Hi Everyone,

Glad to have found this forum.

I am close to moving to Solothurn Canton from Ireland to work in a medical device company.

I would like to know if anyone has made a similar move and how was it? I have heard a lot about Switzerland being expensive?

my main motive is to save money and to be able to progress further in my career.

And talking of salaries is 100K - 120K a good figure that allows you to live comfortably and also save. With all the taxes involved, roughly how much would the net pay be around?

appreciate your thoughts and comments!

Hello and welcome to the forum.

thank you!

Welcome to the forum.
Tell us about your job and years of experience so that somebody can give you good advice.
Even a salary of 150K may not be sufficient. It all depends on your situation and choices.

thanks,

So the job is as a Validation engineer and I have 5+ years as an engineer in the medical device industry. My current title is Senior engineer.

Welcome to the forum and soon to Switzerland.

Don't let the jokers worry you; that sort of salary is fine. You'll be able to live comfortably and save as well.

I met an Irish guy in a pub a couple years back. He was working at J&J in Solothurn. After a couple months of living in Solothurn, he moved to Basel and commuted from there. Depending on your circumstances, you might consider living somewhere a little more exciting than Solothurn. Good luck.

Or Aargau if you want to save on taxes. The OP said he wanted to save money.

100 to 120 is a fairly basic salary here fwiw. If you are single it's plenty still. If supporting a family as a sole earner not so much.

you'll find an approximate guide to living costs here
https://www.internations.org/go/movi...in-switzerland

Probably the same lad I met - dood told me that he was driven up the walls with nothing to do in Solothurn - so have a good think about settin up shop there.

Thanks,
and with my experience and field of work, could you say 100K is below par or it can be pushed a bit more?

thanks.

I would not mind setting up there initially and then moving if needs be. as I said, the main aim is to save and be able to tap into the housing market back home.

Hi, and welcome to the forum!

If you're a single person living alone, you can minimise costs easily and save a lot with that salary. Rent a small place, buy simple groceries and cook all meals for yourself, and have a small "party budget" for going out with friends/acquaintances. Easy-peasy.
Switzerland is expensive, but salaries are generally higher - which is why things are expensive here, as the people providing the services are also paid a generally higher salary than they would in neighbouring countries.

You can calculate your net wage using https://www.lohncomputer.ch/.

Your main costs will be rent and tax. In my experience it is best to live some where with lower taxes to maximise savings.

As Solothurn is a small canton, you have a few commuting options. You will be taxed at source ("quellensteuer") so only the canton where you live determines your taxrate. After 5 years in Switzerland local town / village taxes are relevant.

I wonder if many people in Zurich city turn down for the c permit for this reason

SO may be a small canton, but it is still relevant to know the location of the office to assess commute options. Commuting will also cost money - which OP won't be able to deduct if under 120k.

Whether 100 or 120k is an appropriate salary? How would anyone be able to have a view based on the info offered?

care to elaborate on what you mean by this?

By taking a C permit they could increase the amount of tax due, as a result of being in a high tax municipality - no?

Also, then you have to file a tax return - which you don't if you have Quellensteuer on an income below a certain level.

I know somebody who got a short-term raise which put them above this level for one year only (it was a temporary assignment), and they've had to file tax returns ever since - even on a B permit, with their current income below that cut-off.
Most expensive "raise" they've ever had, they said.

I posted something similar at the end of the thread here:
https://www.englishforum.ch/permits-...ml#post3334347