Heading to Zurich. Anyone there or nearby?

So, apologies in advance if this gets over-long, I may be the only north-Switzerland LFGSSer and don't get much chance to talk about life in northern Switzerland for LFGSSers so have (quite) a few thoughts to share! (I live in, and work near, Brugg, 25 minutes north-west of Zurich by train.)

If you want to commute, the trains are excellent and, when you get a discount (halb-tax) or subscription (GA) card, they become good value for money. Winterthur is a nice enough small town. A couple of people who have lived in Zug have said it is unfriendly compared to Zurich or Baden, where they live now - what this might mean I don't know, relations with neighbors etc can be complicated in Switzerland and they may have been unlucky.

I am a bit surprised you would want to commute though. Colleagues live in Zurich and commute outwards every day, so it must be affordable. Zurich, once you get away from Bahnhofstrasse and associated bling, is actually a nice and compact city with great public transport and some funky stuff. Although I know it can be difficult to find a place at the outset, I don't think it is necessary to live right in the centre, because you won't really be that far from it anyway. I would just think that moving there from the outside and trying to find a place, meet friends, and kickstart a life would be easier without the commuting and involving a second location, and that you would find a more active, cosmopolitan, easy to integrate with crowd, and more activities, in Zurich

An important incentive not to live in Zurich though would be if you want to ride/train in the countryside a lot. Even though you could take the train out of Zurich (with almost zero hassle to put your bike on the train!) if you didn't want to ride, if that was a big priority, any small town around Zurich could suit you.

I think you would have to actively seek somewhere unsafe, but for chilled, you might need to be a bit more careful. Are the people in the building younger/older/international/traditional. I'd recommend to find out if there is a shared laundry room (a common feature of swiss apartment buildings and conversational blackhole for expats) and what the rules for sharing it are, then use this as a gauge of how chilled the residents are likely to be!

Switzerland is a great place for riding bikes, there is cyclocross around here, lots of clubs, races, full lycra roadie-ing is not in the least frowned on if that is your thing (it is mine to some extent). The alpine passes are fantastic and after riding some of them this summer I'm really kicking myself for not getting in that direction before, you just have to get a train to Interlaken or similar. Though I don't really get this gravel stuff, the combination of tarmac and forest road available round here seems perfect for it! I have the impression that single-track proper mountain biking is harder to find here, but I'm sure massive downhills are also just a train ride away. There are cycle paths all over the place and drivers mostly well behaved. Walks (obviously) and architecture (Le Corbusier is on one of the bank notes) are also promising interests. The beer on the other hand is nothing to write home about, but they certainly drink it!

If you want to say whereabouts you'll be working and what you'll be doing, I might be able to come up with some more specific suggestions of places to live, or maybe even a contact. In my direction, Baden is probably equal to Winterthur as a place to live and very popular. Brugg, I believe, has been voted the most boring town in Switzerland, but being a bit further out (and a bit more boring!) it is quite a bit cheaper.