Started this morning with a trip to the registry office. Fairly painless really…. they ask you lots of questions, then print out the answers in German and ask you to sign! I had to pay a registration tax of 20 Francs, about £8. Nothing is free here! Funny thing is that my papers will take several weeks to come through, by which time I will hopefully be living in a different zone in Zurich, so will have had to unregister then register in the new place again. I guess all the paperwork will catch up eventually!
I also went to register for a bank account here. Surprisingly easy. As long as you have a passport and a Swiss address (didn’t even have to take a proof of address or my work contract) they will sign you up for an account. Feels very special to think of having a Swiss Private Bank Account. It is with Credit Suisse, so will be very handy for me to pop into the branch near the office to do all my transactions.
I also heard today that my application for the apartment has been successful, so I am delighted about that! As I was coming home tonight on the tram and train, I was thinking how nice it will be to be able to walk to work each day – not to mention the time I will regain by living so much closer to work. I still have to formally sign the contract for the apartment, but I think that is just a formality, unless they decide to rent to someone else in the meantime!
My work PC is finally all set up and ready to go! I started to do some real work today, which feels good. However, my boss is out for 3 days now, so I may not make huge progress in his absence. He is really busy, so I hate to bother him, but I guess I need to ask the questions, so he realises that I don’t know the answers! Best to set his expectations accordingly! I don’t know if this is common in all banking set-ups, but the IT systems seem really complex, so it will take me a while to feel really comfortable.
When I arrived back at the apartment this evening, there was a small parcel waiting for me. Thanks Annnette! Nice to know that the post system works.
And finally for tonight, I have just booked my first trip home for the weekend of 20th to 22nd July. Flights are pretty expensive all Summer, but this week was one of the less costly ones. Normally, the further in advance you book, the better the price, but this does not seem completely true for this route. Never mind.