Essays about expat loneliness in Switzerland, Swiss culture shock, the things people actually talk to me about, and why paid listening is not the same as therapy, coaching, or the 143 helpline. Read them, or better yet: message me and we'll talk about them.
On the particular shape of loneliness in a country where trains are on time, salaries are high, and Sundays are deafeningly quiet. What the numbers say, what no one tells you, and what helps.
Why six-figure salaries in Paradeplatz and Europaallee don't buy belonging, and why the people who look most enviable from the outside are often the ones sitting alone on a Sunday.
The three-to-five-year Swiss friendship curve, Apéro politeness vs real intimacy, "sie duzen sich schon?", and the specific exhaustion of always being the one who reaches out first.
An honest comparison: when to call 143, when to call a therapist, when to call me — and when to call all three at different times in the same week.
Swiss Hochnebel, November–February in Zurich, Basel, Bern: why this specific season wrecks expat mental weather, and 11 small things that actually help.
Every post here grew out of something someone said to me over WhatsApp — anonymised, generalised, stripped of detail. If any of this sounds like you, I'd rather hear your voice than have you read another article.