Fred Kriftner (69) lives his dream of freedom: Swiss retiree finds new home in Texas

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«I am increasingly disappointed with Switzerland and Swiss politics. This was the main reason why I moved to Texas in 2006,” says Fred Kriftner (69), who is also politically active in Switzerland. The father of three children was a trained mechanical mechanic and had his own company in machinery design and development in Switzerland.

Going back and forth between Switzerland and the USA for years

Kriftner has been trying to get a green card in the USA for a long time so that he can settle freely in the USA and start a new life for himself. «I was in Texas many years ago. What appealed to me the most was the personal freedom you have in Texas. Freedom was always more important to me than money,” Kriftner says in a distinct Eastern Swiss accent.

In 2006, Kriftner moved to a house on the outskirts of Abilene, Texas, with his wife and his daughter, then 16 years old, the youngest of his three daughters. He managed to sell his company in Switzerland to younger successors, but remained active in a consulting role for long-standing clients, bouncing back and forth between Switzerland and the US for about six years. “It was a win-win situation for the young successors, the customers and me,” the retiree explains.

Move away from the city and into your own farmhouse

The divorced Swiss bought a remote farm with 75 hectares of land in Oplin in 2013 for about 450,000 francs and moved alone into the farmhouse built by a German immigrant in 1920. “It has a simple but solid construction,” says Kriftner.

Swiss said Abilene has grown significantly over the years. Kriftner still enjoys shopping and going to restaurants in Abilene, but she enjoys farm life away from the city with her current 30 cattle, a bull, a horse and three cats. The nearest neighbor is about a kilometer away. “Sometimes I hear him when he shoots. But that doesn’t bother me. On the contrary. “So I know you don’t feel uncomfortable when I do shooting drills,” Kriftner says with a laugh.

He has his own shooting range on his land and trains regularly. Like most people in Texas, he doesn’t leave home unarmed. He already had a firearms license in Switzerland, but he has never used his gun until today. However, in Switzerland, he came to the aid of a woman in distress and intervened in the stabbing incident. “But he’s unarmed.” A gun gives me a sense of security. “Otherwise I don’t know if I would have the courage to intervene,” says Kriftner.

He is also active in the Oplin fire department and rebuilt the local fire department, which had to be closed due to staff shortages. “This is important because due to the drought there are always wildfires here and we have to deal with wild animals such as coyotes, wild cats or rattlesnakes. The gun is an advantage,” says Oplin, deputy commander of the fire brigade, who currently serves as a lieutenant in the volunteer fire brigade in Switzerland .

Additional income from your own oil well

The Swiss has had an extraordinary additional income for three years in addition to his AHV pension: An oil well was discovered on his property during drilling. There will be no Swiss oil millionaires. “Approximately 4 barrels of oil can be produced per day. “This brings me a few hundred francs a month, depending on the oil price,” he says.

But he is primarily interested in the technology behind it and less interested in the money. He may also sell the water on his property for oil production. Water is rare and essential in dry Texas, where temperatures are often above 40 degrees and there is almost no rain in the summer months. He dug and built the dam himself, with three small lakes and a stream on his land.

What the Swiss miss in their new home

Although Kriftner has been living alone on his farm since the death of his long-time partner last year, he is never bored. He keeps busy with his animals, repairs fences and machinery, and currently has an old fire truck in his garage. She regularly eats at a cheap restaurant in town. “It’s fresh and cheap. Even retirees have special rates,” says Kriftner.

He doesn’t like to cook, especially for himself. He occasionally grills sausages and meat. «I didn’t miss anything here, apart from slices of cream, thin hazelnut croissants or chestnuts. “So I found a supplier of chestnuts in the USA and sometimes I make chestnuts on the fire,” says the Swiss. He has enough wood from his own trees on the land.

wartime landscapes

When Kriftner has visitors from Switzerland, he likes to show off the sights of his new home and tell people about the history. During the Cold War between Russia and the United States, his territory and the now rarely used highway that passed by his farm were important. Dyess Air Force Base has been located in Abilene since 1953 and is home to two flying units consisting of bombers and transport aircraft. “This always attracts and fascinates visitors,” says Kriftner, who is interested in history.

Stay until the end of your life

It’s not uncommon for even locals to marvel at what the Swiss know about Texas and how well they integrate. Fred Kriftner: “The biggest compliment is when people tell me they can’t tell me I’m not from here.”

A return to Switzerland is out of the question for the cheerful retiree. To this day, he has never regretted his migration to Texas. He also doesn’t want to move to another state, even though he recently found a new girlfriend online from Houston, about 400 miles away. “It’s still very fresh. Who knows how this will develop.”

Texas is different from the rest of the United States. He feels at home here and wants to stay here alone for the rest of his life, if necessary. The nursing home is no problem for him. “At some point I’m going to die here, and if no one can find me, the coyotes will get rid of me,” Kriftner says with dry humor.

Source : Blick