Hello Everybody,

It seems I have a good opportunity to get a job in Switzerland, and I just would like to get some information from you who already lives there.

I am from Hungary(so I am not native in English sorry for the mistakes), and I applied a Controller position, I will go to the final interview to Zurich(Dubendorf) next week. Certainly it is not sure I will get it , but if they offer me the postition, I just do not want to think too much so I try to get information before it. I will go with my wife and my kid(2 years old).

I will have a 100k/year salary, and I know the the total tax and contribution burden will be around 25%. I also checked flats and around 1600-1800 CHF I saw good ones(in Dubendorf). So it means that I will have a net of 4450 CHF after tax and rent. I'd like to save an 1500-2000 CHF per month, so my question is do you think that 2500-3000 CHF per month is enough for living for my family? We do not go to restaurants or partys with my wife so we have a quite quiet lifestyle, but of course we have to spend a lot to our kid(vaccination, medicines).

Do you think this calculation makes sense? What do you think of the 100k salary? is that below/above average? If I am the only one who works and pays all the contributions will my kid and wife have the right for health care? can they see the doctor if there is any problem for free or we will have to pay for it?

I think thats it for now any advices are welcome.

Thank you for your kind help in advance.

Health insurance is mandatory for all residents, and insurance premiums are not part of your salary deductions but rather you have to pay them yourself. For a family of three in Zurich you'll probably have to budget five to six hundred francs a month.

Also, I think your monthly food cost would be in the CHF800-CHF1000 range, and rising fast.

Public Transportation cost would be approximately 480/mo. for the whole family. This would include unlimited travel on public transportation to anywhere within Switzerland.

I've seen more detailed breakdowns on other threads.

Getting a general pass for the whole family would be overdoing it a bit, no?

If you are living and working in Dübendorf then public transport costs aren't going to be a big issue. There is an excellent infrastructure in Dübendorf for families and lots to do and see in the vicinity. Even if you couldn't save quite as much as you hoped you could still have a reasonable standard of living and save.

Good luck with your final interview and don't hesitate to ask questions about Dübendorf as there are quite a few residents on the forum.

Thanks everybody for the quick and useful answers. I did not know that the health insurance should be paid separately(in my country it is deducted form salary). I think if I can get that 100k it will be just fine.

Thank you.

100K is a very low salary for a Controller. The normal Controller salaries start at around 150K upwards. Most International companies give their Controllers a company car as well. I wouldnt settle for 100K if I was you...

Hello Ebony,

You know I do not have a permit currently, I speak only english, so I guess it will be a good starting point even if this is below industry average as it seems based on your opinion. But thank you for the information.

I had my final interview, and I was succesful. We have not spoken about money yet, so I guess the 100k which was told by the headhunter will be on my draft contract which I will receive next week. I had very good impressions, the cfo come to pick me up in the airport he take me to the hotel, we had dinner in the evening, and next day after my interviews(with HR manager, and the finance/controlling director) it took 20 minutes for them to decide they want to hire me. so sounds good but I wait for that draft.

they told me I will be taxed at source. what does it mean for me? better or worse than the taxation at year end?(I know its off here sorry).

hi there
congratulations on getting your job! i just wondered what qualifications you needed ? i only speak english as i am from uk and learning german but desperately looking for a job around the zurich and basel area. what is your job exactly and do you know if they are looking for any more new employers
thanks
david

hi Finesse,

Congrats to your job. You will be able to make a good living with that money in Switzerland, if you will be able to save the desired amount of money, I don't know, but yes, it will work.
To all the rest of you just f.y.i. right now a lot of the new EU countries citizens are comming to Switzerland (Bilatera;e Vertraege) and are more than willing to work for the minimum wages, so I am not wondering that she "only" got offered the 100k CHF.
But again, well done, have fun Zuerich is a nice area to be

Hi Finesse, congratulations on the job. Will your company be helping you with re-locating? If not and you let me know your moving date I will keep looking on the notice board here in the supermarket, there are often apartments advertised that don't go on to the internet sites.
I could also recommend a good family doctor and if your wife would like a women to show her around Dübendorf while your working or has any other day to day questions, just PM me.
Lynn

"new" EUers must go through the long-winded permit process. So, you're wrong.

I think the 150k suggestion for a controller is a bit high too.

A family can exist quite happily on 100k or thereabouts. Do remember that average household income is a reasonably proportion less than this.

I too believe 100k is easy to live on. We do it with 2 kids There are lots of ways to save money when you are here that the locals know and a good freind will hopefully tell you, else ask us
like; getting a "half price" ticket for the train, reka checks (you pay 80% for the checks, and can use them like normal money for some things)
Most people I know "swap" kids clothes - they are still in new condition when the kids have grown out of them. There are also places to get second hand "label" clothes.
Once you earn over 120k, or have been here for 5 years, whichever comes first, you can pay tax once a year. This isnt always an advantage, as you have to save for it
With 2 dependants, and being a man, your tax rate will be quite low, so you will also have more of you 100k.

Completely inaccurate, whilst 150k is possible a senior controller in a bank could earn 120k or may less.

thank you all for the info and all. I am happy but I still want to wait until the official draft contract. which will show really how happy we are with each other.

dvdbraker: I do not know if they are looking for any new ones. I needed IFRS and consolidation knowledge for this job.

Oldhand: thank you for your kind help, it is very probable that I will contact you however I do not know currently that they will pay me a room/flat for the first 1-3 month(most probably they wont).

I made some calculations and I really feel that this 100k will be enough to live&save, especially with our quiet lifestyle, however I just know this is at the lower end for this type of position. We plan to come back to Hungary monthly so we will able to buy things cheaply.

So I will wait for Monday and after that I will be a bit smarter.

Thanks again for your posts, this forum is really useful.

As 'Controller' is a bit vague, it is difficult to say if this is high or low. Controller could be many positions in several industries.

Also bear in mind that there are many people here in 'Senior' roles. Who's salaries are well above the norm.

Also many people have been here for years and came in during the 'good' times. Now companies are not having such good times, they are looking to employ people on lower Salaries or outsourcing, all in an effort to bring down costs.

In the end if you are happy with the salary, and a new experience, then great. ca. 100k will give you a reasonable lifestyle here and hopefully you can negotiate this upwards in the future or find something better in the future.

Anyhow welcome and good luck with your new position.

Unless prices in Hungary are really rock-bottom (which as I remember, they aren't) you'll probably spend more on gas / airplane tickets than you'll save buying things there. Not to mention that if you drive it's about ten hours each way.

hello,

we plan to travel home in every 4-5 weeks because of the family anyways. I do not know the prices at Ch but here in hungary there are tesco,auchan,lidl,aldi and they always have actions, so I guess it must be much cheaper. but we will see.

This is it really. Is the salary acceptable to you.

I understand people wanting to make sure they are not being taken for a ride but some of the salaries people quote on here are ridiculous given the context of the original posts.

What if somebody takes the advice and e.g. rejects a 100k offer and goes back and asks for 150k + company car? Not very helpful in my opinion.