I'm surprised that you find Zurich quiet from a lifestyle point of view - I've visited a few times recently and it seemed pretty vibrant. It's already the biggest city in Switzerland so I'm curious which other cities you travel to and find more fun?
In summer it's a bit more vibrant. Otherwise the city after 9/10 PM is basically dead. Most big cities in Europe over 1M people are way more vibrant. Zurich is also corporate/old people heavy. Other cities have a bit more of a diverse and young crowd.
I used to speak B2 when I was doing my exchange in Germany over 10 years ago (almost 15!).
Now it's probably at around B1. It's enough for me to speak German in many instances (calling some public phone number, going to the store, when ordering at the bar/restaurant, etc).
For socialising with locals, there's room for improvement: here they speak a specific dialect and if they speak among themselves sometimes I struggle to understand and be part of the conversation in a frictionless way.
In Munich it's easier because it's standard German.
In Warsaw they speak Polish. You can get by with English but knowing some Polish will certainly help and make you feel more integrated.
I'm surprised that you find Zurich quiet from a lifestyle point of view - I've visited a few times recently and it seemed pretty vibrant. It's already the biggest city in Switzerland so I'm curious which other cities you travel to and find more fun?
In summer it's a bit more vibrant. Otherwise the city after 9/10 PM is basically dead. Most big cities in Europe over 1M people are way more vibrant. Zurich is also corporate/old people heavy. Other cities have a bit more of a diverse and young crowd.
Curious to know more about the language barrier - what level of German do you speak ? And can one manage with beginner-level like in Munich / Warsaw ?
I used to speak B2 when I was doing my exchange in Germany over 10 years ago (almost 15!).
Now it's probably at around B1. It's enough for me to speak German in many instances (calling some public phone number, going to the store, when ordering at the bar/restaurant, etc).
For socialising with locals, there's room for improvement: here they speak a specific dialect and if they speak among themselves sometimes I struggle to understand and be part of the conversation in a frictionless way.
In Munich it's easier because it's standard German.
In Warsaw they speak Polish. You can get by with English but knowing some Polish will certainly help and make you feel more integrated.