another late chip-in... i have to disagree with the advice above re: cost of living compared to London - I have come to Vaud from central london, and living here is signifiacntly more expensive - gone are the days of £15 meals out (unless you want to go to McDonalds), taking taxis equates to a day's salary and with a few exceptions (such as fuel and parking meters) I've found things to be about 30% more expensive on average (TV license and other bits are closer to double)... Having said that, there are many advantages to the area.... Good luck working out what to do.

for a meal you'd get for fifteen quid in london i would say you can get the equivalent here. If you want a fancy meal its more in London as well. Taxi's are much more I agree but you dont pay 8 pounds every time you drive in to the city. Train is cheaper, buses are cheaper, gas is cheaper. rent is the same. It balances out I reckon.

Just diff opinions I guess.

Thanks for all your useful information, I still haven't made my mind up...

I was a little shocked that they only raised their offer by a couple of thousand CHF after our initial negotiations. It now stands at roughly 110,000 CHF.

CHF110,000 is still a decent salary and way more than the average here. One thing you have not mentioned in this thread is what you like to do outside of work. If you like the outdoor lifestyle then you cannot beat living in Switzerland. If it is the big city lifestyle that floats your boat then you need to think hard about moving.

Good points Lou.

The sector I'll be working in is in the main thing for me. Its my main interest both professionally and personally. I'm also keen to get stuck into the outdoors activities. Certainly I fancy getting out of the City.

I think you just answered your own question about moving here .

you're probably right mate, big decision eh?

The other way to look at it is would you regret not going for the job? Sounds like you are a good enough lawyer that if it all went pear shaped over here you could go back to London & land a job with little problem. Would you rather stay in London wondering "What if....."

true mate, the opportunity is fantastic and i should really bite their hand off!

I've even checked it out with some other people in the industry and their response has been amazing too, so basically the world is saying - "take it!"

its just theres no transparaency on salaries, so there's no way to know. its not that i'm greedy, rather i just dont like being ripped off, if everyone else is on the same then thats fine by me! lol

hi there - it looks like we are both in a very similar position in terms of evaluating a job offer and looking to move from london to switzerland. I am also trying to assess whether or not the offer I have been made is good enough - and my employer is also not helping me much by refusing to negotiate! It's so hard to get a feel for the cost of living, and the tax system looks very complicated.

my situation is a bit more tricky as I have a daughter, so have to factor in childcare etc, but the company has offered to pay for an international school and I love the idea of her learning to ski as part of her school programme! But her father will stay in london 9at least at first) so everyone is doing the whole 'too much upheaval', 'it's got to be a really fantastic offer for you to do that', thing.

Life is much easier if you are single, young and have no children, so i'd say just do it! you can always go back to london in a few years if you change your mind.

good luck!