Moving to Zurich from London

[HundredMilesAnHour]

I'm currently in discussions about an internal job move from London to Zurich. My biggest fear is of course MONEY. I'm told that my salary would increase to a Swiss salary but I have no indication of actual numbers yet so can't work out if that will be enough to maintain my current lifestyle or not. I'm not moving for money but obviously I don't want to be any worse off and with such high costs in Zurich, I fear I would be.

I would be moving alone so just me to pay the rent on a Zurich flat. I currently live in a 1 bed flat in central/east London which is walking distance to my office (and gym, and restaurants etc). I've actually paid my mortgage off (I bought many years ago) so other than a fairly hefty service charge, my accommodation expenses are very low. So paying rent will be a huge extra expense for me and a significant cut in disposable income. I'm being told that I'd need to pay at least £3k/month rent for a 1 bed flat and that wouldn't be for anywhere remotely central like I am now..

Any advice please???

Well if you have no rent or mortgage costs at the moment, anywhere you move is going to cost you isn't it? Even if they offer you a salary that matches your London one.

So I suppose the question is whether there are other benefits - career progression etc because you're most likely going to be financially worse off unless they're offering you a significant promotion.

I'm not looking for career advice. I have that in hand thanks. I'm trying to find out just how expensive Zurich really is and if the rent I'm being quoted is typical or if I'd actually have to pay a lot more to be be in an equivalent location in a 1 bed flat. I've Googled rentals but I don't know the areas in Zurich or what is reasonable. Or maybe lots of professionals live outside the centre and travel in and I shouldn't be looking to replicate my current living arrangements? I have no idea at present which is why I'm asking....

And I wasn't offering it. Good luck.

Difficult to say without the numbers. Our Swiss salaries (18 years, DH in Big Pharma, me teaching in international school) allowed us to live quite well in the Basel area of Switzerland. However, Zürich is more expensive, though not as bad as Geneva. I have no idea what lifestyle you are after. If you do decide to live outside the city and commute, the Swiss public transport system is far better than the British equivalent. Connections from Zürich main station work very well (I used them often when visiting various schools in the Zürich area).

Can't help on Zurich, but could you rent out your current flat? That's what we do when we have temporary moves abroad. Together with the increased salary you've been promised that might then go some way to meeting the high rental costs in Zurich?

My friend moved to Zurich a few years back. It's really expensive 😫. I went over for a weekend and was a bit at the prices. £12 for a coffee and that was years back. She was paying her cleaner £35 per hour. I would try to rent out your flat in London.

Zurich is mega £££. It's boring and lots of people are obstreperous (drivers especially). Have a friend who works there and I have visited him.

Plus...you will not dare to walk across the empty 2 lane road until the red man comes on. The LOVE stupid rules. (Very boring there)

Real pity to hear such negative attitudes to life in Switzerland. In my experience (18 years) not boring at all. Vibrant night life and café culture, excellent public transport allowing you to get to such things, many British/US bands play Zürich, great classical music opportunities if you are into that, all coupled with a general inclination to obey rules so cleaner streets and a safer feel.... What's not to like? Expensive, yes, but Swiss salaries are pitched for that.

You need to consider rent, health insurance and general overall costs. Will you be given a local salary or an expat package?

If it’s a local salary, I would say that if it is double your London salary, you will have a good standard of living.

Actually… I hesitated on posting that as I hav no idea what level of salary you have now… could be 200k …. If you were on 200k in Zurich, I think you would have a pretty good life!

Prices in Switzerland are eye watering
But if you are earning Swiss chf in all in balance. I don't know what sort of salary you will be earning but if it's much less than 120000 chf you might struggle, especially if you want to live in the city. If your are happy to live a bit further out and commute then you can get by on much less

Try not to do a direct conversion, look at the salary in francs and go from there.

Would they provide a relocation agent, furnishing budget, rent contribution, health insurance, permit? Everything is expensive from groceries, phone bills, travel, refuse collection but most rents include heating and electricity. There are also many regulations from restrictions on use of washing machines, cutting grass, recycling etc to variations in public holidays from one town(Gemeinde) to next, one Canton to next. Do you speak any German?

I made the move from London (Fulham) to Switzerland 6 years ago and have to admit it's one of the best things I've ever done. The standard of living is high: v low air and water pollution, low crime, high salaries (generally) and low taxes, especially in Zürich.
To enable you to negotiate your Swiss salary look through salary comparison sites such as glassdoor and check the tax calculator on www.comparis.ch to understand what different salaries would give you in terms of net monthly salary after tax. Comparis also is good for property searching as it pulls from many other real estate websites - a bit like Rightmove.
Your company may offer you a relocation service who can help you navigate the system and advise on places to live. It depends on what you're after but Kreis 5 is a cool area which used to be an industrial area, Kreis 6 great but older buildings and anywhere down the lake is fab with bathing spots in summer. Public transport is punctual, good value, clean and safe

And congratulations on your job move!

£3000 rent for a 1 bed flat is not accurate at all. Have a look on immoscout24.ch Or homegate.ch
You can get a 1 bed flat in Zürich Kreis 1 (dead center) for less. Not sure how nice they are though..
Apart from that everything in Zürich is ridiculously expensive. I grew up there
It really depends on your salary wether it will be worth it.

This website helps you compare rental prices. It is the Swiss equivalent of rightmove and is in English en.comparis.ch/

Bear in mind that properties are listed by rooms not bedrooms so a 1 zimmer property is a studio as living rooms and bedrooms are counted but not bathroom or kitchen.

A quick look suggests 2-3000 chf will get you a city apartment.

My sister lives in Winterthur (not too far from central Zurich). Her 3 bed flat is around 3000 Swiss francs. Everything is more expensive there (and you need insurance for everything) but if they're giving you a pay increase to match local salaries I think you'd be ok.

Thanks everyone, I really appreciate your input.

For the moment, the possible move is on hold as they seem to be very confused about what level of person they need. It's a senior role but they're asking for some weird (much more junior) skills as well.

I worked (remotely) with this business area last year (which is why they want me permanently) and they were equally confused then. We eventually managed to work it out but while I've been away from them doing other work, it seems the confused madness has set in again. I'm not willing to go through groundhog day again so unless they get their act together, Zurich is off the table for me.

However, your advice hasn't gone to waste as my employer is Swiss so there's plenty of scope for other moves to Zurich - perhaps even one which doesn't have a poisoned chalice waiting at the other end for me.

Some great advice on here, thank you! I was actually looking at Kreis 5 as that's a similar vibe to where I live in London. I've had no indication of what package I might be offered other than "you won't be worse off" and "your move will be paid for". Having done expat moves (within Europe as well as to Asia) with other employers previously, I don't believe a word of it until I see actual numbers and details written down.

The relative quiet of Zurich actually appeals a lot. I currently live in Shoreditch so the constant neighbour noise drives me nuts. So living somewhere where the neighbours (and me!) have to be quiet seems like heaven. My days of partying are long over. Work, gym, nature, good food & drink, that's what I care about these days. So Zurich could be interesting. But the work role has to be right/appealing for me to compromise on my current lifestyle and net income. So it looks dead right now but I'll keep doing my research on Zurich living just in case.