When I first came here I stayed in a basic B&B for a couple of weeks while visiting apartments to pick one I liked.

You can arrange appointments to visit appartments via email so that once you get here you already have some possible places to look at.

There are quite a few hostels in Geneva - do a quick Google search - and if you book now you should get a spot for January.

Good luck flat hunting!

Denisa,

App hunting is impossible here, but there are few tips that helped me a lot:

1. If you have a choice between co-renting and Regie, choose Regie. I tried co-renting 2 times, honestly, there were so much troubles because of personal (landlords had another pair of keys, asked for the money in advance and etc).

2. Yes, furnished app are much easier to move in, but sometimes there is a difference in a price and landlords could charge you a lot if smth would be broken (or even not, depends on their honesty)

3. E-mails are nothing, better call immediately. Or ask smb who speaks some french :-)

4. Be optimistic. Last time I found my new app 29th of September and my last contract ended 30th, yes, I was in panic anyways =D

good luck!

Dina

http://www.welcome-service.ch

When I moved to Geneva my job provided accomodation for I think two weeks and one of the employees was seconded to present me with a list of suitable appartments.  I sent my requirements to her a month in advance and had a list of several to work off.  But it was easier then.  Last year when i moved temporarily to Lugano it was the HR department who guided me in the right direction.  Most places of work should do this.  You have to do all the visiting on your own and make the decisions but it is useful as you immediately have a local helping you.

Suggest you ask your new workplace to help even in a minor way 

Also note not possible normally to visit appartments on weekends.  To get an idea you can go on to the websites of the various regies and start looking at what is available, the price and where it is located.  That will give you a good idea of what is available and what the approximate cost should be.  

Once you think you have found something you can contact glocals to check with others living in the same area but I also think there is a website which gives costs in various areas - if this is not just a figment of my imagination, then some glocals member who reads this might be able to confirm.

Final point.  When you do visit ahn appartment you have to be ready to make up your mind immediately.   You can always back off before signing the contract.  But do not do that more than once or you will be blacklisted.

We stayed in a furnished studio for a month and my partners employee's employed a relocation agent to find something for us. That is probably the most expensive way but the easiest, but to be honest even that was pretty stressful. We applied for 3 apartments and were offered the third.

What I figured out pretty quickly is if you only want to be in Geneva and you have a smaller budget 2,500 chf a month or less then you will have an awful lot of competition.

Be as open minded and flexible as possible. If its an option for you to live in Vaud as well as Geneva and commute then that will make it slightly easier.

You wont be able to view apartments on a weekend, unless you arrange it privately.

Good luck

Thanks to you all for your fast replies and great advice. Now I have even more questions :)

Do I need a Swiss bank account to be able to rent? 'Coz it seems that I can't open a bank account until I have an address in CH.

What about the 3 months deposit? I've seen on some websites that some companies were sort of paying the sum for you in exchange of a yearly fee. Do you need a Swiss account for this?

@ Onis, @ Paul: can you recommend some Regies? Or a website where I can find some?

@Paul: no, my future job does not provide this kind of help, so I am on my own!

@Christian: can you explain what you mean by "if you are not recognized by the Regie" ?

@ Colette: is public transportation OK for commuting to Geneva from Vaud? What about evening service, can i rely on public transportation for going out in the evening? Can you recommend some spots in Vaud?

And thank you again for being soooo helpful!

Cheers,

Denisa

yep, deposit is obligatory in most of cases. and yes, you will need account here, then open a deposit in the bank.

Actually, I just put in google "louer un appartement a Geneve"

Hi Denisa

We opened our bank account before we moved into our apartment and simply used the serviced accommodation address. We bank with UBS and all they required was our temporary address, passports, work contract.

The public transport here is excellent and frequent. The SBB.ch website will give you timetables for trains into and out of Geneva. There are quite a few stations within 30 minutes of Geneva. Versoix (beware plane noise), Nyon, Gland... there are many more. When we were looking I thought Nyon was lovely and Gland seemed quite nice as well. Not sure about how late the service runs though.

Another option for you to maybe consider is Ferney Voltaire. Literally just over the border in France, cheaper and readily available accommodation and a bus service into Geneva.

http://www.les-regies-a-geneve.ch/. 
This website has all the regies.  Do not sart worry about which one is the best or worst, think appartment. If I had to mention a bad one it is Zimmerman who tried to evict me when I asked for a wall to be plastered after having lived there for five years.  I took him to court and ended up with a completely refurbished flat and a reduced rent.

Travel from Vaud by public transport If you are thinking a towns on the main line eg Nyon Gland Morges maybe it is OK but not if you want to stay out after 23.00.   Why come to Geneva and commute? You can do that in Paris or London.    Still it is a question of priorities.

 www.asloca.ch/ is the website of the agency which protects people who rent. Look at their website

There is an insurance company that for a fee pays your 3 monthly deposit.  It was mentioned in a forum about 2 months ago.  Maybe a glocal can remember the name but the concensus of opinion on that forum was that if you can find the money it is better to pay the 3 monthly deposit  

 Re Swiss bank account - I think there is no problem in openeing if you have a letter from your company and that they pay your salary into this account. 

Denisa, good advice here regarding living in canton Vaud or in France.  However, be careful about the impact on your work/residence permit.  I'm not sure about crossing cantons but living in France would probably require a change in your permit type.

I used: http://www.genevarelocation.net/

They were very good. Saw 10 properties in a day and a half that met my criteria.

They then handled everything else. I think using them helped as they have more sway with the regies than an individual and they can swap properties between clients who are leaving and arriving (ie the property never actually goes on the market). For example we saw a few 'Caterpilar' properties...

There is a cost for all this but as you can see from the message boards its quite stressful/ hard doing it yourself.

I used a relocation agency (when moving from UK) - as people have said, it costs, but for me it was the only way to find a decent place in quick time - and I'm sure that in my case their contacts with the regies was the reason I was successful.

I subsequently moved and found the second place myself through the web.  It took a long time (6 months) and required much persistence in phoning the regie every week for about 6 weeks.

Smart Caution or Swiss Caution (Google will find them) are the insurance companies that will cover your 3 months deposit for an annual fee - there is a fee calculator on one of their web sites.  It only covers the 3 months deposit and does not insure against any damage or anything else. You pay out the fee, and don't get it back.  As Paul said, the concencus was that  if you have the money then the best thing is to pay up the deposit yourself. The process is usually to go through your bank - which could be a timing issue if you don't yet have a Swiss bank account.  I originally used the Smart Caution method because of timing and bank account issues - it was quick and easy, but it's money you don't get back. I have now moved over to placing the 3 months deposit in a special account with my bank.

Bonne chance!