In order to move of course I have to better conditions from the ones I have in Switzerland.
Does anyone know more or less the equivalent salary in Switzerland so I can compare?
Thanks,
I ́ve just got a job offer around 60k€ in Brussels, Belgium.
180,000chf
(Probably)
Why not, and this is going to be a tough one, do some frickin' research yourself? Its not challenging, but as it appears too tough for you, try the following:
1) Work out what you spend your money on here - size of flat in an area of town of a certain standard, food, services (phone etc), transport
2) Work out your gross salary, your net salary, and your disposable income (net salary after the 1) costs)
3) Google "Tax rates in belgium" and work out what 60k eur net would be
4) Google the place the job is and look around for places to live, find the local transport system
5) Google "cost of living in belgium"
Doing that will give you a better answer than asking on here because only you know whether any increase/decrease in disposable income will be worthwhile.
On the plus side, he didn't ask "What's the best job I can find in Belgium?"
Being from Belgium, I beg you to explain a bit further.
Are you alone or with a family?
Is the 60k euro offered gross? I assume it is annual as well? Is there a bonus (or a "13th month" as it is being called in Belgium)
Typically you would get offered so called "extra legal benefits", such as company car, food vouchers, hospital insurance etc.
Roughly you receive about 55% of your annual salary net (depending on family situation), so 60k annually gross would result in let's say 2.750 EUR/month net which is above average for a Belgium salary, but on the low side if you are used to an expensive life style and intend on living in Brussels.
Yes, I was hoping to find someone here from Belgium.
Of course I ́ve googled it but someone that lived in both countries can give better advise.
We just need to look in this forum where people say 140.000 chf is not enough to live in Switzerland...
Anyway, I ́m married with no kids. My wife doesn ́t speak french so it might be a problem to find a job in the beginning.
It ́s already with 13th month and with benefits, meal vouchers, insurance, etc.
It ́s reasonable to say that 60k euro equals more or less to 120k CHF in Switzerland? I ́m talking about the quality of life.
Not from Belgium but the Netherlands, but 60k including meal vouchers, benefits etc would not compare to 120k CHF, it would be a LOT less
Yes you ́re right, I meant 100k CHF
Your request is very general, so a general response: https://www.google.ch/search?q=inter...son&gws_rd=ssl
Really, the sites at the top show "something".
Do they apply to you, to your specific current situation in Switzerland, to any hypothetical future situation in Belgium? Most likely not.
There are so many objective and subjective factors involved, that no single web site, no web forum, no nothing, can really relief you of the decision.
What you need to decide on is a combination of:
- your net income (i.e. after taxes
- the social security system (health, employment, retirement etc) and your contribution to it
- quality of living (such as crime rate, accessibility of preferred leisure time options - mountains or the sea?, quality of ... whatever)
Given more input, I will be glad to say yay or nay.
For the record: I live in Switzerland, have never lived in, but know some attractive parts in Belgium. At 60k, it is unlikely that you are "better off" in Belgium - unless you really hate your part of Switzerland and the Swiss Way Of Life.
For the record, II: I would have no qualms moving to some very well-defined parts of Belgium (or France, the Netherlands, or Luxemburg), given the right circumstances and environment.
Compared to what salary in Switzerland?
it would be easier if you said what your "hypothetical" salary would be in switzerland (not the precise number of course), since you already said the one in belgium anyway.
also the adjusted income has its limits, in switzerland you pay import cars less, you pay vacations much less (those can make a difference, try to calculate for how long you have to save money for vacations in the eurozone in the 2 cases), maybe you order some things over the internet from other european countries, etc. and then yeah brussels seems expensive as a city.
Belgium is not cheap. The cost of living is not much less than Switzerland and taxes are higher. Utilities are also expensive.
Eating out however is quite reasonable and there are some excellent restaurants. The Belgians are also generally nice and friendly.
60000€ is an ok salary for Belgium if you don't live an extravagant lifestyle and don't expect to live in Brussels which is expensive.
Depending on your salary here you may be slightly better off in Belgium.
We lived 13 years in Belgium and loved it. We got a 50% pay rise when we moved here 5 years ago and have a similar lifestyle to the one we had in Belgium.
I find your motivation a bit shallow. if you move country, my first motivation would br the job, the country, the experience. the culture. But being Belgian I agree with what the others said here. if your motivation to move country is purely money driven, you better build your career in Switzerland.
I have the following approach to make a meaningful comparison, without getting lost in analysis involving lots of parameters such as tax rates, cost of living indexes, purchasing-power-parities, exchange rates...:
In Belgium, the average annual salary is €35'000/year.
(Source: http://www.gemiddeld-inkomen.nl/schatting-inkomens/ )
With €60k you earn ~1.7x the average. A well-paid job, and enough for a family to live comfortably, above "middle-class".
In CH, the median salary is CHF 73'416 (12x CHF6'118, 2012 data. Source: Handelszeitung, http://www.handelszeitung.ch/konjunk...hweizer-603325 ). Average is slightly higher but distorted due to many high-earners. The salary "most" people in CH earn is about CHf75k/year.
1.7x the Median salarz is approx 125'000 a year. Of that you can live comfortably in Switzerland. Not like a king, but also not like a pauper.
As a direct comparison of gross salary, the Swiss equivalent (on my employer's salary charts) to a €60k salary in Belgium is CHF110k - CHF120k.
I'd be interested in knowing which parts you find attractive in Belgium? We're considering a move there in a couple years (with Kids).
We lived for 15 years in Antwerp[en] and loved it [mostly]. There is so much to do of a cultural nature : the saying ̈ïf you are bored in Antwerp it is your own fault" is very relevant and accurate. There is quite a thriving expat community in Antwerp too, so you would make friends easily and quickly.
The two major problems are that my OH, who did not earn a really high salary, paid 50% of his income in taxes, and the second thing is of course the weather! It can be very cold and damp, Belgium being so flat. That said, our time there was very happy so if you need more information, please PM.
+1 on Antwerpen. Also spent some time in Mechelen, much smaller but also nice. Brussels is a cool city as well, although I preferred Antwerpen (Dutch being my mother tongue was one reason)
Thank you all for the answers, it really help me out!
We lived in Brabant Walon for 13 years first near Waterloo and then near Wavre and we really liked it. There are loads of things to do with kids ( our son was born and spent his first 11 years there) and nice places to visit too.
We are French speaking so preferred wallonie but often went up to the coast on other places in Flanders.
One plus point for us was the proximity to the UK for visits ( and other places too) but taxes are very high there.
Being from Belgium. 6ok is a nice salary. remember tax is much much higher but nearly everything else is cheaper. I'd compare it with 90 to 100k here (lifestyle wise)
only downside to Belgium is that it rains ALL the time and houses All grey and not well maintained in my opinion (compared to CH)