One of the richest countries in the world

We've been chatting to a couple of families who are considering a move to Switzerland.

Interestingly but not altogether surprisingly, the major issue for both parties has been the staggering cost of living here. Even now, two years into our Swiss love affair, we can still be rendered speechless by the price tags on occasion. Unfortunately, there is no easy solution; there is a literal price to pay for an otherwise wonderful existence, and once the initial shock has worn off, it becomes something of a default talking point, rather like the (currently glorious) weather.

Anyway, talking with potential neighbours in this strange and wonderful land has caused me to begin work on a mental list of other useful things I wish I'd known before I arrived.

1. You need your compulsory health insurance. Don't put off the application as I did (the forms looked tricky and were all in a foreign language. Theoretically I speak the foreign language. Still. I somehow made an unwise decision to 'put them away' for a while).

As a direct result, you can imagine that I was a bit gutted to I receive a phone call six months into my almost immediate surprise pregnancy which went 'Congratulations, Mrs. Carter, you can have a privately insured birth from 25th May onwards!'. The baby was due on 22 April. I didn't think I could cross my legs that long.

Being Northern, I did try though.

2. You also need a Halbtax card. As the name suggests, this annual (or in our case, tri-annual) payment entitles you to half price travel for the year, anywhere in Switzerland.

3. You're not going to be accepted like a long lost friend on the very first day. Especially as this is a country with a far right government and a well-publicised issue with other cultures.

Two years on, however, we've made a vast and varied selection of friends and acquaintances that we would never have had the opportunity to meet and get to know in our own countries. Or in Luxembourg for that matter. Patience is a virtue.

4. Stuff works here. The country is run exactly like clockwork; an ironic cliché but true nonetheless. Everything is clean, attractive, and on time, and that includes the people. There is a proper service industry with intelligent staff that are friendly and efficient and helpful. So whether you need help with something at the local Gemeinde office, or you don't see what you want at the store, chances are if you ask, you'll come out with a satisfactory solution, which is nothing short of a miracle as far as we're concerned after years of living elsewhere.

Basically, Switzerland should be held up as a shiny well-run example to the rest of shabby Europe.

5. Recycling. Trash is charged by the litre. So suddenly you might think a bit more carefully before you bin it. The Swiss recycle everything, and it is a big no-no to do otherwise. Being Switzerland, there are rules in place to govern exactly how a person recycles; newspapers, for example, must be bound into neat piles and tied with string. I still can't get this right, so you can spot where we live by the dog-eared pile at our front gate on paper collect day. The whole thing's tricky to get used to at first, but amazing how quickly it becomes second nature (well, apart from the origami thing).

6. Everyone does some kind of sport. I mean, absolutely everyone. Last year I chatted to an elderly couple on snow shoes up a mountain. The lady said she was 84. She gave up skiing at 82. We met a group of people my parents' age who were ferociously competitive pétanque players. We've met snowboarders, sailors, skiers, runners, ice hockey players, billiards champions, kayakers, rock climbers, windsurfers, hikers; you name it, people can and do give it a go. I'm still struggling with this one too... Does people watching count??

7. Talking of which, a mention has to be given to the suspiciously high numbers of perky breasts and toned bods. I found this disconcerting on arrival, flabby and unattractive as I felt in those early days of pregnancy, but having studied the matter extensively (hey, they're everywhere - it's hard not to, honest!) I've reached the conclusion that were I a plastic surgeon, I'd be a millionaire in this town. Indeed, there is a whole area of the city which is home to nothing else but nip and tuck joints, so somebody's getting something done fairly regularly it would seem.

I'm pretty sure there's a thousand other things I've noticed on my travels; so when I think of more, I'll be sure to post them.