Relocation Sevice
Smooth Move
Supporting your successful move to Switzerland
Why you need Smooth Move
Nowadays we live and work globally.
There are various reasons to move to Switzerland.
You are sent by your company to its branch in Switzerland or to a research institute or you come here to study.
Or, you com here for reasons of taxation.
Whatever the motives, Smooth Move is there to assist you with your first steps in Switzerland.
About me
After graduating from university, I worked at a real estate company in Kobe for eight years, servicing foreign expatriates coming to Japan for work.
After that, I left for Beijing to study Mandarin.
After returning to Japan, I went back to University to study law in Tokyo.
In the same time, I build up trading and travel agency. For this business, I travelled to various countries.
Eventually, I immigrated to Switzerland. A move that had not been part of my life plan.
Life holds lots of surprises!!
Now I live in Switzerland with my Swiss husband and our two daughters.
Even after many years, I´m still noticing clear differences between Asian and European mentalities and cultures.
This has never stopped fascinating me.
When you come to this country where you might not know the languages and the culture, I can put my experience to your use for a smooth move into your new life.
Life in Switzerland
Housing in Switzerland
Compared to other countries, the danger of earthquake is very low in Switzerland. There are lots of buildings that 50, 60 or even over hundred years old.
Most of them are well maintained and have been renovated. So the appearance is often misleading and you find a marvellous home inside. There are also people in Switzerland who are particularly found of these vintage houses. One feature of apartment buildings that are over thirty years old is especially peculiar. The individual apartments are not equipped with washing machines. Rather, there are washing machines for the joint use of all dwellers.These are usually installed in the basement, in a room called „Waschküche", literally„washing kitchen".
We mainly have hard water in Switzerland and compared to Japan the washing machines can wash at high temperatures. Usually, there are also tumble dryers in place.
How often you can use the washing machines varies from apartment building to apartment building.
Some places require you to write your name on a calendar kept in the „Waschküche". In other places you are assinged fixed days and hours, for instance Monday morning or Friday early afternoon. In the worse case, you can only wash twice a month.
Hence, for someone used to having a washing machine in the apartment, this is a point to absolutely check when viewing an apartment.
There is also special Swiss rule called „Ruhezeit"or quiet time.
From 10 pm to 7am you should not make any noise that could bother your neighbours.
In older apartments this could be include letting run water into the bathtub or taking a shower after 10pm.
Silence is also required during lunch time from twelve o'clock to half past one in the afternoon.
During this time you must refrain from vacuum cleaning, playing a music instrument or listening to loud music.
Sundays are supposed to be quiet days of rest. You are not supposed to use vacuum cleaners, washing machines, lawn movers, etc. The rules in more new and better insulated-buildings are usually less strict.
However, old buildings tend to come with old tenants who like to adhere to the strict rules. So, you better check these rules thoroughly when viewing an apartment.
Enjoy your life in Switzerland
So you're ready to start your new life in Switzerland. You can enjoy the beautiful landscape but getting to know Swiss customs and culture will be key for you to really enjoy life in Switzerland.
Our company will accompany you into your new Swiss life with advice and useful information.
Swiss people are famously diligent, polite and shy. It is said that it is hard to make friends with them. But once you have earned their trust you can count on their help like in a family.
When I came to Switzerland I only knew the sentences that everybody knows „Danke schön" and „ Ich liebe dich". With those two sentences, I could already get into contact and break the ice.
I still fondly remember the post delivery man at my first place just after moving here.I was getting a lot of parcels from Japan and the building didn't have an elevator. The delivery man carried them up to the fourth floor after his shift.
This is truly amazing when you know that the Swiss generally want to go home quickly after work.Even more so because the delivery services won't be able to tell you the exact time when they are coming. If you are not at home and they have to come a second time they will charge you extra. Unbelievably, one day the post master himself brought the parcel after his shift on the way his home. Even without knowing the language, if you communicate with respect and kindness you can experience interesting and heartwarming situations.
Let´s tackle the challenge of your first steps into your Swiss life together.
Our services
Contact
One of the reasons Smooth Move is chosen is that you can order the necessary services only when you need them, and how you need them.
From full support plans to the provision of only necessary services, we will offer what you exactly need. At first please contact from inquiry form.
Business hours Monday to Friday
9 am-5:30 pm
