Housing in switzerland?

[Anonymous]

Does switzerland have townhouses to rent or is it just apartments that you can only rent. I've been thinking about going to school in switzerland to study for finance and would like to get on campus housing over there. I'm from Canada. I'm not a fan of apartments.

[SueShe]

There are townhouses to rent in Switzerland but they are out of price if you think of renting them in the cities where universities are located. Those cities would typically be Geneva and Lausanne in Western Switzerland (French speaking) or Zurich and St. Gallen in Eastern Switzerland (German speaking).

The major universities in Switzerland are in Lausanne (Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale - EPFL) or then the ETH in Zurich (Eigdenössische Technische Hochschule), the institute that Albert Einstein visited for a short while.

Housing for students in Switzerland is a chronic problem, even for well to do students. As for the prices of townhouses, they are just out of reach, even for Swiss citizens that earn on the average of CAD6,000/month.

You would have to move even beyond the suburbs to be able to find a suitable place at a reasonable price. Mainly in Zurich, Lausanne and Geneva, the prices are horrendous. Just as @DeeDeeDeVour stated, CAD2,500 will not get you a decent townhouse in a radius of 50 miles from those centers.

[Asker]

I would be getting gov assistance. I just don't like the style of apartments.

[SueShe]

You have basically the choice between 8 cities in Switzerland that have a university.

Western Switzerland: Geneva, Lausanne, Fribourg, Neuchâtel.
Eastern Switzerland: Berne, Zurich, St. Gallen
Southern Switzerland: Lugano

The cities most likely to fit a foreign student, even with a government loan would be Fribourg, Neuchâtel and St. Gallen.

Have a look at samples of housing you can find in the greater Geneva area

www.immobilier.ch/.../page-1

[DeeDeeDeVour]

Where, in Switzerland, do you intend to study?

Geneva, for example, has apartments available for rent somewhere between $1,500 to $2,500 for just a single bedroom unit. I'd imagine small, old houses starting at $2,000 per month. It's similar for townhomes since they're newer.

I think it's more expensive in Zurich, where the esteemed Swiss Federal Institute of Technology is located. Small houses in the outskirts will cost +/- $2,750 per month. Townhomes in Zurich city center are modern and, therefore, more expensive.

I have friends in both Geneva & Zurich who I visited over 3 years ago. I was very inquisitive back then and still inquisitive nowadays when we have Microsoft Teams meetings. I think I retained enough information regarding their costs of living.

[Asker]

I would be getting gov assistance.

[DryGermanGuy]

With the size of the campus in such a small country, I doubt there is housing available. Even in larger Germany, where available, housing is near campus, not on it.
And as others have already mentioned - with the prohibitive rental prices in Switzerland you don’t want to rent a house in the larger cities!

[Asker]

I would be getting gov assistance.

[Guy13]

No idea but real estate search and Switzerland will tell you.

[Asker]

I would be getting gov assistance.

[Guy13]

I do not do section 8 or voucher on any continent.

[Iron_Man]

I’ve never been to Switzerland before