Any Indians from Bern

Hi people,
I moved to Bern in November 2008 for my PhD and my husband will be coming down in March.
We are currently looking for accommodation in Bern but it is tremendously difficult.
Seems like people here arent too keen in having Indians as their tenants and also it becomes very difficult to communicate if you do not know German.
I need to get a house soon as my term in the Guest house of the Univ is now ending this month end.
Any suggestions or tips would be appreciated
Regards

Hello BernDesi,

A very warm welcome to you in IL.

Hope your stay here is going to be a pleasant and enjoyable one.

Swiss being one of the most beautiful places in the world, I am sure you will have a lovely time amidst the snow capped mountains.

Please browse through the various forums to get acquainted with the site and your participation is very much appreciated to enrich this site with your valuable suggestions/queries/inputs/feedback in various forums.

You may also go through New Member Orientation - Read this to know this site! for more information.

Hope to see you more often in IL and enjoy your stay.Hopefully someone from Bern will be able to help you with your queries as I am not familiar with the area.Don't worry regarding the accommodation as I am sure there will be people around who are comfortable letting their flats/houses to Indians.

Hi berndesi1
Finding accomodation, good accomodation in Switzerland is a challenge for news desis, compounded by the language issue as most of us dont speak German/French. Also, you can`t directly walk up to an apartment or to-let unlike in other parts of the world.

In most large cities, there are a number of desis and associations (list) from whom one can get a reference to local real-estate/rental agents. Many agents understand expat cultures and also English so it is easy to work with them. They will also generally take care of paperwork like Lease, contracts etc

Even if you go with an agent, you should still be cautious and make sure you understand the terms and contract.

hi,

Thanks a lot for your replies.
However, I have still not managed to find a place..
Looks like wherever we apply we need to fill a form and they will get back only after couple of weeks .... so far havent received any positive reply.
Its quite depressing especially when you are all alone in a foreign land.
However, i am very happy to see your reply....but sad part is that it seems like there is no one from Bern here.....

hopefully i find a place soon ... will keep you guys posted.

Thanks & Regards,
Rajni

Finally managed to find a place..
Thank you all for your tips and valuable help..

Regards,
Rajni

Hello BernDesi,

Glad that you finally found accommodation and your problem is solved.

Have a pleasant stay !

Hi All,

I am Dhanya and I moved recently to bern about a week ago.
Finding accomodation for me and my husband was also very difficult.
We were in Basel previously and we had to vacate the hotel in which we were staying since we had to move to Bern.
Finally by God's grace found an apartment last week and we moved in.
The people here are not keen to keep Indians as tenants because they believe we will spoil the kitchen with our Indian masalas and the style of cooking. Its absolutely ridiculous!!
And its true there are very less Indians here.
Anyways hope everything goes fine for everybody!!

Enjoy!!
Dhanya