Hey Helen,

First off the bat let me get one thing out the way - moving here without a place to stay or a job will be nothing short of a nightmare, and if you don't have a particular reason it has to be Geneva, I might consider something else.

Apartments here are nastily expensive (a studio anyhere in metropolitan Geneva is near impossible to find below 1000 CHF a month) and are barely ever available. Normally you compete with 10-50 people for a flat, and if you don't have a good salary and employer to show, you won't get nothing. You'll be jumping sublet to sublet forever - I even did this for 6 months and I came here with a job.

The other side is a vicious cycle that in the end companies are reluctant to hire you without a local address. 

Also - you speak French? If you don't then that will provide a massive barrier for you. You won't get hired into anything but au pair type positions or higher skilled positions (for example my employer is English speaking, but I speak French anyway) which are hard to get a hold of. 

I'm not trying to put you off Geneva, but I'm saying there might be a million places easier to find a foothold if you are just looking to "plunge" into a new life.

Best,

Andy

Thanks Andy. I will definitely be keeping in mind what you have just said. No I don't speak French, except for basic french that was learnt many moons ago in high school :-)

I got my mind set on Geneva but like you say, I should keep my options open!

Cheers!