Hey Ian,

Where are you from originally? If it is the UK, then a job will be much easier to come by than someone from outside the EU.

I lived in Switzerland for 2.5 years near the area of Valais so I can tell you a bit of information. If you have a business and want to try to bring it into Switzerland, you will have to have a starting capital of about 100K.

Swiss Chalets might be alright to buy however it is quite difficult to buy or anything like that unless you are at least part of the EU. Everyone from the EU has priority over anyone from the US. So basically it goes Swiss people for jobs, then EU then outsiders. So basically if you qualify you are 3rd in line for any job. They don't take people from outside because of the cost of the permit and what they have to do to prove you were the "best" person for the job. And if you don't speak at least German, English and French, you probably won't even qualify for a tourist job in the Valais or Interlaken Region. Only so many expat permits can go out each year.

You need to do a lot more research and I guess if I knew a bit more information I could help you out more. Myswitzerland is a good place to start. A lot of the Geneva websites might be good for you since they are in English.

You also might look into joining some of the yahoo groups that have expats in switzerland as a tag. They are of great help.

Jen