Wow, let me tell you, when your fiance (husband now) says “I’ve gotten an offer with work to move to Switzerland for 2-3 years and I think we should do it. Oh, and you’ll have to quit your job.” I’m sorry, did he just say we’re moving to Switzerland? What do you even say back to that? Say yes of course! However, know that there’s going to be A LOT that you can’t even imagine will happen before you actually get there.
Are we really moving?
Let me backup a little. I remember Anthony telling me “let’s move to Switzerland” as 2021 was approaching. I thought he maybe had a little too much to drink over Christmas and that he was joking. Until he said it again, and again…and again. We went back and forth on the decision and I swear it was at least 5 no’s and 6 yes’s later that we actually decided we were going to go.
We’re both very family and friends oriented people. We’re also people of habit and comfort. So to flip our world upside down and leave all of that behind seemed terrifying. Let’s not forget we were planning our wedding during the whole process as well. We’re newlyweds as of October 30, 2021. Many people called us crazy and maybe they were right. But, we stepped out of our comfort zones and started on an amazing new adventure!
Things to do prior to moving to Switzerland
I wanted jot down our experience over the next couple of years as our life as we knew it is going to flip upside down. There were many things that have happened that I never would have thought of – so let’s dive into a few of those in case you’re planning on moving to Switzerland as well.
- Apply for your visa
- DON’T book your flight until you physically have the visas in your hand. We kicked ourselves in the butt for that one.
- FBI background check
- You’ll need this for the visa so don’t wait until you have to drive half way across your state to find the only electronic fingerprinting SOS. You can get just a normal fingerprint at your local SOS it just takes longer to have them send the items so just make sure to do it ahead of time.
- Take care of doctor appointments before you go
- Purchase contacts and get new eyeglasses.
- Stock up on medications.
- Drivers License
- Make sure it is renewed or won’t expire while you’re away. Otherwise you may have to retake drivers ed.
- Enjoy time with Family & Friends
- You can’t move your friends and family with you so take the time to be with them and create memories too.
- Read blogs and watch vlogs
- You can learn from others who have taken the journey already.
- Laugh and Cry
- It’s going to be tough, laugh when you can. But if you must, scream and cry it out because it is frustrating
More on our Visa & Flight Delay
We had the date for our move planned about 3 different times. The Friday after Thanksgiving was supposed to be our flight. All of our clothes, furniture and possessions that were large or wouldn’t fit in our suitcases were to be packed in our shipping container the Wednesday prior. However, our visas hadn’t arrived. So we had to cancel our flights, figure out how much longer it would take for our visas, and sit in our house with our items already packed. Not to mention Anthony had to tell his boss he wasn’t arriving to work on time. Eating dinner off of just plastic totes wasn’t the most ideal situation, but we made it work.
I will say it was a bit of a blessing having our move delayed. We were able to see both of our families for Thanksgiving and enjoy some amazing food, family and wine. Finally our visas arrived Wednesday afternoon and our flight was then reschedule for that Friday. We were finally moving to Switzerland!
Stay tuned for more on our adventure on living abroad!
