In the French speaking part of Switzerland, beyond the rapidly expanding Geneva metropolis, the economies of the lake Geneva region – Lausanne-Morges, Nyon, Vevey-Montreux, Yverdon-les-Bains—are booming.

Lausanne-Morges has roughly 310,000 inhabitants scattered over 70 communes, Nyon 60,000 inhabitants spread over 32 communes, Vevy-Montreux 73,000 inhabitants in 13 communes, and Yverdon-les-Bains 30,000 inhabitants across 7 communes.

These small cities have shown dynamic growth over the past 2-3 years, following in the wake of the large growth of Geneva. The strong growth of Geneva has driven real-estate prices and capital investment in these cities higher. Further, to attract new residents and more companies, these cities have put emphasis on ‘quality-of-life’ and their attractive natural surroundings. In this manner, rather than becoming eclipsed by Geneva or Lausanne and becoming dormitory cities, these cities have shown vibrant growth and developed their own economies, with major international companies setting up shop and creating local opportunities at all levels of employment.

In Yverdon-les-Bains, where a technology park (the Y-Parc) exists since many years, a variety of international tech companies have made their European headquarters.

Vevey is the international headquarters of Nestle, which created an additional 500 jobs in the small lakeside city between 2002 and 2006. But Nestle is not the only corporate denizen of this small lakeside town – Serono and SwissMedia are also here.

Morges, which harbors Swiss giant Logitech and the American Eaton Industries, has also witnessed a rapid growth.

The small lakeside town of Nyon is home to giants such as Novartis, Generali Assurances, Michel Jordi, and Hublot, among others.

The result of all this growth along the lake Geneva shoreline has been a rapid demand for executive talent and professional services and skills of all kinds, as well as strong demand on housing, driving real-estate prices higher.

Luxury housing prices have doubled over the past 5 years and show no signs of slowing.

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