Moving to Switzerland

At the heart of Europe is a small country that is one of the biggest draws of the continent - Switzerland.

It is a 41,290-square kilometer area landlocked by Germany in the north, Italy in the south, France in the west and Austria and Liechtenstein in the east. Its Alpine range is its most famous attraction and covers more than half of the entire country towards the south.

It is Europe's main watershed with the rivers Rhine, Rhone, Ticino and Inn flowing into Switzerland's largest lakes: Lake Geneva on the southwestern border and Lake Zürich, Lake Neuchâtel, and Lake Constance on the east. Its highest point is Darfur Peak, which towers at 15, 217 feet above hilly lowlands and forests that comprise the rest of the country's landscape. Everything is set in a temperate climate that varies greatly from north to south.

Aside from its striking scenery, Switzerland's geography contributes greatly to the diversity of its people. Of the total 5.7 million residents in the country, 63.7% speak German, 20.4% speak French, 6.5% speak Italian and the remaining 0.5% speak Romansh. Religion is another point of difference among the Swiss, who are predominantly Christians with minority groups of Muslims, Jews, Buddhists, Hindus and Baha'is. This multiculturalism and multilingualism is believed to be a product of the associations with neighboring countries: France, Germany and Italy.

Even with this diversity, the Swiss share a common history and remain united by social and practical ties. Generally, they share a passion for food, folk music, dance, theater, poetry, embroidery, and carving. Their textile industry is highlighted by elaborate embroideries characteristic of national costumes and folk tunes produced from the alphorn, the violin and the clarinet add a distinct dimension to their traditions.

Although the cuisine in Switzerland is diverse because of the varied geographical influences, the Swiss have a long tradition of being world-class makers of sweets and chocolates. The national sport is swhwingen or Swiss wrestling and a stone-throwing competition, steinstossen, is unique to the Alpine population. Most Swiss are big soccer fanatics and can be very passionate about their national team. The country is one of the biggest hosts of winter events including skiing and hiking, paragliding, golf, ice hockey, mountain biking and swimming. Expats draw great pleasure from these events, which are not as common in other parts of the world due to geographical limitations.

Switzerland is also the home of many world-renowned architects, artists, scientists, and writers; including Nobel Prize winning physicist Albert Einstein and bestselling 20th century authors Max Frisch (Homo Faber) and Friedrich Dürrenmatt (The Pledge).

The government is technically a confederation but its structure resembles a federal republic. It is composed of 26 states known as cantons, all under a collective head-of-state called the Federal Council.

Switzerland is an easy choice to make for expatriates who seek a life of peace, economic stability, technology, political neutrality, and simply want to be a part of something big and beautiful in central Europe.