Back in the days when bush was running against gore I said if bush wins I’m leaving the country. Haven’t been back since.

I moved from Canada to Switzerland for work 5 years ago and have spoken about the exact same thing with so many other expats here, I would maybe even say you’re in the majority. we always talk about how Switzerland is like a golden cage, it’s is so beautiful and the salaries are so high and transit, government etc all works so well, but so many things here are also missing. I don’t have advice because I am in the same boat but I want you to know you’re definitely not alone 😊

As someone who lived in switzerland, it is a notoriously difficult place to adjust to as a foreigner. I totally understand you

I feel this way and really want to go home but realistically I wasn’t happy at home and I wasn’t happy in a third country so instead I’m working on me as I can’t return home anyway.

I moved to Switzerland from Rio (I’m from the US but was working in Brazil) after marrying my Swiss husband. I lasted about a year. I also found it very hard to be happy there. Weather was miserable (in my opinion),people weren’t friendly and I realized that despite trying to learn German, unless I at least understood Swiss German I would probably continue to have a hard time integrating. People speak English but in social situations I found they prefer to be able yo speak Swiss. I also couldn’t find a full time job as a teacher bc there are only a few international schools and none had openings. We moved to California and have been here now 3 years. I have said I’d consider trying it again but only if I had a full time job there to at least keep me occupied and be able to afford to escape during the winter as much as possible.

If you don’t feel happy, it’s perfectly normal to not feel happy. And don’t feel ashamed, because shit happens. You can’t really force yourself to love a place. So you’re not giving up, you’re just moving on.

Note that a similar situation happened to me in Belgium. So at the first opportunity, I left and feel much happier for it.

You’re home sick and it’s super normal. Everyone back home is moving on with their life and you get a lot of fomo.

I struggle sometimes and that’s after 5 years of being abroad. Every time I go back to my home town I get super anxious so I know I shouldn’t move back but my brain romanticises it.

Imo give it 2 years unless you are hysterically crying all the time. The feeling will lessen as you develop a sense of community in Switzerland.

One thing I will say though is that once you have developed a sense of community in another city you forever carry a burden of ‘what life might have been’ no matter what you do. It’s kind of shitty feeling and you will never be able to reconcile it because you can’t bring all the people you love to the same place. It’s 100% worth it but it’s not all positives.

As someone who’s been living abroad for 8 years and now belongs absolutely nowhere and barely had any family or friends in her home country anymore, I wanna say yes, go back if that’s what your heart tells you. There is no point in suffering just because living abroad is sold to us as being something that makes you brave or special. I wish I had never done it.

Speaking as someone who used to live in Switzerland. Give it more time, I would say at least 1.5 years. CH is not an easy place to make friends and you will have to put in substantial effort. But you can’t really tell you’ll be happy there until you establish your circle. If you still don’t like it even after having a group of friends, move. I lived there for five years, and all my initials problems with the place ultimately led me to move. There are far too many places in the world, and many more interesting cities even in Europe for you to stay somewhere you’re not feeling. The winter is super brutal by the way, I highly recommend getting into winter sports otherwise it will be depressing…

Been in Switzerland almost 5 years now. Would never have been able to make it without a spouse.

It is really easy for others to say get out and meet people, but that is truly the only way you are going to make it

The only thing you need to remember is trying something is NOT a failure. Whether you stay here or go home it is not a failure. You did something you learned and you grew. That is what life is about.

Good luck!

As others have said Switzerland is not an easy place to adjust. I’ve been living outside my home country for 30+ years (grew up as an expat kid) and Switzerland is the only country I couldn’t adjust to. I left after 1.5 years and don’t regret it. It’s nothing to be ashamed of… you gave it a try which is all that matters.

Majority of expats are simply running away from their problems, or are dissatisfied and trying to confide in the idea that this lifestyle will make it better (whether they realize it or not)

Sorry - it’s the truth.

Honestly, I’d give it another few months - get through spring. I’ve seen what I call the 3-month slump happen too many times - I went through it and have seen numerous others experience it. It hits around 3-5 months in, where it’s more than the expected anxiety and stress for first-time expats, and it lasts about 6-9 months, in almost every case i’ve seen (obviously this is anecdotal). Then after that year mark, it stops being connected to being an expat. I went through it in Italy. I still didn’t want to stay in Italy, but I stopped wanting to go back to the States too, and I was able to better identify what my issues really were. I did end up moving, but I made a move that was better for me in the long run. Some people find that after that period, they really are happy in their location, and just needed time to assimilate.

I kind of think you’re in that slump, and winter - in a place with hard winters - is exacberating that.

Give yourself more time - you may still want to move, but you may find you don’t want to move back home, so much as to a different city or a different country.

This really hit home for me. I’m a US expat in Iceland, and just hitting my 1 year mark. I’ve lived in many other countries, but northern Europe/Scandinavia comes with a different set of challenges. The dark, the cold, the language barrier, the isolation. I’ve often thought of going back, but I know the first year is the most difficult, and I don’t want to give up until I know I’ve gotten past the difficult stage. This part of the world always ranks highest in happiness and quality of life index, so I know it’s probably just me adjusting.

Keep the faith.

My spouse and I are expats and many people in my family are or have been expats. I’ve seen various family members move to different countries while growing up, and my spouse and I have moved around a lot and plan to move to a new country again once my spouse’s health improves. Life is a journey. You should do what feels good. There is no right or wrong in this one. If that is moving from one country to the next, because you feel stuck staying in one place for too long, you should do it. If it is moving back to your birth place, you should do it.