Ultimate Blog Challenge, Four cardinal Directions

This was technically one of yesterday's official writing prompts, they all had to do with the number four.

Since I live in Switzerland, I am surrounded by four European countries. Well, five, if you count Liechtenstein. 

You may cross the border to each of these countries - Germany, Austria, Italy and France - and return on the same day if you wish. That's how close together they are.

So I'm going to take you on these imaginary road trips, first up is Germany.

If you drive less than 100km (62 miles) north from where I live, you come to Titisee Neustadt.

Titisee is a lake in the southern Black Forest in Baden-Württemberg. The small Lake Titisee owes its formation to the last ice age. The area is a well-known health resort and offers opportunities for swimming, surfing, sailing, pedal boat hire and excursion boat trips.

Photo Credit: Anna Jewels on Unsplash

A little more than 300km (186 miles) to the east, you find yourself in Innsbruck, Austria. 

Innsbruck is a major city in western Austria and the capital of the federal state of Tyrol. The landmark of the old capital of the Princely County of Tyrol is the Golden Roof.

With 135k inhabitants, Innsbruck is the most populous city in Tyrol and also the fifth largest city in Austria (after Vienna, Graz, Linz and Salzburg). 

Skiers and snowboarders can look forward to 13 ski areas in the Innsbruck region. 

Photo Credit: Bharat Patil on Unsplash

Photo Credit: Ronny Siegel on Pexels

The longest journey takes us 400 km south to Turin, Italy. The city is one of the most important cultural, university and economic centers in Italy and is known for its architecturally diverse city center. Many of the public squares, castles, gardens and elegant palaces, such as the Palazzo Madama, were built between the 16th and 18th centuries.

The city has roughly 900k inhabitants in the urban area, making it the fourth largest Italian city (after Rome, Milan and Naples). 

Photo Credit: Massimiliano Morosinotto on Unsplash

Lastly we drive around 250km westwards and find ourselves in Besançon, a city with 120k inhabitants in the east of France. It is the administrative seat of the Département Doubs, was the capital of the Franche-Comté region and is the seat of the Archbishopric of Besançon. 

Named the "greenest city in France", it offers an exceptionally high quality of life. Thanks to its rich historical and cultural heritage and its unique architecture, Besançon has held the title of City of Art and History since 1986. Its military fortifications, which date back to Vauban, have been a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 2008.

Photo Credit:Lucas Lemoine on Unsplash

Being in the vicinity of these countries has many advantages, one of them being sightseeing of course. A train will take you from where I live to Paris in four hours. The flight to London, England, from Zurich airport is less than two hours.

The price difference for dairy products and meat is very attractive. Many Swiss people like to do their grocery shopping across the border. However, you're limited in the amounts of stuff you're allowed to import tax free. A friend of mine - American Expat, new to the area -  had no clue. She brought several kilos of beef and was caught by the customs officer. She had to pay a fine that was way higher than if she had bought the meat in Switzerland in the first place.

Another is the labor market. As an example our hospitals employ lots of nurses from France and Italy.

The closure of borders due to the pandemic back in 2020 posed a major problem for this reason.

For people in any of these countries it is attractive to still live in, say, France, and work in Geneva, Switzerland. They are called Grenzgänger, frontaliers, pendolari transfrontalieri or in English, border crossers, have the low rents and low costs of living in general in their home country, but earn considerably more in Switzerland, even though withholding tax is deducted from their salaries.

I hope you enjoyed looking at the pretty pictures and learn bits and pieces about living and working in Switzerland. Let me know which of my neighbor countries is most attrective for you!