Do you have any questions about Switzerland?

[David SB]

Doesn't surprise me that former Warsaw Pact countries are extending personal freedoms. They have experienced what many fools in the Western Democracies want. I just wish I could teleport all these jack ***** back in time and drop them in Czechoslovakia, just about the time the Soviets rolled those tanks into Prague. One of my friends and her family took advantage of the chaos and escaped from Prague during that period. They pulled the old "Sound of Music" routine and hiked out. Her dad was a doctor.

 

[Caribou]

I was under the impression that the Swiss were allowed to keep their military firearm when they were discharged. Is that incorrect or just old information.

 

[Amish Heart]

I heard that, too. But I heard the firearm was a rifle.

 

[Mountain Dragon]

I was under the impression that the Swiss were allowed to keep their military firearm when they were discharged. Is that incorrect or just old information.

I heard that, too. But I heard the firearm was a rifle.

@Caribou you're corret, we could our personal weapon at home during we're on duty (in the time i was still in military duty including ammo) and after the services ended (it's about you're 39 years old) you could keep it at home - without ammo and disabled serial fire. For me it was the SIG Stgw57
Today since the law for weapons changed you need an permission of the police (Office for Weapons) to keep the weapon at home, of course without ammo and demilitarized too. It's mostly the SIG Stgw90 if i'm not wrong. (I'm out of duty since a few years). But a lot of people decide to not take their gun because it's dangerous...

@Amish Heart You're not wrong neither really. For an while you got an Carabine 31 instead of the assault rifle.

Still remember when you could walk in in the armory and buy an absolutly working Carabine 31 for 20.-- and nobody was really asking why you like to purchase it. We used the for carnival. Or decoration somewhere.... Lol

I'm kinda sure @ban1985 could tell more about.

 

[Amish Heart]

So basically, no right to bear arms. Sounds like New York

 

[Mountain Dragon]

Yes it is like this. But for sports we can go to an shooting range. And crossbows and bows in general are sports equipment and fully legal. Knifes are tools.
I like bows anyway - they aren't noisy as long you hit the target right....

 

[user 7368]

Today 95% of all Swiss hand in their weapon after the end of their military service, even if you could buy it for little money. In the past, people who did not want to keep the weapon after the end of service were looked at askance, today they look at you askance if you want to keep the weapon.
When I handed in my equipment I did it with 100 other people, besides me only 3 others had kept their weapon.....
You can see it in the mentality, today almost everyone thinks there will NEVER be war again, not even now where it is already burning everywhere, people are worried.
My former service weapon I still have, besides a few carbines, even if the things are already partly 100 Jährig and two times active service experienced you still work top.
I hope not that I would ever need the guns in a war, but if it must be I will need them.

 

[GeorgiaPeachie]

MD,
One excuse is as good as any other. People were not created to live packed together like cattle in a barn. For people that continue to live that way, that is their choice and they will get the consequences both good and bad. I think that if you can hit your neighbor's house with a rifle, then it's too close. And I moved 1000 miles to be able to live that way. While I love my home State, I made hard choices to have space. I pray that this won't be a fatal flaw for you, but it is a possibility. Just like I daily face getting bit by a snake or trampled by cows. And I own more guns than I can count, many loaded and spread around my home and vehicles. We make our choices and live with the consequences.

Note that I've had family kidnapped and held for ransom. Granted this was many years ago, but the memory stays. Zero of half dozen kidnappers survived and the family member was recovered safely. I was too young to be part of that. But I will never forget what the family went through over those few days.

Something like a kidnapping would stick with you for life. An illegal attempted to take our granddaughter right out of the toy aisle in a Walmart some months back. He dropped her and ran when my SIL pulled his pistol on him. They did capture the guy.

Too bad SIL didn’t get to shoot the piece of filth.

 

[user 7368]

Here is another nice video of Swiss active service during WW II.
Our country was enclosed and the government has actually resigned, our luck was from my point of view especially the right general who held the country together, he was a similar guy as General Lee with you, without him Switzerland would probably have gone to the dogs within a short time or the Germans would have conquered us.
With our current politicians it would be unthinkable to achieve something like that again in a crisis, you can see that already now. It sometimes needs the right people in the right place, especially people from the people and better craftsmen than bureaucrats.

What you see in this video no longer exists, smokers are out, shooters are out, and members of the army no longer have this pride in their eyes, our current army is a shadow of the army that once existed.

 

[Brittany1]

curious. I was in Zurich 2018, and I notice there's a lot of poverty going on there. Hows, the unemployment there?

 

[user 7368]

Unemployment is relatively low in Switzerland; there are fewer unemployed here than in Europe. But with Corona that will change for the worse. As Switzerland has high wages, it attracts many workers from Europe. In the last few years the population has increased by 1 million, which is a lot for a small country. The transport infrastructure suffers as a result and more and more concrete is being poured over. Zurich, Basel and Bern are hotspots, I personally don't feel comfortable there, there are too many people and means of transport that are too crowded. There are also many beggar from Eastern Europe who beg in public, these people are highly organized and earn a lot on their criminal tours. The "beggar" is usually picked up an hour later by a friend in the Mercedes SUV and let out at another location. Many Eastern Europeans also blackmail women from their country to take to the streets here, there is pure human trafficking. If you want to get to know a better Switzerland go to the Central country, there are good people there who can lend a hand and talk openly.

 

[Mountain Dragon]

Well, Zürich is one of our biggest cities in the country and there, depends which area you was, you will see more poor people. In every city we have poors, sometimes you see them, but not always. As well we have many "working poors" around. But more or less the people have an rooftop and enough to eat. So far the social help will still work.

The jobless rate is between 3.3% and 5.3%, depends the standard they count Schweiz - monatliche Arbeitslosenquote 2020 | Statista

 

[Amish Heart]

I can't imagine how regular people can even afford Zurich. It's a place for the extremely rich.

 

[user 7368]

The question is where exactly have you been in Zurich, the city is very expensive and apartments are rare, Zurich sometimes pays high wages but it is something for city people, in a crisis I would never want to live in Zurich, you will not get out there, the same applies to larger cities in Switzerland. If you are a city dweller who loves anonymity, Zurich is good, if that does not apply to you, you are completely in the wrong place in Zurich.

 

[Amish Heart]

We were in the middle of the city in a Marriot hotel with three of our children. On vacation. Super expensive to even get a plate of spaghetti. Sidewalk cafes you'd think would be cheaper, but wow! For a family of five. Things were much more reasonably priced outside of Zurich. Enjoyed Interlaken. Been there twice on vacation.

 

[user 7368]

Interlaken is also very expensive, I think you have been everywhere where it was expensive, I could show you a few nice places where it is worth living and cheap.

 

[Brittany1]

Thanks. Economically, that makes sense. Don't get me wrong, the country is beautiful but, we saw some part of the town where people are living in shaks and pure poverty. I always wondered why and I know, EU itself suffers from illegals.

 

[Amish Heart]

My Europe traveling days are over, but am content on our farm now

 

[Mountain Dragon]

@Brittany
Thanks. Switzerland is an nice coutry indeed and i'm living my whole life here, so i may just got to be used about the negative circumstances and proably don't see them so clearly anymore like an visitor.
Of course our country has an good economic (at least it wasn't that bad before Covid). The most people have still an good life. But as well i know very well that we having a lot of shine here. Most of the cars you see are leased, houses not paid. And Switzerland ist of course an very expensive country to live in. Things changed a lot over here since i was young.
By example, i still remember when i was a kid it was usual just one part of the parents gone work and earned enough to have an normal life with everything we needed including a bit of luxury. Like in an lot of countries it changed completly. Today if not bot parents are working it's very hard to bring an family over the rounds. Everything gone really expensive, so you need two incomings to survive. OK, some of the costs are really "homemade". Like i don't understand why people need to lease every two years an new car just because the media tells it's cool or the neighbours do. Myself i drive my 30 years old, cash paid V8 since 12 years now.... and i'm an exotic with this. Appartments and houses increases a lot, as well the compulsory healthinsurance increases every year between 5 and 10%. Food is easily double price as in our neighbour countries, non food can be even more.

Illegal migrants we have too, but they won't find an job really without an permit to stay. But we have a lot of migrants since 2015 too. A lot of them really dissapeared from war indeed, i don't mention it and still think those should be helped. Unfortunately a lot of trash came in as well, and those are making us seriously problems (even the gouvernment says they aren't an problem). We having an lot more of crime, the life became especially in the cities more unsafe. And with the crime came a lot of new laws until we aren't allowed to say what we think anymore because then we easily are seeing an judge and get a fee up to 5'000.-- or jail - you're an racist then anyway. Your job or your business will be gone fast too. As well the social help system explode with those people, there aren't more people who are paying in, but a lot more who take money out. We have indeed a lot of problems, they even increased in the last few years and the time where you wasn't need to lock any door are definitive gone.
And the EU has even bigger problems...

On my own behalf i'm ashamed to say that i wasn't realize really how less we're able to talk open about before i joined you here. I feel somehow ashamed about how much we got to be used to say nothing anymore any how much the news are censored over here.
I'm in an swiss and an german prepper forum as well - and be sure about, only for this contribution i'll be kicked out. And if i read what you're writing here this forum would be empty in german speaking Europe.

 

[user 7368]

What Mountain Dragon wrote in relation to this forum, I must also agree. You have a top forum with very interesting contributions, I still have a lot to read on certainly interesting topics. What strikes me here, that is written openly and directly and that a together understanding is there, which is also on people of other nations.
Since some similar forums from Switzerland and neighboring countries can pack. I know a prepper forum there is any discussion about anything that is politically forbidden, any contribution that you write because of the policy is deleted directly, you write too much, you fly then also from the forum.
I think in today's time politics must be allowed in every prepper forum, it is a part of the whole and if you are not allowed to write about it, it is not a full-fledged topic.
No offense, be glad you are not there, you definitely would not have fun there.
Here I feel very well taken care of and there are really good discussions, for this reason I say once thanks for everything and to a good time.

 

[Amish Heart]

Politics has to be allowed on prepper forums because politicians are the cause of our economy collapsing. And that is why we prep.

 

[user 7368]

I agree with you 100%, politicians nowadays provide enough causes that could bring the system to collapse, unfortunately.