Hi There,

I was wondering, does any one knows how how the cost of living of Sydney and Geneve compare to each other? I would like to know how much should I earn in CHF to keep a lifestyle compatible with my Australian one.


For what I see, the AUD is slightly weaker than the CHF at the moment, Swiss taxation is lower but the cost of housing slightly higher?

Is that correct? How one should expect in CHF for matching a Syd 130k AUD salary (living in Paddington, wife working part time, etc)

I live in Zurich, but used to live in Darlinghurst/ Paddington. I think that by the sounds of it you will not see too much difference.

Eating out is very expensive, and normally I would say that you do not get the same quality of houses for the price, but then again I think you will find that on par as Paddington in my opinion is super overpriced.

Don't forget the taxes are a lot lot lower here, so you will see more from your base salary.

Natasha,

Thank you for the answer. That was my impression as well. Also, today, researching online, I found an online calculator called Xpatulator. The system may not be as fancy as the Mercer HR Monitor but gives a pretty detailed report about the cost of living, it talks about a 9% increase of cost of living when moving from SYD to Geneva. Sounds real for what I've seen in Geneva and SYD.

Sadly the system is paid, but still a good tool for assisting those thinking about taking such a big decision.

Best regards

Hi there,

I have moved from Sydney (Kirribilli) to Lausanne, which should be pretty similar to Geneva costs.
130K in Sydney is like 80K in Switzerland to what I have experienced.
Even though the tax is lower, the other extra things you have to pay make it up for the difference.
To match your 130K in Sydney I would look at least 180K~200K CHF.
Also, it all depends a lot on your lifestyle.
Living in Sydney is definitely cheaper than Lausanne/Geneva.
Bear in mind that you also have to contribute to your health insurance which is pretty high. Mine is 250CHF a month.

Also, as Sydney siders we're spoiled with good food at restaurants and take away which here will cost you a fortune to have a less quality.
Forget throwing a barbie cause meat is also pretty dear.
Housing as well is the same as Sydney, Paddington, Surry Hills, etc but much lower standard and much smallers as well, mostly with no builtins.

a plus though, the internet is cheaper here and alcohol is really inexpensive to buy in the supermarket. Also, clothing is cheaper.

Last thing... do you have a mortgage in Sydney? cause if you earn over 120K CHF I think your in tax return you will need to declare your worlwide income and assets, but I am not too sure how that works

hope it helps.

Hi Mac,

My company sent me a Mercer comparison hen I transferred and indicated it was approx 13% more for the shopping basket they had chosen.

The Big Mac index reckons Switzerland is twice as expensive as Switzerland:
http://www.oanda.com/products/bigmac/bigmac.shtml

I reckon the reality is probably somewhere in between.

I notice the cost of meat / fish, taxis, eating as being the biggest difference - maybe twice as expensive here. General groceries also seem significantly more expensive. Clothes, electronics, white goods seem similar. Luxury European cars like Audi and BMW are much cheaper here although Ford / Opel and Japanese cars probably similar price. Petrol and diesel are more expensive (20% more?) here. Didn't use many trains or buses in Oz but trains in Switzerland are excellent and cheap with the half price card.

Not sure about renting (guess Geneva is expensive?) but the one thing that seems much cheaper is a mortgage - around 3% vs 7% in Oz but you need to put down a 20% deposit.

Any maintenance - plumber, sparky, rennovations etc cost the earth here.

But like in Sydney the great outdoors is beautiful and comes for free and Lake Geneva with the mountains in the background is a match for Sydney harbour (in my opinion...). And you get the skiing which is great value for the world class resorts you have access to.

Health Insurance is really expensive here although my few experiences with doctors/hospitals have been very good.

Although people say taxes are lower, once all the deductions are taken off (AVS, pension etc) there doesn't seem to be much difference in the final percentage deducted from my salary slip!

Basically if you want a nice place in central Geneva, buy fresh food, eat and drink out regularly and get cabs you might spend 50% more than you would in Oz or more.

If you live somewhere less central, buy a second hand car or use the train, spend your leisure time outdoors you can probably get by for 10-20% more.

Switzerland is a great country though. I loved Sydney and was hesitant to leave but haven't regretted it.