Work on a "2 CHF = £1" ratio. The salaries you're being offered are quite similar.

Different life styles in both places.

Basel's much more relaxed. More outdoor life, more free time as the commute is usually less. Can be very quiet/dull.

London. Culturally diverse, exciting and a little edgy. Cool bars, restaurants, cafes. Less of an "outdoor" life, probably less healthy and you'll probably be working and commuting longer hours.

Depends who the job is for in each place. Big difference between being direct at the customer and through a consultancy (tell me about it).

Using wording like "a little above the poverty limit" in your OP and then claiming you're all innocent won't wash here. Even if you do that sad wiggly-finger-quote thing

Not sure about London. My experience with Basel
Arrived here with that salary range and it easily supported wife and child.
Basel is not London though! What it offers in terms of night life is not comparable, though the quality of life especially if you have a family like myself might be preferrable.
Only question is... which field is your wife working in? The fact is that the job market in Basel is related to the life science industry, whereas in other fields a good command of German is necessary. Therefore I would browse for job offers to see if she might have a chance.

definitely this is a point that is bugging me.
My wife works for an insurance company, she would have to quit her job to follow me but she wants to take this as an opportunity to pursue the job of her dream, being a makeup artist Obviously the language is going to be a problem, but she would be ready to work even as waitress if a financial support is needed (although i wouldn't like to put her in that position)
Around London, the job market will offer her more chances to change if needed.

We are looking mainly for stability, so I value the better quality of life in Switzerland as one of the most important factors in my decision. I'd like to buy a house there in a couple of years, if i like the place.

Not something the average Swiss woman bothers with. Hair dresser, yes, expensive grey and black clothing, yes, ragged face because they want to look like they run marathons and smoke at the same time, yes. Makeup? Not so much.

I've been living in Dublin for the last 7 years so I think I had enough of the pubs, bars etc...although I'm sure I would miss this kind of scene.
I would like to try the outdoor life for a change and see how it goes.

OK ok... I have used the word poverty improperly, maybe because I was focussing on Armutgrenze - poverty line in the graph I have attached in my previous post. Sorry about that...and now let's move on

http://londonadventuregroup.org/
http://www.alpine-club.org.uk/
http://www.ramblingclubs.com
http://www.tfl.gov.uk/roadusers/cycling/11607.aspx
http://www.thames-path.org.uk/
http://www.london-sailing-club.com/
http://www.lcsc.org.uk/
http://www.richmondcanoeclub.com/

etc

Exactly the same as me. Came from London; been here 1.5 years. Also in SAP/IT. I go back to London (and elsewhere) regularly though, as I'm not as outdoorsy as I thought I was going to be

Aaah, but I have just come across the group that is about to change all that for you .

I think people keep mixing purchasing power and quality of life in this sort of posts, and they are completely different things.

1) Purchasing power is ability to buy measured by income. It is something OBJECTIVE, as the cost of goods/services (accommodation, food, etc) is the same for everyone living in that city.

2) Quality of life means something different for each one of us, it is something SUBJECTIVE. It depends on your life style, needs, etc., and therefore is very difficult to advise on this.

Having said this, I think the OP should be more specific with the question. If you are asking about the purchasing power, you should at least calculate how much will be your net income per month in each scenario. After doing this, you could ask the guys here, as is not easy to know the cost of services/goods in each city.

I think you've got some good information there:

Local Purchasing Power in Basel is 65.60% higher than in London

This means that for an average income, you'll be able to live much better Basel than in London.

damn, i dunno where is the 'thanks' button here
so thank u very much!

If data is what you ar after, have a look here. 65%higher pp sounds very rosy, but also very over-optimistic.
http://www.numbeo.com/cost-of-living...nd&city2=Basel

Whereas in the UK it's relatively easy to pick up service type work, here, even if you've got the language skills, it isn't. My son, fluent in German, Swiss German and English, with good French, applied, during the gap between Gymnasium and University for a few jobs. Burger King and Starbucks both turned him down, solely due to lack of experience.

Now, to your dilemma. It's very easy. If you like to ski, like good weather, and live close to the heart of Europe, move to Switzerland. If you like drizzle, crime, too many people and the ability to eat out relatively cheaply, then London.

As far as salary directly goes, £65'000/120'000CHF are pretty much the same, once you factor in taxes.

As far as jobs go, if it doesn't work out, it'll be easier to find a new job in London. Having said that, when it didn't work out after three years with my employer, I went freelance, did a 3 month contract in the UK, and after that have had (English speaking) contracts only in Switzerland. I'm also in SAP IT.

We've been here ten years, have bought a house and have NO intention of ever returning to the UK to live.

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Down with racism. Long live miscegenation!