What is the cost of living in Geneva, Switzerland?

As it has been said, you may have a rather modest lifestyle on that stipend. The question is, how much your stipend will be per month (because the CHF 90 per day may be per working day (as assumed in another message), or per calendar day (my assumption). In any case, it is a stipend, but not a salary. Now, what gobbles quite a bit into the salaries of Swiss employees are health insurance. From my past experience with the ETH Zürich, health insurance is available for a very low price (or even included in the tuition; check on that). Also check on the taxability of your stipend, as well as on whether you have to pay social security and other social services from it. Housing in Genève proper is rather expensive. But if you don't mind some commuting, you might find something more outside of Genève. You might even consider the Lausanne area, if it is well connected by transit, but you will have to take into account the transportation cost. Another option which may be even less expensive, could be across the border, for example in Annemasse, or even Bellegarde (although the latter may be a bit of a problem within the next year or so, as there is considerable construction (re-electrification) going on on the train line between Bellegarde and Genève, which means that service is reduced. It might be worthwhile to contact the Students organizations and get some guidance there.

Congratulations on your internship. As for the price of everyday things, from my experience in living in Geneva, I have found this list from numbeo to be pretty accurate (original source: http://www.numbeo.com/cost-of-living/city_result.jsp?country=Switzerland&city=Geneva&displayCurrency=USD) :

Use the http://costofliving.wix.com/calculator spreadsheet to get the most accurate answer because it is based on your own spending pattern not a stranger spending pattern.

I was provided with an apartment in central Geneva and a per diem cash rate of CHF 70 (including my off days), which amounted to about CHF 2100 per month. Essentially, this covered the food, drink and travel bill for me and my wife. I think we lived fairly modestly. The TPG travel card was CHF 70 each (ie CHF 140 in total). To me, after living in London, the travel bill seems cheap. Pretty much all the rest was covered with supermarket bills, coffees every few days, a beer or two once a week and an evening meal out once a month. Accommodation is expensive. I don't see how you would cover much more than your accommodation costs from your stipend.

Yeah you’re going to struggle a bit on less than CHF2000/month. It might be doable, but you’ll need to find cheap accomodation. The problem is you’ll struggle to find any room to sublet (usually you need to sign a 1–3 year contract), let alone one for less than 1000CHF/month + utilities (CHF100–200/month). Remember, you will probably have to pay a deposit of 3 months rent up front too. , which will include paying at least 3 months deposit up front. Then you need to add on health insurance, which is mandatory by law, probably a transport pass, unless you plan to walk everywhere, and then there’s food/phone credit etc. Adding it all up, leaving out any luxuries/socialising:Rent 1000CHFUtilities 150CHFInsurance 300CHFTransport 50CHFFood + toiletries 400CHF (from the cheap supermarket “Denner”)= CHF1900So even the bare basics take you over budget. And I guarantee there will be unforeseen expenses, as there always are in life. In other words, you might need to bring your savings/get a loan.When I was a student in Switzerland, I had a part time job earning me CHF4000/month, and I have to say, I never had any money left over at the end of the month. I did like to go out and enjoy myself, but if I had really cut back to the bare bones, I don’t know how I would have spent less than 3000CHF/month.I really recommend you sort out a loan, so you have some breathing space & a rainy day fund in case something goes wrong, like you get robbed etc.

If your visa/permit status allows you to live in a neighboring French city like Gaillard, you might be able to make it on such a low stipend. Rent and food in Gaillard are significantly less than in Geneva.Your low stipend qualifies you for cité universitaire dorm housing because you’re a student. This is the cheapest housing option, but you have to apply and they might not have spots, and they require a semester-long/year-long contract to give the preferencial student rate.You might also not be required to get local health insurance depending on the kind of permit you’ll have, in which case you can save ~CHF300/month. Even if you’re required to get insurance, you might be able to get away with getting foreign-student insurance, which is much cheaper (~CHF80/month and covers the same things as regular swiss insurance): https://swisscare.com/en/student-health-insurance-switzerland/The stipend they’re offering you is a rip-off. If you live in Geneva, you can live on rice and you still couldn’t make all the bills. You should not be paying out of pocket for the honor of working for someone.