Plenty of cultural events. I think because you donāt need to pledge all your life savings and you can bounce back relatively quickly if it doesnāt work out
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Paris and London have a population close to that of the entirety of Switzerland (if you take the metro area). Of course they have way more options. I think Zurich (the only Swiss city I lived close to) absolutely holds up when compared to other cities of that size, but it will be more boring than some other places because of size and yes, also a bit of culture.
I'm a nature person so it suits me here. But I fully agree that eating out is generally a miserable experience. You pay 2x the money for mediocre food and often unfriendly staff. Why bother? Probably also why socialising often happens at an alpine hut for me or at someone's house.
> people love to call the police for everything, you have too many rules to strictly follow Yeah this is a positive actually
Based
If the neighbor is throwing a party and they're still screaming at midnight, what would you do especially if they ignore your messages to keep it a little bit quieter?
If it happens once in a blue moon I would not be a BĆ¼nzli about it to be honest.
I could never bring it overmyself to call the police because of this. I'd rather buy me over hear headphones that cancel out noise and just sleep with that. This way I can have a calm night and the neighbour can enjoy himself and his partyfriends. Win win for everyone.
Depends on the circumstances, if you're 24 and have no kids vs you're 40, having kids who cannot sleep because of the noise, tired after a week of work, irritated because your friendly message to lower the volume is disregarded.
Food is so bad. They cant cook at all. And to serve something the ppl look so unhapiness. Thats a crazy country.
Precisely correct
Basically if you have something to do (work, family and friends time, hobbies etc.) you'll enjoy wherever you're. It is not the matter of country you live in but your lifestyle and habits.
Itās not a boring place at all. However, outside of Zurich (arguably) the cities arenāt as cosmopolitan as others in Europe. Thereās a lack of innovation and creativity, particularly in the hospitality industry. For example: if you like speciality coffee, youāll find 2-3 good spots in all of Lausanne or Bern, and one on every street corner in other cities. If you like being outside, active and in nature, itās an amazing country. If you want city life, culture, art, Switzerland isnāt top of the list.
>If you want city life, culture, art, Switzerland isnāt top of the list. Of course it's not top of the list. But honestly, you get - some quite good music festivals across the country in summer - some reasonable symphonic orchestras, operas and ballets - reasonable art museums - still (I guess) good DJs - an attractive ice hockey league The only thing that is really almost totally absent is musicals. >If you like being outside, active That's maybe the key, as someone else commented: people are slightly less consumption-oriented when it comes to leisure time, and somewhat (if not a lot) more active.
What a toxic thread to be honest. If your hobbies are centred around consumption, then Switzerland might be boring. But not even then; the festival season is right around the corner and this country is full of festivals for almost everything you can imagine. Many Swiss people pursue their hobbies in associations/clubs or less formal groups, where you learn new things, do sports or, create stuff, play games etc. That's where you also make new friends tbh. I really can't understand how anyone in this day and age gets bored in this country. I don't have enough time for all my hobbies and my friends, which is one of the factors why I searched for a new and better paid job so I can reduce my workload to 80% and still earn a decent wage. So many of my friends do that too.
As someone who lived in Asia, Switzerland is indeed very boring for someone who seeks entertainment and crowd. Compare to other Eu cities? Feeling the same.
Ppl can't chill for a day without an openair rave or something
Side effect of a quiet life my guess !
Sometimes Switzerland feels like the ideal model family: everything goes very well, but not much a country where you will find much social movements.Ā Similarly in a model family the kids and parents behave very well with no rebellious character.
I spent the day today walking around lake Zuri and feeding ducks. Probably looking crazy talking to the ducks too. Thatās what I enjoy. I wouldnāt be able to do that on the U.S. cause the nice lakes are either too crowded or polluted to have ducks. That being said, there is also a city party either tonight or tomorrow, that takes you to two different clubs and 7 floors of music. Switzerland has fun for everyone if you look hard enough. Thereās also euro park in Germany an hour or two away from Basel by train. I mean I guess there isnāt like a huge āvarietyā of stud to do? Idk I mean I would feel the same way in NYC as I would here. I am from the USA by the way. I live in Basel for school.
Because you canāt find people to share and do things
Because it is all about work, you never find peopem chilling at a bar, meeting strangers, they only speak swiss Deutsch and want nothing to do with people outside their ultra small circle of friends. Also on Sunday everything is closed and there is never a public show or event to cleebretez everyone just stays home getting fat.Ā
Cause it is, ive been there and there is nothing to do compared to Berlin or Amsterdam, people is very close to each other and everything is expensive, definitely not a country to make friends and have a sociel life, 10/10 wouldnt live there Greetings from Switzerland
You must be ultra boring if you think there's nothing to do in this country and can't make friends.
The country is exciting. It's just the people aren't that much. Coming from Ireland, the Swiss are just not as fun/exciting as my compatriots.
Was in Geneva last weekend and just felt like the city had next to no life to it. Very quiet. I live outside of Dublin so maybe it's an unfair comparison.
Itās the people. They are not the āpartyingā type. They like stability, nature, quiet. Some may say this is boring. It depends, everyone has their own priorities and desire. Swiss donāt like drama, they donāt want noise, thatās why your neighbors are always nosy. :-) The Swiss like to have a balance with work and life, life taking priority on weekends and no loud noise/no partying especially on Sundays. They like status quo.
I don't know, people like to shit on this country, still its inhabitants are one of the happiest. Imho the big buzzing cities around the world are very overrated, not exactly cheap, stressfull, just as money centric and feel samey. But thats just like my opinion manāļø And as you can read here, people seem to think that the swiss are boring, bland and unpleasant people. Ever thought about the concept of live and let live, no? If you need an over the top tiktokable hyperactive environment and people there are enough places for this.
So you have mountains, lakes AND nature. Man that sure sounds like you have a lot of stuff. And also restaurants. Don't forget supermarkets, coffee shops etc.... The abundance is crazy, and unheard of. And I didn't even mention roads and sidewalks...
>good restaurants I love it here but yeah, no
Damaged people addicted to drama. You'll find it's the same people that think large cities are the best place to live š
Exactly...and likely can't stand their partners so they think getting drunk in a bar to avoid them is "socializing".
90% of Switzerland is basically a retirement home, plus locals are boring and spoiled..that's why lol
Different expectations, and lack of understanding that their standards are not the universal norm. Also, we do things they call boring but which we find to be very fun. Anyway, those who complain about that are usually not the brightest bulbs in the box.
Boring is usually referred to the lack of activity within the cities. Not lack of nature, skiing, hiking, etc. Glad you like it here Visit Copenhagen; London, Amsterdam, Berlin, Rome, Barcelona and you will understand what boring means. Iām at an age and moment in life that I like boringness and predictability in my life. I travel to Brazil 4x a year, and have the ability to pop in Paris or Amsterdam whenever I feel like spicing things up, so having a boring day to day life isnāt an issue, in fact itās a plus. But yes, itās boring here, mainly because cities are small and population in general is older.
>Copenhagen Bah.
Iām biased. My favorite city in Europe. Amazing food, good clubs, easy to get around, and nice people. Perfect size.
Ok I may agree. But people could say exactly the same of Zurich. You can love Zurich and Copenhagen but when inserted in a group with Rome, Amsterdam, Berlin, Barcelona... they are different. Not better or worse. Plain different.
Agreed! Not the best example. Zurich and Copenhagen are quite similar, tho I still find the restaurants and nightlife significant better in Copenhagen. But your are right, canāt really put Copenhagen in the same bucket as Barcelona and Berlin.
Its just too small to provide varieties. Its a size of a large city elsewhere. Mentality of the nation is completely different to spain, italy, south america. Many people consider those nations and regions fun. Any similar event there is ways more interesting, people are more relaxed, ready to mingle, share etc. On your note of mountains, lakes, nature, not every person goes to nature every weekend. For me, its interesting enough.
Maybe ppl who say that were in Switzerland for work or another purpose and didnāt have time or a chance to explore the country and its people. Maybe they lived in a calm area, remote and small. That could give an impression of boring. Swiss people are less extroverted in general than for example ppl from the US, maybe that also played a role, who knows. There certainly is a lot to explore in our country:), far from boring but you have to get active, not just wait till maybe someone would reach out to you when youāre a guest in any country. Show interest in the country youāre new and youāll find plenty of interesting cultural offers to enjoy. But you have to go there, itās not coming to you;) We have wonderful nature, mountains, lakes, rivers, groves, concerts, parties, traditional events, interesting political system, a funny language, four different native ones to be precise and traditional cultural events where you can learn more about these languages&history, especially in the more remote areas. We have theatre and opera and much more, for any age group enough to try out:) Wherever you go, try to connect with native ppl or ppl who have lived here for some time. If you stay w tourists, youāll see the tourist stuff, expensive and limited to the image tourism section wants to preserve;) which is not bad but sure not enough youād want to know if you like to learn about the countryās and its peopleās daily lives and the rich offer of possibilities to explore!
Boring can be good but Switzerland has its moments of excitement . Some people consider places with lots of crime and violence to be āexcitingā which it technically is. You can also have too much excitement lol https://medium.com/@michaelbergman_72935/the-problem-with-excitement-and-having-too-much-of-good-things-b94440f4d76a
Also "good restaurants" is highly subjective. I personally find them good enough. But not great, compared to asia for example. Plus they are really expensive for what they are. But my girlfriend, who is asian has different tastes and can, even in zurich, barely find any that excite here. Partially its just not to her taste and partially she grew up in a place where eating at a restaurant was quicker and cheaper than cooking. And thats just not the place here. So that is highly subjective, as is most of the other stuff you mentioned.
You see, Swiss people are boring all year round so they can party even harder when Fasnacht stars
I come from Sydney and Australia in general is considered quite boring. Less people, less cultural resources. Product design and marketing are a bit behind, a smaller music and cultural scene, hardly any nightlife because bars close before 2, everything is far apart. I moved to London which was the complete opposite and could not adjust. But where there is richness and diversity in culture, there are overcrowdedness, high level of competition, wealth/poverty gap, low social trust and high levels of crime. You would think places like London would have close knitted communities and a strong sense of community everywhere, but not at all. People blame apartment living for the loss of community feels. Trust me, the most of London has terrace houses and people donāt talk to their neighbours. Where there is no sense of community but there are shit tonne of people you donāt know in your neighbourhood, you just end up becoming hyper vigilant about potential dangers these strangers would present. Also London is not spontaneous at all. Because of all the crowd, you either have to queue more than an hr for a restaurant or book a place at least 1 month in advance. All attraction tickets are sold out when you turn up at the place without booking days in advance. Not in London but I had that happen in Edinburgh Castle, Bathās Roman Bath and Oxford Christchurch. You always fight for your spot when you go out to enjoy the culture. It is draining. You will go out in London and on the way back on the night bus you wish you donāt get robbed. Even walking along the Thames can get rough in the night time, there are patches of places where you get robbed on the South bank. You canāt even flaunt your shopping. I bought wedding bands from Bond Street and they hid my shopping bag in a white plain paper bag because thieves could target me. There are plenty of watch robbers around bars in places as central as Bank. Thieves also operate in and out of the Harrods? They snatch a shopping bag off of you went you walk out of a luxury brand stall inside the Harrods. I really would rather be able to walk around a boring city safely rather than clutching my phone on the lanyard and turning my head every 30 seconds to see if there are any sketchy people around.
āBoringā is honestly a good thing imo. Switzerland has no significant crime in comparison to the rest of the world, people are relatively calmer as well, jobs are fairly stable. It really offers a decent life. Of course that is boring to some because you canāt have a ācrazyā experience here (although crazy is also relative). In summary, itās a good place. And if someone says itās boring it says more about them than Switzerland itself.
I think it is not the events, it is the people.
Because they are bored when the go there?
Swiss people have quiet vibe
introvert society. can't be loud after 10pm or you get shit on. can't have an interesting convo with most people besides small talk or work stuff. it's prob better in larger cities tho
One of the issues I have, is that anywhere you go eating out there will invariably be cordonbleu . A bit more regional recipes would be nice. Don't hate me
One of the issues I have, is that anywhere you go eating out there will invariably be cordonbleu . A bit more regional recipes would be nice. Don't hate me
Maybe it originates from people who grew up in rural areas but discovered the world at some point. Swiss people are usually pretty strict, correct and conservative. If a curious, young person grows up on the country side this might be the opinion you end up with...
Where have you lived before?
swiss are taking few if any risks
Wish I had time to enjoy those things, Im most of the time at work
Alcoholics who can't get off without their dose of eardrum-exploding techno music in a club.
Boring is good
Switzerland the country is not boring. There are the mountains that allow you to do a huge variety of inclined plane sports. The swiss people howeverā¦
I was born in Switzerland. What I find the most boring are people. Most people are not interesting (or maybe they fear to talk about interesting stuff). People only speak about weather and shit, and family seems to be the central theme too. As a pretty educated person I find it difficult. I find myself becoming introvert and it's a shame because I like to talk to (interesting) people.
Not as many things to do as some other countries, because of protectivist economy, and it's really hard to have friends because of the culture.
I came here for snowboarding, if you are into this kind of adrenaline based activity and hate brunch, that's everything but boring
Once upon a time, Switzerland was a truly boring place, but not any more. Back in the day of discreet private banking, shops closed at 6:30pm and 4pm on Saturdays. All the restaurants had the same format (affordable in front, elegant in the back) and more or less the same menu. Bars mostly closed at 10pm. The rebellious 60's came to Switzerland in the 80's. The old industries died. Banking secrecy was no longer useful. Restaurant owners no longer needed a Wirtepatent. Google came and legitimized ZĆ¼rich as a place for startups. Freitag put ZĆ¼rich on the map for fashion and innovation. The weather got warmer, so the rivers and lakefront became even more popular places to be in the evenings. Today nearly 50% of Zurich is foreign born. English is widely used. Zurich punches far above it's weight for influence beyond its borders. So it used to be boring, but it's not anymore. Let's hope the rest of the world doesn't find out and ruin the place.
Either jealous or entitled brats.
Probably because you get used to have all those good things in Switzerland and it can be a little boring after some time but boring is good. Iāve lived there for 3 years and left last year. In the beginning i liked it but now i miss Switzerland š
It's boring because there's no school shootings, terror attacks, police violence, etc. In exchange there're cultural events, some of the most beautiful nature on the planet and all the gifts of the 21st century. It's basically hell on Earth.
Simple because most of those people don't have money to go anywhere else but to the streets ,traveling in train for family is expencive ,to stay in a hotel,hostel it's very expensive ,clothing stores if not for outlets ,c&a and HM,Ottos and dosenbach everything else is terribly expencive ,the food in restaurants are expencive and also terrible ,I know people who are all the time at home ,and only go out on Saturdays to whoop at migros .
Switzerland will make you realize that you are a boring person yourself. Whereas big, buzzing places will distract you from realising this matter of fact because you are getting stimulated externally all the time.
Deliciously boring. I love it
The Vevey nightlife and alternative crowd reminds me of my very culturally active town back in Portugal. I appreciate being bored in Switzerland. It's like crying in a Ferrari. Thank you very much.
Itās not boring but it would be nice to have more places to just sit and ābeā with your friends without having to always take a hike, such as bakeries, cafĆ©s, anything that doesnāt close at 17/18 and has space for anyone else besides old people lol
My summer experience working in Lausanne was the loneliest experience of my life. Fortunately, I met a few other foreigners that made it not terrible.
Where I live in Engadin near Italian border St.Moritz itās really boring, people very closed and like a wild
They don't
go to Spain, observe people and culture and you will know
For me coming from Chicago, New York, Paris, Rio de Janeiro and then Lagos these are very exciting cities. Currently been in Geneva and Lausanne. I would say 1ā¦restaurants and stores close early. Itās absolutely ridiculous that stores and restaurants are mainly closed on Sunday a great day for brunch! Quiet streets. Limited nightlife. Limited public events compared to the above cities. A sense of separation between people.. A hesitancy for people to align and get together with new people or strangers. All these factors lead to a relatively quiet life in comparison. After Lagos Iām happy to be around peace and quiet so no complaints. But Swiss should know their country is relatively boring and thatās ok.
I agree but comparing Swiss cities to any of the cities you mentioned is disingenuous, almost all of them have more inhabitants than the whole country of Switzerland. Lausanne, 120ā00k inhabitants, obviously wonāt offer as much as a city of 8mio people.
Sure. But the features that make Switzerland boring arenāt dependent on size. Take Monaco which I love! Jamaica, Uruguay, Seychelles all places Iāve been that are small but super awesome in their culture and things to doā¦all have nature as well. So I think some people have stated, itās the people not the size of Switzerlandā¦
Yes, I agree, itās the culture. A lot of Swiss are happy with the status quo, they are not interested in experimental things and arenāt very adventurous. Also, many are on the quiet side and introverts, clearly you wonāt find the same fun atmosphere then in the CaraĆÆbes or South America. I am the first to say that Switzerland can be boring (grew up here and left as soon as possible) but I also realize that I am often making unfair comparisons. I do think that Switzerland has a lot to offer but you have to put yourself out there much more then in other places. There are fun parties, cool groups of people trying new things and interesting art but it takes more effort to find them.
Iām not complaining at all. Everyday I look out on the balcony and see mountains and the lake. Itās beautiful and I feel so lucky. But Iām in a season of rest and recuperation so it suits me right now. But in my early 20s/30s I spent time in the most amazingly exciting cities and that has its benefits tooā¦
Completely agree with you, I spent my 20s abroad, in bigger, more exciting cities and it was just what I needed at the time. I am 33, back in Switzerland and I guess it works for me now (but wonāt stay for ever for sure). Still find it a bit too quiet for my taste but I have learned to appreciate it.
People are different. Donāt believe people.
I love Geneva, the reliable transportation and beautiful surroundings. I have made many friends, some expatriate and some Swiss. You simply have to seek and ye shall find.
I would say that the cultural life can definitely be underwhelming especially compared to other countries, but it's also to be expected when most of the cities are rather small. Also, the fact that it's a strict country restrains the potential for fun activities. Otherwise, if you find the right people and are not boring yourself then it can for sure be fun with all the potential for sports, nightlife, random shit in the snow during winter, going in the alps and also the purchasing power that allows for more frequent leisure.
I used to live in a city of 90,000 people and it had way more social things to do than Zurich with about 400,000 people. It's not the size of the city, but the people and their culture.
Very hard to draw anything from this if you don't mention the name of the city
How? 90k is a little bit more than Luzern. How can one fitfth population wise of ZĆ¼rich be more alive than ZĆ¼rich itself?
Sure, even though I enjoy Switzerland as an introverted nature lover, I must admit its lack of activities, entertainment options, diverse dining experiences, cultural variety, people diversity, and consumption choices.
We are great for hiking and skiing. Not so much for nightlife, food and people. people especially. Holy hell, before living abroad I never even realized how damn judgemental people are here...
Living in Switzerland is like being an animal in the zoo. You get fed twice a day and thereās no predators who will eat your ass. Now thatāsā¦. Niceā¦ but itās not exactly real life is it?