Castan Centre Interns

Bridi Rice - Geneva accommodation and cost of living hints

Accommodation
There are plenty of boarding houses that rent out rooms by the month.  Girls, try Home St Pierre starting at AU $500 a month for a shared room that includes free wireless internet and the perks of a very friendly environment.  They have single room options too.  Contact DFAT before you arrive for a list of accommodation options.

Food
For supermarkets, try Migros or Coop for just about everything you can imagine.
Avoid eating out at all costs – it’s just plain expensive and nothing compared to Australian restaurants! On a Saturday, head to Ferney Voltaire for a great French market. Budget around AU $8 a day for a sandwich and coffee at work, have your breakfast and dinner at home and you’ll be surprised at how affordable your food is in Geneva.  Your budget completely depends on the person, but I managed on around AU $60 a week.  Other people I spoke to, budgeted AU $100.

Weekends Away
Geneva is very central and superbly connected by public transport. Head to Paris in just a few hours, spend a day hopping on and off a train to Montreux and Lausanne or jump a flight down to Morocco or any other of the million weekend spots across Europe.
Keep abreast of travel specials for trains on www.sbb.ch

Transport
You can buy a ticket that allows you to ride all the buses for around AU$40 a month. 
To work out how to get from A to B, in Geneva and all around Switzerland, try www.sbb.ch

Insurance
As for anywhere you go in the world, make sure you have travel insurance all worked out before you depart.  If you plan on indulging in many of the extreme sport extravaganzas Geneva has to offer, make sure your insurance covers this too.

What to wear
Boys, it’s suits, suits, shirts, ties and more suits; there’s no question about it. Girls, you have a few more options.  A suit is definitely useful and the Australian Delegation certainly doesn’t dress in a sloppy fashion so you won’t be out of place.  Having said that, the Human Rights Council sees a lot of NGO observers dressed quite casually, and a broad range of womenswear can be found in different countries’ delegations.  A few pairs of suit trousers and skirts will go a long way, wear comfortable shoes as you’ll be walking everywhere, and make sure you have a good winter jacket!

What to carry
Sounds silly, but a nice satchel or briefcase of some description is very useful on a day to day basis.  You will be moving constantly between the Australian Permanent Mission and the UN grounds so make sure you have something to carry your papers and lunch in!

Work Advice
The Australian Permanent Mission welcomes interns with open arms.  Read up as much about the Human Rights Council and log into the HRC extranet page to get up to date on the current issues.  Make sure you are familiar with Australia’s policy arguments for many of the human rights issues of the world so do your research before you go.