True but I nearly tripped my wages moving to CH.



I have saved enough to put a deposit down for another house in the UK. Would never be able to do that while in the UK and CH does pay very well compared to other countries in the world. Definitely in Europe.

Hi your post was very helpful. I’d love to know what sort of London salary you had and what you moved to ch salary for

I often think about moving back to London but the numbers never work for me sadly after tax. My position would be 100k gbp salary vs 160chf. For some reason (and I think it’s tax) the chf salary gives me a lot more disposable income

But I miss London a lot! Always things to do and new people to meet. Zurich is just a ghost town for me sadly

The "some reason" could also be that it's 40k CHF more per year!
I'm amazed sometimes how innumerate some bankers are


Ten years ago if you were looking at a Swiss job, rule of thumb was multiply your numerical UK salary 2 to 2.5 times.

But you can generally do the same sum for cost of living. London notwithstanding.

…I will recommend to hold your horses for at least two years to come in UK, is pretty grim now...if is only for changing 'scenery', try Berlin, Hamburg or even some east European capitals...

I know it sounds wierd, but there is also a psychological element to the way the salary comparison plays out. Especially if you are on a C permit and are used to paying your taxes as a lump sum; you get used to the higher numbers coming into the bank every month, adds to the perception of higher income / more disposable wealth.

I considered a move to the UK and did all the numbers of an offer made. The gross salary on offer (> 100K GBP) was almost exactly comparable to what I was on in CH (owing to the exchange rate at the time). However , dialing in the higher rate tax, cost of living (London) etc. the net salary just felt like shit. evem though the disposable income converts back a similar number with what I have in CH. I know its bizzare. Maybe I am crazy

No way. Rent is similar, commuting is cheaper, groceries you can pop over the border for. On balance I'd say it's a little lower.

Not everyone lives near the border to be able to do that. From Zurich for example that means at least an hour and a half travel time, realistically you need a car and you need to be spending a decent amount to cover the opportunity cost and the costs of the petrol, wear/tear and depreciation. It’s not the panacea that people make it out to be.

I’m blissfully out of touch with London property and rental prices, but can believe that they are similar.

However, the following are definitely more expensive here:
Cars and their ancillary costs
Tradesmen
Cleaners and the like
Restaurants and pubs
Internet
Clothes
Decent alcohol (whisky, rum, craft beers)
Taxis
Mobile bills
Household furnishings
Medical care
Personal care/beauty/massages

Obviously it’s going to depend on the basket of goods/services/needs/desires and at a higher income level the lower tax and social security costs help to balance out the higher everyday costs, but to say the cost of living in the UK (and even London) is only a little lower doesn’t ring true for me.

I did a bit of number crunching and it doesn't look all that bad having two people on 40k - 50k GBP (100k GBP combined approx before tax).

Personally if I look at my current spending....most expensive items:

Rent 2,500 CHF per month
Health Insurance 700 CHF per month
Food 1,000 CHF per month
Parking 150 CHF per month
Car lease 500 CHF per month

Then then is a lot of other auxiliary stuff

Don't get me wrong living in Switzerland is a very cushy life but I ain't going to live here forever.

What about Ireland vs UK....which country would you pick?

No disrespect to Ireland but its a place you move from, not to. London would be better. That said, too many people think when they want to work in the UK, they have to go to London. There is so much more to the UK than only London such as places further up north. I still don't recommend moving to the UK right now.





I'm not sure if you are a traveling person but also remember, you will be moving to a small island going to the UK. Yes you can drive other places in the UK but for other places, you would have to fly. Flying from the UK is getting more expensive.

I disagree. I know people who have moved there recently from South Africa.

They had dual nationality with an E.U. passport but wanted to live and work in an English-speaking, European country. Ireland means no visa, work permit and equal rights to an Irish citizen.

Living in Switzerland offers a materially comfortable low stress environment. However don´t you at times look back and think that "real life" is just passing you by?

Would you care to explain what you mean by that? if you refer to work environment then this is not the case by low stress materially comfortable low stress environment

Indeed London for example would give you many more career options where you could leave a job on Friday and start somewhere else on Monday

In switzerland interviewing and getting a job takes months

Thats definitely not true anymore. Hasn't been like that since before the financial crisis of 2007–2008, especially now. Competition has gotten way fierce now.



Moving from one job to another does take less time in the UK as the notice period is one month for most companies. Not three months like here in Switzerland.

For me and many others it was three months in the uk. Mind my Swiss contract specifies 6 months!

Swiss companies and employees like long term relationships. Once you have been with a company for several years you know the ropes and don´t face the stresses posed by the challenges of a new environment.


I was referring to life in CH which I find to be low stress (for most people). You are not your job, remember!

Yikes!


I know for the NHS its three months, police staff its one month. Three months if you are in higher management.

Switzerland has this myth of high wages. In reality wages here are flat, which means that people at the bottom of society get paid far more than they would in the US/UK but people at the top get paid far less than they would in the US/UK. For example, my friends at banks/fund managers in London/NYC are making high 6 figure/low 7 figure pay packages whereas in Zurich/Geneva banker pay really caps out in the low 200-300k range.

It makes sense to go to London/NYC if you want to compete against the best people in your industry and get paid based on performance/results. However, outside of those hyper competitive types, the average person has a better deal (financially at least) in Switzerland.

Base salary yes, but not total comp.

Agree on the low end, but would also say that the average professional and middle management roles also pay more here. Top end employees, particularly in banking I would agree too, but banking pay is a bit of an anomaly really. And the top few % by definition isn’t most people.

I’d also guess that SME owners here are making more than the UK.

Not to derail the thread, but what about retired persons with a decent Swiss pension moving to the UK? Not to London or another big city, but for example, the West Country, South Coast, Yorkshire Dales?