About me
My name is Diane Häuptli-Paiva. I am originally from Northern California but have been living in Switzerland my entire adult life.
I first came to Switzerland as a high school exchange student with AFS. That experience was life-changing for me – living with a Swiss host family, I learned Swiss-German and attended school.Eight years later I returned to Switzerland.
Experience
First and foremost, I am myself an expat. I have lived in Germany where I studied at the University of Heidelberg (through the California State University Exchange ‘Junior Year Abroad’ program), France as an au-pair with the intention of learning French (and in Paris met my Swiss husband), Switzerland, then returned to Paris with the family on an expat assignment. I know the struggles expats face when they start a new assignment in a foreign country. I also know how easy it is to help them off to a good start.
They say an assignment can go very wrong very quickly without support. My experience is that it is all the micro-problems that add up which cause the problems…. it’s not some big problem. Most expats have support for the relocation process – home finding, assistance with immigration, removal, school assistance and ‘settling-in’. However, in general the ‘settling-in’ part is basically getting you set up with internet, the water and electric company, radio and TV concession, maybe a handing you a list where you can find a cleaning person, babysitter, handyman, and doesn’t have a lot to do with actually helping you ‘settling in’.
I founded this business out of my genuine care about helping expats who have newly arrived in Switzerland. I am told by expats and locals alike that I am amazingly resourceful. I love to help people and for me it is very rewarding to see I’ve helped newcomers to Switzerland not just survive but thrive.
As an expat myself, I can understand the challenges an expat faces on a new assignment in a foreign environment. I have worked in relocation and expat support the past several years and in addition, edited the book LIVING AND WORKING IN SWITZERLAND during a few years.
- My hobbies include my family, hiking, exploring, stand-up paddle boarding, reading, local history and music (piano, guitar, singing and yodeling) and everything to do with local customs and culture.
- I speak English (mother-tongue) German and Swiss German (fluent) and have a basic knowledge of French.
- I studied German at California State University in Sacramento and Heidelberg, Germany and French in Paris, France
- I am a board-member of the Jodelklub Pilatus in Lucerne