Zürich vs Melbourne

Daily Life, Swiss News and General Topics
1
Hi there,

this is my first post in this forum , so I ́d like to say hi first

I am German but have been living in Brisbane/Australia for a few years now. I came here as a physio and have my permanent residency now.

I thought, by posting in an english forum, I ́d meet more people who are Australian or have lived in Australia...

Here ́s my dilemma:

I have basically decided to leave Brisbane, after a few years here and enjoying the outdoor life, Queensland has to offer, I find the city itself a bit dull / tacky. I miss a cosmopolitan, more European feel.

So I decided on two options: Either move back to Europe or give Melbourne a try. Germany is out of question (has something to do with my job, the lack of money and recognition).

I ́ve both visitited Melbourne and Zürich and think, both are beautiful cities but they are of course very different.

I suppose, the pro ́s of Melbourne are:

- very cosmopolitan, lots of people from all over the world

- great food/international cuisine (and great cheap Asian places)

- friendly people (I find the atmosphere more cultured than in Brisbane)

Pro ́s of Zürich:

- lovely scenery with the lake and the Alps

- being situated in the centre of Europe

- close to Germany (where my family lives)

BUT: Swiss people are probably not as open as Australians (especially towards Germans since there are so many of them already in Zürich). And Zürich is probably less cosmopolitan than Melbourne (but then again, travelling to other countries is very easy).

And of course, both cities are quite expensive...

In Melbourne, I could expect a 65-70k base salary (+bonus + super).

In Zürich, probably around 6000 CHF.

Which salary would give me a better quality of life? I am in my 30s, single, no kids.

I ́d love to hear your feedback, especially if you have lived in Melbourne and Zürich before...

Cheers!

2
Zurich can be very cosmo also, just depends where you hang out.

And there certainly are a lot of people from all around the world due to the big banking industry.

You can indeed mostly forget about proper Asian food in Zurich

As there are enough Germans and in general apparently 23%+ are foreigners in Switzerland by now, this should not be an issue, unless you want to mingle with the locals. The locals who want to mingle do so very well, it is the older generation which is still holding back a bit.

With 6k/month one can definitely get around in Zurich (~2k rent, 1.5k fixed expenses ala food/bla etc, thus you have some to save left then).

Upgrade to a guy (or lady) with a similar salary and you will be doing more than great even if you add a few kids to the mix.

3
Hey I'm also curious about this.

Anyone who has lived in both? If so where do you prefer living? I read that melbourne has won the most liveable city in the world for the past 3 years in a row... so it must be a great place to live.

For me I think the friendly/open people is what would win me over.

4
Melbourne -- you have the good quality of live (cheap restaurant, big house with a garden/pool, etc.). but AUD is weak now, so you earn relatively less.

Zurich -- you have the highest salary for the same job in the world. but what you pay for food and an old & small flat are also among the highest in the world.

Your question depends on you age and plan. If you are thinking to find a place to settle down now for the rest of life, then Melbourne will give you better quality of living. If you want to save money for 5 years before settle down, then Zurich is the ideal place.

5
Wouldn't it actually be the same within the country? It would only be less if you were traveling, or importing from another country.

6
half true. yes, you will only suffer price increase for imported goods.

another half 'truth': weak AUD indicates worsening economics prospect.

actually I like AU except the summer (40 C, too hot for me)

7
I am from Melbourne, but moved and now live in Zurich.

if you are after a faster lifestyle, going out, restaurants, warmer weather (compared to EU winters, not warmer than Brisbane), friendliness of people, then I would say Melbourne.

If you like being closer to your family, easier traveling to European cities, then Zurich would be a great option.

Melbourne is still an Aussie city, so you will still feel some of the tackiness you have described (it does not have the long history after all) , although Melbourne has a longer history and is more cosmopolitan than Brisbane.

If you are already in Brisbane, why not try Melbourne for a year, before deciding to return to Europe? It will be much harder going back to Melbourne if you make a move to Europe again.

I think on the salary you have stated it would be easier to get by in Melbourne, but both cities are probably equally expensive for different reasons.

The Aussie dollar is actually still relatively high, so this is not really a factor.

It all depends on your plans for family, if you have any upside in earning high dollars in Zurich, as to where the best place to live would be. If I could, I would live in both, unfortunately not possible. Plus the traffic in Melbourne sucks.

8
I love Switzerland, but its the lack of social life that gets me down. The swiss are very closed minded and not the friendliest of people. It is almost impossible to make friends with them.

Is it a lot easier to make friends in Melbourne?

9
What is your problem ? To make friends with average Swiss people you only need five years. After 10 to 15 years you will even be a close friend And there is lots of social life

But no seaside and lots of lousy freezy weather

10
Zurich actually has great night life. Never really had problems meeting people here either.

11
Pros for both cities:

Melbourne:

- far easier to meet people as they are more friendly and open

- better lifestyle, less crowded

- better food and entertainment

Zurich:

- good for saving money before settling down

- easy to travel to other countries

12
Sorry but Melbourne is far more crowded than Zurich. Zurich can get busy especially during shopping but the traffic in Melbourne and public transport is pretty bad.

13
Zurich - 4135 people per sq km

Melbourne - 1567 people per sq km

Wouldn't Zurich be more crowded?

14
As someone else mentioned, Zurich has about 3 times the population density of Melbourne, so it is more crowded.

15
Depends how you consider crowded. I consider a city crowded by its traffic and transport, ease of getting around. Yes Zurich has more density, but it is a much smaller city. If you consider housing, then Zurich is denser in terms of people living in apartments versus opportunity to live in houses in Melbourne.

The transport might be a reflection of poorer road design and less public transport efficiency of Melbourne versus Zurich, but Melbourne is a more busier, more stressful city to live in because of it.

Melbourne is large, it can take 2 or more hours to drive from one side to the other. If you compare inner Melbourne with Zurich (10 kilometre radius from centre) you will find Melbourne is far more busy than the whole of Zurich. Melbourne has close to 4 million people, Zurich has 355,000.

If you live on the outer suburbs of Melbourne, you might find less people, but then again the outskirts of Zurich is pretty quiet too. Try driving or catching a train to the city in Melbourne for work versus Zurich. In Melbourne you will be packed into an overcrowded train. In Zurich, chances are you will be comfortably sitting down. In Melbourne, you will be stuck in traffic a lot longer than in Zurich. Zurich is a lot quieter and slower paced people wise. Melbourne is a hectic, busy city. Not on the scale of New York, Paris, London, Tokyo, but it is busy. Described in another way, Zurich is small city, with less geographical expanse, Melbourne is huge geographically, and inner city is far more busier.

In Melbourne you can have a large house in a quiet street, not really possible in Zurich (unless you are screaming rich), but to have this you might have to live 1 or more hours drive from work in Melbourne (unless you are rich and can live inner city in Melbourne and afford a house, Melbourne housing is expensive too).

So yes housing density wise Zurich offers less opportunity for space, from transportation point of view Zurich is far more advantageous.

16
I'm not sure where you got these stats from, but it's almost impossible to compare Australian cities to European cities in terms of density.

Melbourne may have less people per square kilometer, but that's because it depends on where someone declares the border.

The greater Melbourne area as far as I recall is over 8,000km (or about 90km X 90km), but the city itself (CBD) is only 36km (or 6km X 6km).

Melbourne (in total) has about 4 million people.

That's bugger all on a 'density' basis, but a lot of those 4Mio commute towards the city on a daily basis on a poor transport system (both roads and public) so it puts a lot of pressure on the city as such......... and therefore the Melbourne CBD is most DEFINITELY more crowded than Zurich.

But who cares?

(this has nothing to do with the OP's question)

OP,

As 'AnAustralian' said.

I would definitely give Melbourne a go first.

Better food, debatable coffee, live music, sporting atmosphere, it's got a lot to offer that you'd enjoy.

It's a lot more lively than Brisneyland that's for sure, but nothing in Australia will ever have that full "Euro" feeling, and if that's what you are really looking for, then best you come home.

Zurich is OK. I like it. But I like it for what it is.

I would love to be able to live back in Brisbane so I could surf Straddie, the Goldie, and the Sunshine Coast (where I'm from). But the flip side is that I'd have to give up the ease of travel into all the other Euro countries, History, Cultures and languages etc. (I'd also escape the shit weather).

You say you are missing the metro feeling of Euro cities, but I'm missing the vast coastlines I can travel and surf....... both of us are missing what we traded from home.... but that's not why we are in respective countries is it? (I mean, Switzerland is a landlocked country FFS)

When the time is right, I'm coming home. I don't belong here, but it's a great place to be for the moment and I enjoy everything it has to offer.

What I'm trying to say is:

"You can't look at both sides of the coin at the same time"

Weigh up all your pro's and con's and see what fits best..... besides, it's best to regret moving to Melbourne than come home and wonder what it might have been like to live there.

Try to focus on what Melbourne DOES have to offer rather than what it doesn't and all sorts of magic will reveal itself.

It's a trippy city once you learn how it works so just get into it and go with the flow.

You will also make more new friends in Melbourne than in Zurich I guarantee it.

17
Wherever you decide to live I think your social life will largely be down to you. It's very easy to generalise about the friendliness of whole cities/nations however, as long as there is no substantial language barrier you should find some like minded people in both cities. If you want to make friends and actively engage in social arenas, then you will have no problems.

18
I'm curious, why don't you consider Sydney? The weather is much better, especially around winter time.

19
I'm not sure, but AFAIK, the pay for phyios in Switzerland isn't really great.

Can somebody comment?

http://bazonline.ch/schweiz/standard...story/22935903

20
I grew up in Melbourne and moved to ZH in my mid 20s to study and have been here for 9 years. At the moment I'm currently thinking seriously about moving back to Melbourne. Most of the comments about Zurich vs Melbourne I agree with. Eg Melbourne has way better food options (esp at the lower end of the price range), better weather, friendlier locals, but worse transport, and far from other places. The main thing that seems missing in most Swiss towns is the atmosphere and liveliness present in larger cities. Your salary to living costs look pretty much equivalent for both places.

One thing about Zurich is being located in the middle of a very large economic block (the EU) there are probably some opportunities in employment that are rarer to find in Aus - eg if you did want a change of career and wanted to move into the business side of healthcare Switzerland is a good place to do this - several large Swiss companies work in this area and lots of non-Swiss ones have their European headquarters here.

On the which is more crowded question to me Zurich definitely feels more crowded - narrower streets, less space in homes / flats, less open space etc. Also it feels "crowded" in other ways - e.g. if you're looking for an flat in an interesting part of ZH, if you're looking for a place to do weekend brunch without a booking in Zurich it feels crowded - ie too many people not enough places for them.

One thing is that depending on exactly where you end up living in Zurich you'll have a few small frustrations that are much rarer in Australia eg laundry calendars, pedantic neighbours, noisy church bells (but there are probably equivalent things in all cities).

Generally you tend to regret things you don't do, so why not try it and see how it goes. Good luck.