Jenna’s story as a physiotherapist in Wattwil

From Finland to the Swiss mountains
Anyone who takes the step to work as a physiotherapist in Switzerland begins a special adventure. Through PhysioMatch, more than 100 healthcare professionals make that move every year, in search of more job satisfaction, a beautiful environment and personal growth.

This week we speak with Jenna, 39 years old, originally from Finland. Since October 2025 she has been living and working in the Canton of St. Gallen. There she treats a broad patient group, ranging from mainly musculoskeletal to neurological patients, both young and old. She works in the practice and also makes several home visits each week.

I enjoy treating such a broad patient group here. It keeps the work interesting and varied.

For Jenna, the adventure actually began in the summer of 2023. During a trip to Switzerland, including a visit to Leukerbad, she felt something change.

When I was there, I felt that one day I wanted to live here. The mountains truly triggered something in me.

The mountains made a deep impression. The freedom she experiences there, especially high in the mountains, gave her a feeling that never left her. She loves hiking and running in nature and immediately felt at home. She now lives in Wattwil, where the landscape is less mountainous but still beautiful. For the real high mountains she travels about an hour, a distance she finds more than worth it.

High in the mountains I feel most free. That is where I can truly recharge.

Jenna will soon turn 40 and had always dreamed of living and working abroad. It felt like the right moment to make that dream come true. Finland was also fine to live and work in, but she was ready for something new. She enjoys meeting new people and experiences Switzerland as more international. She missed that international character in Finland and it gives her a strong sense of freedom.

Switzerland feels more international. I meet new people more easily and that is something I missed in Finland.

She has now been working in Switzerland for five months and feels freer than before. Her partner initially stayed in Finland due to caring for a parent, but there is now room for him to emigrate to Switzerland as well.

The move to Switzerland also brought surprises. In Finland, Jenna usually worked 40 to 60 minutes per patient. In Switzerland, 30 minute consultations are common. That took some getting used to in the beginning. She would sometimes prefer to have more time for assessment and explanation.

In Finland I often had 40 to 60 minutes. Here 30 minutes is normal, that really took some adjustment.

In addition, she noticed that some patients prefer to receive a massage straight away, while she prefers to first conduct a thorough assessment and build an active treatment plan. Sometimes she adapts slightly to build trust, so that she can later guide patients towards active therapy.

Sometimes people immediately want a massage. I prefer to first assess properly and then build an active plan.

What surprised her positively is how warm and friendly people are. Just last week she was invited to have dinner at a patient’s home and she regularly receives gifts from patients, such as homemade sausages or chocolate. Colleagues are helpful and generous. She even received a sofa as a gift from a team member, who, despite Jenna insisting, did not want anything in return.

I was invited to have dinner at a patient’s home. I did not expect things like that, people are truly warm.

Financially, Jenna clearly notices a difference. Her salary is about twice as high as in Finland. At the same time, costs in Finland have also increased significantly in recent years, which makes the difference in daily expenses feel smaller than expected.

My salary is about twice as high, but I did not expect the difference in living costs to feel smaller.

Her apartment in Wattwil is more expensive than she was used to, around 1150 CHF per month for a 70 square meter apartment with two bedrooms. Still, she finds it spacious enough, also with a view to her partner joining her.

She is able to save money, although in the beginning she had to invest a lot in furniture and interior. With what she sets aside, she wants to pay off her student loan. In addition, she and her partner dream of traveling a lot, for example to Thailand and also closer to home in Central Europe. From Switzerland that is ideally combined.

I can save money. At first I had to invest a lot in furniture, but now I can really make plans for traveling and paying off my student loan.

Jenna has a great passion for physiotherapy and wants to keep developing herself. Within her practice she receives a training budget of 1000 CHF per year for courses. In addition, there is a lot of informal knowledge exchange with colleagues. When she has a question about a patient, she can immediately discuss it. This does not happen through fixed meetings, but exactly when it is needed.

We do not need fixed meetings. If something comes up, we simply discuss it right away.

She experiences her work life balance as good. She does notice that working in a new country costs extra energy, especially because of the language. Speaking German requires concentration and during treatments she sometimes needs more time to express herself properly. At the end of the week she is truly tired.

Speaking German really requires concentration. At the end of the week I feel that it costs me extra energy.

Yet she does not feel stressed. In fact, that is when she chooses to exercise, which helps her release tension. Running, breathing exercises and consciously relaxing help her stay in balance.

When I feel tired from the language, I go for a run. That helps me let everything go again.

Wattwil is a small town with about 8800 inhabitants, located in a valley surrounded by beautiful nature. People from surrounding villages also come there for groceries. She finds everything she needs in the town. For specific shops she travels to Zurich, about one hour and fifteen minutes by train.

In her free time she enjoys going for a run from her home, for example towards Ebnat Kappel or Hemberg. She also uses the gym where she works, which she can use free of charge.

I can just go for a run from my house towards Ebnat Kappel or Hemberg. I truly enjoy that.

She does not eat out often, but she does enjoy the fresh bakery section in the supermarket. In the beginning she wanted to try everything and gained five kilos because of all the delicious food. By now she makes more conscious choices for protein rich meals and leaves the bakery section aside more often. As a result, she feels fit again.

At first I wanted to try everything and really gained weight. Now I choose more consciously and feel fit again.

The environment is essential for her. Nature helps her unwind and gives her energy every day.

Nature helps me unwind. It gives me energy every single day.

What would Jenna say to physiotherapists who are doubting whether to take this step?

Just do it. Go and explore. You only live once. You can always return to your home country. Just try it. I should have done it earlier.

Thank you Jenna for your open and inspiring story.

Jenna was guided to Switzerland by Dorien from PhysioMatch. Like all PhysioMatch advisors, Dorien Dijkstra was also active in Switzerland as a physiotherapist. She worked in 2020 and 2021 in Malters and was living in Lucerne at the time.

It is reassuring when someone goes through the process with you. That way you can focus on taking the step itself.

Would you, just like Jenna, like to discover what it is like to work as a physiotherapist in Switzerland? Feel free to contact us. We guide you step by step, from the first introduction to your first working day.