What! they re charging extra for shoe shine

I'm pretty hip but I can't even imagine (and might not want to) what this means .

Gee! Mud .Here is a hint I see You have a dirty mind

Russell,

70k is fine to live on depending on where you will live, you could save on your budget by rentng a room rather than an apartment. In Basel I pay 600 chf's for a room, food bills you can cut to 300chf's per month if you are careful and look out for discounted meat, and if you share the bills are included (normally).

If i didnt share, it would be 1200chf's for an apartment (1.5 rooms), same as above for food bills, depends what you want, ie. TV, internet, electricity, gas, water, service charge etc. these will all be extra
The cost really depends on your lifestye and what you want out of Switzerland. For me I just want something until my family join me out here so I am prepared to do it cheaply in the short term

70k is enough to spend money on a 3.5 room apartment of up to 1800 CHF, eat decently with the odd meal out, go out socialising a couple of times a week, and still be comfortable enough to treat yourself to the odd purchase here and there. Fair enough you won't really save anything, but wages increase yearly so that comes with time.

Quality of life is still miles ahead what you'd get in London on an equivalent wage.

Well said, a fairly average salary here is still miles better than a very decent salary in the UK. It's all about quality......

You get taxed at source even if you earn over 120k, though you must also submit a tax return. Also the tax at source doesn't quite work like PAYE where they project and adjust over the months, they look at the tax rate in each particular month. So you get a rude shock about how much tax is paid on your bonus (if you are lucky) but then get it back a couple years later (with 2% juice).

The deductions look ok. Check if you qualify for Swisscare, you might be able to buy a cheap health insurance (~80 chf). You are overestimating living expenses. You could get a 2 room 50 sqm in e.g. Kreis 12 in Zurich for 1200 chf. 1000 chf on food is a lot. I live alone, do prepare any food, and still spend less than 600 chf. Bills: Internet + TV 75chf, electricity 40 chf, mobile 30 chf.

And you can chuck em away and get a new one when the old one is full.