Living around Zurich with 2 kids and a dog.

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21
The annual dog tax varies by canton, but is usually around CHF 150 per dog. Some cantons charge a multiplier if more than one dog in the household, btw.

The OP will also need to do the SKN Practical course ca. CHF 150. He/she might be excused from the SKN Theory course depending on the ruling of the Veterinäramt, but it is highly recommended that all newcomers to CH take it anyway, as the rules are quite different here. CHF 150 as well.

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ETA: Forgot that we are talking about ZH. How big is the dog? If more than 45cm and/or 16kg, it's a List 1 dog which means additional training requirements. The Federal SKN requirements are folded into the ZH List 1 requirements. Will be back with some cost info...

ETA II:

Googling around, I've seen prices for the obligatory Zürich courses for Liste 1 dogs as follows:

Welpenforderung: ca 120-200

Junghund: ca. 150-350

Erziehungskurs: ca. 200-350

Prices are not regulated, as you can see. These were all for group courses, if one needed to do private lessons the cost would be higher.

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Other dog related expenses:

Dog care varies from 0 if you are lucky and have friends/family willing to help to CHF 25-100 per day for kennel care to CHf 200+ per day for care in your home.

Dog transportation - A Hunde GA is 760 per year, a good bargain if you plan on public transportation. Otherwise a dog is a half price 2nd class ticket, unless your dog is small (under 30cm) and fits into a basket/carrier bag, in which case he travels free.

Vet care - how long is a piece of string? My young healthy dog's care was only a couple of hundred per year, some of my oldies each ran into 5 figures per year in their last years.

22
really?? I had no idea about all these dog fees. I guess it s not a vrey dog friendly place then. Do many people have dogs there?

23
Don't confuse 'dog friendliness' with costs.

Owning a pet in Switzerland can indeed be expensive; but then, everything is expensive in Switzerland.

What surprises folks new to Switzerland is the degree of regulation. From the federally mandated dog owner training classes to liability insurance (forgot to mention that one - in ZH a dog owner must have a minimum of 1 million coverage, which should cost you around CHF 50 per year) to mandatory chipping and registration in the national database (which should cost you ca. 40, done by your vet) to the strict anti-noise and Nachbarrecht laws - a dog owner is held to a high standard here. There are two sets of laws you'll need to familiarize yourself with, the federal animal welfare law, and the cantonal dog control laws. Do a bit of browsing through the many topics on this subject in the Pets Corner.

(What breed/mix/size is your dog? ZH enforces BSL and as above, imposes additional training requirements beyond the federal for List 1 dogs.)

But as long as you are a responsible dog owner, as long as you follow the rules and respect the rights of others with whom you share public spaces, as long as you find appropriate housing with tolerant neighbors - you and your dog can have a wonderful life in Switzerland.

By the bye: your dog is welcome in most restaurants. He might even be treated to a gratis cervelat when the waiter brings him a water bowl.

There are ca. 500,000 dogs in Switzerland. Because all dogs must be registered - just like all people - your question was easy to answer.

24
Hi all, just a little tip for living in Switzerland and making do without a car... Buy a cheap bike + a trailer! This is how we transport crates of beer, heavy items from Migros, and even ikea items (see desk and chair in photo attached).

How we bought a desk + chair from ikea with no car yesterday

1) Buy a little trailer for your bike (a normal priced bike, 100 euros, nothing fancy!)

2) Buy a bike ticket for train, get the S8 train to Dietlikon, and park on the train in the bike section (we're lucky as we're living on the S8 line so didn't need to switch trains)

3) Ride 5 minutes from Dietlikon station to Ikea

4) Buy your stuff and push the trolley out to the bike stand right out front

5) Strap up stuff (you can also buy luggage straps from Ikea if you don't have any)

6) Back on the train

7) Done!

Saves using a car, keeps you fit, and gives you the satisfaction of a little adventure

25
We're a family of 5 and certainly can live on the salary you are talking about. No car. Prepaid mobiles. ADSL. Rent under 2200chf. Working in Zurich.

It does take resourcefulness, but it's not impossible (and it's a big step up from what we left behind in Australia 5 years ago)...

Em-kay and twosaabs have given a very good overview, with prices very similar to what I would say as well.

Definitely choose an apartment close to shops, and choose wisely with your apartment. We lived on the far edge of Witikon for the first two years, and then now in Adliswil. I prefer Adliswil as it is a 'town' and has all the services of a local town, and it's more ethnically diverse and 'suburban'. But Witikon was totally fine. Adliswil is slightly cheaper rent because it's one stop outside Zone 10 and there aren't many lake views unless you find a really high apartment block which is also away from the main centre...From my understanding, cheaper areas around Zurich where there is lots of housing and plenty of shops (but always choose something within easy walking distance of regular public transport and shops - we used google maps constantly to cross-check locations and distances).... would be Adliswil (of course!), Altstetten, Baden, Uster, Oerlikon. I think those could be fairly called 'growth' areas. Other centres that have lots of people moving in and out (so more chance of getting an apartment) would be Triemli, Thalwil, Glattbrugg. 'Desirable' would be Kusnacht, Tiefenbrunnen, Zollikon. You could also look at 'over the hill' locations and towns further outside Zurich.

26
Totally agree with swiss pea, 2 major things: you gotta be resourceful, and, when choosing an apartment, keep your wish list (close to the shops, not 30 mins train journey from Zurich if you can avoid it) whilst keeping this is mind remember that you're renting, not buying, the whole flexibleness that this gets you means you can consider a 2 step approach when coming from another country:

First - get a "good enough apartment"

Second - then when you're living here, search for the "perfect" place

This then takes the pressure off and gets you up and running here! I've heard colleagues walk away from apartments because of really minor things like "the spare bedroom wasn't that big".

Really, the word on the street is as a landlord you prefer a nice local swiss 30 something couple where both are working and earning. So when the foreigner (like me) rocks up with a single income, mixed race family, not married, 2 kids, cats, speaking bad high German, and you get offered the place... Take it!

Others might have experienced something different but just get here and get started. It's not a buyers' market, there are places getting 30 applications, if find and apply for say 5 nice places, the numbers are still against you really, try to strike off one of your obvious "musts" off your list that everyone is going for. For us, this was a garden, instead we have a big terrace, but pretty sure this is something many searchers didn't even find because their filter criteria just didn't give the chance.

Man I'm getting chatty on this subject but just really want to help others in some of the background from the real experience. You can google loads, and find lots of support on here, my method was a bit different I moved here just on my own and rented a room to share a nice apartment, then my partner came down each month looking at areas and apartments and 5 months later we had our place.

Nice evening y'all

27
We live in Greifensee,and absolutely love it here. It's not as expensive as central Zurich (though pretty much all of Switzerland is a bit pricey). We pay $2,100 per month for a 97 square-meter, 3-bedroom apartment here in Greifensee that is very up-to-date and comes with a washer/dryer in it.

28
Cool!! Thank you!!!