moving to zurich?

Daily Life, Swiss News and General Topics
1
my husband has a job offer in zurich and will be paid 245 CHF. we are a family of 5 with 3 kids 9,7,5. we are concerned about the cost of living there--his salary will increase at 245CHF, but so too will the cost of living be higher--at least we think so, given the prices for rent. here, we own a home, but there, would probably never be able to afford that, and on one side we think who cares about that, but on the other, once he retires, will be able to afford to pay the rent?

his job officially begins august 1--we will have little time between the end of school here and the beginning of august to get this all arranged, and select a home in person--this is another thing freaking us out a bit.

so one question is: given your experience, can a family of 5 live "well" on that salary?

the second question is: do you have any suggested neighborhoods that are pleasant, family friendly, offer good public schools?

and lastly (maybe): any advice on renting an apartment vs. renting a house? we found lovely of both in our supposed price range (which is just a guess, really, because we still don't know how much other things cost, like music lessons and dance lessons for the kids, etc.) but they did seem to be rather farther out at the fringes of zurich city. is this ok?

and just an aside. this would be a permanent change (as permanent as any ever are), not a sabbatical or temporary thing. we would pick up and sell it all here, and go there with the intent of having it work. but we are really worried about the quality of living on this salary. i am currently stay-home, and don't really predict great chances for me finding work outside the home after all these years inside the home, especially in switzerland.

any and all feedback/advice/encouragement is welcome--we feel a bit swept up and unhinged at the moment...

thanks! suzanne

2
Hi Suzanne

It ia very hard for anyone to comment as thery have not earned that level of salary.

I would hazard a guess to say you will be completely fine on that salary, it is double or more what most people earn.

My family lives in altstetten which has good shoppping, close to trains and trams and has a few schools nearby.

If you want a house and need to live further out try to get close to public transport, it is easy to get around in Zurich even if you live out a bit.

3
You say nothing about how well you expect to live, so meaningful replies will be difficult.

Here are two threads that address the same topic, you will find a lot of information to help you make your own decision: income for comfortable lifestyle in Basel? (210K, 2 adults, no kids) and Salary needed for family of 4 to live comfortably in Basel .

4
thank you so much for writing back. i am just so concerned that rent and taxes will eat up the income, and it is a big leap to take without knowing for sure... . thanks too for the tip about your neighborhood; i will researching further that area asap!

5
True, sorry about that. Basically we know that eating out will be a no-go. We would like to pay rent, (?!), pay bills, eat moderately well at home, pay for ballet lessons for two kids, and pay for music lessons for two children, send our kids to public school, pay for kindergarten for the 5 year old,...ski once in awhile, drive one car to family in germany once in awhile, just live simply and not be strapped constantly. On top of that, here we enjoy attending theater events once in awhile, but babysitters for 3 kids are expensive here, too, and so we don't actually get out frequently. It looks like entertainment of that sort will probably be off-the charts expensive.

I did see the two links you mentioned, but thought that prices in zurich are higher than those of basel--rents, etc., so didn't really feel that they gave me a good picture of what life w/ 3 kids would be like in zurich itself.

thanks for writing back! it helps.

6
245 CHF? Do you mean 245 000 CHF?

If so, you've no cause for concern- that's more than 4 times the average Swiss salary.

7
Hi Suzanne-

First off, welcome! Being a newbie myself, I can tell you that there is a lot of VERY useful information on this site.

I think the main comment you will get from people on this forum is that only you know what you consider living 'well'. This standard is so subjective that it is hard to put any major generalizations on this. I will parallel my situation with just relocating myself and hope that it helps...

First, the relocation is going to be really expensive. Take what you think it would cost in the US and double it. There are so many things you have to do to become 'legal' in Switzerland, and I am single, and it was at least double what I expected.

Second, in general, everything is more expensive here. Things like food/clothing/etc... are probably between 1.5 and 2 times more expensive, depending on where you are coming from in the US and what you buy. Speaking specifically about groceries, I think the quality is MUCH better, so it is a trade-off. I have looked into taking some yoga/pilates classes as well as gym memberships and they are about 1.5 times more expensive than Chicago (where I came from). So you should expect that your kids' classes will also be about that much more expensive.

Third, public transportation is so great here that a car is almost an unnecessary expense. I say almost because I don't really know about the necessity of a car with three kids. However, it is, by far, the best way to get around, and it goes EVERYWHERE. And better still, it is almost always on time. Also, this is definitely one thing that is about the same price as in the major US cities like NYC or Chicago.

Lastly, it is a change of pace and lifestyle here (at least for me it has been). Everything is closed on Sundays, and I definitely don't eat out or go out like I used to (pretty much never). And for me, these are good things. The outdoors are amazing, the quality of life is better, and it is a safe place to raise a family. Plus, your kids will definitely become (at least) bilingual, which is never a bad thing!

I think that with what your husband is making, salary-wise, you can do quite well here. Things are definitely more expensive, but you get used to it. You adjust, and if you want a change, I can't think of a more beautiful one than Switzerland.

If you have more questions, don't hesitate to contact me or anyone else on this forum. You can always pm people if you have more specific questions or want specific advise from one of us.

Good luck with your decision!

Julie :]

8
I am feeling calmer by the minute. THANK YOU for the time you took to help me! I think we are on the same page--and basically I am worried about breaking even, because we don't have a big grand lifestyle here, either--I just fear financial stress from the basics of life--that is all I want to avoid. You have helped to reassure me!

9
Yes, you can see how stressed I was just thinking about it all...I did mean 245000. Thank you for making me laugh!

10
You say you want to enroll your children in public school; I could very well be wrong but I don't think there are English speaking public schools here.

Your kids are young enough that they will adapt well to the new language, but do consider perhaps some additional expenses for private tutoring in German.

11
Also true! The children have been raised bi-lingually speaking English and German, (but their English is really much stronger), but I have heard that primary schools are often taught in Swiss-German? They do not speak that at all. However, in any case, they will need extra help and if it isn't available through the schools, we will be paying for that, as well! Thanks for the heads-up.

12
Ah! They'll be fine .

13
I would talk to Mrs Doolittle .

She can find you a house (on that income, you can afford a house), help you with schools & other transition questions.

14
245000 - if this is your monthly income, you'll be just above poverty line. I understand how stressed you must feel

15
With the sfr at $1.03, 245k sounds like a nice gig. In 2007, or 2004, the value was less..but still not terrible. Viel Spaß!

16
the salary you are mentioning is very good

its much more safer here for your kids and lifestyle is generally family oriented

you can look for houses/apts in homegate.com whereyou will find everything your need

first start searching with some relevance to your husband's work (if its not in the sticks)

a good location for you would be Zollikon,Kuesnacht,Meilen this part of Zurich

there are many belingual schools also where you can send your children

i would try it if i were you but not selling everything there before come here and try it out for some period

hope everything works ok for you

17
Thank you so much to everyone for your replies and help--I feel READY to make the move! Actually, I feel pretty excited, looking at the book club stuff and seeing how this community seems really ready to provide support for ex-pats going through the drills of relocating.

Thank you again, so very much.

18
I agree with much of what was posted above. Salary is good, but I would admonish not underestimate the cost of things here. If you live outside of the city center, in a tax-friendly area, and send your kids to local schools you should be able to pay for ballet, etc. without a problem.

Good luck with your move -- nice to see more and more Americans on the forum lately