By Sikander Hayat
Switzerland is one of the richest countries in the world with per capita income of USD 81,993.7 and very high living standards. At the same time cost of living is also one of the highest in Switzerland and is around 60% more expensive than the European Union average. Switzerland is a confederacy with 26 cantons which almost act as separate states in many matters including taxation which differs greatly from one canton to another. So it matters a lot where you live in Switzerland. German speaking canton generally have lower taxation than French and Italian speaking Cantons.
Here is the names of German Speaking Cantons:
Here are names of French speaking cantons:
Here are the names of Cantons which are both French and German speaking (bilingual)
Here are the names of italian speaking cantons:
When deciding to move to Switzerland, you have to consider a number of factors and language is a very important one among those factors. If you already speak one of the languages of Switzerland then it will make a huge difference to your job prospects, how you integrate into the society and eventually permanently settle in Switzerland. A french speaker will have an easy time finding a job in Geneva, Jura, Vaud etc. and on the other hand you will integrate better in Zurich if you speak German.
Integration is officially taken very seriously in Switzerland but speaking in terms of job prospects as well, you need to know a local language for better job prospects. Covid has decimated many economies and Switzerland has been harmed as well which means that businesses are more pickier than usual in their requirements from candidates. Most job advertisements have clear requirements for you to speak either German (Zurich) or French (Geneva). Zurich and Geneva are the two pillars of switzerland and most opportunities lie in these two cities.
Due to the importance of Zurich and Geneva in terms of job market prospects, these two cities have the highest cost of living in the the whole of switzerland and lot of your income will go into paying your rent, utilities, health insurance and if you have children than it will be very hard for you to have any savings at all.
Health insurance is a must in Switzerland as it is mandatory for every individual to have comprehensive health insurance in Switzerland. This includes everyone in the household including your spouse, children and anyone who depends on you.
Taxation is very favorable in most cantons of Switzerland and that is probably the only advantage a person has if you are here for a few years, make money and then go back to your own country.
If you are on your own and have no family commitments then the best way to save money is to rent a room in a shared accommodation so that your utilities and other expenses related to housing are part of the rent and you don't have to pay anything extra. Cheapest shops for groceries are Aldi and Lidl especially for fresh fruit and vegetables.
You can also get the rest of the essential weekly shopping from these two stores. At the end of the day it all depends on what you get paid for your job as in any part of the world. Cut down on your expenses as much as you can and you have a better chance of saving money as is the case anywhere in the world.
Switzerland is famous (or infamous depending on your opinions) for its banking around the world. Many of the world's dictators, despots, corrupt politicians, corrupt businessmen, corrupt civil servants, military men etc have their money stashed in Switzerland due to its secrecy laws and this makes a large part of swiss economy.
There is growing international pressure on Switzerland to do better in terms of fighting against corruption.
Most Cantons do not have capital gains tax, inheritance tax or other invasive taxation which is part of the other regional and global economies.
So why someone would want to work in Switzerland:
Generally higher salaries
Low taxation of monthly salary
It is a country of law and order and is safe for you and your family
If you have children, then there are lots of excellent quality educational institutions as the average tuition fee at top Swiss universities is an average of around USD 1400 which is beyond comparison with any good university in the United States of America or the United Kingdom.
Switzerland has political stability and that provides a great atmosphere for any business investments.
Swiss Franc is one of the most stable currencies in the world.
Some people talk about scenery but in my view great scenery is not going to feed you or make you wealthier so I would personally not count that as an advantage.
It is expensive. Housing, banking, healthcare, food and pretty much everything is very very expensive in switzerland.
Healthcare is mandatory and it is pretty expensive to get a comprehensive cover.
Job hunting when you initially move to switzerland is very hard as in this society people don't really change jobs. So there are fewer job openings in general and especially for English speaking professionals as most vacancies require language skills in German and/or French.
While you are looking for a job, you have to dip into your savings and this can hurt badly when you have to keep looking for a job for more than a few months. This can be a very costly exercise so be ready to spend your savings if you are going to move to Switzerland and then look for a job. It will hurt.
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