How many times have you heard people talking about how wonderful it is that we live in such an international area as the Lake Geneva region? People are coming and going all the time - many plan to stay for just a few months, others inevitably stay longer, as they fall in love with a region that has so much to offer – not just to tourists, but visiting business professionals, and expats who have decided to make Switzerland their home.
Once the decision has been made to stay, be it for one week, several months, or even years, then it’s time to start looking for accommodation. A quick browse on the internet or through the local papers can be extremely helpful in identifying property to rent – however most of the properties advertised usually require long-term rental contracts or are not furnished. Even if you have decided to stay for a few years, many families, in particular, prefer to test the water first, by staying in a hotel until they have got the feel of the area. As time passes and suitable properties fail to materialize, costs can soon mount up.
20% Earlybird discount for tradespeople who sign up before end of April, 2014
A new website has just been launched to help homeowners in Switzerland find local tradesmen and artisans that they can trust.
Called TrustedArtisan.com, the website provides an online market place where homeowners can post a project online, receive quotes from tradespeople registered on the site, and then select a company to do the job, according to the quality of reviews posted by former clients. The service is free to homeowners, but artisans must pay an annual subscription to be listed on the site, and a small commission on any significant projects over Fr. 20K, undertaken as a result of being contacted through the site.
The idea for the new website came from James Amoah, a specialist in operations management at Kaleidoscope International, a niche supply chain and business solution consultancy, focused on finding innovative customer services for businesses. James told knowitall.ch, “The concept for TrustedArtisan.com came through my own personal frustration at having no immediate access to recommended artisans, nor any means to assess their performance or vent frustration when jobs were performed inadequately. When my wife, Sarah, and I talked to friends and work colleagues, we realised that we were not alone with these frustrations and things could be much better than they were.”
Claim your special 10% discount for knowitall.ch clients valid until end of June 2014!
One of the most frequent questions we get asked at knowitall.ch is whether we can recommend anyone to do odd jobs around the home. Whether you are new to the region, or have been here a while, it can often be difficult to find a company who will turn up on time, provide a reasonable quote, and produce work to a sufficiently high quality.
So when we received a recommendation recently for a company that has been operating in the region for approximately 4 years, we were only too keen to find out more!
La Boîte O Services was set up in 2010 by Johann Frain, a local entrepreneur with lots of prior experience working within a large international corporation and, therefore, very familiar with the way expats like to think and work! In less than 4 years, his new company has grown from a small enterprise doing odd jobs for customers to a large service-oriented organization employing over 30 people in the Cantons of Vaud and Geneva. So successful has the company been, that it will expand later this year into Neuchatel.
If you enjoyed reading Peter Mayle’s “A Year in Provence”, learning what it is like to be an Englishman living abroad, then you will probably enjoy the personal blog set up by local expat, Dave Foston, and his wife, Denise.
Set up in April last year, “We Live in France” provides an Englishman’s view on living in France, and features interesting anecdotes as well as useful information on a range of subjects including entertainment, housing, legal matters and pets.
Asked why he decided to set up this blog, Dave told knowitall.ch, “As international school teachers, Denise and I share a long-standing passion for France, and the French way of life. As a couple, we have dealt with most aspects of living in France, from dining out with friends or taking a trip to the cinema, to dealing with builders and all the bureaucracy associated with renovating a home in France. We wanted to share our experiences with others, so that newcomers arriving in France might benefit from our new found wisdom - or at least avoid making the same mistakes we have made!”
Get a free Fr. 20.- voucher towards your booking at ServiceAtHome.com
At the beginning of this year, a new service was set up in Geneva and Vaud to help local families find trustworthy helpers in the community.
Called ServiceAtHome, the new service enables clients to search for providers on their website, according to service type, location and availability, and then book and pay for their services online. So popular has the service become, that there are now over 600 different providers offering their services in the Geneva area alone, with more being added on a daily basis as the organization extends its service down the lake towards Lausanne and beyond.
Talking about her new service to knowitall.ch, co-founder, Lindy-Claire Abittan, told us, “Like many ideas, ServiceAtHome was created from frustration. It was a Thursday morning and I was desperately trying to organise some cleaning before our weekend guests arrived. I needed a quick solution but I also didn't want to let just anybody into my home. Working full time made this task even more complicated as I kept on having to duck out of meetings to make and receive calls. It felt like the whole day was spent simply trying to arrange a cleaner - I could have cleaned the apartment twice over in this amount of time! That was when it hit me. Surely there must be a place where I can simply say... I need this service, at this place and at this time….and voila!"
