Moving to Lugano, Switzerland - seek personal assistant, good idea?

[ImKing]

I don't speak Italian, single, and have no obligations other than my dog which I want to take with me. For personal reason Lugano is the perfect match, I found several good homes for rental there.

Now I wonder if it is possible to find some English or German (prefer) speaking person you pay to help you with all the communication with auth. etc. until I'm settle?

There may be companies / services that do such stuff, but what I found so far they all speak only Italian.

I have several companies around the world, one of them is incorporated in Switzerland already.

Where would you find such a person or service?
Is it possible at all?

 

[Sols]

In the German and French speaking parts, there are executive relocation service companies which primarily serve executives that are relocated to Switzerland. They help with finding a place to live, residence registration, bank accounts, and so on.

I don't know any in Lugano region but there probably are some. Try searching for "relocation service lugano" and similar keywords. Check for reviews.

Also check Englishforum.ch. Most users there are in the German and French speaking parts but you can find help for Lugano as well. It's a great resources for expats.

 

[ImKing]

okay, I will try. But if someone know how to possibly find a personal assistant speaking german & italy please post in the thread.

 

[JohnnyDoe]

If you search up in the valleys (Acquarossa, Blenio etc) they speak more German than Italian. You might find a local accountant/fiduciary willing to help you. I doubt they advertise this specific service on the web, so just call those you find in local directories and ask.

 

[ImKing]

If you search up in the valleys (Acquarossa, Blenio etc) they speak more German than Italian. You might find a local accountant/fiduciary willing to help you. I doubt they advertise this specific service on the web, so just call those you find in local directories and ask.

you're awesome. Have you been travelling all your live or is it that you have a giant network? I see your answers to questions from all over the world, impressive

 

[JohnnyDoe]

you're awesome. Have you been travelling all your live or is it that you have a giant network? I see your answers to questions from all over the world, impressive

I just try to make a living and give back whenever I can

 

[SCI]

If you search up in the valleys (Acquarossa, Blenio etc) they speak more German than Italian. You might find a local accountant/fiduciary willing to help you. I doubt they advertise this specific service on the web, so just call those you find in local directories and ask.

Most fiduciaries would provide some sort of service. Check with the local University or college for someone looking for a job on their notice board, or the language department.

 

[clemens]

If you search up in the valleys (Acquarossa, Blenio etc) they speak more German than Italian. You might find a local accountant/fiduciary willing to help you. I doubt they advertise this specific service on the web, so just call those you find in local directories and ask.

Do you have a contact there where you know they speak German and can help with such service? I'm interested too.

 

[JohnnyDoe]

Do you have a contact there where you know they speak German and can help with such service? I'm interested too.

Try:
https://www.amcofiduciaria.ch/home/https://fiduciarialeoni.ch/https://www.fiduciariamega.ch/

 

[cuno]

Or you try Upwork, maybe you can find someone speaking fluent Italian and German and is good it helping you. Most tasks can be done remote, you don't need one to take you by the hand do you ?

 

[myhand]

Did you find some OP ?

 

[diro]

I don't speak Italian, single, and have no obligations other than my dog which I want to take with me. For personal reason Lugano is the perfect match, I found several good homes for rental there.

Now I wonder if it is possible to find some English or German (prefer) speaking person you pay to help you with all the communication with auth. etc. until I'm settle?

There may be companies / services that do such stuff, but what I found so far they all speak only Italian.

I have several companies around the world, one of them is incorporated in Switzerland already.

Where would you find such a person or service?
Is it possible at all?

Did you ever moved to Lugano or relocated to Switzerland ?

 

[peter taradash]

Did you ever moved to Lugano or relocated to Switzerland ?

As it turns out, I have lived in a Lugano suburb for about 45 years. 35 years ago I wrote a book about my particular- unusual town, Campione d'Ítalia. My kid speaks fluent English, French & Italian & has helped several of my clients get local residence, citizenship, etc. He is a law & Biz school graduate in his 30s... To answer your question: If you can afford it, it is better to get a local expert to help you with any & all aspects of your relocation than to do it yourself. I am retired, but I will oversee things if you want to use my son. contact me & tell me all about yourself and your goals, and what you can afford to pay. [email protected]

 

[peter taradash]

PS- Just reading this. German was my native language till I was around 10 years old. It is very rusty now after 75 years of non-use, but I can understand and communicate in basic German. So can my kid.
PS: Ich lese das gerade. Bis ich etwa 10 Jahre alt war, war Deutsch meine Muttersprache. Nach 75 Jahren Nichtgebrauch ist die Sprache inzwischen ziemlich eingerostet, aber ich kann einfaches Deutsch verstehen und mich darauf verständigen. Mein Kind kann das auch.

 

[ImKing]

Thank you for your interest in my case, which is now over a year old! I chose not to move to Lugano, as the tax costs are higher than in many other Swiss cantons. The climate and warmth are pleasant, and there are plenty of housing options. However, the Italian style (often heavy and clunky) does not appeal to me when it comes to homes. I’d go into a depression living in such dreary places.

You’d have to build your own modern home to live there comfortably. What’s available for rent is outdated and overpriced, reminding me of a 70s horror movie set - or perhaps even a scene from Friday the 13th.

I have great respect for you, @peter taradash , but I’m disappointed that you’re using this opportunity to promote a service you say you don’t even offer, while also taking the chance to advertise your son’s business.

And unfortunately, @peter taradash , I must correct you. There is absolutely no reason to pay a single Swiss franc for a group of amateurs who will hold your hand to show you old, overpriced properties and accompany you to immigration - where you, in any case, have to appear in person (they speak both English and German perfectly well). To me, this feels like a scam - a service that is outdated and irrelevant. If you’re eager to waste your money and don’t want to invest a few hours of your own research, then by all means, hire these useless consultants.

I could relocate to Lugano in under a day, without even speaking a single word of Italian .

 

[peter taradash]

sorry to have offended you with an offer of help. I posted my reply in answer to this plea:
"
I don't speak Italian, single, and have no obligations other than my dog which I want to take with me. For personal reason Lugano is the perfect match, I found several good homes for rental there.

Now I wonder if it is possible to find some English or German (prefer) speaking person you pay to help you with all the communication with auth. etc. until I'm settled?

There may be companies / services that do such stuff, but what I found so far they all speak only Italian.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~``````~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
I don't offer any hand-holding service to the general public anymore. But for a fellow member of Offshore Corp Talk, I was ready to extend my personal attention (and take any compensation the fellow member wanted to pay). My usual fee in the old days (ending 2 years ago) was $25,000 for starters. My son & I certainly do not need any new business. I could have convinced him to do a good deed for a fellow in need of expertise thru the bureaucracy.
We are also in touch with the good deals in distress property ...We have more property already than we need.

AS to your negative comments about Italy; Italy is as diverse as the USA. It has communities where even Billionaires or Poor Folks can find exactly what they want in the way of climate, food, ethnicity, companionship, or whatever...

I personally always liked Campione (Como) which is waterfront suburb of Lugano ... It's a de facto tax haven inside of Switzerland. There, rents and housing cost a fraction of Swiss prices across the street.
But you wrote "Lugano is the perfect match," so the first rule for any consultant is not to argue with a client.

Of course, I would have pointed out that for a foreigner, Campione d' Italia is cheaper & infinitely more user friendly. For a German speaker, Campione has more Germans per capita living there than does Lugano, a few minutes away.

Anyway, your response was quite surprising, and a bit insulting. All you needed to do was to say "No thanks, I changed my mind about Lugano." Best wishes to you in finding the location you want for yourself and your dog. Some dogs bite the hand that feeds them. Most dogs will love their master, no matter what.
I certainly withdraw my offer. Peter T.

 

[ImKing]

Campione d' Italia is cheaper & infinitely more user friendly.

I've been there, and it’s great if you want absolute peace and to live in a place where time seems to stand completely still! You’ll likely find cheap apartments, but again, it’s really old stuff. Living in a place like that would be depressing for me.

If you’re looking to live isolated in a small community where everyone knows each other’s business, it might be fine. And if you’re satisfied with dark, Italian-style apartments, it’s also okay. It’s just not for me, and I was quite disappointed, both in Lugano and Campione d'Italia! You’ll have to build something yourself or completely renovate whatever you find if you want something modern, stylish, and nice. Otherwise, it’s like living in a cave, stepping back to the days when Heidi of the Alps was a thing.

There are other places in Switzerland where you pay more but get top-notch, modern homes with all the luxury you want for a reasonable price. It’s a pleasure to live there, and it makes you happy when you wake up.

Unfortunately, I don’t have the 5 to 10 million CHF it would take to build in the Italian part, otherwise, I’d definitely live there.

 

[cuno]

Thanks for your detailed information @ImKing & @peter taradash refreshing reading.

 

[peter taradash]

whatever you find if you want something modern, stylish, and nice. Otherwise, it’s like living in a cave, stepping bac

I don't know what you have been looking at in Campione & in Italy. I live in an ultra-modern 2 bathroom, waterfront super-view in Campione with convenient parking right below my apartment. If I want big city lights, I get in the car and in a few minutes I am in Como or Milan. There are plenty of modern, light, super-view apartments & villas available there in every price range. For billionaires, there are also a few new ultra-modern architecture homes on the hill in the Million plus range. Just google for "apartments & villas for sale, Campione d'Italia." If you are broke, there are (IMO) nice 200+-year-old charming historic buildings with gardens in the old town as cheap as $100,000. You could buy something nicer with modern architecture, like mine for around E300,000. IMO there are no better designers than Italians for houses, furniture, interior & exterior décor, gardens, cars, etc. My Campi place is as comfy, light & convenient as anything I have seen in 45 years of looking at places in all of Europe. A few years ago, you couldn't get a place in Campi for love or money, but when the Casino folded (briefly) a lot of stuff came available at distressed prices. The bargain remnants of that fallout are still on the market. Campi is quiet, safe, and very scenic.

It is a matter of personal taste where you end up, I rate Campi at a 5 star destination. The only better place in the world to live IMO might be Newport Beach, California.
One of the big advantages of a "small community" like Campi is ZERO crime for around the last 75 years. There is only one road in and out. Safety is important to me. The Campione micro-climate is quite unusual. It is in the tiny "banana belt" of Switzerland. Schooling for kids, Medical & even dental care is free if you know how to go about getting it. You can get along very well there (in daily life) speaking only Italian, English, Russian or German.

As to everybody knowing your business, I doubt that even two people in the whole town know I exist.
Finally, like you, I am a "do it yourself guy" when it comes to almost anything, but when I needed stuff (from a distance) in Paraguay, Argentina, & Guatemala I hired local experts to do the job.
Italy is special. If you can handle Italian bureaucrats, good for you. Their favorite words are "No, No. No! Imposeeebilai" I have funny stories of how I won them over. Enough of my ranting for today.

 

[uplana]

The way you describe it, it might be worth taking a flight and renting a car to check out both places. It's definitely not boring reading from my perspective!