Which City/Canton would you choose in the French Speaking part of Switzerland?

[Patirou]

@ThePortugueseExpat

I was reading online that I can only move 4 times in the year to Bulle, end of March, June, September and December. Is this true or can I move on another date if I can get an apartment before those dates?

Could be that rental contracts have only 4 cancellation dates (in some municipalities it is more widespread than others)

[San_Francisco]

@ThePortugueseExpat

Both me and my fiancee have master degrees and want our future children to have sucess and not be limited due to a language barrier.

Not wanting to rain on your parade, but I don’t buy that argument.

While yes, a move to Suisse Romande will make their language learning and education a bit easier, I would dispute the claim that it better prepares them for future success. Quite the contrary.

In the end of course, it may come down to your kid’s age. But given that you’re only 27 yourself, how old are they?

@ThePortugueseExpat

I have heard horror stories from portuguese immigrants whose kids face challenges in school due to German not being their native language

On the flip side, speaking German in definitely an asset in terms of employment opportunities and even higher education in Switzerland. Whereas learning French should come relatively easy to Portuguese speakers anyway.

And I’m wondering if German speakers and/or children growing up in German-speaking Switzerland won’t do better at English than French speakers and/or children growing up in Suisse Romande. My gut feeling says: yes, they do.

@ThePortugueseExpat

Additionally, if you guys think I am not paying enough attention to a particular detail, I would really appreciate it if you would call it out!

While we’re at “horror stories” and leaving political correctness aside: It’s no secret that the majority of Portuguese immigrants to Switzerland are considered, on average (and contrary to you and your wife) rather low-skilled, in terms of scholastic achievement and (a lack of) higher education.

It’s also a fact that the share of Portuguese speakers and nationals is highest in western Switzerland (+ Graubünden). I don’t know if and what particular cultural stereotypes there are about Portuguese and their children that you (or they) have to deal with. But I must have read about them somewhere. And if any, I’m sure there’ll most widespread in these cantons, more than in German-speaking Switzerland. Again, if and how you let yourself be affected by them is if of course also a somewhat individual thing.

@Patirou

Could be that rental contracts have only 4 cancellation dates

That will be it. There’s no legal prohibition from moving to Bulle at other dates. It may just be (considerably) harder to find accommodation.

[Wolverine]

@San_Francisco

And I’m wondering if German speakers and/or children growing up in German-speaking Switzerland won’t do better at English than French speakers and/or children growing up in Suisse Romande. My gut feeling says: yes, they do.

I don’t know where this gut feeling comes from, we tend to do well enough at English,which is a must for travel, higher scientific education and cool TV series. German? Not that well. It’s a cliché that swiss germans are better at French than French speakers are at German but it probably holds a decent amount of truth. Fribourg is bi-lingual, though Bulle is anchored in the French speaking part of the Canton, not sure how that will play out, though I’m not too worried.

@San_Francisco

It’s also a fact that the share of Portuguese speakers and nationals is highest in western Switzerland (+ Graubünden). I don’t know if and what particular cultural stereotypes there are about Portuguese and their children that you (or they) have to deal with. But I must have read about them somewhere. And if any, I’m sure there’ll most widespread in these cantons, more than in German-speaking Switzerland. Again, if and how you let yourself be affected by them is if of course also a somewhat individual thing.

I would think the divide is more small villages vs decently sized towns but children are quick to carry and act on stereotypes, that would probably be something to be wary of and disarm appropriately if it seems to show up in school.

[ThePortugueseExpat]

Hey San_Francisco,

Thank you for the comment, it helped me to reflect.

Maybe I didn’t make it clear but we don’t have kids yet
Just planning ahead as I do for so many things.

Agreed, since the majority of people speak German in Switzerland you will have a lot more opportunities vs speaking only French. My main point here is that, since I am still learning German, I don’t want to speak to my kids in broken German which will lead to them not being able to speak it properly.

In terms of English learning, this is one thing that Switzerland and Portugal are quite comparable. In Portugal since all movies and most cartoons are not dubbed you get exposed to English from an early age which makes it much easier to learn. But I didn’t do proper research besides this article so I might be incorrect.

Agreed when it comes to the majority of Portuguese immigrants, especially older ones. It’s perhaps my social bubble but a lot of the “new” immigration have bachelors+ but you still have constructions workers and cleaners coming. But most of my family here is in construction/cleaning/transportation/logistics so that stereotype holds true for a lot of first generation immigrants.

Great in terms of the dates. We already have an apartment lined up so fingers crossed!

[ThePortugueseExpat]

Hey Trotro,

I reached out to them and they sent me the list of required documents.
No such thing as this 4 key dates mentioned so I will just ignore it and move when we can get a viable date

[Barto]

@San_Francisco

It’s no secret that the majority of Portuguese immigrants to Switzerland are considered, on average (and contrary to you and your wife) rather low-skilled, in terms of scholastic achievement and (a lack of) higher education…I don’t know if and what particular cultural stereotypes there are about Portuguese and their children that you (or they) have to deal with

I admittedly cannot speak with authority as I am not Portuguese and I also live in Geneva where ~40% of the population is Swiss but I just want to reassure the OP I am not aware of this being an issue in Suisse Romande , and I hope it is not too much the case. I have Portuguese friends who came here with international companies as expats and others whose parents came to work in construction.

Note the vote for UDC / SVP is usually lower here than in rural German speaking cantons and votes tend to be more pro EU.

[nabalzbhf]

@ThePortugueseExpat

My main point here is that, since I am still learning German, I don’t want to speak to my kids in broken German which will lead to them not being able to speak it properly.

You might be underestimating language skills of kids. At least in Zurich plurilingual households are very common, many kids start learning swiss German in Krippe (all the German immigrants don’t speak swiss German either at home).

[Goyero]

@ThePortugueseExpat

I don’t want to speak to my kids in broken German

Why will you speak to your kids in German? I would only speak them in your mother tongue, since they will learn the local language anyway in the school.

I only speak to my kids in Spanish, my wife only in Polish and Spanish when we are all together. My old daughter went to kinderkrippe in German and now to kindergarten and with almost 7 years speaks really fluent the 3 tongues. If you want them to learn your mother tongue, never talk to them in the local tongue or they will get used to it, and they will like it and will try to avoid your mother tongue

[San_Francisco]

@Goyero

I would only speak them in your mother tongue, since they will learn the local language anyway in the school.

I second that. Learning the local language is a non-issue. They’ll learn it at a native level. All the Swiss-born Portuguese I know did (and yes, most of them had parents that didn’t grow up in Switzerland).

@ThePortugueseExpat

In terms of English learning, this is one thing that Switzerland and Portugal are quite comparable. In Portugal since all movies and most cartoons are not dubbed you get exposed to English from an early age which makes it much easier to learn

But that’s different than in Switzerland. Switzerland receives French, German/Austrian and Italian TV. Even the Swiss TV channels show everything as a dubbed version (though they more often do include the original english-language audio tracks as an option).

@ThePortugueseExpat

Great in terms of the dates. We already have an apartment lined up so fingers crossed!

Congrats and good luck on getting that apartment!

Don’t get me wrong, I think that first and foremost you should find a place where you and your wife feel comfortable and living in. Oh, and don’t worry about your future kids and their language!

[RoadToMustachian]

Quite interesting that “2 months of free rent” even with a multi-year contract.
Where did you find that info? Do you know if that is a common practice in other cantons?

[ThePortugueseExpat]

I am not sure about other cities.

From what I understood, there was a big building boom in Bulle with multiple apartments blocks being finished at the same time.

Some examples:

• Rue de la Berra 72 1630 Bulle, FR - CHF 1430 - 3.5 rooms | ImmoScout24
• Rue du Château d'En-Bas 24 1630 Bulle, FR - CHF 1675 - 4.5 rooms | ImmoScout24

Seems that they are doing free deposit and/or up to 2 months of free rent on a 2 year contract from what I saw on immoscout/homegate

[FunnyDjo]

It is way cheaper than Geneva area.

[Mobius]

Nice! I’ve been living in Bulle for the past 10 years, let me know if you ever want to grab a coffee when you’re settled!

By the way, I’ve never heard about any specific move dates!