Witch cities in Switzerland and Norway are easier for a English speaking person ?
 

Hi everybody this is my first post.
Let me expand my gratitude to the creators of this website and all very knowledgeable and accommodating members for the invaluable information provide here.I am in Toronto Canada witch is like the rest of North America a place where people are totally clueless about the fact that the continent is going to the dogs,to quote STOOBERT.
All the social and economic tyranny are tested first in the uk and than implemented in north America.The refreshing thing about Europe(uk exclude)judging by the reaction of the valiant Greek people,the beautiful people of Iceland and even the sophisticated but obnoxious people of France is that they are all fighting back against anyone or anything that is trying to impoverish their land and Annihilate that wonderful European social safety net and living standard,unlike the Caucasoid in the states or the Pollyannish Canadian whom live in a delusional world,where a embarrassing obsession with the USA is their raison-d'etre.
I was going to go to the Caymans till i red on BE the experience of a expatriate police officer about what is going there.
I was also shocked last year when i visited Bermuda to see that this once glorious island paradise as become in short time (last visit 1996)
a total and absolute ultra-violent hell hole:(
Therefore Europe is my last hope,precisely Switzerland or Norway(specifically Bergen).
Is true that if you are a English person the best cities in Switzerland where they are the most English speakers are Zurich and Bern?
Since Bergen is a international college town would English therefore be the language that all the people would use to communicate.I am a self-employed day trader and will not need to apply for job ,i just need a good,safe,interesting,upscale and a civilized society or city to relocate too.
Hopefully you can help:fingerscrossed:

Re: Witch cities in Switzerland and Norway are easier for a English speaking person ?
 

Welcome to the forum, Should you get any issues give myself or one of the other members of the Admin Team a shout.

Re: Witch cities in Switzerland and Norway are easier for a English speaking person ?
 

Don't know about Norway , the taxes and COL would scare me !
As for CH , it's only Zuerich IMHO , unless you're also French-speaking ( in which case , Geneva would be great , right on the border ! ) ;

but beware : from my experiences of TTO , you could yet be making a major mistake ? It's multi-ethnic , low-crime , affordable accommodation , good summers , decent service , reasonable assortments of goods and services , excellent public transport infrastructure and so much more ( which you may not find elsewhere ) ; you can eat and enjoy Asian , Slavic , German , anything and if you are keen on French : Montreal is not that far !
Maybe : think again , or : take a Gap Year/6 months in EU ?
Cheers !

Re: Witch cities in Switzerland and Norway are easier for a English speaking person ?
 

Thank you Ray for your input,
the taxes here in Canada are atrociously high and we get nothing for it,the Canadian social safety net is nothing compere to you guys in Europe.
The Norwegians and all their Scandinavian cousins have the highest standard of living in this world for all the money they pay in taxes however We get jack-crap for all the taxes we pay here.
Have you ever experience Ray a ABOMINABLE and bone chilling Canadian winter,where if your not careful you might freeze to death?
Only to be subjected 6 mths later to that atrociously unpleasant muggy,dirty,smelly,sticky and humid summer air?That's good weather for you?You find Toronto affordable?you must be living in a war zone right now if Toronto for you is low crime:(
I don't know when was the last time you where in Toronto OR in canada and the states,because what you are describing above in your reply sound more like a Scandinavian or northern european city rather than Toronto or Canada for that matter.I can assure you Ray in perfect Shakespearean English,Dat place ain't here:D

Re: Witch cities in Switzerland and Norway are easier for a English speaking person ?
 

True , haven't been to Tto for almost 10 years now ;
my last visit was one Xmas/New Year , how pleasant to experience crisp snow , well-functioning transport , clear blue skies...I don't remember ever beeing cold anywhere , not for a moment ( unlike in the U.K. ! ) ; as for the affordability , wait until you learn about scandalous property prices in most of NW EUrope , the ludicrous stealth taxation and consequently ever-falling living standards ;
and finally : re the crime ? yes : courtesy of too many politically-correct bastards , and with ongoing increase in emigration from Africa , eastern Europe , Balkans and elsewhere , many a city has absolute no-go zones , where the police prefer not to show up at night .
As I suggested : perhaps you should visit and investigate first , before making the big move ?

Re: Witch cities in Switzerland and Norway are easier for a English speaking person ?
 

Hi, as neither Switzerland nor Norway is in the EU, maybe you should check with the respective Consulates as to whether you need a visa to work in either country?
If the immigration regulations are acceptable, then you can research on which city is easier for an English speaking person...
And as suggested, take a holiday in both cities to check in person, before making a decision.:)

Re: Witch cities in Switzerland and Norway are easier for a English speaking person ?
 

Ray and dmu
thanks for your input.
i will check Norway as soon as possible this year.
The US are on a verge of a total economic and sociological collapse anytime between now and the next 2yrs,and of course it will be bringing along with it their totally dependent and vulnerable protectorate of Canada.The laws are already in the books i.e.Patriot act 1-patriot act 2/Canadian Bill C32 to handle the situation.Europe is not a mystery to me,my parents have relocated 2yrs ago to Guernsey,2 of my uncles are in Jersey,1 of my 3 brothers is living in Barcelona and up until 2004 i use to own a 1bdrms summer twhse in Brighton.The U.K. unlike the rest of Europe has had over the past 10 yrs it's populace transformed into clueless,dumb-down,apathetic and totally Americanize zombies as they are here!
As i mention before it is the test bed for things to come here,therefore to be avoided at all cost IMO anyway.That is why i never went back,i am self employed as a index pattern day trader and i just need my laptop or desk top with internet connection to be "in action".Needless to say that i will not wait to the "11th hour" to head for the exits.I also know Reykjavik Iceland very well so if push was to come to shove i have already places to go,i just wanted to add more options on my list of relocation destinations:thumbup:

Re: Witch cities in Switzerland and Norway are easier for a English speaking person ?
 

More options....how about Sweden??

Re: Witch cities in Switzerland and Norway are easier for a English speaking person ?
 

Or Belgium ?

Re: Witch cities in Switzerland and Norway are easier for a English speaking person ?
 

:thumbsup:
:thumbsup: also.

Re: Witch cities in Switzerland and Norway are easier for a English speaking person ?
 

Not a joke !
Whereas I'm not aware of any witch/es ( as in your query ) , anyone who matters speaks english in Brussels , there is great international/cosmopolitan flavour , the food and drink are vastly superior to those in Skandie-lands , transport and medical arrangements are very good , CoL lower than CH , Norway or Sweden ...depending on one's priorities , much more could be said , on this theme .

Re: Witch cities in Switzerland and Norway are easier for a English speaking person ?
 

Most people speak English here, health care is good, low population, easy going attitudes and a high standard of living. Long hot summers and lots of lovely fluffy snow in winter. Santa lives here and the social scene is pretty good compared with the UK.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m-J9Z...eature=related

Re: Witch cities in Switzerland and Norway are easier for a English speaking person ?
 

I've been to Brussels three times, once as a tourist and twice through work. Each time I thought Brussels was a dump. It is a dirty and pretty ugly city. There was a nice square in the centre, but surrounded by kebap shops run by the vast North African population (nothing wrong with North Africans, but not what you'd expect).

Here's a thought, if you want to move to a nice city in Europe. Why not choose a city and then learn the native langauge!? You will be able to make friends much more easily and understand the culture and what is going on in the city. I can't think of any place where you could have a good social life in Europe without knowing the local langauge. Unless you just want to hang around with Americans and Brits!

Re: Witch cities in Switzerland and Norway are easier for a English speaking person ?
 

Yes ,
The Capital of EU is often filthy dirty ( in more ways than one ) ;
the people who live here hardly ever go to Grand Place , or other such tourist traps/places , downtown ;
however , we all agree that the pro's of Brux outweigh the cons , by a hefty margin .
Skandies , Krauts , Brits , Itaes , Spanish , many others : all love it , a Lot !

Re: Witch cities in Switzerland and Norway are easier for a English speaking person ?
 

:thumbsup: Got to say those that hate it here are those that don't speak Swedish....funny cos most Brits moan about immigrants mixing in thier own culteral groups and not learning English.Unfortunately it seems The British are the worst offenders when living abroad.

Re: Witch cities in Switzerland and Norway are easier for a English speaking person ?
 

Yeah :
their main cathedral being any Irish bar ( plenty of those in Brux , BTW ) , premiership on SKY , lousy greasy fry-up food and ( usually ) too much booze
( watch out for those Duvels , mates ! ) ;
so , now you can all crucify me !?

Re: Witch cities in Switzerland and Norway are easier for a English speaking person ?
 

No offense meant to Ray or all the other proud europeans on the site,but mazz1 is absolutely right the rest of Europe cannot hold a candle to Scandinavian cities like:Stockholm,Reykjavik,Bergen,Copenhagen and of course Helsinki witch towers over anything Europe as to offer .Furthermore Scandinavian ladies are most desirable women on the planet,they are the only one who have (most of the time) that rare combination of a sublime and exceptional beauty couple to a keen intellect and a pleasantly Independent and seductive personality that are not found in one package in any other women on this planet as you regularly find in a Valkyrie .It stems from their upbringing from the time that they where little girls.
But a warning:Scandinavian women are like a F1 car only a few are capable to successfully handle them.
mazz1 i couldn't watch all the video:wub::wub::wub:
thanks for sharing

Re: Witch cities in Switzerland and Norway are easier for a English speaking person ?
 

Errr .... I'm sorry mate (and I know it's only a matter of opinion) but places such as Bergen might be different to other European cities, but it is in no way a better place than other European Cities :D

Re: Witch cities in Switzerland and Norway are easier for a English speaking person ?
 

Scandinavian women are greatly overrated. The tall hot blonde stereotype rightfully belongs to the Dutch. Or just the general hot blondes=baltics and eastern europe in general. A lot of Swedes are overweight.

Anyway, away from shallow unimportant considerations (there's hot and ugly girls anywhere, average doesn't matter).
Scandinavian cities are usually pretty certainly but they have a tendancy to be horribly dull, very remote from the world and make one want to slit ones wrists during winter (last year in Stockholm- 15 hours of sun all November....)
If you're going for a Scandinavian city stick with the capitals or maybe Gothenburg. I lived in Uppsala and god is it quiet and boring.

Re: Witch cities in Switzerland and Norway are easier for a English speaking person ?
 

Thats a good point of view
I spent occasions in Bergen and Gothenburg. Bergen was boring and extremely expensive. Gothenburg was just ... well ... expensive

Re: Witch cities in Switzerland and Norway are easier for a English speaking person ?
 

Hi. I just came across this.

You say "Since Bergen is a international college town would English therefore be the language that all the people would use to communicate.I am a self-employed day trader and will not need to apply for job ,i just need a good,safe,interesting,upscale and a civilized society or city to relocate too."

I grew up in Norway, my sister lives in Bergen (for the past 20 years).
It is a beautiful town to visit, but I would not choose to live there.
Do you LOVE rain? :D It rains a lot.

If I was in your position, only needing my laptop and a desk, and it doesn't sound like you have any children(?), then I wouldn't go there.
Norway (and the rest of Scandinavia) is most definitely the best places to bring up children IMO, but if you don't have any/don't plan to have any, then there isn't much there.
It IS boring. It's hard to get to know people, so as you wont be working with them, I'm not sure how you'd go about making friends/integrating? You could join groups I suppose.

We are currently considering moving to Norway (probably around Oslo as most jobs are there), but that is solely because we feel it would be a better place for our child to grow up, and easier for us as parents. We are currently in the UK (husband British) and we don't feel this is the most family orientated place...

Just my thoughts. Please feel free to ask anything if you're still considering Bergen, and I could put you in touch with some people there if you like.

Personally, in your position, I'd move to Paris ;)

Re: Witch cities in Switzerland and Norway are easier for a English speaking person ?
 

Hi,
Thank you for your valuable input,it is very much appreciated.
Is English as commonly use in Bergen as it is in the Reykjavik or Stockholm?
The weather in Scandinavian(excluding Iceland) is primarily cold in winter and a very fresh,dry and pleasant 70F in summer VS here in north east where you freeze to death in the winter and suffocate under obscenely hot and disgustingly muggy summer air.There is a 100F+ degrees difference between Jan. 1st to JuL 1st(windchill and heat index incl.) ,so I'll take Bergen and Scandinavian weather anytime:)
You are right i am 39, childless and never married,however i beg to differ with you my dear boosmonkey on your assessment of Scandinavian nightlife.I cannot argue for Oslo,Bergen,Copenhagen or Helsinki since i never had the pleasure and privilege to visit there long enough to know,but i know beautiful Reykjavik and sexy Stockholm very well and I can assure that they do not take a back seat to any of the other clubbing capital in this world except for maybe L.A.,Vegas or Ibiza.Also in those 2 Scan. cities people know how to really go crazy and have fun,without the soiree finishing in guns shots and knifing as it is a regular occurrence elsewhere .
As far as Paris being a foodie and organic gourmet food devote,i love french food,wine and even their totally neurotic women(kind ofve).I also admire their highly develop and courageous social consciousness but France rubs me the wrong way paradoxically i find life there to be "yakee".
I hope you will be able to relocate to Oslo because you will surely be happy and better off there than in U.K. police state.
Good Luck!

Re: Witch cities in Switzerland and Norway are easier for a English speaking person ?
 

Scandinavian cities: Stockholm, Bergen, Copenhagen
Nordic cities: Stockholm,Reykjavik,Bergen,Copenhagen, Helsinki

Pardon my pedantry, but just because something is normally tought wrong, does not make it right. :rolleyes:

I just had to crow bar that in there.