The Update for Everybody Else

[ZuWo]

I viewed a flat last week, liked it and applied for it. Today I got a phone call and was informed that I will get the flat. It's in the medieval old town of Zurich, and since apartments like these are rare and very popular I am surprised and thrilled (there were about 80 other people who viewed the apartment on the same day).

In other words, this is what my future neighborhood looks like.

[ZuWo]

It's holiday season and I had a free day so I decided to visit parts of my hometown that I am not very familiar with. I focused on the west of the city and went from the neighborhoods where urban hipsters live and meet to a district which is largely inhabited by people of the working and lower middle classes. In other words (and since this is a politics forum), I travelled from a place with the following voting patterns

Social Democrats: 34%
Swiss People's Party: 11%
Free Democratic Party: 6.5%
Green Party: 16%
Green Liberal Party: 12%
Christian Democratic Party: 4.5%
(Left) Alternative Party: 13%
Evangelical People's Party: 1%
Swiss Democrats: 1.5%
(approximate ratio between center left and center right: 2:1)

to a part of town which votes this way:

Social Democrats: 29%
Swiss People's Party: 25.5%
Free Democratic Party: 11%
Green Party: 8%
Green Liberal Party: 8%
Christian Democratic Party: 7%
(Left) Alternative Party: 2.5%
Evangelical People's Party: 5%
Swiss Democrats: 3.5%
(approximate ratio between center left and center right: 1:1)

Source: Results of the 2010 municipal elections

[ZuWo]

It's holiday season and I had a free day so I decided to visit parts of my hometown that I am not very familiar with. I focused on the west of the city and went from the neighborhoods where urban hipsters live and meet to a district which is largely inhabited by people of the working and lower middle classes. In other words (and since this is a politics forum), I travelled from a place with the following voting patterns

Social Democrats: 34%
Swiss People's Party: 11%
Free Democratic Party: 6.5%
Green Party: 16%
Green Liberal Party: 12%
Christian Democratic Party: 4.5%
(Left) Alternative Party: 13%
Evangelical People's Party: 1%
Swiss Democrats: 1.5%
(approximate ratio between center left and center right: 2:1)

to a part of town which votes this way:

Social Democrats: 29%
Swiss People's Party: 25.5%
Free Democratic Party: 11%
Green Party: 8%
Green Liberal Party: 8%
Christian Democratic Party: 7%
(Left) Alternative Party: 2.5%
Evangelical People's Party: 5%
Swiss Democrats: 3.5%
(approximate ratio between center left and center right: 1:1)

Source: Results of the 2010 municipal elections

So the 2nd part of town is more working class/religious and the 1st part is more urban professional?

Yes, that summarizes it nicely. People with a comparatively low income tend to support the right-leaning parties to a greater extent.

[ZuWo]

Moved into UDM yesterday. Haven't hooked up or gotten drunk yet, though I'll keep you posted.

Don't forget that you're a cath and a con.

[ZuWo]

The classes I teach are usually made up of more or less reasonable adults who are eager to learn. However, today I had a class of about ten 16- to 18-year-olds because the regular teacher of that class had an accident.

If someone had shown me a petition to ban teenagers after today's lesson, I would have signed it without hesitation.

[ZuWo]

The classes I teach are usually made up of more or less reasonable adults who are eager to learn. However, today I had a class of about ten 16- to 18-year-olds because the regular teacher of that class had an accident.

If someone had shown me a petition to ban teenagers after today's lesson, I would have signed it without hesitation.

What do you teach?

German - a language students rightfully fear.

[ZuWo]

I only live about 300 meters away from the parliament building of my canton (=state) so I occasionally see high-profile local politicians in the street or in the the tram. Today I walked past a member of the cantonal government (SVP) and the leader of the FDP parliamentary group.

[ZuWo]

I worked as a polling assistant today and earned around $100. My municipality pays each polling assistant at least $33/hour, which is quite generous.

[ZuWo]

I worked as a polling assistant today and earned around $100. My municipality pays each polling assistant at least $33/hour, which is quite generous.

Would that be the same as an Elections Inspector* here in the States?

*Caps added by me out of respect for the office I formerly held and hope to do so again someday.

Well, all I had to do was sit at a long table with about 15 other people, check whether the votes which had been sent by mail had a signature and sort the votes; the "yes" votes on one pile, the "no" votes on the other. I didn't have any contact with actual voters, though.