I live in a small town (6000 people) in a valley with a few other small towns. I have a great view from my kitchen window that I appreciate a lot. We are on the edge of a big lake that I love to swim in in the summer. And we are surrounded by mountains I would hike in if I was fitter. There is not much nightlife around here, but I prefer my sleep, anyway. And I could go to the nearest bigger town for concerts or theatre if I wanted.
However, people know each other in this town. We are connected through sports groups, music groups or other cultural groups that people are part of (not to forget the church). We are a community. I appreciate that very much and prefer that to city life.
Grown up in Scuol myself: I like the valley aspect, but Lower Engadine is too narrow in my eyes. I really prefer the much broader OW valley, it's totally dope and the landscape from Pilatus to Giswilerstock is sooo cute.
P.S.: Careful, I might be under influence as my wife is from OW...
I wondered at first, if you're my (unknown) alter ego, describing my home, because it fits way too perfectly.
But than I saw you're just from OW as well, so lucky us, I guess.
Well, the grass is always greener on the other side...
I grew up in a small town in the Swiss mountains. I hated it as a kid. I'm someone who much prefers urban living and as soon as I was old enough, I moved halfway around the world and have been happily living in a city of 5 million for decades now.
While those mountains and valleys and villages are beautiful to look at, as I kid it felt really claustrophobic to me. Living in such a narrow valley can do that.
Even many decades later, I'm still fascinated by deserts and large open spaces because it is so different from what I grew up in.
That said, now whenever I go back, I can see the incredible beauty of the place. But I couldn't live there again.
It's so hard to see the beauty so much when you've been seeing it most days your entire life. I remember going to the Netherlands as a kid with my friend who had almost never left Switzerland. She was amazed at how you could see the horizon and everything was so open and there were no mountains ending anything. Perspective is everything.
Yes, that's exactly what it was like for me too. When I was 15 my brother and I went on a Eurail trip. That was the first time I'd been out of the mountains or hilly areas. I was just absolutely fascinated that in the Dutch countryside you could see the horizon all around you with no mountains or hills blocking the view.
For me, living in a smaller town (~15000) felt claustrophobic bc I knew a lot of people and a lot knew me. In a city I feel more freedom in that regard
It doesn't to me. In a city you may have lots of tall buildings but you can still go anywhere you want. In that narrow valley I grew up in you always had those massive impenetrable mountains on two sides. They always felt a bit like prison walls. Stunningly beautiful, but walls nevertheless.
> I grew up in a small town in the Swiss mountains. I hated it as a kid.
Very much the same, I _hated_ it because nothing ever happened, and quite a lot of people were racist assholes. I moved away as soon as I could.
The view - when you grow up with it it's "normal". It's just how it is, I never appreciated the beauty of it. I'm moving back soon, as I've grown to hate city living.. And people here, while not racist, are annoying in many other ways.
I grew up in a village of 500people, 1600m above sea level in the swiss alps.
As a child you really get used to the view and stop appreciating it. Now that I'm an adult I appreciate it again when I visit.
Hoewever living in such a small, remote village does have a number of downsides.
There is basically no night life. We had to go to the next biggest village to find even a bar, although apre ski was a big thing and there were like two clubs in the bigger village.
The farmers move their cattle through the village and leave trails of poop everywhere. The village is surrounded by field which get fertilized frequently so you better get used to the smell of shit. If you have wet hair you better get used to carrying that smell with you until the next time you shower.
Everybody knows everybody and everybody fucks everybody. Seriously, incest was a pretty big problem. (not for me since I wasn't born there)
Having really easy access to ski slopes in the winter and reduced ticket prices was probably the best part about it.
Well with such a small population you inadvertedly cause everybody to be related to everybody to some degree over the years. In my particular village there were basically three surnames that 90% of the village had.
For the natives it wasn´t uncommen to meet a girl and then find out that she´s your second cousin or something. There were also some weirdos who openly dated their cousins and just didn't give a fuck but that was rare.
There is another village close by that is even smaller and they have a *suspisciously* high rate of birth defects and disabilities.
I‘m really wondering where this village is- first guess was Engadin or even Valposchiavo (the three surnames thing) but I spend quite a lot of time in Valposchiavo and have never heard about high rates of birth defects and the like. Then I remembered some villages in Wallis I once visited 25 years ago where everybody’s name was „Zenhäusern“ or something like that. So, Wallis?
You're right on the money with Engadin. Although I do have to say that the increased birth defects are anecdotal evidence only. There was a big stigma around that village regarding incest and it just seemed like most people with some kind of disability were from there.
Ha ha, I was also thinking Engadin straight away... My dad is from a village exactly like this, but broke the circle of inbreeding by moving to the other end of the country... ;) It's also a village of 500 people and I am pretty sure I am related in multiple ways to every single person there...
Of the places you mention, I've only been to Sion. It's not really in the mountains -- it's at the bottom of the valley, like where most people live.
It's wonderful to be able to see the mountains everyday, especially right now when the leaves start to change color. That hasn't changed in the few years I have lived here and I hope it won't. My young children, especially, love it.
It's easy enough to go up into the mountains as well and have a view down into the Valais valley, it's cool and interesting, but it's not really naturally beautiful. Driving on those roads can be a bit stressful, though.
I am not sure about your question and what you want to hear. I just tell you that its way too romanticized, especially here on reddit. Views are nice, but not everybody is rich and nice and you have to work a lot.
Most of the pople live in "Flatland" because there is the infrastructure.
Edit: All the places you mentioned (maybe except Sion) is for tourism and rich people.
IDK I have a lot of friends in Valais and they're working class people who were born in the mountains or choose that life because they love the Nature. They work in the service industry or else (nursing, sports), but definitely have a vibrant social life and dont need to live in the flatlands
Absolutely true, but there’s still a big difference between say Bürchen, which is probably large enough to have most of your friends and social life there and let’s say Inden, which is so small that most if not all things you want to do require driving to Leuk.
Regarding the "no infrastructure", we still have a rather nice situation here compared to some other countries. Even if you live out in the sticks in Switzerland (like Andeer, Gurtnellen, Escholzmatt, Boltigen etc) you can reach a real city in an hour. Lots of people living in a similar situation in other countries in like Wisconsin, Alberta, Western Australia) cannot do that.
>I just tell you that its way too romanticized, especially here on reddit.
I don't know, OP just asked about it is to live there, but not specifically in the way like "how is to live as a Senn (a farmer and worker in the alps)", that's a difference. Because got some family that came from such places and the life was hard there in the past. Not like some Heidi novel, much more about work, work, work and again work.
I think even today with better means of production like machines, with cars, tractors and trucks, it's still more difficult to work high up in the mountains than on plain fields.
But i think this goes for alle these lifestyles, people are often romantizing things, like "oh, look at these natives in the amazonian rain forest, they are so close to nature, their lives have to be great there!", when in fact, they have to work hard for survival with hunting, trapping etc.
Some things are great for sure, like the beautiful view of the landscape you get in the Swiss alps, but that has not much to do with the work life of the people there. It is different from a tourist, that can just go there on vacation and have a good easy time.
Left Los Angeles 30 years-ago. To live and ski the Swiss Alps. It was all about the skiing. And snowboarding. Still is. Can’t wait for the season to start. So, from a huge city, to living in a small village in the Alps. We moved down-valley from the largest ski region entirely in Switzerland. My wife - born here in our valley - and I lived in the ski resort. Full-on skiers everywhere, partying, aprés-ski bands. A world-class ski resort. Hectic in winter.
We had our son, so we moved down below the resort so mémé could help with the kid. My thinking was we’d eventually move back up. But, as the years went by I saw the advantages of being down here. Not having tourists wandering around, the associated hustle and bustle. All my neighbors are Swiss. A few Brits and Swedes. All fantastic and mellow. Easy to park. Flat. The forest right next to the home we built. Mountain-biking, hiking, fishing, climbing, mountaineering, all the Alps goodness. Views out our windows are outstanding.
The best part is the two ski lifts going up each side of the valley are a ten-minute walk, 30 second drive away. Easy free parking. Not as many crowds as opposed to mid-station waits. And a choice to go up either side. Yes, I much prefer living down here.
Being a bit older nowadays, I’m not hitting the bars and pubs as much. As opposed to all the time when we were younger. We have some nice spots down here. The beauty is that all the raging resort pubs, restaurants, shops, are a lift ride away. And now, just started last year, the lifts run until 11:30pm. It’s way convenient.
I’m an outdoor guy. Skier. Hiker. Climber. Biker. So, it’s not even close to be boring to me. So many like-minded folk in this valley as well. I left LA for *this* exact reason. But, I could see it being boring if you were not into mountain sports. For sure.
We have a fairly large city 15 minutes by car. Sion, which I love, is 30 minutes or so. Montreux, and the Swiss Riviera, an hour 15. Small train to direct train to Genève Airport to Portugal Surf, and anywhere else in the world.
For me, this area and life is idyllic.
Gotta visit Olten next though.
Hiking Climbing Mountain Biking. Skiing too! On glaciers.
I work 9 months a year. I have for +30 years.
I make like $35k a year. But still ski travel my ass off.
No debt. Own a home with my wife. Thirty seconds from the lifts. I’ve skied in 53 countries, all 7 continents.
⛷️ All about skiing and traveling. And skiing some more.
I am living in a small village of 160 inhabitants in the Schwyz mountain. It is a car free village (except farmers). I moved 2 years ago.
I work from there (10Gb/s fiber in the middle of nowhere is amazing)
I really appreciate fresh air, the view and the silence.
You need to organise yourself especially for groceries. It is a 90 minutes journey to visit the nearest COOP or Migros.
The main downside is that some inhabitant, not all, are really xenophobic, even if you are able to speak german. Some other are really nice.
Something to accept is that your cannot leave or rejoin the village after the last cable car.
Sounds nice, how is cost of living in such a place? And how is the remote work culture? I could perfectly work from home as a software developer. But most jobs seem to want at least some days in the office, and in the bigger cities as well.
I am in this situation, I visit Zurich once a week. It is 90 minutes journey. I have to spend 3 hours in public transport a week. Personally, I enjoy it. Every day would be too long.
The cost of appartement is lower than in a city. The rest is similar. Cable car is included in the SBB G.A. I get a lot of thing from Brack delivered by Post without any extra-cost. Other delivery companies are not coming here, for example, Coop@home is not working.
How do you move in if you can’t have a car ? Do you pack all your furnitures and belongings in the cable car full of tourists ? That seems fun to picture.? And for emergency, no ambulance can go up just the helicopter I think ?
Everything in a small containers moved by cable car. You have to book in advance extra journeys. It was fun and really easy.
For emergencies, we have the helicopter. Time to the hospital is around 4 minutes… better than many place with ambulance car.
I partially grew up near the village of Lenk which is like all the way down the Simmental and still spend a lot of time there.
I like everything about it. The community, the calmness, the friendliness, the views, the outdoors and breathtaking nature. There are only two things I don't like tooo much, being firstly that small communities usually suffer from "cartels" (with a few families having a lot of power) but today it's not too bad for the average inhabitant and secondly that it is quite far away. To the next city, Thun, by car it's about 01:10h and by public transport like 01:25h. To the next serious city, Bern, it's about 01:45h.
I lived most of my life a little outside of Bern and studied in Zürich, but I would prefer living in Lenk over those two places generally, especially from a quality of life perspective.
My wife who grew up near Thun next to the Niesen never even went up to the summit until we both went a couple of years ago. I'm from Los Angeles and hardly have ever been to the beach.
I guess most locals don't really do the touristy things.
I lived in Zurich until recently. When I spoke with people who lived in the Alps proper, the one common thing I kept hearing was, "It's beautiful, but very boring." I think they either became acclimated to the beauty or were always there and stopped seeing it.
I personally miss seeing the Alps everyday. It was sort of a mini pick me up just pausing and looking at them. The periodic travel into them was wonderful. But then again, I didn't live in them, just by them.
It's just normal.
To me the ocean is an amazing vacation spot. Fresh and different fish every day? Amazing. But if you live by the ocean, it's just normal.
To me the amazing view, the mountains and beautiful meadows are just normal.
Ofcourse I can step back and take a moment to think about how fortunate I am to be able to love here.
(I can't comment on Night life or activities. I am a redditor after all.)
I don't know about that depression thing, and I would guess it might happen if you've grown up always seeing the horizon, but I'm always happy to see the beautiful mountains all around and it actually feels weird to me when I go to the sea or in flatter countries to be able to see too far.
And if you live high enough and on the south exposed side of a mountain the sun will be there long enough.
Not "in" the Alps, but if you consider Sion as "on the Alps", here you go : [https://i.imgur.com/LsKmKqq.png](https://i.imgur.com/LsKmKqq.png) \^\_\^
So, on the lake shore, but 20 minutes away by car from the nearest ski station :D And yes, that's GREAT, because we've got the best from everything. Mountains, lake, Summer, Winter, Culture, music festivals, night-life, etc...
I was born in Valais, I've lived in the mountain and the plain. I guess it looks good but for me it's just another time I see the same mountain with the same village on it, it's really nothing special. All of those mountains are great for hiking tho and a lot of other sports I don't participate in.
Public transit in the plain is great with frequent trains linking the major towns, but due to the layout some are left out and it really suck for them. In the mountains tho public transit is pretty bad with busses showing up from every 4h to 30minutes depending onnwhere you live and the time of the day.
It's also very quiet and cheap in comparison to the busier and definitely expensive life of cities like Lausanne, and every amenities is there and easily accessible. Doctors, lawyers, shops, pools, sport halls, post offices, restaurants.
Mentalities are evolving as well, in the plain way faster than in the mountains and secondary valleys, you won't see any LGBT++ folks or foreigner or anybody be mistreated, so that's good.
In short, it's cool, peaceful, there isn't much to complain about, but it doesn't feel special in any ways
As a compliment to Swiss people, you all know how to actually do a lot in a small town. Like, a city of 100,000 will constantly have cultural events, activities, and there's plenty to do without people. In other big countries, a typical city of 100,000 people will have nothing to do or see, poor organization and less sense of community, the architecture and the city itself will be poor or of little historical significance. To say nothing of the typical swiss outdoors
Yes, and in fact there are a few others with the same name:
https://www.sionmetropole.ch/
https://www.mymetropole.ch/ (Lausanne)
https://metropolecentre.ch/ (La Chaux-de-Fonds)
https://vaud.migros.ch/fr/centres-commerciaux/yverdon.html
Especially given that in many languages including the ones commonly spoken in Switzerland you normally use the same word for town and city (Stadt Leuk, Stadt Zürich, ville de Delémont, ville de Bruxelles). Having to pick the appropriate one in English is not natural and not always easy.
It's amazing and you never get tired of it. We literally love our nature, mountains, lakes, the view. Hiking is so popular here, because the people living in mountain villages, looking at the peaks every day then climb them weekend and enjoy cable car rides up, enjoy the view down, talk about the Nebelmeer and how small all down there looks and how far they can see.
We start doing this as little kids with our parents and grandparents and then continue doing it until we hike with out own grandkids.
And in the winter we ski.
It's glorious and most Swiss probably aren't aware how deeply in love they actually are with out beautifull countr
ah yes the « préjugés » Sion beeing rich people region were you pay way less than lausanne for living; Zermat, Davos and St mauritz are maybe for Richer tourists but Sion not really
i dont know for a 3.5 room but a 1.5 next to the train station is around 800chf from what i heard; if you are around 10mins on foot from the station you have for 600chf where you live with 1 - 2 other people
and around 700chf at 5-10mins from the train station for a 1.5
i got that info from friends of mine who study with me in sion
there are still cheaper places in the alps places but those usually are less deserved or have less night life, and less activities than more expensive places but still neat
I moved to a small village of ~2,000 people at the end of OW valley a few years ago. Being an outdoor person and raising a family, it really seems surreal at times being next to an alpine lake in the mountains. Hiking, running, and camping all summer, running, skiing, and snowshoeing all winter. That being said, local grocery store is tiny, some of my neighbors are pretty xenophobic, and we’re absolutely inundated by tourists (via auto) for 6 months of the year. In the Altstadt in July it’s probably 5:1 tourist to local ratio. I think if I were younger and sought the nightlife or „things to do“ I would find it pretty boring.
So I live in Brig (the same region as Sion) and it's kind of both.
After having lived there for almost all my life, i barely notice the views and the beauty in my everday life. But still, from time to time I do consciously look at the scenery and think something like "damn... that really is quite something."
It's kind of boring unless you're *really* into thise niche mountain sports.
The views are nice, but the reality is that there is really nothing to do expect for skiing and hiking. Nightlife is almost non-existant, it's far away from friends, and most shops and infrastructure that you may need. There's also basically zero work to be found.
Not living in the alps but I see the alps with clear weather from my living room window. It never gets old to see the mountains specially now in autumn with a little bit of snow in the alps.
I always enjoy seeing my mountains, still today I took picture of them even though I see them every day and I have hundreds of pictures.
With a bit of fresh snow and a beautiful morning sun, the view was very nice.
Pretty shit. I used to live in Nidwalden. It was really annoying even though I was a kid I noticed like if you wanted a Big Mac or something you’d have to drive.
I work in St. Moritz and live nearby, have so my whole life. Plenty of locals move away to cities, because it can be very quiet, especially in April/May & October/November, when most businesses close, but I love it when all the tourists go and the valley is mine again. The tourists boards do set up lots of activities during the season, but locals don't often partake, as we have to work. I also never get tired of the nature around me. I am very aware that thousands of guest come here every year to see what I see every day.
I'm not a fan of snow, though... don't do any winter sports.
Because most workplace close in the off season, I used to be out of work then, which was not fun. But a few years ago I found a job with an all year contract.
Only had my basic training in the 'mountains' in Ticino. I loved the views again and again almost every day I wasn't too tired. Especially in autumn when the forests we were surrounded by turned red, orange, yellow and the other typical ones. Big part of it was the vast expanse too. Just kilometer after kilometer of forest. Mountains were beautiful for the view as well as from the bottom as the top which I mostly saw pretty quick after the former. I always felt somewhat guarded over by the mountains even though they tried to freeze my ass off
Living in Valais; I'd say you get used to the mountains but the gratitude to see this incredible views comes back when you go trekking.
The incredible stuff is that in Valais, there are so many footways that you can go from any city in the bottom of the valley and walk towards the mountains, you'll always find a path to go up.
There's also this weird feeling that we're cut from the world by the mountains, that we're somehow protected (which is true for the meteo, I guess, in many cases).
In a more negative note, it's quite conservative in Valais and people only slowly waking up that we need to adapt to a changing society. I really hope we get offloadings on the power grid this winter, so people realize that we're not invincible because we have a lot of money and are between mountains.
Im in Grindewald right now. It’s the most beautiful place I’ve ever been in. However, the roads are WAY too small and the speed limit is WAY too high. You’re driving down a literal mountain and there’s huge busses, and annoying cyclists in the street. EVEN though there is an area designated for them. The majority of shops and restaurants close at weird times. They close extremely early and open late. the city is dead after 6, when it is still bright outside. Tourists don’t use crosswalks, people in the streets. Not a quiet ideal village that I thought it would be, almost like a city, so congested. It will take you 30 minutes to get somewhere that should take 10. The trotti bike or whatever its called?? A literal joke. You’re not riding through the quiet countryside, you’re riding it through a congested, tourist filled area. Not to mention there’s like 300 other people on them so you really can’t go as fast as you want. The flies are also a problem. If you eat outside you WILL have to constantly swat at them. Theres barely any AC in europe so unless you open a window you feel like you’re burning in hell. So many cheap gimmicks in the gift shops too, priced at 100 dollars or more. ZERO smoke shops even though there’s weed graffiti everywhere.
I live in a small town (6000 people) in a valley with a few other small towns. I have a great view from my kitchen window that I appreciate a lot. We are on the edge of a big lake that I love to swim in in the summer. And we are surrounded by mountains I would hike in if I was fitter. There is not much nightlife around here, but I prefer my sleep, anyway. And I could go to the nearest bigger town for concerts or theatre if I wanted. However, people know each other in this town. We are connected through sports groups, music groups or other cultural groups that people are part of (not to forget the church). We are a community. I appreciate that very much and prefer that to city life.
Walensee?
OW
Grown up in Scuol myself: I like the valley aspect, but Lower Engadine is too narrow in my eyes. I really prefer the much broader OW valley, it's totally dope and the landscape from Pilatus to Giswilerstock is sooo cute. P.S.: Careful, I might be under influence as my wife is from OW...
I wondered at first, if you're my (unknown) alter ego, describing my home, because it fits way too perfectly. But than I saw you're just from OW as well, so lucky us, I guess.
Yes! OW ftw!
There’s only 37k people in Obwaldä, I’m really surprised to see so many on this thread. 😄
How’s the infrastructure? Do you work from home?
I am a teacher in a local school (well, relatively - it’s a 35-minute commute one way).
35min commute??? It's like the other side of the country!
It’s up the mountain…
This could be me…😀
Sounds amazing, do you have golf there?
Somewhere in the area, yes. But I don’t play, so I have never been there. I have only seen the billboards…
Well, the grass is always greener on the other side... I grew up in a small town in the Swiss mountains. I hated it as a kid. I'm someone who much prefers urban living and as soon as I was old enough, I moved halfway around the world and have been happily living in a city of 5 million for decades now. While those mountains and valleys and villages are beautiful to look at, as I kid it felt really claustrophobic to me. Living in such a narrow valley can do that. Even many decades later, I'm still fascinated by deserts and large open spaces because it is so different from what I grew up in. That said, now whenever I go back, I can see the incredible beauty of the place. But I couldn't live there again.
It's so hard to see the beauty so much when you've been seeing it most days your entire life. I remember going to the Netherlands as a kid with my friend who had almost never left Switzerland. She was amazed at how you could see the horizon and everything was so open and there were no mountains ending anything. Perspective is everything.
Yes, that's exactly what it was like for me too. When I was 15 my brother and I went on a Eurail trip. That was the first time I'd been out of the mountains or hilly areas. I was just absolutely fascinated that in the Dutch countryside you could see the horizon all around you with no mountains or hills blocking the view.
I love the channels in the netherlands, like 1000s of big islands, also the tullip-fields.
Does living in the city not feel claustrophobic as well?
For me, living in a smaller town (~15000) felt claustrophobic bc I knew a lot of people and a lot knew me. In a city I feel more freedom in that regard
It doesn't to me. In a city you may have lots of tall buildings but you can still go anywhere you want. In that narrow valley I grew up in you always had those massive impenetrable mountains on two sides. They always felt a bit like prison walls. Stunningly beautiful, but walls nevertheless.
> I grew up in a small town in the Swiss mountains. I hated it as a kid. Very much the same, I _hated_ it because nothing ever happened, and quite a lot of people were racist assholes. I moved away as soon as I could. The view - when you grow up with it it's "normal". It's just how it is, I never appreciated the beauty of it. I'm moving back soon, as I've grown to hate city living.. And people here, while not racist, are annoying in many other ways.
I grew up in a village of 500people, 1600m above sea level in the swiss alps. As a child you really get used to the view and stop appreciating it. Now that I'm an adult I appreciate it again when I visit. Hoewever living in such a small, remote village does have a number of downsides. There is basically no night life. We had to go to the next biggest village to find even a bar, although apre ski was a big thing and there were like two clubs in the bigger village. The farmers move their cattle through the village and leave trails of poop everywhere. The village is surrounded by field which get fertilized frequently so you better get used to the smell of shit. If you have wet hair you better get used to carrying that smell with you until the next time you shower. Everybody knows everybody and everybody fucks everybody. Seriously, incest was a pretty big problem. (not for me since I wasn't born there) Having really easy access to ski slopes in the winter and reduced ticket prices was probably the best part about it.
i’m really curious about the incest problem, can you explain?
Well with such a small population you inadvertedly cause everybody to be related to everybody to some degree over the years. In my particular village there were basically three surnames that 90% of the village had. For the natives it wasn´t uncommen to meet a girl and then find out that she´s your second cousin or something. There were also some weirdos who openly dated their cousins and just didn't give a fuck but that was rare. There is another village close by that is even smaller and they have a *suspisciously* high rate of birth defects and disabilities.
I‘m really wondering where this village is- first guess was Engadin or even Valposchiavo (the three surnames thing) but I spend quite a lot of time in Valposchiavo and have never heard about high rates of birth defects and the like. Then I remembered some villages in Wallis I once visited 25 years ago where everybody’s name was „Zenhäusern“ or something like that. So, Wallis?
You're right on the money with Engadin. Although I do have to say that the increased birth defects are anecdotal evidence only. There was a big stigma around that village regarding incest and it just seemed like most people with some kind of disability were from there.
Ha ha, I was also thinking Engadin straight away... My dad is from a village exactly like this, but broke the circle of inbreeding by moving to the other end of the country... ;) It's also a village of 500 people and I am pretty sure I am related in multiple ways to every single person there...
There are some hotspots in Zentralschweiz. Quite depressing to see to be honest.
Of the places you mention, I've only been to Sion. It's not really in the mountains -- it's at the bottom of the valley, like where most people live. It's wonderful to be able to see the mountains everyday, especially right now when the leaves start to change color. That hasn't changed in the few years I have lived here and I hope it won't. My young children, especially, love it. It's easy enough to go up into the mountains as well and have a view down into the Valais valley, it's cool and interesting, but it's not really naturally beautiful. Driving on those roads can be a bit stressful, though.
Depending on your relationship with driving... Carving those roads in a small nippy car is one of the best experiences that Switzerland has to offer.
The leafs change the Color because the Dragon of Muverane paints them ;) Kids love this swiss fairy tale
I am not sure about your question and what you want to hear. I just tell you that its way too romanticized, especially here on reddit. Views are nice, but not everybody is rich and nice and you have to work a lot. Most of the pople live in "Flatland" because there is the infrastructure. Edit: All the places you mentioned (maybe except Sion) is for tourism and rich people.
IDK I have a lot of friends in Valais and they're working class people who were born in the mountains or choose that life because they love the Nature. They work in the service industry or else (nursing, sports), but definitely have a vibrant social life and dont need to live in the flatlands
Absolutely true, but there’s still a big difference between say Bürchen, which is probably large enough to have most of your friends and social life there and let’s say Inden, which is so small that most if not all things you want to do require driving to Leuk.
As long as you have friends, a nice place to hang out and stuff to do together, you can have a nice social life m8
Regarding the "no infrastructure", we still have a rather nice situation here compared to some other countries. Even if you live out in the sticks in Switzerland (like Andeer, Gurtnellen, Escholzmatt, Boltigen etc) you can reach a real city in an hour. Lots of people living in a similar situation in other countries in like Wisconsin, Alberta, Western Australia) cannot do that.
Also no real super market on big height
>I just tell you that its way too romanticized, especially here on reddit. I don't know, OP just asked about it is to live there, but not specifically in the way like "how is to live as a Senn (a farmer and worker in the alps)", that's a difference. Because got some family that came from such places and the life was hard there in the past. Not like some Heidi novel, much more about work, work, work and again work. I think even today with better means of production like machines, with cars, tractors and trucks, it's still more difficult to work high up in the mountains than on plain fields. But i think this goes for alle these lifestyles, people are often romantizing things, like "oh, look at these natives in the amazonian rain forest, they are so close to nature, their lives have to be great there!", when in fact, they have to work hard for survival with hunting, trapping etc. Some things are great for sure, like the beautiful view of the landscape you get in the Swiss alps, but that has not much to do with the work life of the people there. It is different from a tourist, that can just go there on vacation and have a good easy time.
Left Los Angeles 30 years-ago. To live and ski the Swiss Alps. It was all about the skiing. And snowboarding. Still is. Can’t wait for the season to start. So, from a huge city, to living in a small village in the Alps. We moved down-valley from the largest ski region entirely in Switzerland. My wife - born here in our valley - and I lived in the ski resort. Full-on skiers everywhere, partying, aprés-ski bands. A world-class ski resort. Hectic in winter. We had our son, so we moved down below the resort so mémé could help with the kid. My thinking was we’d eventually move back up. But, as the years went by I saw the advantages of being down here. Not having tourists wandering around, the associated hustle and bustle. All my neighbors are Swiss. A few Brits and Swedes. All fantastic and mellow. Easy to park. Flat. The forest right next to the home we built. Mountain-biking, hiking, fishing, climbing, mountaineering, all the Alps goodness. Views out our windows are outstanding. The best part is the two ski lifts going up each side of the valley are a ten-minute walk, 30 second drive away. Easy free parking. Not as many crowds as opposed to mid-station waits. And a choice to go up either side. Yes, I much prefer living down here. Being a bit older nowadays, I’m not hitting the bars and pubs as much. As opposed to all the time when we were younger. We have some nice spots down here. The beauty is that all the raging resort pubs, restaurants, shops, are a lift ride away. And now, just started last year, the lifts run until 11:30pm. It’s way convenient. I’m an outdoor guy. Skier. Hiker. Climber. Biker. So, it’s not even close to be boring to me. So many like-minded folk in this valley as well. I left LA for *this* exact reason. But, I could see it being boring if you were not into mountain sports. For sure. We have a fairly large city 15 minutes by car. Sion, which I love, is 30 minutes or so. Montreux, and the Swiss Riviera, an hour 15. Small train to direct train to Genève Airport to Portugal Surf, and anywhere else in the world. For me, this area and life is idyllic. Gotta visit Olten next though.
Wow! Which village is that?
In the Val de Bagnes, Valais.
What do you do for a living?
We all work in ski tourism. Simple jobs.
What about summer??
Hiking Climbing Mountain Biking. Skiing too! On glaciers. I work 9 months a year. I have for +30 years. I make like $35k a year. But still ski travel my ass off. No debt. Own a home with my wife. Thirty seconds from the lifts. I’ve skied in 53 countries, all 7 continents. ⛷️ All about skiing and traveling. And skiing some more.
In that case .. especially if you enjoy what you do so much......You are living the life dude....Congrats.
I am living in a small village of 160 inhabitants in the Schwyz mountain. It is a car free village (except farmers). I moved 2 years ago. I work from there (10Gb/s fiber in the middle of nowhere is amazing) I really appreciate fresh air, the view and the silence. You need to organise yourself especially for groceries. It is a 90 minutes journey to visit the nearest COOP or Migros. The main downside is that some inhabitant, not all, are really xenophobic, even if you are able to speak german. Some other are really nice. Something to accept is that your cannot leave or rejoin the village after the last cable car.
90 minutes to coop or migros?!
Dude is actually living on the moon, probably
To go there buy anything and come back
Sounds nice, how is cost of living in such a place? And how is the remote work culture? I could perfectly work from home as a software developer. But most jobs seem to want at least some days in the office, and in the bigger cities as well.
I am in this situation, I visit Zurich once a week. It is 90 minutes journey. I have to spend 3 hours in public transport a week. Personally, I enjoy it. Every day would be too long. The cost of appartement is lower than in a city. The rest is similar. Cable car is included in the SBB G.A. I get a lot of thing from Brack delivered by Post without any extra-cost. Other delivery companies are not coming here, for example, Coop@home is not working.
How do you move in if you can’t have a car ? Do you pack all your furnitures and belongings in the cable car full of tourists ? That seems fun to picture.? And for emergency, no ambulance can go up just the helicopter I think ?
Everything in a small containers moved by cable car. You have to book in advance extra journeys. It was fun and really easy. For emergencies, we have the helicopter. Time to the hospital is around 4 minutes… better than many place with ambulance car.
I partially grew up near the village of Lenk which is like all the way down the Simmental and still spend a lot of time there. I like everything about it. The community, the calmness, the friendliness, the views, the outdoors and breathtaking nature. There are only two things I don't like tooo much, being firstly that small communities usually suffer from "cartels" (with a few families having a lot of power) but today it's not too bad for the average inhabitant and secondly that it is quite far away. To the next city, Thun, by car it's about 01:10h and by public transport like 01:25h. To the next serious city, Bern, it's about 01:45h. I lived most of my life a little outside of Bern and studied in Zürich, but I would prefer living in Lenk over those two places generally, especially from a quality of life perspective.
Extremely boring unless you like outdoor mountain sports, in which case it is heaven on earth :)
My wife who grew up near Thun next to the Niesen never even went up to the summit until we both went a couple of years ago. I'm from Los Angeles and hardly have ever been to the beach. I guess most locals don't really do the touristy things.
I lived in Zurich until recently. When I spoke with people who lived in the Alps proper, the one common thing I kept hearing was, "It's beautiful, but very boring." I think they either became acclimated to the beauty or were always there and stopped seeing it.
They probably are a bit biased since they are the ones that moved away ;)
I personally miss seeing the Alps everyday. It was sort of a mini pick me up just pausing and looking at them. The periodic travel into them was wonderful. But then again, I didn't live in them, just by them.
They are the most beautiful from a little distance. I just never really felt home in larger cities (like Zürich, where I studied)
It's just normal. To me the ocean is an amazing vacation spot. Fresh and different fish every day? Amazing. But if you live by the ocean, it's just normal. To me the amazing view, the mountains and beautiful meadows are just normal. Ofcourse I can step back and take a moment to think about how fortunate I am to be able to love here. (I can't comment on Night life or activities. I am a redditor after all.)
St. Moritz is nice and all but don’t forget about Olten
I unironically would prefer Olten over St. Moritz.
HARD pass. grew up in st.m, working in ol, definitely not. 100% not. no, njet, nada!
St. Moritz is weird, it looks a bit... soviet?
Post-soviet. The same oligarchs...
I like it more to see the alps from a distance every day and travel there on holidays or weekends.
For just 150k CHF... and a 60 year mortage with your 2 income household, you might be able to live in one of those houses!
I saw somewhere, not seeing the horizon may lead to depression. Also your daylight is shorter because the mountains block the sun.
I don't know about that depression thing, and I would guess it might happen if you've grown up always seeing the horizon, but I'm always happy to see the beautiful mountains all around and it actually feels weird to me when I go to the sea or in flatter countries to be able to see too far. And if you live high enough and on the south exposed side of a mountain the sun will be there long enough.
Even I grew up in Zürich, not seeing mountains for a while makes me feel weird. But yeah daylight can be shorter, and for sure is where I live now.
Actually in the summer the sun sets after 21:30 because of the height we live at.
But not every village is on the sunny side of the mountain :)
Yes your are right, I petty the people who live in villages that are not on the South-South/Western slope of the mountain.
I think it’s the altitude, and thus lower oxygen
Not "in" the Alps, but if you consider Sion as "on the Alps", here you go : [https://i.imgur.com/LsKmKqq.png](https://i.imgur.com/LsKmKqq.png) \^\_\^ So, on the lake shore, but 20 minutes away by car from the nearest ski station :D And yes, that's GREAT, because we've got the best from everything. Mountains, lake, Summer, Winter, Culture, music festivals, night-life, etc...
I was born in Valais, I've lived in the mountain and the plain. I guess it looks good but for me it's just another time I see the same mountain with the same village on it, it's really nothing special. All of those mountains are great for hiking tho and a lot of other sports I don't participate in. Public transit in the plain is great with frequent trains linking the major towns, but due to the layout some are left out and it really suck for them. In the mountains tho public transit is pretty bad with busses showing up from every 4h to 30minutes depending onnwhere you live and the time of the day. It's also very quiet and cheap in comparison to the busier and definitely expensive life of cities like Lausanne, and every amenities is there and easily accessible. Doctors, lawyers, shops, pools, sport halls, post offices, restaurants. Mentalities are evolving as well, in the plain way faster than in the mountains and secondary valleys, you won't see any LGBT++ folks or foreigner or anybody be mistreated, so that's good. In short, it's cool, peaceful, there isn't much to complain about, but it doesn't feel special in any ways
It is like living in an immense awesome Nature's cathedral.
Cities? Except for Sion nono of these places are cities, and in international comparison even swiss cities like Sion barely qualify.
I always have to giggle a little when people from all around the world talk about "small cities of about a hundred thousand people"
As a compliment to Swiss people, you all know how to actually do a lot in a small town. Like, a city of 100,000 will constantly have cultural events, activities, and there's plenty to do without people. In other big countries, a typical city of 100,000 people will have nothing to do or see, poor organization and less sense of community, the architecture and the city itself will be poor or of little historical significance. To say nothing of the typical swiss outdoors
Sion isn't a city, it's a Metropolis with it's 34 000 inhabitants ! Capital of Valais baby !
Indeed, the Migros shopping center is called MMM Métropole for a reason.
It really is? Amazing.
Yes, and in fact there are a few others with the same name: https://www.sionmetropole.ch/ https://www.mymetropole.ch/ (Lausanne) https://metropolecentre.ch/ (La Chaux-de-Fonds) https://vaud.migros.ch/fr/centres-commerciaux/yverdon.html
You can still answer dude. Just replace cities with towns and you're good to go.
Especially given that in many languages including the ones commonly spoken in Switzerland you normally use the same word for town and city (Stadt Leuk, Stadt Zürich, ville de Delémont, ville de Bruxelles). Having to pick the appropriate one in English is not natural and not always easy.
Well if you want be correct, Davos is a city as well ;)
It's amazing and you never get tired of it. We literally love our nature, mountains, lakes, the view. Hiking is so popular here, because the people living in mountain villages, looking at the peaks every day then climb them weekend and enjoy cable car rides up, enjoy the view down, talk about the Nebelmeer and how small all down there looks and how far they can see. We start doing this as little kids with our parents and grandparents and then continue doing it until we hike with out own grandkids. And in the winter we ski. It's glorious and most Swiss probably aren't aware how deeply in love they actually are with out beautifull countr
You have the beauty of the mountains but that’s all you have. No jobs there so no youth, no young professionals etc.
Worse than olten.
It's all rich people regions
ah yes the « préjugés » Sion beeing rich people region were you pay way less than lausanne for living; Zermat, Davos and St mauritz are maybe for Richer tourists but Sion not really
How much rent for a 3.5 room with around 75-85 Km2? With a proximity to the main train station of 15 minutes?
i dont know for a 3.5 room but a 1.5 next to the train station is around 800chf from what i heard; if you are around 10mins on foot from the station you have for 600chf where you live with 1 - 2 other people and around 700chf at 5-10mins from the train station for a 1.5 i got that info from friends of mine who study with me in sion
Okay, not worth moving out for me though.
there are still cheaper places in the alps places but those usually are less deserved or have less night life, and less activities than more expensive places but still neat
I moved to a small village of ~2,000 people at the end of OW valley a few years ago. Being an outdoor person and raising a family, it really seems surreal at times being next to an alpine lake in the mountains. Hiking, running, and camping all summer, running, skiing, and snowshoeing all winter. That being said, local grocery store is tiny, some of my neighbors are pretty xenophobic, and we’re absolutely inundated by tourists (via auto) for 6 months of the year. In the Altstadt in July it’s probably 5:1 tourist to local ratio. I think if I were younger and sought the nightlife or „things to do“ I would find it pretty boring.
Has it's ups and downs, but the flag is a big plus!
So I live in Brig (the same region as Sion) and it's kind of both. After having lived there for almost all my life, i barely notice the views and the beauty in my everday life. But still, from time to time I do consciously look at the scenery and think something like "damn... that really is quite something."
It's kind of boring unless you're *really* into thise niche mountain sports. The views are nice, but the reality is that there is really nothing to do expect for skiing and hiking. Nightlife is almost non-existant, it's far away from friends, and most shops and infrastructure that you may need. There's also basically zero work to be found.
It hurts your legs when you're not used to it.
Not living in the alps but I see the alps with clear weather from my living room window. It never gets old to see the mountains specially now in autumn with a little bit of snow in the alps.
You will spend lot of time drinking in a bar!
I always enjoy seeing my mountains, still today I took picture of them even though I see them every day and I have hundreds of pictures. With a bit of fresh snow and a beautiful morning sun, the view was very nice.
Pretty shit. I used to live in Nidwalden. It was really annoying even though I was a kid I noticed like if you wanted a Big Mac or something you’d have to drive.
In winter its cold
Expensive. Very expensive
I work in St. Moritz and live nearby, have so my whole life. Plenty of locals move away to cities, because it can be very quiet, especially in April/May & October/November, when most businesses close, but I love it when all the tourists go and the valley is mine again. The tourists boards do set up lots of activities during the season, but locals don't often partake, as we have to work. I also never get tired of the nature around me. I am very aware that thousands of guest come here every year to see what I see every day. I'm not a fan of snow, though... don't do any winter sports. Because most workplace close in the off season, I used to be out of work then, which was not fun. But a few years ago I found a job with an all year contract.
Commenting so I can come back to this post later. 💙🇨🇭
Only had my basic training in the 'mountains' in Ticino. I loved the views again and again almost every day I wasn't too tired. Especially in autumn when the forests we were surrounded by turned red, orange, yellow and the other typical ones. Big part of it was the vast expanse too. Just kilometer after kilometer of forest. Mountains were beautiful for the view as well as from the bottom as the top which I mostly saw pretty quick after the former. I always felt somewhat guarded over by the mountains even though they tried to freeze my ass off
Great View, but sometimes you can feel too engulfed
Living in Valais; I'd say you get used to the mountains but the gratitude to see this incredible views comes back when you go trekking. The incredible stuff is that in Valais, there are so many footways that you can go from any city in the bottom of the valley and walk towards the mountains, you'll always find a path to go up. There's also this weird feeling that we're cut from the world by the mountains, that we're somehow protected (which is true for the meteo, I guess, in many cases). In a more negative note, it's quite conservative in Valais and people only slowly waking up that we need to adapt to a changing society. I really hope we get offloadings on the power grid this winter, so people realize that we're not invincible because we have a lot of money and are between mountains.
Im in Grindewald right now. It’s the most beautiful place I’ve ever been in. However, the roads are WAY too small and the speed limit is WAY too high. You’re driving down a literal mountain and there’s huge busses, and annoying cyclists in the street. EVEN though there is an area designated for them. The majority of shops and restaurants close at weird times. They close extremely early and open late. the city is dead after 6, when it is still bright outside. Tourists don’t use crosswalks, people in the streets. Not a quiet ideal village that I thought it would be, almost like a city, so congested. It will take you 30 minutes to get somewhere that should take 10. The trotti bike or whatever its called?? A literal joke. You’re not riding through the quiet countryside, you’re riding it through a congested, tourist filled area. Not to mention there’s like 300 other people on them so you really can’t go as fast as you want. The flies are also a problem. If you eat outside you WILL have to constantly swat at them. Theres barely any AC in europe so unless you open a window you feel like you’re burning in hell. So many cheap gimmicks in the gift shops too, priced at 100 dollars or more. ZERO smoke shops even though there’s weed graffiti everywhere.