Discussions

Hi all! My French husband and I (Brit living in France for a decade) with our lovely 23month old are moving to messery in a month or so and I’ll be working in Geneva. If anyone has some good tips about daycare I would be so grateful. I haven’t found many creche options local - are folks using nannies more? Oscar has been going to a creche in orleans where we currently live and it’d be great if that’s an option here but not against a great nanny / other group care. Thank you in advance! I’m a newbie to this group

Hello everybody,is there anybody who could give me some information on the primary school in Sergy? Is the school o.k. My son will soon be entering the ecole maternelle. I would be grateful for any hints/advices..!Many thanks in advance!Anne

Hi there, We are about to move to Geneva for work in a month's time. We would like to settle somewhere between Geneva and Lausanne and saw places for rent in Gland. Do any of you have experience with the Mauverney or Perrerets primary schools? My kids are 4 and 6, speak English, but do not speak French. I do speak French, but not to them, as I am not a native speaker. Many thanks for sharing any experiences with public schools in the area, Andrea

Children’s football coaching company InterSoccer, are looking forcoaches / want to be coaches who would like to coach children approx. 3-13yrsof all abilities part time/when available. We are especially looking for coaches who can work Saturday / Sundayson our weekend programmes & coach at our Football Birthday Parties Coaching takes place in Geneva, Vaud, Basel, Zug, & Zurich. Although nice, qualifications not needed as we will do thetraining. Need to be available to work weekends. Also possible opportunities inweek days and holidays depending on numbers. If interested please fill in the following application http://www.intersoccer.ch/coaching-opportunities/ For more info on InterSoccer please see www.intersoccer.ch

I am looking for recommendations for an English speaking professional to conduct an assessment for ADHD (in English) in the Geneva area or nearby.Thanks

Hello, About a month ago we moved to Crans-Pres-Celigny (very close to Nyon). After having settled in  a bit I am now looking for playgroups and playdates near Nyon area for myself and my 3 year old daugther.  Have looked through all relevant lists and threads in this website as well as many blogs on expat tips and advice and have contacted some organizers already (IWCN, Rimambelle, etc).  If anyone knows of any new English speaking groups meeting up around here or would like to set one up would love to hear from you. Thanks much in advance!  

We recently received a bill for newborn fees of over 2000 CHF from our hospital in Geneva. The mother has American health insurance (through the university that I work for), while the baby has Swiss health insurance. (We chose Swiss insurance to avoid the reimbursement paperwork required by my university.)We first tried to get reimbursed for the newborn fees from the mother's American insurance, but they told us that newborn fees are the responsibility of the baby's insurance. Then we tried to get reimbursed by the baby's Swiss insurance, and they said that in Switzerland newborn fees are the responsibility of the mother's insurance.Has anyone encountered this problem before? Is there anything we can do at this point?Thanks for any advice!Wells

The sale of second hand spring/summer children's clothing, toys, books, videos/DVDs, maternity clothing, and baby equipment will take place again at the Eglise du Sacre Coeur (Plaine de Plainpalais) on April 29th. If you are interested in selling items, contact intchildrenclothing-gva@bluewin.ch

Hello I am looking any recommendations for above specialists in the Grand Saconnex area.  Also, if anyone knows of a good medical i nsurance company too, then that would great.  We arrived last week and currently have no healthcare cover in place.   Many thanks Alison

Bonjour...my name is Melanie and I'm from the United States. We are relocating along with our 3 kids (5, 3, and 1) possibly in June of 2016 to Geneva through my husband's work. We are looking for a pre-school and 1st grade options for our kids. We are visiting end of next week and we're hoping to check out some schools while we're there. We only speak English but hoping to learn French so a bilingual school is a plus! As for location, we'd like to be near Chambesy or Nyon (the farthest). I've seen recommendation for La Decouverte (which sounds great!) but would like to get additional school recommendations from you. Please advice :) Many thanks!!  

Dears, My friend from Inida is coming to Neuchâtel this summer and will stay for a year. He will be accompanied with his spouse and 8 year son. Currently his son is studing in Class 2 in India and the session will complete in next couple of months. Can you please guide us on the school admission process here at Switzerland because we heard that there are some compulsary rules to get admission? Basically we would like to know, What documents they should carry from India to get admission here? Does they need to carry TC (Transfer Certificate) from current school in India? How they can select a school here? They are okay to select a local French school if there are no International school nearby When the session starts? How exams are conducted here in school? Any other information that they should be aware of?

Where can I find a reliable, responsible one? The last girl I had moved away 6 months ago and I could really do with finding someone else! Thanks Jo

Hi, I'm looking for a native english part-time nanny for my 1 year old baby boy. I live in Eaux Vives area in Geneva and I need a reliable nanny available in the afternoon. Please contact me for any interest. Thanks!  

Hello, I am looking for a childminder. My boys are 5 & 3 years old - this will be for odd evenings and may be day time too. We live in Veyrier/Etrembieres area. 

hi I'm looking for a family/kids photographer around Collonge-Bellerive, Switzerland (or not that far from there). Thank you    

It's a bit of a nightmare finding classes for kids on Wednesdays. Fortunately, this will change in 2014 when schools will have to bring in classes for kids on Wednesdays also. During the meantime, some areas of Geneva give very reasonably priced care for kids on Wednesdays at the local centre de loisirs. You can also try some of the private schools which might open their 'extras' classes on Wednesdays to non-attenders. One such is Decouverte, where my daughter attends on Wednesday. You can find out more here http://www.decouverte.ch/fr/extras_mercredi.htmlIf anybody else knows of other drop-off classes for kids on Wednesdays, particularly in the afternoon, please post a reply here.Thanks

Come and join a new musical « tribe » of a kind and feel how exhilarating family music can be ! All siblings (age 0-5) are welcome! No babysitting needed! Dates & Schedules: Wednesdays (Vernier), 11 am:September, 16, 23, 20, October, 7, 14, 28, November, 4, 11, 18, 25 Wednesdays (Onex), 5 pm:September, 2, 9 Wednesdays (Onex), 4:30 pm:September, 16, 23, 20, October, 7, 14, 28, November, 4, 11, 18, 25 Fridays (Plan-les-Ouates), 5 pm:September, 4, 11 Fridays (Plan-les-Ouates, 4 or 5 pm:September, 18, 25, October, 2, 9 , 16, 30, November, 6, 13, 20, 17 Saturdays (Vernier), 11 am:September, 5, 12 Saturdays (Vernier), 10 or 11 am:September, 19, 26, October, 3, 10, 17, 31, November, 7, 14, 21, 28 View the Calendar to pick a date, you will also find there the venues in Onex, Plan-les-Ouates and Vernier

We are moving to Geneva soon and were considering putting our 8 year old daughter in this school - we like the fact that itis bilingual, it does not follow the i ternational baccelaureatte program but is not far off and would like to hear from people what they think of it, what have been your experiences with this school, would you recommend it? Thank you!

My wife and I are moving to Geneva mid February with our 12 month old son. I have been researching child care in Geneva and the waiting lists for creche seem long. Accordingly, we are looking to share a nanny with another family (ideally a family with a child of a similar age).  We are not yet sure where we will live. Let me know if you are interested or already have a nanny that you would like to share. Regards, Benn (bennmcgrady@hotmail.com)

Couples! We would love to see happy couples and happy families and are hosting a fun marriage course.  From Wednesday, 21 January we invite you to set aside this evening - a fabulous date night idea for a light meal, DVD talk and then time for private discussion between you and your spouse. A worthwhile time investment. Additionally you get to meet other couples if you wish. It consist of 7 sessions, but we invite you to attend one and see if you like it...  Call or email me for more info: Ellen +41 79 881 69 84 / ms.ellen.meyer@gmail.com