Beer is much better though, and Moule Frites.. and Samourai sauce on maammoet speciaal, and Bolekes.....
Préparé/filet americain and kroketten! Not forgetting the lovely mayonaise with the vlaamse frietjes (flemish fries)
If you are a bachelor, I think no European country really compares to Switzerland regarding net-salary and even net-salary adjusted for spending. Yes, everything is more expensive here but it is not that much more expensive.
From my 1st and 2nd hand experiences, I can mostly agree.
E.g. Norway is quite up high with the salaries (as well as costs), but I still think (for a bachelor as a beginner) the ratio is not as up there as CH.
I for sure agree with you on the tax part but really don't understand your cost of living comment? After almost a living here for a year I start to get the feel of it.
In Belgium (Antwerp) we lived in a 5 bedroom average sized house + garden with our two kids and the house costed us +/- 1300 EUR/month and let's say the rest (food, water, gas, electricity, entertainment, various bits and pieces) etc would be another 1500/EUR a month.
Here we live in a 3 bedroom flat paying 3500 CHF/month incl. gas/water/electricity and we easily spend 2500 CHF a month on food & entertainment. On top of that comes the private health insurance we had to take out here (which is not the case in Belgium) and which in my case costs about 1000 CHF/month.
Our lifestyles have not really changed (e.g. not having champagne breakfasts etc ). We are basically living the same life as how we would live in Belgium and I like to believe that we are "economic" shoppers.
So roughly that is 6150 CHF / month against 2800 EUR/ month in Belgium.
For me it is obvious that the cost of living in Belgium is far cheaper than in Switzerland.
Yes, we have to agree with what has been written by Don Peidro. We have lived in both places and there is no doubt Belgium is considerably less expensive. Downside was that my OH, on a normal salary, paid 50% in taxes.
So you mean you would be better off in Belgium than in CH? Where you have to work more hours to cover your monthly expenses? Or where you have more disposable income after basic expenses?
That's not what I'm saying.
We are better of in CH, since our monthly net income has increased threefold whereas our living expenses only doubled. So more disposable income after expenses here.
That being said we did not chose to move here on the basis of that alone. We moved here because CH is a beautiful country in general and the air is less polluted than in Belgium. Also I believe in the Swiss education system and I love the fact that we became much more "active" people (e.g. skiing, swimming, cycling). All these things combined make it that we have a better life here.
This is only true for YOUR lifestyle. 3.5k for three bedroom is really a lot. Where do you live? On Paradeplatz? You can get a three bedroom apartment in Oerlikon for 1.8k.
Also, obviously "entertainment" or restaurants are two to three times more expensive in Zurich compared to the rest of Europe as the service sector is two to three times better paid.
If one can adjust ones lifestyle a little bit (e.g., learn to cook) one can save lots of money in Switzerland. This saved money can then be invested or kept as an emergency fund etc. This is very, very much more difficult in Belgium or elsewhere in Europe.
No, he lives in Nyon - it says so at least
I agree with Don Piedro. The cost of living in Belgium is really much cheaper. As mentioned, healthcare, dentists, theatre, opera, most of the groceries esp. meat, fruits, vegetables, are cheaper. You can go to a cheap restaurant and eat well, whereas here you would spend much more for the same quality of food. As for the rental cost, that is something you can decide yourself how big and expensive you want to live. The wages in Belgium are not so high, as a result many people I know there don't have a lot of savings. My impression is that I can save more in Switzerland, because there is less to do, and the activities are so expensive that I prefer to stay home.
I would like to add Ghent as an attractive interesting town. If you like nature, you can live in the Ardennes, where the houses are a lot cheaper than in the towns mentioned above.
Just arrived from Belgium last week and would agree it is cheaper there- that after the shock of grocery shopping and then having an ice cream and a drink for 4 in the Bern city centre!
Thanks for the answer. My question was more of a discussion provocation. I believe it's wrong to say "oh, Belgium is much cheaper than Switzerland.." Well, for whom? A tourist? Or a resident? In my view Belgium is MORE expensive for a resident there than is Switzerland for resident in Switzerland. In other words, a Belgium needs to work more hours to cover the living expenses than a Swiss.