r/Switzerland

Automated English translation, emphasis mine:

Aargau wants to allow new nuclear power plants in the future: The canton has revised its energy strategy. Parliament has now paved the way for new nuclear power plants. This is only two weeks after the Council of States gave the green light for the construction of new nuclear power plants. Three of the four active nuclear power plants are already located in Aargau: Beznau 1 and 2 as well as the Leibstadt nuclear power plant.

But more nuclear power: The Aargau parliament was committed to discussing the new energy strategy. The government originally planned that renewable electricity production with wind, water and photovoltaics in Aargau would be greatly expanded. However, the competent parliamentary committee demanded that Aargau continue to produce more electricity than it needs itself. The Aargau should produce electricity for the whole of Switzerland, with "low-CO2 production". The bourgeois majority of the Grand Council wrote the goal of "technology-open production" in the paper. This also means the new construction of a nuclear power plant.

The Beznau nuclear power plant is an electricity supplier for the whole of Switzerland. Just like the KKW Leibstadt, which is also located in Aargau.

Kniff paves the way for nuclear power plants: In the original goal of the energy strategy, the government said that it wanted to increase "renewable energies" from 3.7 to at least 6 terawatt hours by 2036. Currently, the Aargau produces around 15 terawatt hours of electricity, mainly nuclear power. Now the government was reverting under pressure from the Grand Council. The new goal is to produce a good twice as much electricity per year from "low CO2" sources by 2035. This indicates the construction of a new nuclear power plant. Beznau 1 and 2 will be shut down in about 2032.

The construction of a new nuclear power plant would take around 15 years, electricity companies and the Energy Commission of the Academy of Sciences estimate.

Heated discussions in parliament: "We need nuclear energy. Of course the people still decide, but the Aargau is ready," said Pascal Furrer (SVP). "An energy future with photovoltaics and wind alone cannot be secured," some said. "Anyone who believes that we can ignite a nuclear express is denying reality," others said. "The technologies will be decided in Bundesbern. It can go in the direction of new nuclear energy, it can also go temporarily in the direction of gas," said Aargau Energy Director Stephan Attiger (FDP) in the council.

Left-Green rarely has a chance: SVP/EDU and FDP have an absolute majority in the Aargau parliament. This means that if they vote together, the other side has no chance to bring its own concerns through. The Grand Council decided on the goal of low-carbon electricity production with 89 to 44 votes. The bourgeois majority of SVP, FDP and Mitte was in favor, Left-Green against.

It will take time until new nuclear power plants are set up: It is currently forbidden in Switzerland to build new nuclear power plants. However, the "Blackout Initiative" and a counter-proposal from the Federal Council would like to lift this new construction ban. The Swiss electricity producer Axpo, based in Aargau, assumes that there will be no new nuclear power plant before 2050. Axpo estimates the construction costs at 7 to 10 billion francs. Who would finance a new nuclear power plant is open. A report by the Energy Commission of the Academy of Sciences in 2025 concluded that it would probably not work without funds from the public sector.

I was unemployed for a few months and wanted to share what I learned. I’m in Canton Zurich, so some details may vary depending on where you live.

1. Register asap

When you lose your job in Switzerland, you can register with RAV, which manages unemployment benefits. If you quit voluntarily without a new job lined up, expect a penalty period before payments start.

Register as soon as possible, you can do everything online via work.swiss. You must register before your last contract day. I had a 3‑month notice period and registered 2 months before the end date. After registering, they called me (in German) to confirm my details and schedule the first meeting.

2. Choose an unemployment fund (ALK)

You must pick an Arbeitslosenkasse (unemployment fund). There are cantonal and private options. RAV won’t advise you. I didn’t know the difference and simply chose the Zurich cantonal fund.

3. Prepare before your first meeting

Update your CV before uploading anything. Everything is submitted digitally via Job‑Room. Your advisor may request changes, but it helps to arrive prepared. Also gather all required documents in advance.

4. The first meeting is serious

They usually contact you within the first 15 days. Your advisor will ask about your job‑search strategy, what you’ve already done, and your goals. It’s not small talk, be ready. Meetings are held in the official language of your canton (German in Zurich). If you’re not comfortable, you can bring a friend to interpret — no need for a professional.

5. Document everything

Track every application and every reply. Each month you must submit proof of your job‑search efforts via Job‑Room eService.

6. Payments and duration

There’s a maximum insured salary of CHF 148k/year. Depending on your contribution period, you can receive benefits for up to 2 years. In addition, there are waiting days before you get paid, minimum 10, maximum 20 depending on your salary (assuming you did not quit yourself).

In my case: I worked 1 year and 9 months and was eligible for 2 years 400 daily allowances No children = 70% payout (with children it’s 80%) Payments are calculated per working day, so monthly totals vary Roughly every 3 months you accumulate 5 days of holiday

7. My actual numbers (Canton Zurich, 70%, no dependents, permit B)

Insured salary: CHF 12,350/month (max cap)

Daily rate: CHF 398.40

Gross monthly (22 working days): CHF 8,764.80

Deductions: AHV/IV/EO, accident insurance, BVG, withholding tax → –CHF 2,029.58

Net received: CHF 6,735.22

Useful links

Register with RAV → work.swiss

Monthly reports & document upload → job-room.ch

Find your RAV office in Zurich → zh.ch/rav

Zurich unemployment fund (ALK) → zh.ch/alk

Official unemployment FAQ → arbeit.swiss/faq

If anyone has questions, happy to help based on what I learned.

After 2 years as an expat in Switzerland, I can say I have subconsciously adopted some Swiss idiosyncrasies. For example, not bending rules.. just doing what the sign says, following the marked path.

One swiss habit I found a bit dramatic, is refraining from phone calls on trains, people like to keep the train wagon generally quiet.

Today I finally get it, my gosh how annoying was the dude this morning on the phone out-loud in the train, his voice could be heard throughout the train car, and his friend was on speakerphone, they were laughing loudly in an eastern european language at 6am.. for about 45 minutes!

Do you guys confront people like this? I guess theres no rule against it? I just put in headphones to try and distract from it, but I never thought a person on the phone could actually bother me until this morning

Good evening everyone,

My phone was stolen today while switching between trains. I know it was not lost because it was turned off when it had plenty of battery.

I am writing this post as a last-ditch effort. That iPhone 12 Pro has a broken back, a cheap screen repair, and an inflamed battery. It is legit worthless. If anyone reading this post knows anyone who steals phones or sells stolen phones, please contact me. I will pay for my worthless phone. I will not involve the police. I really need it for university, to pay for medical bills, and it is not backed up, and I will lose important memories.

I have already contacted the SBB in case someone returns it.

Thank you for reading.

Spaziere gaht easy, aber meh als 1-2 Stond hani ke Bock uf sowas. Gits da cooli Sache? Luut google ebe nid eso, wenn mer nid grad wet wandere…

Leider isch wök nume Egliswil ide Uswahl. Oder eventuell Hochdorf aber söscht keis Örtli.

Wenn öpper vo da chommt und cha Advice gäh, denne gärn 😂 wiil ech und mies date hend beidi kei ahnig. S Budget isch ebe au nid so hoch. 40 CHF pro person höchstens…

What do you think about yallo mobile? Good mobile connection? And across Europe?

They contacted me with an interesting discount, much better than the one I currently have with Salt.

Current situation: I’m with Salt, but so far I can’t say the network is that good. I often notice that the signal isn’t great, although it still works, so I accepted it.

Now: I have Yallo for home internet and, so far, so good — I’ve never had any problems. But I see many of you complaining about the service, support, etc.

Yeah, so I was at the store yesterday after a morning of skiing, and honestly, I can’t get this off my mind. A friend of mine—same age, super active—just forgot to pay for a coffee and a small plastic bag, like 2 francs 25. But instead of being fair, the security guard treated him like a total criminal. He even offered to pay on the spot, but they refused, just so they could hit him with this massive 200-franc fine. And it hit me—this isn’t just a one-off; it feels like they’re not trying to solve a mistake, they’re just waiting to hand out fines. I’m all about doing the right thing—and I just can’t believe this is how they treat honest people. Has anyone else gone through this?

Hi everyone,

I’m based in Zürich and I’m thinking of doing a small public dance performance this summer to raise money for charity (supporting children in Africa and Asia).

The idea is very simple — just me dancing in a public space (like a park or near the lake) with a small speaker, and maybe a sign where people can donate if they want.

I’m not planning anything big or commercial, just something positive and meaningful.

Does anyone know: • if this is allowed in Zürich? • do I need a permit even for something small like this? • and are there specific places where this is more accepted? • and of course a nice spot you can recommend for this

Also if anyone has experience with busking or street performances here, I’d really appreciate your advice 🙏

Thank you!

Applied for a job at Nestle, and immediately got invited for an online assessment, camera on etc. etc.....what exactly is this ?

Is this MBB level assesment or a generic test?

This is for a management role.

Grüezi. First time posting on Reddit, but this has been bothering me quite a bit lately. I’m an East Asian who completed the German Abitur before coming to ETH Zürich for my bachelor’s. I speak German at a non-native but understandable level. I have even taught tutorial sessions at university as a teaching assistant in German and never had any problem. The main issue I have with the language is when it’s used in informal settings. Swiss German is a skill I have tried to learn but keep failing to acquire.

Anyway, I started an internship at a small company. My direct supervisor has been great and communicates with me in English upon realizing I can articulate myself more accurately and confidently in it. Our relationship is very ramport. Other than him, most of my coworkers speak Mundart around me knowing I don’t understand, and some will switch to Hochdeutsch when they want to address me directly or realize that I am getting lost. I have no problem with any of this.

The issue is with a particular coworker who unfortunately sits right next to me. Since the day I arrived, he would not speak anything other than Swiss German to me. Since we are not working on the same project, there isn’t much he needs to discuss with me during work. However, at lunch he would talk to me constantly when we go out, even though it was clear I didn’t understand him.

Another context that could be important is that he was the last employee who came before me. That's why we had lunch a couple of times together.

Eventually, I asked him whether it would be possible to communicate in High German since I am still not so good with Mundart. (I have been in the company for one month including this

week, I asked him for the first time regarding high German last week.) I was quite taken aback when he said, rather in an indisputable tone, that if he didn’t speak Swiss German to me, how would I ever learn. (“Yeaaa, wie chasch denn Schwiizerdütsch lerne?” Or something like that) After which he proceeded talking to me in swiss German, after I told him I didn’t understand.

I told him three things: 1) if I cannot understand you, there is no way for me to learn efficiently, 2) at work, efficient communication and precise understanding matters for productivity and 3.) considering my girlfriend is swiss, learning the language is something I shall do outside of the work place, and on my own initiative.

The same conversation essentially happened twice. The first time I told him that I will reply in Hochdeutsch and Englisch if I do not understand you. Proceeded to speak to me in Swiss german. The second time, we entered an intense staring contest after which he finally switched to communicate in High German for the rest of that interaction after telling me yea ich bevorzuge Swiss German.

Just when I thought the matter was resolved, I arrived at work to find him starting a conversation in Swiss German again. I had to remind him that I don’t understand. He switched to High German to finish what he said, but then proceeded to initiate more conversations, something he normally doesn’t do, in Swiss German again.

At this point, I feel I have made it very clear that I prefer to communicate in High German at work at least at the present time. From my perspective, he has been doing this deliberately and I’m quite at odds what I should do next.​​​​​

From my description, my Swiss friends from Zürich told me this is apparently an archetype among people from provincial areas of the country?( the coworker does in fact come from a small village near Aargau) A conspiracy theory believing, ultranationalist who asserts their ownership of the country to foreigners subtly through small, persistent gestures rather than explicit statements. ( he did exhibit some behaviors such as saying he never pays with any cards because he doesn’t want to be tracked and likes to stay anonymous, which I found peculiar. But who am I to judge) I have encountered such personalities before in my life, it’s just rather surprising personally to meet someone like this in an engineering company where I, perhaps mistakenly, assumed a higher level of tolerance.

He speaks both Hochdeutsch and English without very strong accent too, because I can sympathize with people if they are self-conscious about the accent. Which really I don't think is the case.

Do you think I am reading this the wrong way?

Any advice or input is warmly welcomed.

Schönes Wochenende.

Hey everyone, I wanted to share a cautionary tale and a warning for anyone helping foreign friends or guests in a medical emergency in Switzerland (specifically Lucerne).

​Last week, a close friend had a life-threatening seizure. She was rushed to LUKS (Luzerner Kantonsspital) by ambulance (EMS). Despite her having a valid UK Global Health Insurance Card (GHIC) on her person, the hospital administration pressured me—the person who followed the ambulance—into paying a 4,000 CHF deposit on my personal debit card before they would settle the administrative side.

​The Trap:

The patient is now stable and insurance coverage was 100% confirmed days ago. However, the hospital is refusing to return my money promptly.

Their Ombudsman actually stated in writing that because of the new TARDOC billing system transition, it could take FOUR MONTHS to process the refund.

​They are essentially holding private funds hostage as an interest-free loan to cover their own IT backlogs. They also claim they need the full 4k to cover a potential ambulance co-pay, even though that bill is a tiny fraction of the deposit, max 500 CHF.

​Advice if you are in this spot:

​Never pay a deposit if a valid GHIC/EHIC is present. Under the Swiss-UK bilateral agreements, they are treated like locals. The hospital is legally required to treat life-threatening emergencies regardless—especially when brought in by EMS.

​Involve Legal Protection: I’ve had to open a case with my Rechtsschutzversicherung for Ungerechtfertigte Bereicherung (unjustified enrichment).

​It’s a disgrace that if you step up to help someone in a life-and-death situation, a state hospital treats your bank account like their own overflow fund.

​Has anyone else dealt with these "TARDOC delay" excuses at other Swiss hospitals lately?

So, I was supposed to get a package from them yesterday and didn’t receive it, does anybody know if they try it again the next day or do I have to do something?

I did check my Briefkasten but there was no notice I missed it - since I was home all day long

Hi,

Ich lebe&arbeite seit 2 Jahren hier in der Schweiz als Deutsche. Nun steht mir ein Jobwechsel mit Umzug innerhalb der Schweiz bevor. Für eine Formalie bräuchte ich kurzzeitig einen Hauptwohnsitz bei meinen Eltern in Deutschland während ich arbeitslos bin… denkt ihr es ist möglich für etwa 2 Wochen meinen Hauptwohnsitz zu ändern oder ist das bürokratisch und mit Versicherungen kaum möglich? Ich würde mir dann für die Überbrückungszeit eine freiwillige Krankenversicherung in DE organisieren.

Danke für eure Tipps!

I like to collect Swiss army stuff & I’d love to find a group of like-minded people in Switzerland. I think that my main hurdle in finding communities, however, is that my German is abysmal and my Italian is only a little better than passable. I sometimes hear about events or markets from friends, but I can never seem to find them myself, likely due to the language barrier.

If anybody could point me to some communities, I would greatly appreciate it. Thanks :D

Hello all,

I am soon to be a new mom in July, and planning to give birth at Bülach. We also got married in Zurich Zivilsamt so our marriage is also registered there.

My question is, what do we need to do to get the birth certificate of the baby after it is born?

Do we need to do it separately? Or the hospital handels everything and we just need to order a copy?

Thanks for help