4 ms·

I’ve nothing against Switzerland (it’s nice) but you’re the first person I’ve ever come across to suggest Zurich (or anywhere in Switzerland) as the coolest and

I’ve nothing against Switzerland (it’s nice) but you’re the first person I’ve ever come across to suggest Zurich (or anywhere in Switzerland) as the coolest and most interesting place in Europe! I’m genuinely interested to hear more.

pbhjpbhj 6y ago
Presumably, it's 'of the list of places with a data-center meeting the specs we require' which, I imagine, limits the range of options somewhat.
- rsync 6y ago
  No, it really is mostly about skiing (see above). Amsterdam, Frankfurt and (perhaps surprisingly) Marseilles are the places to go if you want to optimize for routing. Equinix has datacenters, with he.net POP, in all three places. You could do a lot worse than standardizing, globally, on EQX datacenters and he.net connectivity ...
  - wahern 6y ago
    How do you handle IPv6 given the squabble between HE and Cogent? Some internal routing and separate peering arrangements?
    - toast0 6y ago
      I'm not sure how rsync.net handles connectivity, but note that chosing to be at an Equinix location that he.net services doesn't necessarily mean using he.net, exclusively, or otherwise. I think both Equinix locations and he.net presence are good indicators of lots of connectivity, and so both together indicates you should have access to many choices of transit (and peering). That said, I have no experience with actually obtaining connectivity at such sites; I have dreams, but no actual need ;)
rsync 6y ago
Yes, Zurich is pretty sleepy, but you need to factor in driving distances to skiing ... Zurich is very quick and convenient to any of Chamonix (straight west) Davos/St.Moritz (south), Cervina/Zermatt (southwest) or Südtirol (southeast).
- switch007 6y ago
  Ah now it makes sense. I can definitely see the appeal for a skier :)
- rjsw 6y ago
  I wouldn't call Zurich particularly close to any of those, apart from Davos you can't do a day trip to them.
  - vinay427 6y ago
    Have you tried being North American? :) In all seriousness, everything from Geneva to Sion to Chiasso seems relatively close to me in Zurich. The intercity public transit is neither cheap given the distances nor especially fast but they're still all reachable within 3-4 hours. It's difficult to do a ski day trip to the places mentioned, admittedly, but there are still plenty of spots closer to Zurich that are suitable for that.
    - rjsw 6y ago
      > It's difficult to do a ski day trip to the places mentioned, admittedly, but there are still plenty of spots closer to Zurich that are suitable for that. Sure, Flumserberg is close and there are good roads to Laax or Arosa. I was just thinking that Grenoble, Innsbruck or even Munich have better access to skiing and probably have hosting providers, you can do day trips from all of them.
  - bigiain 6y ago
    Hah! Try being a ski bum from Sydney...
Youden 6y ago
In addition to skiing, Switzerland's fantastic public transit gives you a huge array of options. My favourite day for guests is: - Train to Arth Goldau, optionally visit the zoo there - Train to Rigi Kulm (literally the top of a mountain, with some beautiful views) - Cable car or cogwheel railway to a ferry terminal on the Vierwaldstättersee - Ferry across the Vierwaldstättersee to Luzern - Train from Luzern back to Zürich HB If you have a resident buy you a day pass in advance, all of this costs 44 CHF ($44). There's really a lot to do though. You can do a day trip to pretty much anywhere in Switzerland. I've done it to Geneva a couple of times, also to towns out in the boonies.
- zikzak 6y ago
  I lived there in the early 90s and loved it. Coming from a small Canadian city, the idea that I could get somewhere good that wasn't rural and return home in a day, on a train, was just mind blowing. I also made 4x my Canadian wage as a cook. I was only there for 18 months but I seriously considered renewing my visa and staying. Ended up moving to Anaheim, CA. Big mistake. ;)
  - gautamcgoel 6y ago
    You don't like SoCal? Curious why you feel that way.
    - zikzak 6y ago
      Combination of factors: - job sucked - grew up in a place where the weather changes all the time, daily sun was driving me nuts - got mugged at gunpoint by the gang members (fourth was in a running car close by) who stole my bike as backpack (full of filthy underwear and socks from a 12 shift in a kitchen!) - probably an initiation - apartment was cockroach infested - the 7/11 near my place had groups who stayed outside watching you pay to see how much cash you had (not related to previous mugging) - the pollution was staggering - the nearest place up buy books was a mall 45 minutes away by bike, the library near me just had children's books and car manuals - when I biked to that bookstore, on the way home I got egged by some jerks in a car who called me various names related to what the thought my sexuality must be because I was riding a bike - and so forth Just wasn't a good experience for me. Living as a cook, you are on the very low end of the income spectrum. If you aren't willing to have roommates, you live in terrible places. I'm sure if I were to live there with my current career, I'd like it much more. :)

pbhjpbhj 6y ago

Presumably, it's 'of the list of places with a data-center meeting the specs we require' which, I imagine, limits the range of options somewhat.

rsync 6y ago
No, it really is mostly about skiing (see above). Amsterdam, Frankfurt and (perhaps surprisingly) Marseilles are the places to go if you want to optimize for routing. Equinix has datacenters, with he.net POP, in all three places. You could do a lot worse than standardizing, globally, on EQX datacenters and he.net connectivity ...
- wahern 6y ago
  How do you handle IPv6 given the squabble between HE and Cogent? Some internal routing and separate peering arrangements?
  - toast0 6y ago
    I'm not sure how rsync.net handles connectivity, but note that chosing to be at an Equinix location that he.net services doesn't necessarily mean using he.net, exclusively, or otherwise. I think both Equinix locations and he.net presence are good indicators of lots of connectivity, and so both together indicates you should have access to many choices of transit (and peering). That said, I have no experience with actually obtaining connectivity at such sites; I have dreams, but no actual need ;)

rsync 6y ago

Yes, Zurich is pretty sleepy, but you need to factor in driving distances to skiing ... Zurich is very quick and convenient to any of Chamonix (straight west) Davos/St.Moritz (south), Cervina/Zermatt (southwest) or Südtirol (southeast).

switch007 6y ago
Ah now it makes sense. I can definitely see the appeal for a skier :)
rjsw 6y ago
I wouldn't call Zurich particularly close to any of those, apart from Davos you can't do a day trip to them.
- vinay427 6y ago
  Have you tried being North American? :) In all seriousness, everything from Geneva to Sion to Chiasso seems relatively close to me in Zurich. The intercity public transit is neither cheap given the distances nor especially fast but they're still all reachable within 3-4 hours. It's difficult to do a ski day trip to the places mentioned, admittedly, but there are still plenty of spots closer to Zurich that are suitable for that.
  - rjsw 6y ago
    > It's difficult to do a ski day trip to the places mentioned, admittedly, but there are still plenty of spots closer to Zurich that are suitable for that. Sure, Flumserberg is close and there are good roads to Laax or Arosa. I was just thinking that Grenoble, Innsbruck or even Munich have better access to skiing and probably have hosting providers, you can do day trips from all of them.
- bigiain 6y ago
  Hah! Try being a ski bum from Sydney...

Youden 6y ago

In addition to skiing, Switzerland's fantastic public transit gives you a huge array of options. My favourite day for guests is: - Train to Arth Goldau, optionally visit the zoo there - Train to Rigi Kulm (literally the top of a mountain, with some beautiful views) - Cable car or cogwheel railway to a ferry terminal on the Vierwaldstättersee - Ferry across the Vierwaldstättersee to Luzern - Train from Luzern back to Zürich HB If you have a resident buy you a day pass in advance, all of this costs 44 CHF ($44). There's really a lot to do though. You can do a day trip to pretty much anywhere in Switzerland. I've done it to Geneva a couple of times, also to towns out in the boonies.

zikzak 6y ago
I lived there in the early 90s and loved it. Coming from a small Canadian city, the idea that I could get somewhere good that wasn't rural and return home in a day, on a train, was just mind blowing. I also made 4x my Canadian wage as a cook. I was only there for 18 months but I seriously considered renewing my visa and staying. Ended up moving to Anaheim, CA. Big mistake. ;)
- gautamcgoel 6y ago
  You don't like SoCal? Curious why you feel that way.
  - zikzak 6y ago
    Combination of factors: - job sucked - grew up in a place where the weather changes all the time, daily sun was driving me nuts - got mugged at gunpoint by the gang members (fourth was in a running car close by) who stole my bike as backpack (full of filthy underwear and socks from a 12 shift in a kitchen!) - probably an initiation - apartment was cockroach infested - the 7/11 near my place had groups who stayed outside watching you pay to see how much cash you had (not related to previous mugging) - the pollution was staggering - the nearest place up buy books was a mall 45 minutes away by bike, the library near me just had children's books and car manuals - when I biked to that bookstore, on the way home I got egged by some jerks in a car who called me various names related to what the thought my sexuality must be because I was riding a bike - and so forth Just wasn't a good experience for me. Living as a cook, you are on the very low end of the income spectrum. If you aren't willing to have roommates, you live in terrible places. I'm sure if I were to live there with my current career, I'd like it much more. :)