Hi

I am new to this forum and I realise that I will probably be asking questions that many of you have answered ad nauseam but I could really use a bit of help to get me going in the right direction.

I am currently in London looking to emigrate to Zurich,CH and would like to ask a few questions

1) As far as I understand, these days having a job offer and an EU passport virtually guarentees you a work visa?

2) At developer/Senior developer level for a java software engineer what would my approximate salary range be in Zurich.

3) I am married, and initially my wife will not be working, what would I need to gross to live comfortably?

4) Is there any rule of the thumb ratio you can use when being quoted a gross salary, with regards to percentage taxation?

5) I want to leave London owing to spiraling living costs and declining quality of life. Am I correct in assuming that Zurich will be better with regards to
- Less litter
- Less crime
- Less issues with adolescent antisocial behavior
- Better quality of life.

6) I cannot speak german, but I am from South Africa and speak Afrikaans. I intend to undertake the learning of German quite intensively and owing to my language background I am quite familiar with the elementary aspects of the germanic languages although admittedly, the grammar in different. It would be obvious that not speaking german would pose disadvantages, but I would like to know to what extent.

I realise I have asked for a huge shopping basket of information so anybody who wishes to address my query, even partially. the response would be most welcome.

Thanks

I hate to say it but all of that stuff has been covered time and time again on the forum.
Do a search and you will get detailed answers.

1. Yes
2.over 100,000 Sfr (probably)
3. How long is a piece of sting.
4.take 25% off, that's my rule of thumb
5. Yes
6. Apply for English speaking jobs only. There are less of them, but they are out there.

I've been looking up similar questions (Londoner looking to move to Zurich) and these are my answers. Seriously though, look up all the threads that are in any way relevant to whats on your mind and you'll get all the answers you're looking for and more. The "more" part is surprisingly important.

1) As far as I understand, these days having a job offer and an EU passport virtually guarentees you a work visa? Yes

4) Is there any rule of the thumb ratio you can use when being quoted a gross salary, with regards to percentage taxation?

Married, centre-Zurich, no religion, zero children:

75k CHF = 11%
100k CHF = 13.5%
150k CHF = 18.5%
etc

5)
- Less litter - I saw none.
- Less crime - dunno.
- Less issues with adolescent antisocial behavior - judging purely by amount of graffiti, litter, chavs, much less.
- Better quality of life - dunno.

6) I cannot speak german - Socially: you have to attain a basic level as soon as possible, there are no short cuts on this one. Expect people to be offended if you have lived in Zurich a certain amount of time without 'bothering' to learn any german. Imagine a frenchman who went to London to work for a french company and had only french freinds. If he didn't speak any english, which would be understandable in that circumstance, you'd still think he was a bit of a lazy snob. Re your job: dunno.