Switzerland - 41 reasons why they may not renew our Swiss residency permits.

The end of winter at Pully

Recently Jo and I have had to apply for the renewal of our residency permits in an endeavor to have them issued before we head home on 24th June. In that way when we return from our two month holiday in The Land of Oz we can be admitted back through the border gates and Jo can go back to work.

After completing our renewal applications at the Pully commune office we were walking home and began thinking out aloud about the reasons why the Swiss government may not renew our permits. Since then we have been adding to the list daily and thought we might share some of them with you. They are in no particular order.

1. We hate raclette
2. We refuse to even try fondue
3. We think the winter in Switzerland is three months too long
4. We don’t drive a Ferrari
5. We own a car that is more than five years old
6. We don’t throw cigarette butts out the window
7. We don’t smoke
8. We don’t pick up dog poo
9. We don’t own a dog
10. We can’t speak French
11. We haven’t learnt to speak French (Rob has had lessons but it hasn’t helped him)
12. We do our washing on Sundays (but only if no-one else is using the communal washing machine)
13. We whinge about the price of insurance here (but only when we get the bills)
14. We re-cycle on Sundays
15. We laugh out loud in public (mainly Jodie is guilty of this)
16. We wear thongs on our feet (they have a different use for them here)
17. We do our grocery shopping in France (only because it is half the price of Swiss groceries - $30 a kilo for steak vs $90 a kilo in Switzerland - and the French fruit, veges and foodlines are awesome)
18. We use Sarah Lee espresso capsules in our Nespresso machine (because they are half the price and environmentally responsible - but mainly Rob does this)
19. We save our money to spend in places like Spain, France, England, Wales, Italy and Ireland.
20. We buy all our clothes when we are in other countries (mainly because we can only afford to do it that way)
21. We flush the toilet after ten o’clock at night
22. We don’t know how to ski
23. We shop at Ikea (just so Rob can eat the Swedish meatballs)
24. We complain about there not being a pie shop in the whole of Switzerland (but probably couldn’t afford to buy them if they did sell them here)
25. Rob refuses to pay $15 for a Big Mac (but still wouldn’t buy one if they were $5)
26. We cannot see how a Lac Leman Filet de Perche could compare to Wild Barramundi (think baitfish for Filet de Perche starting at $20 a serve)
27. We don’t use our mobile phones when driving
28. We indicate on round-a-bouts
29. We don’t throw our rubbish onto the railway lines while waiting for the train
30. We don’t keep a minimum of $10000 in each of our Swiss bank accounts 
31. We don’t know the name of Switzerland’s president (or even if they have one)
32. We hang our clothes on the balcony to dry (even on a Sunday)
33. We watch American Idol
34. We wear sloppy comfortable clothes when we have a walk along the lake on Sundays 
35. We mainly hang out with other expats
36. We don’t wear pyjamas
37. We didn’t throw our Xmas tree out on the allocated day in January (but snuck it out in sections in late April)
38. Rob collected a racing bike out of the poubelle (rubbish) bin, put it back together and gave it to an asylum seeker
39. Rob works as a volunteer helping political asylum seekers gain refugee status in Switzerland
40. We snowboarded on a farm on the side of the road in Lausanne Nord (but we thought it was a park... and we needed the practice before going snowboarding on a real slope) 
41. And when Rob shops at Migros he takes more than seven items in his basket to the express checkout

Jodie with Skippy at Montreux

Lutry

Then again, on the plus side to balance our application, there are the facts that:

1. We really like cows
2. And Roger Federer
3. And we love chocolate, especially Swiss chocolate
4. And Rob loves the patisseries... yum
5. And we love Swiss summers... and autumn and spring... the coloured leaves and the flowers
6. And we love snow boarding
7. And driving the Alfa up into the mountains
8. We love the generosity of the people here
9. And swimming at Lavay les Bain day spa
10. And the opportunity to step out and see Europe
11. And the cheap airfares
12. And the amazing scenery that we almost take for granted already
13. And the long days of sunlight in spring and summer
14. And having Lake Geneva to swim in
15. And the castles
16. And old town villages
17. And the sound of the cowbells
18. And the awesome photos we have taken
19. And trains that go as fast as Ferraris... and are always on time
20. And for super high speed internet that will be hard not to have
21. And for the possibilities to help people less fortunate than ourselves
22. And Rivella Rouge is the best
23. And walking along the lake
24. And hiking in the Alpine forests
25. And the burgers and chips at Holy Cow
26. And the opportunity to one day go back and live in Australia ...and be changed forever... about things that we sometimes took for granted

Pully

The French Alps from Pully

Martigny

Winter sunrise on Lake Geneva

Our first summer at Lutry