Like others have said, QOL has more to do with what is amongst the highest public utilities/infrastructure standards that I have come across - clean air, water, environment, fairly genuine democracy for locals, free public schooling of good quality, high quality of food, relatively government interference, ability to eat out once a month, safety just about everywhere and anytime etc. The great thing is that this more or less holds good for the unemployed bum hanging around Stadelhoferplatz to the yuppie bankers who wine and dine at Kronenhalle every other day. And QOL is also relative: could name many countries that afford this for their citizens in general? I guess the Nordics could and they would also be more egalitarian but apart from that, not many others.
For shopping, it is highly recommended that you comparison-shop i.e. check out the Coop-Migros-Denner tradeoffs, then check the budget lines (Prix Garantie, M-Budget etc.), then consider the ALDI's, then consider going across the border by car and shopping for the month in Germany!! Furniture can be purchased from IKEA or used (browse! browse! browse! network! network! network!) because people either give things away or sell them at token prices when they move or replace them. Visit www.toppreise.ch to check out options on new products.
As for the car, you're in the student community - borrow or pool with others for the shopping.
On the other side, you're right: it is amongst the most expensive countries in the world. Not just highest on QOL but also COL (Cost Of Living) - Switzerland is a benchmark for both. The one gray area on QOL for me has been the cost of housing - that really can be very high in the Zurich area for low-middle class homes. There are some work arounds for students and the lower-to-middle income groups i.e. apply for government managed homes (Stadthaus), property development communities (Genossenschaftsrwohnung - the deposit is 2x higher though). Another thing I'd question is the "low stress" belief, I think people can get worked up about next to nothing at times here, there's a lot of drug taking (perceivable amounts of cocaine in samples of water) and the bankers are known to indulge themselves discreetly. In my first job (that I quit without having another lined up), I worked 14 hour days and weekends 30% of the time at least.
It is a capitalist country despite what some across the Atlantic might think and wealth does concentrate to a high degree (something like 45% with top 5% or something like that), so you'll see some of the disparity, corruption, greediness, discrimination etc. that comes with it in your daily life. It's a systemic evil and the system needs adjusting. That said, in Switzerland, it's like the same system but with the ground zero being considerably above many other "wealthy" countries - the bar for basics is just much higher.
That said is chicken really CHF 40 per kilo?? I think you mean red meat or fish - that can be expensive but you might be able to get better prices at Kilo Metz (it's a lower priced meat store but might not sell the higher end "cuts").
Where in Holland did you live? I've been to Amsterdam but only as a tourist so I don't know the day-to-day COL. As a tourist, it's damn near Swiss price levels.
Bottom line: CHF 4,600 netto (I presume that you did mean net of all tax and deductions for social benefits) is not the poorhouse for a student/researcher. Talk to your fellows if you haven't already. Students know ways to live cheap and still have a great time.
@ UtkoSwiss: Are you sure he's underpaid? I'm not. I don't think you need (or get to) negotiate a salary for PHD grants. But then again I'm not very "in the know". Further, for those who value virtue, the other party could be reasonably equitable (especially in an academic environment) during the negotiations. This "blaming the victim" idea is so conveniently used I think it should be extended limitlessly - now that would be interesting.