I was trying to answer the original forum question and not guess the average salary. But, I think the current average is around 6,500 per month.
I guess it boils down to what the original questioner means by "nice". Depending on location a "nice" apartment could be a really big chunk of that 6K a month.
One man's meat is another man's bread.
Some people want a Porsche and Champagne, some only want a bratwurst and a decent beer.
The cost of their lifestyles and what is required is obviously massively different...thus 100k for some is a ridiculously low or high salary to live on.
Meat is expensive as is food.
Transport is cheap if you use the special offers and travel cards in Switzerland..therefore if you are a vegetarian train spotter you will be very well off....if on the other hand you are a fat slacker who hates leaving the house and only eats beef then you will find Switzerland an expensive nightmare.
As a rule:
Food is expensive, eating out in restaurants is expensive, meat is expensive.
Public transport is expensive if you don't use the correct tickets/ discounts
Owning a car is expensive
Clothes are expensive
Skiing is expensive
Renting a house/ flat in Zurich or Geneva (or similar) is expensive
Buying a house is expensive in the same cities
If you want to do all of the above often and regularly then 100k is a good salary.
The reason the lifestyle in Switzerland is so good and the reason people like it is because, despite the cost of what a lot of people consider to be "basics", the standard of living is actually very high.
Why,
Taxes are low, and salaries are higher than on average across almost all western countries. This means you have more to spend on more expensive things.
e.g. Flats are expensive, but usually of a very high standard. You will pay the same money for a place in London as in Zurich, but the place in Zurich will be bigger, better maintained and built, 30mins from the mountains, 10mins from the lake, 2 hours away from France, Italy, Germany, Austria, Czech, UK, Greece (etc.) and serviced by a reliable public transport system that can take you all those places.
Yes the flat is expensive but you get a lot for your money.
My answer to the original question is 10k as a couple would be ample.
6k would mean no holidays.
Anything above 10k as a couple and you can look for a place on the lake and think about a nice car or lots of foreign holidays.
10K is certainly good for "nice" and 6K is probably OK but not ideal for the nice car and nice house originally requested. For example a mid-range reasonably new BMW probably is going to work out around 1K per month fully costed (insurance etc). So that's a big chunk of cash. But, in many locations the public transport is fantastic - so in most big towns you can live happily with no car.
Apartment costs in ZH, GE and Basel can get seriously expensive and buying is big money.
As Planthead says, a big plus in Switzerland is that the taxes are generally low and the salaries generally high. This helps with the high living costs (e.g., compulsory health care) and makes comparisons across Europe very interesting.
The original questioner wanted a nice car AND money for holiday. So maybe we need to stick our heads further into the stratosphere and suggest an answer of 12K !!!
Ciao, David
Well a mid range BMW is not an unreasonable option by swiss standards. I know it is easier to live car-free here but the vast majority of the Swiss own a car.
http://www.swissworld.org/en/economy...port/mobility/
http://www.bfs.admin.ch/bfs/portal/e...rungsgrad.html
The second link claims that car ownership in the USA is around 800 per thousand people - much higher than Europe - although you could argue that there are a few people who own more than one car...
You can go to Divonne-les-Bains (exit Coppet, direction Geneva) to buy meat, there is a good butcher on the main shopping street. Casino, also in the centre, is a supermarket with a good selection of British food (if that is of interest). Also, Divonne food market is very good and convenient on Sundays. Saturday market is even better, but for that you have to go do Ferney-Voltaire. Satoriz (right in the centre of Ferney) has a good selection of organic food and Michelin http://www.fromages-michelin.com/ has an excellent selection of cheeses (mostly French but also foreign, including stilton).
In my view, the variety of food in France is generally much better than in Switzerland and many items are cheaper. Not everything though, so if you are looking to save some money you have to learn what not to buy there.
At some point in your life, you want to have more than that though.
This might help clarify expectations of salary:
http://www.lohnrechner.bfs.admin.ch/...d.aspx?lang=de
Of course, salaries vary by location, education, industry, etc etc etc.
Also, there are in some industries minimum salaries set either by law or by collective agreements. These agreements tend to be focussed more on education level than on location. More details (unfortunately using 2005 data) is here:
http://www.bfs.admin.ch/bfs/portal/d...nk/key/05.html
Regards, D (fresh to the Forum and trying to help!)
I have read through countless of posts that mention the rental prices. Should I assume that these prices are for unfurnished apartments, and how possible is it to get a furnished apartment.
I am checking if I should get an unfurnished and do it up myself. What would be a typical costs when it comes to furnishing?
I have an inkling by going to Ikea.ch but it would be nice to hear what people have spent on furnishing.
I am looking for an apartment, size between 65 to 85m2. 2 - 3 rooms apartments. It will just be for me and my wife.
By the way, I am looking in Zürich.
Regards,
Adrian
Usually you will have no need to renovate the apartment as it should be offered to you in good order and freshly decorated. Of course, there are exceptions and price plays a big part.
In Zurich the prices are quite high as apartments are hard to find. But, like everywhere there are exceptions. Try exploring:
There are many other property sites but this one might give you some more details.
I was in Ikea recently to get some rugs but noticed they had full mock-up houses set up like "we live in 65m" with all the furniture - I did not see if there was a total cost.
Oooo cheap duck - hopefully it wasn't also produced in France (or Hungary!) Saw something on German TV last week (barbaric process and conditions to boot, put me off for life.) One of the reasons also why I wouldn't eat pate du foie gras....