In this personal account, I describe what life in Switzerland feels like from the perspective of an expatriate – between social rules, social control and constant expectations of correct behaviour. Using everyday examples such as smoking, night-time quiet hours, dog ownership and waste disposal, I show why I felt increasingly restricted in Switzerland.
If you are a Swiss citizen living in Tunisia, there is one question you are bound to hear frequently:
„Why did you leave wealthy, perfect Switzerland to come to Tunisia?“
For Tunisians, this is a completely absurd idea.
Voluntarily leave a European country?
A country with security, cleanliness, a healthcare system, money and order?
Why on earth would anyone move from there to here?
Especially if someone has never been to Europe – let alone Switzerland – they cannot even begin to imagine that ‘perfect’ sometimes means perfectly suffocating.
So I decided to write down my answer in detail.
Because the reasons cannot be explained in three sentences.
Switzerland is beautiful, yes.
But it is also a country full of unspoken rules, social taboos and silent expectations that come as a culture shock, especially for people with a southern European understanding of society.
And that’s exactly why I’m now presenting my list of things that are officially or unofficially prohibited in Switzerland –
in other words, a detailed explanation of
why I prefer to live my life in Tunisia
– and why I don’t voluntarily live in a perfectly polished glass display case.
Living in Switzerland – my personal observations
Things that are officially or unofficially prohibited in Switzerland
(…or simply so socially frowned upon that, as a foreigner, you’ll be pulverised before you can say ‘Hoi’.)
1) Smoking – Switzerland’s ultimate enemy
In Switzerland, smoking is a kind of high-risk sport.
It is formally prohibited everywhere and informally even more so.
- Not only in restaurants, cafés, shops and bars.
- Also at train stations and bus stops (outdoors!).
- In your own rented flat → Go ahead – but only if you want to sell your kidney for the final coat of paint.
- On the balcony → theoretically allowed, but in practice the non-smoker above you will hunt you down if a single cloud drifts into their open window.
- At the lake → a gust of wind in the wrong direction = social death.
- Next to a stranger who happens to be breathing? No, either.
- In the car with children → forbidden, or at least a no-go with immediate moral death sentence.
2) Night-time rest – the sacred commandment
From 10 p.m. to 7 a.m., Switzerland is not simply quiet at night – it is sacredly silent.
During this time, you may:
- not cough.
- not close the toilet lid too loudly.
- not move a chair.
- not own a dog that breathes.
- not speak loudly.
- not laugh (quiet giggling is acceptable – but QUIET).
- not vacuum.
- not shower.
- not play the piano.
- not sing.
- not live.
Everything about it?
→ Note on the door.
→ Complaint to the property management.
→ Police, if music is involved.
3) Dogs – please treat like quiet decorations
The Swiss love dogs – as long as they don’t bark, run around, seem lively or show emotion.
- Dogs should not bark – not during the day, and certainly not at night.
- Biting or scratching = report to the authorities, veterinary office and something akin to social execution.
Free running only if it:
- moves slowly
- freezes like a Buddha statue, at ‘Stop!’
- functions like Lassie on Ritalin in every situation
Anything else?
→ Leash.
→ Or neighbourhood stake.
4) Waste – Switzerland’s supreme discipline
The waste regime has its own rules, its own philosophy and perhaps even its own religion.
This is how you get rid of rubbish:
- You may only use the official, state-approved bin bags.
- They cost about as much as a good dinner in Sousse.
- Only put them out on the correct day of the week.
- And definitely NOT the night before.
- Don’t oversleep either: get up at 6 a.m. if the collection is at 7:03 a.m.
Missed the collection?
Don’t even think about putting the smelly bag on the balcony, in the stairwell or in the basement.
Keep it in your flat for a week.
Does it really stink? Well done. That’s your punishment for oversleeping on collection day again.
Cigarette butts belong in your wallet, in your sock or anywhere else – just NOT on the ground.
Public bins are for absolute emergencies only.
A piece of sandwich paper weighing less than 20 grams is fine.
Anything else is vandalism.
Plastic bags? They’re available. For a fee, of course.
And morally speaking, you’re still a polluter.
Anyone with any decency brings their own reusable jute bag.
Let’s continue with prohibitions 5, 6, 7 and my conclusion in this article How To Switzerland – Teil 2 von 2
- The text describes my personal experiences with social rules in Switzerland.
- The focus is on social control, pressure to conform and fear of deviation.
- The examples (smoking, quiet hours, dogs, rubbish) are representative of a highly regulated everyday life.
- The article is deliberately subjective and satirical.
- It explains why I feel freer living in Tunisia than in Switzerland.