How to Crack the Coconut: the free Swiss culture ebook for expats

Sixty pages on Swiss culture, etiquette and social integration, written for people who have just moved to Switzerland and cannot work out why nobody has invited them over yet. The PDF is free, the EPUB for e-readers is CHF 5.

What the book explains about Swiss culture

Switzerland is not cold, it is closed by default and open on invitation. The paperwork side of moving here is documented everywhere. The social side is not, and it is the part that decides whether you stay three years or twenty.

This book is the map of the shell: how Swiss friendship forms slowly and then holds, what small talk is for, what people mean when they say nothing, and where a foreigner is expected to make the first move.

  • Why the first invitation takes months and what actually triggers it.
  • The unwritten rules of noise, Sunday quiet, laundry rooms and recycling.
  • Small talk, punctuality and the local sense of privacy.
  • How clubs, neighbours and work colleagues each open a different door.
  • What to do in your first ninety days socially, not just administratively.

Who reads this book

  • New arrivals in Zurich, Zug, Basel, Bern, Geneva, Lucerne, Lausanne or Sankt Gallen.
  • Partners who moved with a relocating employee and have no colleagues to lean on.
  • People a year in who feel the paperwork is solved and the life is not.

Frequently asked questions

Is it really free? Yes. The complete Second Edition as a PDF costs nothing, in exchange for an email address. The EPUB edition for e-readers is CHF 5, and the full handbook bundle is CHF 24.

What formats do I get? The free door is the PDF, for laptops and phones. The EPUB, for Kindle, Kobo, Tolino and Apple Books, is CHF 5 and includes the PDF.

Which edition should I get? Free PDF at CHF 0, the EPUB edition at CHF 5, both books in both formats at CHF 24, and the paperback at CHF 39 once it ships.

Is it about paperwork or culture? Culture and social integration only. Permits, registration, insurance, housing and taxes are covered in The Ultimate 50 Tips.

Who wrote it? Roman Balzan, who writes the guides, city pages and arrival course on this site.

Read next

  • The Ultimate 50 Tips at /books/ultimate-50-tips-to-settle-in-switzerland, the paid handbook for permits, insurance, housing and taxes.
  • The complete CHF 24 bundle at /product.
  • The 14-day arrival masterclass at /masterclass.
  • City and commune guides at /cities.