Moving to Geneva from US for 2 months

February 2, 2017 10:09 PM

Just got a great opportunity to work out of a client's office in Geneva for 2 months (as a consultant through my US company). I'm working through the logistics now. Any recommendations for where in Geneva to live? Good neighborhoods, etc...(The office is in Petit Lancy). Recos on where to look for a short term rental? (already looking on Airbnb) I know I'll need to figure out a local cell or intl plan for my ATT iphone and some sort of supplemental health insurance. What else am I not thinking of???
posted by RunRunRunRun to Travel & Transportation around Geneva, Switzerland (6 answers total)

I assume you have somebody working with you on immigration/work permit matters? Tourist Visa is not the way to go.
posted by koahiatamadl at 11:24 PM on February 2, 2017

Doctor, dentist and any specialist checkups before you go
If you are on medication find out whether you can import a two month supply or if not what the local equivalent medication is and how to get it
Travel insurance to cover lost bags/flight problems etc
posted by EatMyHat at 1:00 AM on February 3, 2017

Also transport - will you buy a bike, take the bus or tram to work, etc?
posted by EatMyHat at 1:07 AM on February 3, 2017

at&t's international data options aren't quite as ungodly expensive as they used to be, but are still really high for more than a very short trip unless it's being paid for by the company. Don't even turn it on after taking off from the US or you may well get slapped with international (voice) charges even after turning it back off. The deregistration message often gets lost, so at&t continues to send your calls overseas to your last known location for a couple of days. At $1+ per minute even the missed calls start to add up.

If your phone is paid off or your contact is up, at&t will give you an unlock code to allow you to use SIMs from other carriers. Otherwise you're probably out of luck since current policy is that they won't give unlock codes for international travel like they used to.

If you can't get it unlocked, it will likely be cheaper to buy a cheap Android phone to use while you're over there, but if you're willing to pay for it, you certainly can just roam. Just be sure to get a global data plan before leaving, because the pay per use rates are far higher.
posted by wierdo at 1:22 AM on February 3, 2017 [1 favorite]

A lot of people going to CERN for couple-of-month shifts stay in St. Genis just over the French border, where rents are much cheaper, but still within the reach of the Geneva bus system.
posted by heatherlogan at 5:38 AM on February 3, 2017 [1 favorite]

Housing will be really difficult to find. I lived in Geneva and know of students who couch-surfed well into the semester because there is a housing shortage, and rent is expensive. I guess your visa won't allow you to commute from France, so make sure you'll have housing on arrival. Seriously.
Since public transportation is good, you can live practially everywhere, and you may have to because you cannot be picky in Geneva. For two months, I'd look for sublets.

You could get a prepaid phone plan from Salt or Sunrise (Swisscom is expensive) and put the sim card into your existing phone.

There are a couple of English-speaking doctors, and you can generally pay cash if you need to (I worked with diplomats who did that and asked their overseas insurance to reimburse later), but I'd verify.
posted by LoonyLovegood at 6:16 AM on February 3, 2017