Swiss Citizenship - Is it time?

I heard a rumor that the Swiss naturalization laws had been changed, reducing the residency requirement from twelve to ten years.  And just as we’ve reached ten years.   Coincidence?  And right after our recent presidential election when we’ve become so vulnerable?   Sounds suspicious.  In any event, I decided to look into it.  To be clear and all joking aside, I wouldn’t do this to escape Trump.  First of all, I’m not going to let him chase me from my own country and neither should anyone else.  Second, if things get that bad there will be no escape anyway.   The world is no longer that small. No, the reasons to consider this are simpler and less reactionary.  We feel at home here and I’ve often wished I could vote (we get a lot of opportunities) and for Paige, it’s another future market in which to find work.   And besides, why not?  My age immunizes me against the military service obligation, which may be the only down side.  So, as I said, I looked into it and learned that, yes, in fact the Parliament decided in June, 2014 to make this change.  It’s not effective, though, until January 1^st, 2018.  I shouldn’t be surprised.  The wheels of change move pretty slowly here.  It does, however, mean that we can initiate the process a half year sooner than before.   Basically just a year from now.  At our age, the proverbial blink of an eye.   This means that it’s really not too early to begin thinking it through and, if we decide to go for it, to prepare. 

So, the first question is the most basic.  Do we want to?  To paraphrase Grouch Marx, should we seek to join a country that would have us as citizens?    Well, there are clearly many considerations to weigh.  It’s a significant decision not to be taken lightly.    I’ve been clear in a previous post that we’ve no intention to renounce our US citizenship and nothing has changed there (populist extremists be damned) so why go to the trouble (and expense) of doubling up?  With this question in mind , I’m setting out on a quest to learn what’s involved and what it means to gain your Schweizer Bürgerrechts.  To compare the advantages and disadvantages.  In other words, to gather the input for an informed decision.   This process -  what I learn and how it feeds into our ultimate decision - will be shared in the coming weeks. Here and only here, in An American in Basel.