- The middle-class pays for the so-called "working class" (horrible definition...like if the rest of the world is "non-working class"): At least here they get decent salaries, not cheap-slave ones (like the 400€/month that they would get in Germany)...so you middle-class have to renounce to some of your lifestyle to have a society with less differences and social/economic tensions...
- You pay for quality: For example, here animals used to produce meat, eggs, etc...are treated "relatively" better than in other countries, where the cost of food is lower, but so are the standard of living, the standard of quality and production. - Meat is more expensive --> Very good, because eating too much meat is bad: You are forced to become vegetarian, for the sake of your health, the environment, and the animals which are not slaughtered. Stop thinking with that typical American mentality "All you can eat"...Don't be specists, do a favor to animals (http://www.earthlings.com). Eat less, eat better...

But I understand that for many people coming from countries where consumerism is the official state religion, it might very difficult to adapt to a more sustainable lifestyle.

Why are you even trying to justify this (from Norway?) Provide some potential explanations by all means but it sounds like you already reached a conclusion that high prices are a good thing because of your tree-hugging agenda and therefore they should be "justified".

AYB

easy to justify: higher profit margins for the owners of the supermarkets.

Your thread title is a bit misleading.

Ok, how about a person who comes from a place where consumerism is not an official state religion and still thinks it's bloody overpriced here?

What gets me more, though is this one:

How about people who came here and never actually ate a lot? Nor do they eat a lot now. Why all these lame assumptions about what kind of cultures people come here from, with what kind of lifestyle and what makes them what is seen as incapable to accept certain things...when in fact they do not fit these particular assumption boxes at all.

Tree hugging? I am not so sure. But very black and white.

__________________
"L'homme ne peut pas remplacer son coeur avec sa tete, ni sa tete avec ses mains." J.H. Pestalozzi

“The only difference between a rut and a grave is a matter of depth.” S.P. Cadman

"Imagination is more important than knowledge." A. Einstein

The prices are not high to people in CH, who live & work here, it's just the exchange rate, when the rate was 2.40 chf / £ , 1.80 chf / $, 1.60 chf / euro Switzerland was cheap for foreigners.

I have been here for 17 years, hardly any prices have gone up in that time except Mcdonalds & petrol, petrol is still cheaper here today than surrounding countries.

Unfortunately, neither has my salary :-(

I agree with you though. I remember bringing certain products with me back to my home country because they were cheap. That stuff still costs the same in Migros but now it definitely isnt cheap any longer.

Trying to get any pay rises was really hard work, 100 chf a month if you were lucky. Pay was generally not high, I would have earned more in London for more than half of the time.

are pay rises not automatic here? i was used to getting a normal x% payrise every year in london (except for the couple of bad years recently). it was expected.

I think once you become permanent you have a salary increase every year.

Are people who enjoy eating a steak by definition Americans?

WHERE'S MY GREEN CARD PEOPLE? WHERE'S MY COWBOY HAT?

Do we get to chose the accent? please?


P.S.: Why do people keep trying to convert us/me into a vegetarian in this forum? It's like the hip-sect of the year...

It's not true unless it's in your contract, I was permanent for 12 years & got a pay rise less than half the time.

It might be certain places then. The growth is miniscule, though.

If your lucky 1-2% to cover inflation, pay rises don't really happen, it's not London & inflation is always very low.

More SVP / Coop / Migros hate propaganda. € 400 is the low social security threshold (ie the employee does not pay social sec if earning less) - and it's not what people get for full time job. Unskilled workers in the states of Baden-Wurttemberg or Bayern can expect at least € 1800 in retail, more in manufacturing, for a 40 hopur week and 5 weeks holidays.

Many jobs are advertised on that basis, saves the employer a fortune.

Agree with posts before. It s all matter of fx rate.

Can you live within your means? Are you happy to live here? When you are ill, are you looked after?

If the answer is yes is value for money and quality of life If you want to take advantage of the current exchange rate, there is the freedom to shop abroad otherwise put up or shut up.

We of course were shocked when we considered moving here and saw the prices, but have found that on balance the salaries here still are better than at home, even given the cost of living.... plus it is always nice to go on vacation in surrounding countries and feel like royalty

I'll stop thinking with that typical American mentality when you stop thinking with that typical Russian mentality.

For someone earning EUR 15/hour, that's about 27 hours per month. A 40 hour week @ EUR 15/hour is EUR 2600/month. Anyone trying to mask that as a "EUR 400 job" is in trouble. I was an employer in Germany, and the equivalent of RAV came round at least twice a year to check on my single EUR 400 employee (a cleaner who did 6 hrs/week).