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It’s hard to believe, but the move to Lausanne is finally official. I arrived on Tuesday after the long trip from L.A. to Geneva (via London) and pretty much hit the ground running with work starting the next day. Thus far I’ve been getting settled into my temporary apartment and adjusting to my new life in Western Switzerland. While there’s a lot to write about and I hope to add more in the coming weeks, the following are a few initial observations based on my time in Lausanne thus far.
Transitioning to a country where you don’t speak the language (err…languages, given that Switzerland has four “official” ones) is no simple feat. Though my six years of Spanish and pre-move Rosetta Stone French cram session have definitely helped my French fundamentals, speaking it with locals who generally speak very limited (if any) English has definitely been a challenge. That said, it’s a great environment to learn a new language and when I need my English fix I can definitely get it at work, on TV and while speaking with others in the large English-speaking expatriate community in Lausanne.
Given the proximity to Geneva and the large number of international companies with headquarters or European operations based here, Lausanne is a very diverse city with a significant expatriate community. In addition to the native Swiss population, the city is filled with a large population of Western Europeans and sizable groups from the U.S., Central / Eastern Europe and Asia. As a result, there’s a good variety of restaurants, stores and broader cultural influence.
Sunday in Lausanne (and Switzerland broadly) is indeed a day of rest. Pretty much everything is closed Sundays except for a few main convenience-type grocery stores, a small number of restaurants, and the stores in the train station. Though I’m sure this isn’t that big of an inconvenience once you get used to it (and thus plan accordingly), it definitely caught me off guard.
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