Hello Metwaly, Congratulations on the job offer for your husband. Geneva is an incredibly interesting place. It's like a mini-Toronto. A small city but big enough with a large cultural offer; as well as endless activities for nature lovers.  Geographically, it is "centrally" located within Europe for easy travel and discovery escapades... The large expats community, in particular, of international organizations can share advice on settling in upon arrival... Like any place anywhere, Geneva is not perfect. It is difficult to find accommodation and cost of living is rather expensive ... But if you already have a job to start with, things can only get better. Wish you best luck with your decision! Cheers!

This is largely subjective and it depends on a number of things. Geneva is a smallish city. Its attraction cannot possibly compete with those of a big and lively place like Toronto. Plus, a large fraction of Geneva's population are foreigners in their 30ies-to 40ies who know they'll stay here temporarily and are therefore less interested in making durable bonds. However, if you fancy the idea of living a few years over the pond to explore Europe, Geneva might be a good option, since geography and salaries make it easy and relatively cheap to travel basically anywhere in Europe. I would definitely recommend Geneva for families with young kids: efficient public transportations and small size make it easy to move around, plus you got nice parks, the lake, the nearby mountains, sports/art activities for children and so on. It's also a safe city. You get some expensive and prestigious private schools, if you like, but my experience (I also have a job at an international organization) is that public schools are good and free. This holds for 4 y.o. and older, placing younger kids in public kindergarten is a pain and you probably have to revert to private options ($2500+/month full time). 

Geneva is expensive. Very expensive. And finding a job here is much less easy than in the US (I don't know about Canada) because the job market is small and it's (informally) protected in favor or the Swiss. It obviously depends on qualifications, but especially for those who are not in the international-organization or finance businesses it may be hard to get a job here quickly for a newcomer. You may wanna consider this in your decision as well.

Thank you very much Diego and Nomades! Very helpful and I appreciate you both taking the time!

I have a Master's in Internatinal Relations and would hope to get a job as well in Geneva. I am afraid of how long it would take. Given how expensive Geneva is, I don't think we could live on one income. So your point Diego is very helpful in terms of consideration!

Hello, Metwaly!

If your husband is being recruited from Canada to work in a UN organization in Geneva, his position will not be a junior one.  This, plus the fact that his salary will be free of income tax, means that two people should be able to enjoy a reasonable standard of living – provided, of course, that you’re not into Dior et al. dressing and penthouse accommodation.

Geneva is expensive, but plenty of people manage quite well on less than a tax-free UN income.

However, finding a job for yourself could be more problematical, especially as you’re not an EU citizen.  On the other hand, your knowledge of Arabic could be an asset in certain business or humanitarian sectors.

You don’t mention your ages but presumably you are nowhere near retirement, so taking the chance to live in an international environment and see a lot of Europe while you can is not to be discarded lightly.

What’s more, you won’t necessarily get bored if you don’t find a job straight away.  There are plenty of opportunities for voluntary work where, again, your training and language skills will be very welcome.  And volunteering can sometimes lead to offers of employment.

All the best anyway, whatever you decide.

R.

Hi Metwali, I do agree with Diego and also Ritchie ! ... It's true that our opinions will undoubtedly be sujective.   In my case, I love travelling so I wouldn't miss an opportunity to discover a new place :-)) ... About the cost of living and the need for 2 salaries : I have many expat friends, with children, where only one of the spouses works for one of the internationals organisations. They all manage very well, plus they get to travel all over and are thoroughly enjoying their stay while it lasts ... How about if you consider taking a "sabbatical year" and enjoy your free time now ... Next opportunity may come by only at retirement :-)) ... Best wishes !

Thank you so much Ritchie and Nomades! Both your posts were incredibly helpful! We will make a final decision within the next couple of days. I will let you know which direction we choose! Thank you again very much!!!

Hello Metwaly! I do agree with Diego: it's a very subjective subject. Although Geneva is definitely not the worst place (high salaries, central location in Europe, mostly good public services, etc.), I personaly never managed to like it and moved to London a couple months ago.

There are various reasons for that:

- There’s basically nothing to do in the city, everything is always closed (including the supermarkets, don't expect them to be open when you finish working). This city felt like a ghost town, it gave out some kind of sadness vibe that used to get me depressed every time I walked the streets. Coming from a big city like Toronto might make it difficult for you to adapt. You'll find that most "Genevois" fly out of the city on most week-ends to escape the boredom (the airport is PACKED every Friday evening).
- I had a hard time adapting to local culture, even though French is my mothertongue. I found people to be greedy, aggressive and bitter. I used to constantly witness people fighting (verbally) and insulting each other on the bus, in the supermarket or in bars for absolutely no good reason. I’ve lived in 4 different cities on 2 different continents before moving to Geneva, but never did I struggle that much to adapt.
- Everything costs a fortune. Sure, the salaries are quite high. But 25 francs to go see a movie? 10 francs for a beer? And the worst of all: the rents?! Come on…
- On top of that, I personally thought the city looked ugly. The buildings all look like big grey austere concrete blocks. I often wondered how they could build such ugly buildings in such a beautiful landscape.
- Being based in Geneva, I visited Switzerland quite a lot and I was surprised at how bad the reputation of Geneva is in the country. The Eastern part, Zurich, and smaller cities like St. Gallen are really cool, open minded and lively. But if you talk to people there, you’ll quickly notice that Geneva is famous in Switzerland for being a dead city for elderly expats.

I don't mean to extrapolate on whether you'll like Geneva or not. This is only my opinion on a very subjective topic. Living in Geneva had its advantages and I met great friends there, but overall it's not my kind of cities. I'm more the London/Toronto kind of guy! :)

In view of all you say, you’ve taken what is, for you, the right decision to leave and find a better hole.

But I’d be surprised to learn that anyone here is missing you.

Good luck!  

(...)

- There’s basically nothing to do in the city, everything is always closed (including the supermarkets, don't expect them to be open when you finish working). This city felt like a ghost town, it gave out some kind of sadness vibe that used to get me depressed every time I walked the streets. Coming from a big city like Toronto might make it difficult for you to adapt. You'll find that most "Genevois" fly out of the city on most week-ends to escape the boredom (the airport is PACKED every Friday evening).
- I had a hard time adapting to local culture, even though French is my mothertongue. I found people to be greedy, aggressive and bitter. I used to constantly witness people fighting (verbally) and insulting each other on the bus, in the supermarket or in bars for absolutely no good reason. I’ve lived in 4 different cities on 2 different continents before moving to Geneva, but never did I struggle that much to adapt.
- Everything costs a fortune. Sure, the salaries are quite high. But 25 francs to go see a movie? 10 francs for a beer? And the worst of all: the rents?! Come on…
- On top of that, I personally thought the city looked ugly. The buildings all look like big grey austere concrete blocks. I often wondered how they could build such ugly buildings in such a beautiful landscape.

(...)

I see a contradiction here...

Are you sure you lived in Geneva? Why would you pay 10francs for a beer? and the buildings are ugly? Seriously compared to St Gallen?

Geneva has it's issues but this is a bit much.