Here are my reasons for leaving:
- Extremely expensive (especially food, forget eating out). Sure the salaries may be higher for *some* but I was actually better off on my salary in Australia.
- Rude, unfriendly people. The Swiss are rather cold and xenophobic.
- Racism. Most Swiss seem to hate foreigners.
- Difficult to make friends with the Swiss
- Lack of nightlife/entertainment
- Everything is closed on a Sunday. Shops also close by 7pm on every other day.
- Being charged as much as $3 for tap water in bars/restaurants.
- Being charged to use most public toilets. Even in McDonalds they are so stingy that they lock their toilets requiring a code. I have even seen a restaurant that charged you to use their toilet after paying for a meal!
- Billag and other pointless rip offs that make no sense. If the swiss can charge for something, then they will.
- Population density is much higher than in Australia. The swiss also have a lower personal space requirement. Being bumped into all the time without a simple apology.
- Horrible customer service. Why even bother eating out here when its so expensive and you get treated like a criminal instead of a valued customer just for being in their restaurant?
- Poor weather. It is supposed to be summer in a week and it has been raining non stop for most of Spring. Switzerland may have beautiful scenery but what is the point if you can't even enjoy it most of the time due to rainy, grey weather? Where I come from in Australia there are TWICE the number of sunshine hours per year compared to Zurich.
- Lots of silly rules. No recycling on Sundays (the police will actually fine you if caught!). Not allowed to flush the toilet or shower after 10pm in some places, or you neighbours may call the police. No washing permitted on Sundays (never understood this one if the laundry is in the basement).
- Shared laundry room where people don't follow the schedule or clean up after themselves. Countless times I have gone to do my laundry in my allocated time only to find someone else doing theirs when they weren't supposed to.
- Very little English spoken. I am finding the language barrier to be extremely frustrating and often need my partner (German) to translate for me. Feels like I've lost my independence and have become isolated. It is also extremely difficult to get a job without speaking fluent German. There may be 1 suitable job that comes up a month which is ONLY English speaking. In Australia I could probably apply for 50 suitable jobs a month.
- MANY smokers everywhere. I have never been to a country with so many smokers in my life. It seems the typical Swiss breakfast consists of cigarettes and energy drinks (so much for the swiss being "healthy"). So sick of waiting for a train and being surrounded by smokers blowing smoke in my direction. Those glass rooms should be for the smokers and not the other way around. Why should non-smokers be banished to an area away from everyone else just because we want to live a healthy lifestyle? In other countries it is the smokers that have to find a designated smoking area away from everyone else.
- No job security. Employers have a lot of power and can fire you without a good reason. There are no unfair dismissal laws or protection like in Australia. I was fired just a few weeks ago without a good reason. My partner said her boss fired 5 people just this month for trivial reasons because he was doing some "spring cleaning" (he openly told her this!). Apparently he even fired someone because she was off sick for a week. I have heard many other stories of people being fired in this country for the most stupid reasons.
- Everyday life is a lot harder here. So many processes for getting anything done. You need to write a letter in German just to change something. In Australia things are done with a simple phone call. Recycling is an absolute pain in the ass – cardboard must be bound up in a neat pile and put out for collection on certain days. Cans, bottles, and plastic are separated and have to be taken to special recycling bins. Rubbish bags are expensive at about $20 for a pack of 10 (you can't use any bag for rubbish). In Australia I miss having the luxury of two simple bins – one for rubbish and one for recycling (all items).
- Very expensive healthcare. Cheapest you can get is about $220 a month. Medication is very expensive. In Switzerland I pay $120 a month, in Australia I paid $35 (cost of all medications in Australia as it is subsidized by government). A doctors visit here will set you back at least $100 for a quick appointment. In Australia the "gap" you had to pay was about $30 and some doctors were even free ("bulk billing"). If I am sick in Switzerland then I am reluctant to see a doctor due to it being so expensive. In Australia I wouldn't think twice about it. I believe health care is something that should be affordable for everyone, and you shouldn't have to put off getting medical treatment simply because you cannot afford to.